3 ms·
I can't think of a serious reason why rape would have a different colloquial meaning than sexual assault. It's just a more provocative term.
by darby_nine 2y ago
I can't think of a serious reason why rape would have a different colloquial meaning than sexual assault. It's just a more provocative term.
- loloquwowndueo 2y agoRape is only one kind of sexual assault. It’s not just one term being more “provocative” than the other.
- darby_nine 2y agoI don't see what benefit the distinction brings. The meaning is inherently identical to the meaning of sexual assault. The fact there's a legal distinction is irrelevant to the meaning of the words themselves. I'm not referring to a legal concept when I use the word "rape" and the legal definition—for polities that even have one—is irrelevant.
- loloquwowndueo 2y agoIt’s not a legal distinction. Use Wikipedia, Luke.
- thaumasiotes 2y ago> I can't think of a serious reason why rape would have a different colloquial meaning than sexual assault. It doesn't. But the reason for having two terms is so that there can be a legal term, "sexual assault", which people interpret as meaning "rape" despite the fact that it includes, and almost always refers to, very different behavior. The point of the term is that the actual meaning is unrelated to the colloquial meaning. The purpose is to be uninformative. It's the same reason that "human trafficking" is legally defined as "prostitution". It sounds like slavery, which is good for the reputations of police and prosecutors, but if you look at prosecutions, they're effectively all made against women who are accused of "trafficking" themselves.