In Which My Brain Ponders Statutory Impregnation...
...And People Who Are Sensitive About Religion Are Advised To Run Away
The path my brain took to get to this point is bizarre and convoluted, but suffice it to say, I wound up thinking about consent as it relates to Mary being impregnated with the son of [a] Ggod. (And yes, I realize the bit where the bible has skanky gender issues is nothing new.)
I mean, you've got your Greek/Roman gods who just outright rape women, and I don't think anyone is trying to claim otherwise, but the whole Jesus thing does not involve God actually having sex with Mary. See, she's a virgin, so it can't be rape! But it's still skanky in a sexual harassment sort of way wherein the male boss (of the universe) is pressuring the female employee to have his baby. And then that's what led me to the Statutory Rape comparison because the power differential is just so epic. Mary saying, "Yeah, sure God, I'll have your baby," is the same as a 13-year-old claiming she consented to sex with a 50-year-old. And yeah, maybe that 13-year-old said, "Yes" and didn't say "No", but legally (and morally, I think-- though I'm a godless heathen, so I can't possibly have any morals, right?), the 13-year-old is not capable of consent because it's not informed consent. She couldn't possibly understand the implications/ramifications/consequences of what is happening (and the statutory rapist is taking advantage of that). And in the same way, Mary (who probably wasn't that much older than 13 given the age of the average bride back then, but that's a whole other truckload of issues because there was a general lack of female consent going on at the time) could not possibly conceive (pun not originally intended, but once I noticed it I totally left it in on purpose) of what it meant to agree to have God's kid. And I admit I'm not up on my bible, so was she even consulted? Or was it just "Hey, guess what? Miracle baby in your uterus!"? I vaguely recall something about an angel telling her what's what. Regardless, she could have said, "Yes, please" and it still wouldn't have been consent in the true sense of the word because no one can consent to have sex with be impregnated by an all-powerful, omnipotent entity by virtue of him/her/it being an all-powerful, omnipotent entity and the consentee/victim being... not that.
Anyway, her rape baby son grew up, died, and then came back as a zombie. Good times.
When you're in trouble, you can call DW.
The path my brain took to get to this point is bizarre and convoluted, but suffice it to say, I wound up thinking about consent as it relates to Mary being impregnated with the son of [a] Ggod. (And yes, I realize the bit where the bible has skanky gender issues is nothing new.)
I mean, you've got your Greek/Roman gods who just outright rape women, and I don't think anyone is trying to claim otherwise, but the whole Jesus thing does not involve God actually having sex with Mary. See, she's a virgin, so it can't be rape! But it's still skanky in a sexual harassment sort of way wherein the male boss (of the universe) is pressuring the female employee to have his baby. And then that's what led me to the Statutory Rape comparison because the power differential is just so epic. Mary saying, "Yeah, sure God, I'll have your baby," is the same as a 13-year-old claiming she consented to sex with a 50-year-old. And yeah, maybe that 13-year-old said, "Yes" and didn't say "No", but legally (and morally, I think-- though I'm a godless heathen, so I can't possibly have any morals, right?), the 13-year-old is not capable of consent because it's not informed consent. She couldn't possibly understand the implications/ramifications/consequences of what is happening (and the statutory rapist is taking advantage of that). And in the same way, Mary (who probably wasn't that much older than 13 given the age of the average bride back then, but that's a whole other truckload of issues because there was a general lack of female consent going on at the time) could not possibly conceive (pun not originally intended, but once I noticed it I totally left it in on purpose) of what it meant to agree to have God's kid. And I admit I'm not up on my bible, so was she even consulted? Or was it just "Hey, guess what? Miracle baby in your uterus!"? I vaguely recall something about an angel telling her what's what. Regardless, she could have said, "Yes, please" and it still wouldn't have been consent in the true sense of the word because no one can consent to have sex with be impregnated by an all-powerful, omnipotent entity by virtue of him/her/it being an all-powerful, omnipotent entity and the consentee/victim being... not that.
Anyway, her rape baby son grew up, died, and then came back as a zombie. Good times.
When you're in trouble, you can call DW.