Transplanting a Seattleite

I think that framing rape as a thing that men do to women (which is how it is framed in McCaughey) and as an extension/enforcement mechanism of the patriarchy may or may not be accurate for the past, but at this point isn't necessarily helpful. I was really, really happy when same-sex relationship started getting enough attention that people could finally start to see that consent issues are not limited to male-female, and aren't exclusively male perpetrators/female victims.

I'm going to sit here now and contemplate my own history with lack of consent sex as a minor with other minors, my own history rebuffing (vigorously) an attempted purse snatching and think, once again, that when compared to my parents' disciplinary strategies, both pale. I sure didn't like getting slammed up against a wall by my soon to be ex-father-in-law. That bothered me for a really long time.

My martial arts experience is wildly unusual and was intentionally so, because I had observed a really high injury/dropout rate and wanted to avoid that. I don't know how useful self-defense/martial arts are for someone-one-knows, altho being comfortable pushing back when pressured sure helps, and martial arts can help develop that. It's very different than self-confidence per se -- it's more about boundaries, which was one of the things I liked about what McCaughey found in self-defense.

One thing we know from development work in nearly every time and place is that people of all ages and genders who bring in money are treated better in a household. Right there, I think, is my best argument for equal pay as more important than other approaches to stopping rape. It isn't perfect, of course. [ETA: Also, money coming in creates opportunities to leave, as well.]

I, of course, completely agree with you on meaningful reproductive choice being the First and Foremost of all feminist issues.