"WHAT HAPPENED AT ARETHA FRANKLIN’S FUNERAL IS A RESULT OF A SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL CONSTRUCT IN WHICH WE BLAME VICTIMS, AND ASSUME THEY DID SOMETHING TO DESERVE THEIR ATTACK."
-ASHLEY GALLAGHER
On August 31st, Aretha Franklin's funeral was held in her hometown of Detroit. Many celebrities and politicians, such as Hillary Clinton and Stevie Wonder, attended the funeral, which took place at the Greater Grace Temple. Among the other attendees was Ariana Grande. Grande performed one of Aretha’s most iconic songs, “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Following her performance, she stood with Pastor Charles H. Ellis III as he joked about thinking her name on the program was a new item on the Taco Bell menu. During this conversation, Pastor Ellis proceeded to tightly wrap his right arm around Grande, visibly groping her breasts.
In the video recording of this event, Grande looks clearly uncomfortable. She smiled and laughed, perhaps not wanting to cause a scene at Franklin's funeral which lasted for 8 hours.
After the event, many people took to social media to blame Grande for the assault. Some claimed that her dress was too short for a funeral, and many referenced her music, which is generally sexual.
Ariana Grande has been outspoken about victim blaming for a long time ago. She sent out a series of tweets about victim blaming on December 28, 2016,
In the video recording of this event, Grande looks clearly uncomfortable. She smiled and laughed, perhaps not wanting to cause a scene at Franklin's funeral which lasted for 8 hours.
After the event, many people took to social media to blame Grande for the assault. Some claimed that her dress was too short for a funeral, and many referenced her music, which is generally sexual.
Ariana Grande has been outspoken about victim blaming for a long time ago. She sent out a series of tweets about victim blaming on December 28, 2016,
However, after the event Grande’s publicity team released a statement saying she was not offended by the pastor groping her.
This event, while tragic, is unsurprising to many. In America, one in five women and one in seventy-one men will be raped or sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Despite the frequency of this crime, 63% of sexual assaults are not reported.
One reason for this may be victim blaming. Like Grande, women are often blamed for their assaults because of the length of their dresses or whether or not their actions in life were sexual. Often when women come forward about sexual assault or rape, they are asked questions like, “how much were you drinking?” or “what were you wearing?” Questions like these are used to place blame on the victim for being assaulted or raped, making women feel like they did something wrong, and that it is their fault that something happened to them. They are also often asked if any of their behaviors may have encouraged the perpetrator, or if there’s anything they could have done to fight back more and stop the perpetrator.
Victim blaming may not always be directly blaming the victim for a crime happening to them. It could be something as simple as asking if there was anything the person may have done to be more careful, implying that (in some ways) it was the victim's fault because if they had been more careful, the crime may never have happened.
A report from Psychology Today states that, “Specifically, psychologists believe that our tendency to blame the victim may originate, paradoxically, in a deep need to believe that the world is a good and just place.” The article continues to explain that forcing yourself to believe the world is a perfect place is to ignore everything that is wrong. If you are ignoring everything that is wrong, these things will never get better because for change to happen you have to take action.
Another reason people may victim blame is that they believe it is below them, that that would never happen to them. Maybe because they think of themselves as good people, and that that would never happen to them. This mindset is why they think of survivors as though they must to have done something wrong for this event to have occurred.
What happened at Aretha Franklin’s funeral is a result of a systematic social construct in which we blame victims, and assume they did something to deserve their attack. It is also an example of how prevalent rape culture is in our society. Attackers are aware that they can often get away with assault because of how our society often blames the victim, assumes only promiscuous women get assaulted, and or because of how tolerant society is of sexual assault. Many women who come forward about sexual assault or rape face similar fates because of how deeply rooted rape culture is in our society.
This event, while tragic, is unsurprising to many. In America, one in five women and one in seventy-one men will be raped or sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Despite the frequency of this crime, 63% of sexual assaults are not reported.
One reason for this may be victim blaming. Like Grande, women are often blamed for their assaults because of the length of their dresses or whether or not their actions in life were sexual. Often when women come forward about sexual assault or rape, they are asked questions like, “how much were you drinking?” or “what were you wearing?” Questions like these are used to place blame on the victim for being assaulted or raped, making women feel like they did something wrong, and that it is their fault that something happened to them. They are also often asked if any of their behaviors may have encouraged the perpetrator, or if there’s anything they could have done to fight back more and stop the perpetrator.
Victim blaming may not always be directly blaming the victim for a crime happening to them. It could be something as simple as asking if there was anything the person may have done to be more careful, implying that (in some ways) it was the victim's fault because if they had been more careful, the crime may never have happened.
A report from Psychology Today states that, “Specifically, psychologists believe that our tendency to blame the victim may originate, paradoxically, in a deep need to believe that the world is a good and just place.” The article continues to explain that forcing yourself to believe the world is a perfect place is to ignore everything that is wrong. If you are ignoring everything that is wrong, these things will never get better because for change to happen you have to take action.
Another reason people may victim blame is that they believe it is below them, that that would never happen to them. Maybe because they think of themselves as good people, and that that would never happen to them. This mindset is why they think of survivors as though they must to have done something wrong for this event to have occurred.
What happened at Aretha Franklin’s funeral is a result of a systematic social construct in which we blame victims, and assume they did something to deserve their attack. It is also an example of how prevalent rape culture is in our society. Attackers are aware that they can often get away with assault because of how our society often blames the victim, assumes only promiscuous women get assaulted, and or because of how tolerant society is of sexual assault. Many women who come forward about sexual assault or rape face similar fates because of how deeply rooted rape culture is in our society.
