As many of you might have seen in the news recently, Kesha lost a lawsuit against Manager Dr. Luke, who allegedly drugged and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. Kesha stated that she didn't want anything more than to be able to stop working with her abuser - she didn't ask for him to go to jail or to be punished - simply, to be free. Only, she was denied this by what is predominantly a male run company - Sony. How is it acceptable that Zayn Malik - a male working for Sony, was allowed to leave his contract with One Direction due to the fact that he was 'unhappy' and 'never wanted to be in the band', yet Kesha, a female being abused by her manager is not allowed to leave her contract with Sony. They said 'Sony is doing everything it can to support the artist in these circumstances, but is legally unable to terminate the contract to which it is not a party.'
Ultimately, it was a court room - once again predominantly filled with males - that ruled that Dr. Luke was innocent and that Kesha was to carry on working with him. Just as Lady Gaga said, I DO NOT want to live in a world where a room of people get to choose whether you were raped/ sexually abused or not. Instead of jumping to victim blaming, we should be seeking that the victim is okay and seeing if there is anything we can do to help them or to make the situation any easier for them, not tell them that they are liars or they were asking for it. The party girl image of Kesha was purposely created so that when this story got out, people would jump to blaming her straight away with things like she was asking for it, look at her. Look at what she was wearing, how much alcohol she was drinking and so on.
Many of Kesha's fans were not happy with the way in which the case had been handled and dismissed, and took to the streets and the internet to protest.
Luke is a genuinely awful person and that's the reality of this nightmare. #FreeKesha pic.twitter.com/qneYoBC1hZ— . (@krsxcx) March 10, 2016
Protestors outside of Sony's Headquarters in NYC yesterday continuing to show their support to Kesha. ❤️ #FreeKesha pic.twitter.com/rlvIYdZ58F— Shady Music Facts (@musicnews_shade) March 12, 2016
***UPDATE***
Since originally posting this, Dr Luke has now been dropped from Sony. This is an amazing movement in the #FreeKesha debate, and all that protesting from fans and fellow Celebrities paid off!
Here is a Podcast I recorded with two very good friends on the issue of International Women's Day, #FreeKesha and Rape Culture!
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I need feminism because woman's appearance is still constantly under a microscope. We are seen as objects purely here to please men rather than beings here to live and to experience. We are told in school not to show our shoulders because it can distract boys rather than telling boys to control their urges, and making sure boys aren't 'turned on' is more important than a females education.
I need feminism because we are told that we were asking for it because we wore a short skirt rather than telling males that NO MEANS NO.
I need feminism because men are allowed to sleep around with multiple girls and are labelled a 'lad' and praised by all their friends, but as soon as a girl does it, she's a 'slut' and a 'whore' for expressing her sexual freedom. We live in a world full of double standards.
I need feminism because we've suffered years of laws where we can't choose what we do with OUR bodies. If you don't want an abortion, thats absolutely fine - don't have one. But don't you dare take the choice away from others.
I need feminism because patriarchy, male entitlement & capitalist greed killed Amy Winehouse. She died because the men in her life were selfish, careless, capitalists who faked compassion for cameras. She died because of a culture built on greed, misogyny, and individualism.
I need feminism because in a domestic abuse case, people ask 'why did she stay?' and 'what did you do to make him react that way' rather than 'why did he abuse you?'
I need feminism because I can be taken advantage of whilst drunk in a club but it will still be my fault because I was intoxicated. WHY DOES ALCOHOL EXCUSE A MANS ACTIONS BUT CONDEMN A FEMALES?!
I need feminism because 1/3 of 10 year old girls' biggest worry is their body.
I need feminism because people still ask what the victim was wearing.
I need feminism because my sexy dress is NOT an invitation.
I need feminism because I don't feel safe walking in the streets alone at night.
I need feminism because too much of history was written by white, heterosexual, cisgender men.
I need feminism because there are hashtags like #meninism and #masculism going round because men still think they are oppressed.
I need feminism because a male can show his nipple but a female can't show hers.
But most importantly, I need feminism to bring equality to both genders. I need feminism because we think showing weakness is girly.
I need feminism because we think a guy who is a virgin is sad.
I need feminism because we think a man who has a negative body image is unmanly.
I need feminism because we think men who dress like women are jokes.
I NEED FEMINISM BECAUSE WE THINK MEN HURT BY WOMEN ARE PATHETIC.
I need feminism because we are living in the 21st century yet all of these things are still a pressing matter in society. Women are constantly victimised no matter what anyone says, and although these problems also affect men, women are the ones who get victim blamed and slut shamed and ashamed for being fat or too thin or too smart or too tall and so on.
That's why I need feminism.
Happy #InternationalWomensDay to all the women out there. Let’s inspire & support each other today & everyday! 💪 pic.twitter.com/hQ0Hx0J3MG— Indrajeet yadav (@heartmebaby12) March 16, 2016
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MNIRWs9Nhw]
(originally posted 8th March 2016 www.luna-llena.co.uk)
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