First I've heard of this...warning - gruesome

[delalluvia]

As an ex-newspaper reporter myself, this is news to me. I've never heard of any decision made on the basis of political implications -- connotations of homosexuality, negative ideas about the local gay community, whatever. Nothing. Nohow. I'm not saying it's never happened, but in 15 years of working at small, medium and large daily papers, I never heard of it.

Guess it depends on what newspaper and what area you're working in.  My friend worked for both local community paper (a very wealthy area) and the largest daily paper in a city of over 4 million.  But of course, she was in Texas.

[delalluvia]

interesting commentary on this issue:

Hollywood has known this for years.  In a movie you can wipe out entire cities in Armageddon like disasters and machine-gun bad guys/security guards/police etc., but hurt one animal and the letters and protests come pouring in.

I've no idea why this is.  I suppose it's because animals are helpless.  They have no choice in their situations and so hurting and torturing helpless, unknowing creatures can seem worse, while humans are seen as having more control.

[injest]

Hollywood has known this for years.  In a movie you can wipe out entire cities in Armageddon like disasters and machine-gun bad guys/security guards/police etc., but hurt one animal and the letters and protests come pouring in.

I've no idea why this is.  I suppose it's because animals are helpless.  They have no choice in their situations and so hurting and torturing helpless, unknowing creatures can seem worse, while humans are seen as having more control.

yes, animals are 'innocent' whereas it is too easy to say the human victim did something to either provoke the attack, make the attack worse, or not done something right so as to avoid the attack.

I think maybe it is a form of self protection...if we acknowledge crimes against people too much we feel less safe...

[injest]

Hiya

IMO I would suggest that it doesn't matter whether or not a man is straight or gay that they would be less inclined to report it

Cheers

ZK

yes, there is a stigma attached to men being raped that isn't for women.

It is emasculating, and people have the attitude that men should be able to defend themselves, or not get an erection if they are being raped. People even today don't have a basic understanding of human physiology....

there was a movie a long time ago, I THINK it was "The Rape of Richard Beck"...about a police officer that was very insensitive to rape victims and women in general...

very progressive for its time.

[injest]

yep I was right! I can't believe it...my brain retained something!!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089882/plotsummary

"The Rape of Richard Beck" 1980s