Louise is single; Thelma is married. Louise is independent and strong-willed, a woman who takes no guff. Thelma is passive and naive, taking more than enough abuse from her husband Darryl. They are an unlikely pair but the best of friends.

Self Defense

When the two go out on the town for the night, they enjoy a few drinks. Thelma even innocently flirts with a man at the bar, but he takes it the wrong way. Despite her clearly saying no, he takes her out into the parking lot and attempts to rape her. That’s when Louise steps in. With a gun in hand, she shoots the would-be rapist dead in the chest.

The women go on the run from the law, afraid that no one will believe their story. After all, how often are women believed these days? Louise was wearing an off the shoulder top that was low cut. She smiled at him, drank with him, even danced with him. Did she lead him on? She was asking for it, wasn’t she?

Rape Culture

That’s what’s wrong with the world today. Society has become so numb to the objectification of women that rape culture has taken hold, victim blaming and all. It is strangling us.

Television and movies often show gratuitous violence against women. Sexually explicit jokes are seen as harmless. A “boys will be boys” mentality trivializes sexual assault. Even Donald Trump was caught on a 2005 Access Hollywood tape saying “I just start kissing them … I don’t even wait … Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” Despite his obvious disrespect for women, he was still voted into office years later.

This misogyny is not limited to men from older generations. Look at Brock Turner. In 2015, the Stanford swimmer was caught red-handed raping an unconscious woman at a fraternity party but a judge gave him a lenient 6-month sentence (of which he only served 3 months in 2016) because a longer sentence would have “a severe impact on him”. Brock blamed “college life” and “party culture” and his father said he should not be punished for “20 minutes of action”. Meanwhile, that woman’s life, since revealed to be Chanel Miller, had been changed forever.

Double Standards

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three women experiences sexual violence in her lifetime. One in five is outright raped. Studies show that there are long-term consequences to that abuse, yet the backlog of rape kits in crime labs is years long. Not all rape kits are even sent to crime labs for analysis. How is a woman to be believed if the one solid piece of evidence she has is not given due process?

Instead, women are blamed for their choices. A woman should be able to wear (or not wear) whatever she wants, but if she shows some skin, she’s a slut. If she’s covered up, she’s a prude. Even breastfeeding is hypersexualized. Why should it matter if a woman uncovers her breast for the natural purpose of feeding her child? There’s no reason a child should go hungry for your comfort.

Women are told not to drink in public, but men like Brock Turner who blame their inappropriate actions on alcohol are not. If women do drink, they should keep their drink covered so that it doesn’t get spiked. Women are told to avoid going anywhere alone, but if they do, they should hold their keys in their hand like a weapon. Before a woman gets in a taxi, Lyft, or Uber, she should call a friend “just in case”. Women should never listen to headphones when they’re alone but if they are stubborn, they should wear a single earbud to make sure they can hear someone sneaking up on them. Generally speaking, men don’t have to worry about these things.

Time for Change

Instead of putting the burden on women, there needs to be a more concerted effort to change rape culture. We should teach boys at a young age to be respectful of women. Show men that it shows more character to stand up for women than to let other men belittle them behind their backs. Support women when they are brave enough to speak up about harassment and abuse.

At some point in time, you may have been a Thelma (someone who has been abused) or a Louise (someone who has stood up against that abuse). You may have been both. It’s unfortunate that so many women have had to deal with situations like this, situations that can forever change how they see themselves and the world. While I am in no way condoning violence, I cannot blame Louise for what she did. She would rather face the consequences than have her friend be violated. Sometimes you have to take a stand.