Tom Stranger doesn’t look like the mythical rapist, but he does look like a real rapist. And he admits to being a real rapist.
Because of that, he has something valuable to say to the men who commit rape but are unable to conceive of themselves as rapists, or their attitudes to women’s bodies as violent.
Continuing that work could be a strong and valuable role. Not speaking to victims, or participating in feminist discourse about rape, there’s no need to hear from perpetrators of sexual violence in those spaces. His personal feeling of redemption is irrelevant and there’s nothing he can say that isn’t already well understood.
It’s in the places where women will not be heard and rape myths abound that Tom Stranger could make necessary change.
Read the full article on the Sydney Morning Herald
