Last week, Utah Representative Jon Stanard stepped down from office after coming under fire for allegedly meeting up with a prostitute twice last year. His resignation comes after the Daily Mail released a report about the event. The article describes Rep. Stanard meeting Brie Taylor in a hotel room paid with tax-payer funds. Ironically, Rep. Stanard had previously voted in favor of a law that would create tougher regulations against prostitution.
While that may seem like a huge story in itself, a few days ago, the Daily Mail released yet another article about the Utah representative that is more ludicrous than the original. Utah lawmakers are now telling men to employ the “buddy system” in order “to avoid being entrapped by women with cruel intentions.” These lawmakers claim that prostitutes are attempting to approach them in order to “honeypot”, or seduce them. Can we just talk about the gender hypocrisy for a second? When women report sexual assault, only 9% of rapists get prosecuted, despite the fact that 1 out of every 6 women has been assaulted. Yet the instant a man is scrutinized for inappropriate sexual actions, the immediate result is to create rhetoric blaming the woman.
Every day, women are fighting to be heard and to be believed when they say, “this man sexually assaulted me”. No surprise, time and time again, men blind with privilege refuse to acknowledge the assault. Not only do they live in a world absent of morality, but they go as far as to play the victim and blame their heinous actions on the woman. “Was she wearing a revealing outfit?” “Was she drunk?” “How do you know she didn’t want it?” “Did she try closing her legs?” Looking at the quote above, these lawmakers who so deeply believe in Christian values attacked Brie Taylor as if she were on the prowl to destroy him. Do they not understand that Rep. Stanard hired Taylor to have sex with him? Are they blind to the fact there is a paper trail linking the representative to the crime?
Yes, they are blind as bats.
As any resident of Utah knows, the extent that tribalism and sexism run through Utah politics is infuriating, but it is even more disgusting that lawmakers are proposing a BUDDY SYSTEM to protect them from “dangerous” women. Give me a break.
To all Utah representatives, here are some things you can do for Utah instead of perpetuating a derogatory and misogynistic environment.
1. AIR POLLUTION
Did you know we have the worst air quality in the nation when under inversion? It’s hard not to notice when walking across campus consists of breathing in the dense acidic air and suffering from bouts of chest pain and the inability to breathe. This is an immediate health problem; it might be worth looking into.
2. GERRYMANDERING
Have you seen the maps for our districts? It looks like a malicious jigsaw puzzle drawn by a two-year-old (and it is not exactly democratic). Please, just stop redrawing districts in order to keep your party in power.
3. STOP WORRYING ABOUT PORN
Yes, we all understand the implications of porn, but it’s a little unnecessary to make it illegal. You guys need to stop denying the existence of human sexuality.
4. CREATE BETTER SEX EDUCATION
Speaking of the denial of sex, no matter what your religious values are concerning sex, the public needs to be educated about it. An education focused purely on abstinence-only is not going to work. People are having pre-marital sex whether you like it or not, and they need to be educated about preventative care and protection from STDs.
5. LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE
The majority of Utah representatives are white, male and among the most privileged class in the world. You don’t need a buddy system. Quit your self-righteous act and be a decent human for once.