We have used political cartoons to prove a point ever since we could write. They have been used from wartime issues to banking regulation injustice. Yes, they have brought our attention to issues for a short second. Yes, they are funny if done right. However, do they really help bring about change? No.
Like the cartoon in the picture above the title, most cartoons turn a problem into a comical situation. The case behind that cartoon is about a judge asking a rape victim why she couldn’t keep her knees closed and prevent the rape. This was an awful event in a courtroom. It caused pain to the victim herself and showed women that some people can believe that rape is the woman’s fault. That is an issue that needs to be fixed now. The cartoon above is meant to draw attention to that and it does. It’s understandable why people use them. They are quirky and eye catching, but instead of calling for change this cartoon inflicts the pain the woman felt to a man. Reversing any sort of physical or emotional pain is not the right way to help fix any issue. The more cartoons come out with these words being directed at men, the more we see that the way victims are treated during rape cases is ridiculous. However, they leave out the male rape victims. They are also very short lived. We see them, we frown and think that something should be done, then we scroll past it.
These cartoons distract us from finding a solution to the issues at hand. Cartoons such as the one above lead to the belief that for the problem to get attention men must feel the pain that is inflicted on rape victims. This is not the right way to go about fixing this problem. Without inflicting pain, physically or metaphorically through cartoon, on anyone, we must find a way to stop inflict pain at all. In a way, these cartoons slow down our progress to find a solution. Instead of losing focus and creating these fleeting images that are quickly seen and forgotten, we should focus on creating a pain-free, permanent solution for all human beings involved.
