Rob Kardashian is no stranger to social media meltdowns, but this time he may be facing up to 6 months in jail.
Rob posted a string of loosely coherent Instagram posts alleging that Blac Chyna was cheating on him with other men, sending him videos of her kissing other men as proof, and frequently using drugs around their child – all while he was paying thousands of dollars for her rent, jewelry, and post-baby plastic surgery. Chyna posted (then unposted) on Snapchat that Rob physically abused her but will get off scot-free because of his famous family. Now, social media fights are nothing new for the couple, but amidst Rob’s rant was a new low – he posted (and reposted after being taken down) revenge porn of Blac Chyna. These were photos that seemed to be have been privately shared with Rob, and showed her nipples, ass, and vagina. He posted body-shaming comments as captions. (Instagram has since removed his profile.)
This is revenge porn.
According to Refinery 29, “in California, revenge porn is defined under the Penal Code 647(j)(4) and is essentially the act of sharing an intimate picture or video of a person — that the people involved had previously agreed was private — for the express purpose of causing distress. Rob Kardashian could ostensibly be found guilty of this crime, which is considered a misdemeanor in California, and face up to six months in jail.”
For now, Rob is just facing a restraining order. Lisa Bloom, a notable civil rights attorney Blac Chyna retained last Thursday, released a statement on Friday saying, “Today we filed for temporary restraining orders to protect her [Blac Chyna’s] rights. Mr. Kardashian, you are now on notice: revenge porn is illegal. Cyberbullying your ex is harassment.” She added that both she and Blac Chyna believe “that this is an important women’s rights issue, as too many women and girls have been slut-shamed by exes. It stops now. Your attempts to shame and control her are hereby rejected.”
Blasting Blac Chyna’s intimate photos to the world out of spite is a problem that transcends the petty drama of their relationship. And the blatant violation of publicly displaying sexually explicit content that was meant to be private is a national trend. And of course, there are the trolls with victim-blaming statements like “If you don’t want it made public, don’t send it at all.” But this line of thinking is a lot like teaching abstinence-only sex ed – not only does it convey intolerance and judgment, it also doesn’t realistically reflect what’s actually happening in society. According to surveys, 49% of American adults ages 18-54 and 89% of American millennial women send nudes.
So not only is this shit is happening, but it’s totally fine for consenting adults to send sexy pictures to people they are consensually involved with. Notice a buzzword, though? “Consent.” Revenge porn completely violates that necessary requirement for sharing nudes. It’s is a cruel attempt to punish and shame people by exposing their private expressions of sexuality. And anyone can be a victim of revenge porn/having nudes leaked, but it seems to be women that are targeted the most. Because our expressions of sexuality have been controversial throughout history, with continuous attempts by society (and men) to suppress/control/ punish these expressions. Roxane Gay nailed it when she wrote in an essay on revenge porn for The Guardian in 2014:
[It] is meant to remind women of their place. Don’t get too high and mighty, ladies. Don’t step out of line. Don’t do anything to upset or disappoint men who feel entitled to your time, bodies, affection or attention. Your bared body can always be used as a weapon against you. Your bared body can always be used to shame and humiliate you. Your bared body is at once desired and loathed. This is what we must remember. Women cannot be sexual in certain ways without consequence. Women cannot pose nude or provocatively, whether for a lover or themselves, without consequence. We are never allowed to forget how the rules are different girls.
Rob Kardashian, back the fuck off.
Photo: Instagram, @blacchyna
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