No, the man shouldn’t have targeted a woman specifically for sex. Hmm… Let’s see what happens when we put on our forward-thinking goggles and give the song another look… Yes, these are all statements that reinforce rape culture. Yes, she should have monitored her drinking. Yes, the woman was a target, all by herself at a bar. While this song can be taken as a cautionary tale of what not to do as a woman in a similar situation, I believe it can also be seen as an indictment of society’s view on the subject. Come on, baby, don’t be afraid, If it wasn’t for date rape, I’d never get laid. Shut your mouth, we’re gonna do it my way. He said, “No Way!” Come on, babe, it’s your lucky day. If she wants to go for a drive with someone she doesn’t know, then so be it. Does Sublime mention the woman’s reckless obliviousness in this situation? No, the band does not. Then, the man and woman leave the bar and drive away somewhere. If she wants to get drunk with a guy she just met, then so be it. Again, Sublime makes no reference to the woman’s clear lack of awareness of/disregard for the dangers of drinking with an absolute stranger. When the man enters the bar, he asks the woman if she wants to “go for a ride.” She says she has to think about it, and then the man offers to buy her some drinks. If she wants to have a few drinks on her own, then so be it. While Sublime makes reference to the danger of this, referring to the bar being in “downtown Hell,” the narrator never calls the woman out on her naivety. The woman in the song just wanted to go out and have a fun night by herself. In today’s world, even with the aforementioned progress, we see people excuse rapists with cringe-inducing lines such as “well, look what she was wearing” or “she was leading him on.” In a time when it was far easier to slut shame and make excuses, Sublime doesn’t point a single finger at the victim. Even with all of society’s problems, we’ve made a lot of progress in the past few decades, starting a national conversation about rape and rape culture. There is no doubt in my mind that the rapist would find his actions much less permittable in 2016 than in 1991. This is where we circle back to “Date Rape,” which was, coincidentally, written 25 years ago - meaning the fictional rapist in the song would be released some time this year. We don’t want to shame the accusers, but we also don’t want to prematurely execute the suspects, who are - even if public opinion says otherwise - innocent until proven guilty. Still, we must handle every rape case delicately. ( The Washington Post ran a story fact-checking a viral graphic that contained some RAINN statistics. They want to bring awareness to the subject, and certain statistics might be skewed to better represent their positions. Now, to be fair, I have to mention the bias of organizations like RAINN. The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) reports that less than half of rapes even get filed, and only 3% of accused rapists end up spending even a single day in prison. I use the word “idealistic” because of how rarely rape cases actually result in convictions.
Date rape sublime full#
The rapist accuses “ that little slut” of lying, but the judge knows the defendant is “ full of shit” and sentences him to 25 years in prison.
The rapist drops the victim back at the bar, and she throws a rock at his head, leaving a “ big scar.” Then, she hires an attorney, reports the rape, and takes her assaulter to court. While the truth in the first half of the song is obvious, the next part of the story takes a turn for the idealistic. Many women do go out to bars and drink, and some men - however few you want to argue - do take advantage of them. Sadly, this part of the song is entrenched in reality.
We don’t have the details on what exactly happened, and all we know is “ She didn’t want to. Perhaps he overpowered her, or she was too intoxicated to fight back, or she was just too afraid to do anything. As the song goes, “ That’s when things got out of control.” He has sex with the woman, despite the lack of consent and her continued insistence on leaving. The man makes a move on his passenger, and she refuses. The man takes the girl to an unnamed location, and what occurs at this location sets the stage for the rest of the song.
Although it’s not explicitly stated in the song, it is safe to assume the woman becomes reasonably inebriated - judging by how “ one drink into three or four…” and the woman willingly leaves the bar with her new “friend.” The story of the song is simple: A woman goes to a bar by herself, and then a mysterious man enters the bar and starts buying her drinks. Regardless of your feelings of the band or genre of music, I think we can all commend Sublime’s admirable effort of shunning rape culture - a culture that had little opposition in the early 90s.
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