NYT columnist defends telling Pepe Le Pew a ‘normalized culture of rape’

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New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow doubled down on his claim that Pepé Le Pew had “normalized the culture of rape” on Saturday after the right-wing reaction to an op-ed he wrote earlier this week, which first called the comic book skunk created by Warner Bros. behaviour.

“The RW blogs are crazy because I said Pepe Le Pew added to the culture of rape,” Blow tweeted on Saturday. “Let’s see. 1. He grabs / kisses a girl / stranger, repeatedly, without her consent and against his will. 2. She finds it hard to get away from him, but he doesn’t release her 3. He lock a door to prevent it from escaping.

The columnist added in a threaded tweet, “It helped teach the boys that ‘no’ didn’t really mean no, that it was part of ‘the game’, the starting line of a power struggle. He taught that overcoming a woman’s arduous, even physical objections, was normal, adorable, funny. They didn’t even give the woman a chance to TALK.

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“Some of the earliest cartoons I remember included Pepé Le Pew, who normalized rape culture; Speedy Gonzales, whose friends helped popularize the corrosive stereotype of drunk and lethargic Mexicans; and Mammy Two Shoes, a fat dark maid who spoke with a heavy accent, ”Blow wrote in her column.

Responses to Blow’s column were mixed, with negative responses from the Right behind his Saturday tweet – leading to more speeches.

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One user tweeted: “Pepe le Pew normalized rape? So why don’t we see people solving crimes like Scooby Doo? Or lead with their feet like Fred Flintstone? Rape is the rapists’ fault. Period.”

“Lots of virtue signage in this thread. It is a cartoon, ” another wrote. “If you felt uncomfortable with this growth, I hope you never watch other TV shows, movies [sic] or listen to most music especially rap. Lots of uncomfortable subjects / visuals that I don’t think you would get over. “

A third tweeted: “Never underestimate the ability of Americans to ignore the facts that are staring them in the face. Replace these two adorable cartoon characters with your 19 year old daughter and your neighbor. Or your daughter and your governor. How “adorable” does that look? “

See Blow’s Saturday tweets here.

And more reactions to the Blow column below.



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