The Media’s Double Standard for Female Teachers Accused of Having Sex with Underage Boys

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Ian Miles Cheong - Heat Street


http://i.imgur.com/D4WBJUTh.jpg

A double standard exists in the way the rapes of young boys are handled in the media, especially when their rapists are sexually attractive.

“It’s every boy’s dream to have sex with the hot teacher in class” is the prevailing narrative, but it’s one that doesn’t line up with reality. Young victims are usually left traumatized and unable to process the ordeal.

A new article on ThoughtCatalog perpetuates the belief that the young boys “seduced” their teachers, calling the 13-year-old victim a “paramour” of the 25-year-old Alexandria Vera. The eighth-grade teacher was sentenced to ten years in prison for aggravated sexual assault—she had sex with him almost daily and their relationship was allegedly even approved of by the boy’s family. At one point, she had even become pregnant, but aborted the fetus before it came to term.

The language and descriptions within the article paint the shocking relationship as one of mutual consent despite the boy’s inability to do so. The piece perpetuates the idea that teenage boys are always up for sex, and that women are always being acted upon.

In the wake of objections to the article on social media, the publication added a disclaimer to say that the author does not agree with anyone defending the rapist.

http://i.imgur.com/Eiojc2Z.jpg
Debra Lafave

http://i.imgur.com/Gt9BnCV.jpg
Heather Shelton

http://i.imgur.com/DE0PGCD.jpg
Haeli Way

http://i.imgur.com/JXeIyiS.jpg
Joy Blackstock

http://i.imgur.com/HAyrLHl.jpg
Amy Northcutt

http://i.imgur.com/NGY7mCR.jpg
Christina Oliver

http://i.imgur.com/e4MJMN8.jpg
Stephanie Ragusa

http://i.imgur.com/AQwXNZW.jpg
Heather Daughdrill

http://i.imgur.com/PdSjJKF.jpg
Michelle Preston

http://i.imgur.com/0WCQ39r.jpg
Amber Jennings

http://i.imgur.com/3N0qDwW.jpg
Pamela Rogers Turner

http://i.imgur.com/bt4rcG9m.jpg
Alexandria Vega

http://i.imgur.com/liZnrd8.jpg
Sheral Lee Smith

http://i.imgur.com/8EZwCqI.jpg
Deanna Higgins

http://i.imgur.com/aj62C1c.jpg
Michelle Ghirelli

http://i.imgur.com/miKSpKTm.jpg
Carrie McCandless

http://i.imgur.com/TABgJDI.jpg
Lisa Glide

http://i.imgur.com/oh7Mu8W.jpg
Hope Jacoby

In many ways, the reporting of Alexandria Vera’s rape of a minor mirrors coverage of another high-profile teacher, Debra Lafave. She is perhaps the best example of the media’s obsession with female teachers accused of sex with their male students.

In covering the story, organizations like Newsweek used headlines like “Hot for Student.” Publications also prefer to use the term “sex scandal,” omitting what it actually is: rape.

Whenever a male teacher “seduces” an underage girl, he is taken to task as a rapist—and rightfully so. The same standard is rarely applied when the genders are switched.

The double standard remains in effect even in court. Per a 2014 investigation by the Star-Ledger, male teachers convicted of raping their students receive longer jail terms on average than women convicted of the same crime. Some female teachers, like Erica DePalo, were even let off the hook and given no jail time for their actions. Most cases against women are rarely even brought to trial.

That said, girls—who are the primary victims of sexual abuse—are told they look older or act “beyond their age” in cases of rape.

It’s clear that both the system, and the media that surrounds it with their reporting, fail both boys and girls in cases of rape.

[redred]

poor RBP :lol:

[Pony]

There is no double standard, all the teachers above were innocent.

[Goofy]

There is no double standard, all the teachers above were innocent.

Haeli Way and Hope Jacoby look especially innocent :wank:

[RBP]

The story supports my position.

[redred]

The story supports my position.
Doggy?