Keeping on Rape Schedule

After reading these two readings I must say that I have become a bit more uneasy about walking around campus. This must be the wimpy side of me coming out. I kind of realize why my mom wanted buy me pepper spray before I started college and wouldn’t let me leave one day before she saw a whistle on my keychain. I’m not going to go as far as to say that I’m afraid to walk by myself anymore because for me that would be irrational. However these two readings have made me more aware of my actions and my reasoning behind them.
I was a bit more compelled by what Jessica Valenti had to write about. Specifically when she mentions the term “rape schedule” and describes what it means. Most of the things she described like locking the door as soon as we get into our cars, carrying our keys in our hands or investing in a rape whistle or pepper spray are things I learned in my self defense class I took on campus. I know a lot of women might do these things but in the class I took, many of the guys took the advice seriously as well. One guy I talked to said that locking the door to his car became second nature and he felt safer. The point I’m trying to make is that I think these example explanations of “rape schedule” could work for both genders, just my opinion.
I guess as a woman, being raped is a rational fear to have especially if you are a virgin. I think that if I was raped, still being a virgin, I don’t think that I would fear the physical pain. I think I would fear the feeling that a monster would have the one thing that I was saving for the one person who loved me the way I loved him. I feel that emotional pain is sometimes deadlier than physical pain.