Repashy must rename “Morning Wood” fish food -- It's Rape Culture. Plus: Powerful video and articles explain what is "rape culture" and how to stop it.
We are now over 150 signatures! Thank you for your extraordinary support, your empathy and your understanding of this important issue. We ask that you please share this petition on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. Contact your pet food stores in retail shops and online. Tell them to demand that Repashy Ventures, Inc. change the name of their offensive product, “Morning Wood”, and its description that invokes sexually aggressive behavior and abuse towards women and promotes sexual harassment and rape culture. This has no place on pet food shelves and websites, where families, children, teens, girls and women shop. Please show your support by sharing our petition as much as possible with everyone you know.
What is “Rape Culture”?
TRIGGER WARNING - Themes of sexual assault, sexual harassment and suicide. Please be advised.
According to Marshall University's Women's and Gender Center:
"Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women’s rights and safety." (https://www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual-assault/rape-culture/)
To learn more about what other people and organizations are doing to disrupt rape culture, here are two other sources.
First is a video by Teen Vogue made in 2017 about Charlie Coleman. In the video, Coleman talks about his sister, Daisy Coleman, and her sexual assault at the age of 14 (that trauma eventually led to her suicide in 2020, followed by the suicide of their mother four months later) and his observations on what is rape culture and how it has to be stopped. Coleman says in the video:
“We see comments being made about women, saying, ‘Oh, it’s just locker room talk. Boys will be boys’. That’s accepting the culture as it is and allowing it to grow. I don’t think being a bystander that doesn’t do anything is okay. People think that’s the right thing to do because when we were growing up, everybody had heard, ‘Mind your own business.’ We’re not taught to step in and defend somebody who can’t defend themselves.” (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VzC_Ss5oO4Q)
Second is an article with a list of 16 ways, made by the United Nations organization UN Women, on how you can disrupt rape culture every day. In it, UN Women says:
“Every day we have the opportunity to examine our behaviours and beliefs for biases that permit rape culture to continue. From the attitudes we have about gender identities to the policies we support in our communities, we can all take action to stand against rape culture.” (https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2019/11/compilation-ways-you-can-stand-against-rape-culture)
While we are not affiliated with Charlie Coleman, Teen Vogue, Marshall University's Women's and Gender Center, or the United Nations UN Women, we feel that sources like this video and these articles can help you better understand what is rape culture.
From video games to political speeches, from unfair laws to cultural and daily social customs and practices, from movies and other media to even fish food, disrupt rape culture! Let's end this now, men and women working together.
Safety and respect for all.
CC Teal
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, you can seek help by calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673). For more resources on sexual assault, visit RAINN, End Rape on Campus, Know Your IX, and the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
If you or someone you care about is thinking about suicide there are ways to get help. For immediate assistance call 911. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800.273.TALK (8255) or chat online using the Lifeline Crisis Chat anytime, 24/7.