New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow doubled his claim that Pepé Le Pew “normalized the rape culture” on Saturday after the right’s reaction to an article he wrote earlier this week that first caught the attention of the cartoon skunk created by Warner Bros. behavior.
“The RW blogs are crazy because I said that Pepe Le Pew added to the rape culture,” tweeted Blow on Saturday. “Let’s see. 1. He grabs / kisses a girl / stranger, repeatedly, without consent and against her will. 2. She tries very hard to get away from him, but he doesn’t let go. 3. He locks the door to prevent her to escape. ”
The columnist added in a segmented 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 strenuous and even physical objections was normal, adorable, funny. They didn’t even give the woman the ability to SPEAK. “
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“Some of the first drawings I remember included Pepé Le Pew, which normalized the culture of rape; Speedy Gonzales, whose friends helped to popularize the corrosive stereotype of drunken and lethargic Mexicans; and Mammy Two Shoes, a burly black maid who spoke with a strong accent, ”wrote Blow in his column.
Responses to Blow’s column were mixed, with negative responses from the right taking his tweet on Saturday – which led to further discussion.
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A user tweeted: “Standard rape by Pepe le Pew? So why don’t we see people solving crimes like Scooby Doo? Or driving with your feet like Fred Flintstone? Rape is the rapist’s fault. Time course.”
“A lot of virtue signaling in this topic. It’s a cartoon, ” another wrote. “If you were uncomfortable with this, I hope you’ve never watched any other TV shows or movies [sic] or listen to most songs, especially rap. Too many uncomfortable topics / visuals that I just don’t think you would recover from. “
A third tweeted: “Never underestimate the ability of Americans to ignore the facts that are facing them. Replace these two adorable cartoon characters with your 19-year-old daughter and neighbor. Or your daughter and your governor. How ‘adorable’ does it look then? “
See Blow’s Saturday tweets here.
RW blogs are crazy because I said that Pepe Le Pew added to the rape culture. We will see.
1. He grabs / kisses a girl / stranger, repeatedly, without consent and against her will.
2. She struggles hard to get away from him, but he doesn’t let go
3. It locks a door to prevent it from escaping. pic.twitter.com/CbLCldLwvR– Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) March 6, 2021
This helped to 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 strenuous and even physical objections was normal, adorable, funny. They didn’t even give the woman the ability to SPEAK.
– Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) March 6, 2021
And more reactions to the Blow column below.
People are dying, losing homes, hungry and worried about the damn Pepe Le Pew pic.twitter.com/DkZaZK6VD8
– DKT (@ darleneturner53) March 6, 2021
Standardized rape of Pepe le Pew? So why don’t we see people solving crimes like Scooby Doo? Or driving with your feet like Fred Flintstone? Rape is the rapist’s fault. Time course.
– Dr. Strange 🌊🌊🌊🌈🇺🇲 (@ ReneHauser1) March 6, 2021
1-Pepe is an animated skunk (hint).
2-He never rapes the cat.
3-It is an exaggeration of love at first sight.
4-Part of the humor is how the cat will get the white stripe to make it a female skunk – Pepe le Pew only falls in love with his own species.
5-Gain life. Turn off the tv.– Siri Sans Souci (@siristone) March 6, 2021
Who had “Pepe Le Pew being canceled for being a rapist” on his 2021 Bingo card? pic.twitter.com/apggrcANiZ
– NUFF (@nuffsaidny) March 6, 2021
Forget Pepe Le Pew. Somebody, please explain Bluto do Popeye.
Bluto: “Come here Olive oil, give Bluto a kiss.”
Olive oil: “Oh no, Bluto!”
Bluto: “Okay! I’ll see you in the middle!” pic.twitter.com/NKVynA1DNo
– Senator Lars McMurtry (@larsmcmurtry) March 6, 2021
First they came to get Potato Head and I didn’t say anything. So they came to get Dr. Seuss and I said nothing. Now Pepe Le Pew …
– Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) March 6, 2021
Pepe Le Pew always got what he deserved. He never had sex and that was the point.
– drlearnalot, human voodoo doll (@DrLearnALot) March 6, 2021
THANKS. I am a labor lawyer who uses Pepe to train managers on what “undesirable” means. They understand instantly.
– LawyerChyk 🇺🇸🇬🇷🏳️🌈 (@LawyerChyk) March 6, 2021
I call that bullshit. I grew up with those cartoons and none of them made me think that someone is better because of their skin color, or that it’s okay to abuse a woman. I know the difference between good and bad, between right or wrong, so I have to call it a bull💩
– V (@ CrazyIvan81) March 6, 2021
I’ve been complaining about this for more than 30 years in my personal life. I have a lot to roll my eyes. Maybe things can change.
– Shari Salzhauer Berkowitz (@DrShariEllen) March 6, 2021