Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the famous sex therapist and advice columnist, recently weighed in on the debate over campus sexual assault, and it wasn't pretty.
Appearing on the Diane Rehm Show, on Monday, Westheimer said that once two people are "aroused" and "in bed together," the time for saying no or changing one's mind has passed.
I know it's controversial, but for your program, I'm going to stand up and be counted and, like I do in the book, be very honest. I am very worried about college campuses saying that a woman and a man or two men or two women, but I talk right now about woman and man, can be in bed together, Diane, and at one time, naked, and at one time, he or she -- most of the time they think she can say, I changed my mind. No such thing is possible.
Westheimer, 86, cited the Jewish tradition of the Talmud as her rationale: "... it says when that part of the male anatomy is aroused, when there is an erection, the brain flies out of the head," she told Rehm. "And we have to take that very seriously."
Westheimer later defended her comments on Twitter, saying that she was "100%" against rape, but added that if a woman doesn't want to have sex with a man, she should not be naked in bed with him. She then attempted to clarify her reasoning by likening sexual assault to jaywalking.
I am 100% against rape. I do say to women if they don't want to have sex with a man, they should not be naked in bed w/him.— Dr. Ruth Westheimer (@AskDrRuth) June 2, 2015
That's risky behavior like crossing street against the light. If a driver hits you, he's legally in the wrong but you're in the hospital.— Dr. Ruth Westheimer (@AskDrRuth) June 2, 2015
Rehm, who interviewed Westheimer about her new book, The Doctor Is In: Dr. Ruth on Love, Life, and Joie de Vivre, did not seem to disagree with Westheimer.
"What you're saying is it's already gone too far," Rehm said. She later added, "I think that there is a great deal to what you say."
Many commenters, however, disagreed and accused Westheimer of blaming victims of sexual assault.
.@AskDrRuth this is reductive and damaging to women who changed their mind during sexual activity. They shouldn't be blamed.— Emily (@emilyhughes) June 2, 2015
@AskDrRuth but a person may want to have sex in one moment and change their mind in the next. If consent is rescinded, its still rape.— Brauche Stone (@BraucheStone) June 2, 2015
The FBI defines rape as penetration without consent. RAINN, the nation's largest anti-sexual assault group, leaves no room for doubt in its definition.
"It doesn’t matter if you think your partner means yes, or if you’ve already started having sex — 'No' also means 'Stop,'" the RAINN website reads. "If you proceed despite your partner’s expressed instruction to stop, you have not only violated basic codes of morality and decency, you may have also committed a crime under the laws of your state."
Several rabbis disputed Westheimer's argument in interviews with JTA, suggesting that she had cited the Talmud incorrectly.
“I’m grateful that Dr. Ruth has in the past made a space to talk about human sexuality in a way that was really radical for its time,” Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg said. “But a) she’s wrong about this, and b) she should not be using our tradition to bolster her argument.”
The logic also implies men are slaves to their sexual desires, incapable of reason once aroused.
Just a reminder that men should find that Dr. Ruth comment revolting as well. We are not animals.— Boner Vivant (@Doug_Tilley) June 2, 2015
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach took issue with that part of the statement as well in the response in JTA.
“The idea that men are ravaging beasts who are controlled by their hormones and can’t stop themselves is a Neanderthal view that Judaism would never embrace. It’s a shockingly frightening excuse for rape.”
The Department of Education is investigating more than 100 colleges and universities for mishandling sexual violence and harassment complaints, a violation of federal law.
A recent study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that one in five women surveyed at a large private university in the northeast reported being victims of attempted or completed forcible rape before, during or immediately after their freshman year. Previous studies have also found that 20% of college women experience sexual assault.