What Michael Rainey Jr.'s Alleged Sexual Assault Says

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

0 4 minutes read

The reactions to Power: Book II The alleged sexual assault of star Michael Rainey Jr. by the sister of Twitch streamer TyTy James sheds an uncomfortable light on how men prevent other men from being taken seriously when they come forward with stories alleging sexual assault from women.

Rainey looked visibly uncomfortable when he appeared on a live stream hosted by James as his sister slid in next to him. Later, as reported PeopleRainey said he was sexually assaulted by James' sister.

While it's hard to see exactly what's happening in the video, since Rainey and James' sister are in the background of the image, what is clear is that Rainey looked visibly distressed while that he moved his hands to cover his private parts. On Instagram, Rainey called attention to the double standard used when men are victims of sexual assault.

“At this point, everyone has seen the video circulating online. I'm still in shock and don't really know how to deal with what happened last night. This is an unfortunate situation that I do not condone in any way. I can't take it lightly because I know I would be in serious trouble if the roles were reversed. The fact is that sexual assault is never acceptable, regardless of gender or status. We are all human and we must respect each other. Most importantly, we must always respect each other. Rainey wrote.

Initially, James tried to downplay his sister's actions and appeared upset that Rainey left the creek about 20 minutes after the alleged incident. James claimed his sister had “never been of that caliber” to stand up for herself after Rainey left the stream. However, the day after the attack, James posted a statement on Instagram apologizing for his sister's conduct.

“After the actions that occurred during my stream last night, I would like to sincerely apologize to Michael and his family for what happened. My little sister was completely wrong and out of line,” wrote James. “What she did was very inappropriate and unacceptable. I am truly embarrassed and disgusted by her actions. I completely respect the direction Michael wants to take in this situation. by what she did. I will take extreme precautions with future streams to avoid similar issues and I have banned her from participating in future streams.

In addition to James initially downplaying what happened on camera, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, executive producer on Power: Book II, alluded to the belief that men are incapable of being sexually assaulted or exploited in his own reaction to Rainey's allegations. As Jackson wrote on Instagram: “Wait, sexual assault, from a man's perspective, was an aggressive advance. LOL, he's fine. No charges are being filed.

Following the justified reaction he received on this post, Jackson posted another post related to the incident on

platform. “I registered this as a form of flattery. I've accepted that from female fans throughout my career, but OK, (you're) right, guys. Put her in jail! Whatever floats your boat,” Jackson wrote.

James and Jackson's responses are consistent with what happens when men believe the lies of patriarchy, a sociological system designed to limit women's freedoms, but which also traps men by creating the expectation that men should not express their feelings or emotions. Regarding this situation, under patriarchy, men are rendered incapable of being victims of sexual assault because men are assumed to be hypersexual creatures who always desire sexual gratification, even if that desire remains unexpressed. Through patriarchy, men also learn not to ask for help, suppress their emotions, and avoid being vulnerable.

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, this type of socialization renders men incapable of being victims by attributing femininity or weakness to any man who says he is a victim of sexual assault. The worst thing a man can be under patriarchy is to be feminine or weak.

In 2020, Mychal Denzel Smith wrote an op-ed for NBC News about the experience of an NFL player who was sexually assaulted on a United Airlines flight. According to an account of the incident given to Launderer's Report, several men complained to flight attendants about the behavior of a woman on board. The woman didn't move until she ripped off Smith's mask and grabbed his penis. Smith argued that in this case, black men are not allowed to be victims of sexual assault. It seems the same is true for Rainey.

“Black men face an uphill battle to be seen as victims, whether of police or sexual violence, because centuries of social programming has conditioned the world to view black men exclusively as perpetrators of violence ” Smith wrote. “In particular, the pervasive stereotypes of black men as hypersexual and particularly violent sexual deviants mean that when black men themselves are sexually assaulted and recount their assaults, they are met with either disbelief or rejection. . The disbelief faced by male survivors of sexual violence often comes from other men, particularly black men, who themselves have come to accept certain ideas about black men, sexuality, masculinity and violence .

According to a 2021 study by the University of South Carolina, there has been a discouraging lack of studies on sexual assault against Black men.

According to study author Jordyn Livingston, “it is concluded that due to negative associations of race and gender, black men are not socially perceived as victims; therefore, they do not have access to the same safe space to express their victim status, they are not the target population for sexual assault research, and they do not have the same access to resources to deal with their trauma than other groups.

Therefore, when Jackson denies that Rainey was assaulted, he is actually expressing agreement with

the perception that black men are never really victims of sexual assault. Jackson missed the opportunity to publicly affirm his show star's courageous action to come forward and start a broader discussion about black men experiencing sexual assault and perception. Instead, Jackson proved exactly why many male victims of sexual assault choose to suffer in silence: They know they won't be believed or supported publicly by other men.

In my opinion, if men want issues like men's mental health to be taken seriously, we as black men need to correct the narrative about black male sexual assault victims. We have a responsibility to create spaces where male victims, men who have been victimized, can be men and victims simultaneously. Men therefore have a moral imperative to take sexual assault by other men seriously and until we do, we will have to continue to rehash public conversations about how men make other men angry. victims of sexual assault.

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