From the reaction I realise that I may have strayed the wrong side of the border of funny on this one but it is a very grey area - had there been a swimming pool background and I mentioned Michael Barrymore that would be fine, from past entries and that involved a sexual assault and ultimately death.Many other captions have involved similar implications but by using more jovial language. The caption is not meant to in any way glorify or trivialise the issue but it was a case of an expression on the face and a word that rhymed with cape. If people would prefer it I will take the caption down but if we review things that have gone before, the site is not a haven for political correctness. I will take a steer from you guys
I'm sorry to say it, but I agree with Cath on this one- it's making a joke out of being a rape victim. I was a bit shocked to see it to be honest, since although it's obviously meant to be a joke, it trivialises the issue of rape to the point of almost condoning it. It's a difficult one, since I love dark, edgy humour, but this one crossed the line for me I'm afraid. I'm not going to vote either way though.
Michael, Cath and Dan - I am really sorry for the offence and Michael I have worked with victims in the past many times (although not of male victims) and in no way condone or seek to trivialise the issue. What I do not understand and would like to is why all the Barrymore gags - actual male rape and murder case with a body in a graveyard - are OK and this hypothetical gag has caused such offence. Is it the use of the word? My question is sincere as I think you often get close to the edge with humour and it is the case for at least 3 of you that I have strayed over.
Raped can either mean being sexual abused or having been robbed and destroyed by force and violence. If the latter is in reference to the caption then I think it is ok. I was also going to use it but thought it may have been taken the wrong way as this caption has.
It's a really tricky one, and I think that it just comes down to the image showing someone battered and bruised. The Barrymore jokes often present him as the perpetrator and not the victim, and there's enough creepiness around the guy to make it plausible whilst still being funny. Also, the Barrymore incident might have involved mutual consent up to a point- the guy was heavily coked up and was into all sorts of weird stuff (he drowned because of the drugs, and didn't die from his injuries). This image shows a guy who's been beaten up whilst wearing a Batman mask, and the 'rape' reference seems to drain all of the comedy from it and make it look, well, horrible really. Comedy, however, is entirely subjective, and I wasn't asking anyone to pull the caption, just to be aware that it might have just crossed the line. I can totally understand why Cath is offended by it, since like me, she probably finds the idea of 'rape' and 'comedy' mutually incompatible.
I've worked with rape victims in the past, and the experience completely wrecks their lives forever- they're never quite the same person again, despite how much they can recover from it and turn their lives around. I realise that I'm being a killjoy on this, but please don't take the caption down- this comments thread might lead to an interesting discussion about the subject that we can refer to in future.
It's a good play on words, but feels morose at the expense of comedy. Like someone getting seriously injured on You've Been Framed, it's a wince rather than a chuckle.
As I've always said, I don't intend this site to be a politically correct zone. However, whenever we cross a line, we take a penalty in offending people and risk losing visitors or other trouble for the site.
In this instance I think Cath's down-vote is warranted. Like Michael says, though, we should keep the caption up, as it's provoked an interesting conversation.
I think it is time to out myself as being responsible for this caption and ask for no further votes on it. I would like to apologise to all those whom I have upset or offended and assure you that it is not something I take lightly. I am sensitive to the issues and have spent much of my career working with vulnerable adults and have encountered the impact many times. What I have also found interesting that it was a good respectful debate on an emotive issue which split opinion. A year ago that conversation may have taken a more personal and negative path and it is a credit to the community on the site and the work put in by Chris that it did not. I would be much more upset with myself had it been condemned by all but it would appear that it splits opinion. The fact that it upset anyone, however, makes it ill advised so once again - apologies to anyone upset
John, thanks for being so open about it. It's almost impossible to know how a caption will be received sometimes, and this is one of those cases. If it crossed the line, it was barely over- I've seen much worse on this site, but they're usually not as witty as this one and don't get any votes. This one did, and that's why this is such a difficult caption- it's a great play on words that falls flat because of the subject, which then clashes with the image. There's no way that you could have known how this would be received without actually posting it, and it has to be said that it didn't offend everybody- it provoked a really interesting and lively debate, and split opinion down the middle. Please don't censor yourself in the future because of this :)
John, don't give yourself a hard time, it could happen to any of us. The fact that it can be discussed without Teddy Tossing is a credit to the site, and captioneer/s.
Such a thought-provoking dialogue...I hope that I never make a joke about rape... but I cannot claim that I am pure as the driven snow. I have shared jokes about Gary Glitter for example and perhaps that is trivialising child-abuse. I see a lot of captions on this site which I find offensive and for that matter I am not necessarilly comfortable with some of my own! I did support this caption when it was written and I believe the debate which it has engendered may just awaken idiots like me to how hurtful this sort of caption can be...and if it does that then surely it deserves the votes it got.
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Is this supposed to be funny?
7:58pm
Re: anon. Yep, it is.
9:32pm
From the reaction I realise that I may have strayed the wrong side of the border of funny on this one but it is a very grey area - had there been a swimming pool background and I mentioned Michael Barrymore that would be fine, from past entries and that involved a sexual assault and ultimately death.Many other captions have involved similar implications but by using more jovial language. The caption is not meant to in any way glorify or trivialise the issue but it was a case of an expression on the face and a word that rhymed with cape. If people would prefer it I will take the caption down but if we review things that have gone before, the site is not a haven for political correctness. I will take a steer from you guys
10:19pm
Some people may not find it funny, some may be offended. Others will see it for what it is - a great play on words, well done.
10:38pm
I think it is funny - a bit near the knuckle (Oh Michael!) but then a lot of the captions are.
4:18am
The caption is meant as a joke and of course it does not in any way endorse rape... you have my support.
6:17am
I'm sorry to say it, but I agree with Cath on this one- it's making a joke out of being a rape victim. I was a bit shocked to see it to be honest, since although it's obviously meant to be a joke, it trivialises the issue of rape to the point of almost condoning it. It's a difficult one, since I love dark, edgy humour, but this one crossed the line for me I'm afraid. I'm not going to vote either way though.
6:56am
Michael, Cath and Dan - I am really sorry for the offence and Michael I have worked with victims in the past many times (although not of male victims) and in no way condone or seek to trivialise the issue. What I do not understand and would like to is why all the Barrymore gags - actual male rape and murder case with a body in a graveyard - are OK and this hypothetical gag has caused such offence. Is it the use of the word? My question is sincere as I think you often get close to the edge with humour and it is the case for at least 3 of you that I have strayed over.
7:19am
Raped can either mean being sexual abused or having been robbed and destroyed by force and violence. If the latter is in reference to the caption then I think it is ok. I was also going to use it but thought it may have been taken the wrong way as this caption has.
7:37am
It's a really tricky one, and I think that it just comes down to the image showing someone battered and bruised. The Barrymore jokes often present him as the perpetrator and not the victim, and there's enough creepiness around the guy to make it plausible whilst still being funny. Also, the Barrymore incident might have involved mutual consent up to a point- the guy was heavily coked up and was into all sorts of weird stuff (he drowned because of the drugs, and didn't die from his injuries). This image shows a guy who's been beaten up whilst wearing a Batman mask, and the 'rape' reference seems to drain all of the comedy from it and make it look, well, horrible really. Comedy, however, is entirely subjective, and I wasn't asking anyone to pull the caption, just to be aware that it might have just crossed the line. I can totally understand why Cath is offended by it, since like me, she probably finds the idea of 'rape' and 'comedy' mutually incompatible.
I've worked with rape victims in the past, and the experience completely wrecks their lives forever- they're never quite the same person again, despite how much they can recover from it and turn their lives around. I realise that I'm being a killjoy on this, but please don't take the caption down- this comments thread might lead to an interesting discussion about the subject that we can refer to in future.
8:09am
It's a good play on words, but feels morose at the expense of comedy. Like someone getting seriously injured on You've Been Framed, it's a wince rather than a chuckle.
As I've always said, I don't intend this site to be a politically correct zone. However, whenever we cross a line, we take a penalty in offending people and risk losing visitors or other trouble for the site.
In this instance I think Cath's down-vote is warranted. Like Michael says, though, we should keep the caption up, as it's provoked an interesting conversation.
9:28am
Welcome to the 'Two girls, one cup club'
9:48am
I think it is time to out myself as being responsible for this caption and ask for no further votes on it.
I would like to apologise to all those whom I have upset or offended and assure you that it is not something I take lightly. I am sensitive to the issues and have spent much of my career working with vulnerable adults and have encountered the impact many times.
What I have also found interesting that it was a good respectful debate on an emotive issue which split opinion. A year ago that conversation may have taken a more personal and negative path and it is a credit to the community on the site and the work put in by Chris that it did not. I would be much more upset with myself had it been condemned by all but it would appear that it splits opinion. The fact that it upset anyone, however, makes it ill advised so once again - apologies to anyone upset
6:28pm
John, thanks for being so open about it. It's almost impossible to know how a caption will be received sometimes, and this is one of those cases. If it crossed the line, it was barely over- I've seen much worse on this site, but they're usually not as witty as this one and don't get any votes. This one did, and that's why this is such a difficult caption- it's a great play on words that falls flat because of the subject, which then clashes with the image. There's no way that you could have known how this would be received without actually posting it, and it has to be said that it didn't offend everybody- it provoked a really interesting and lively debate, and split opinion down the middle. Please don't censor yourself in the future because of this :)
10:36pm
John, don't give yourself a hard time, it could happen to any of us. The fact that it can be discussed without Teddy Tossing is a credit to the site, and captioneer/s.
4:06pm
I found the caption upsetting, but I've made my point, so I've asked Chris to remove the down vote.
6:17pm
Such a thought-provoking dialogue...I hope that I never make a joke about rape... but I cannot claim that I am pure as the driven snow. I have shared jokes about Gary Glitter for example and perhaps that is trivialising child-abuse. I see a lot of captions on this site which I find offensive and for that matter I am not necessarilly comfortable with some of my own! I did support this caption when it was written and I believe the debate which it has engendered may just awaken idiots like me to how hurtful this sort of caption can be...and if it does that then surely it deserves the votes it got.
9:40am