PTC to Netflix, Cancel 13 Reasons Why

Spoiler alert:

Parents Television Council (PTC) have called to have Netflix cancel their show, '13 Reasons Why'. Their reasoning behind this… because in season two there is a graphic rape seen of a teenage boy where he is sodomized with a mop handle.

Now, in season one, there are two rape scenes. The first scene is when a girl is passed out drunk in her own bed and is raped by her boyfriend’s best friend. The second scene is when a girl is in a hot tub and goes into complete shock while her body freezes and shuts down as she is being raped (the most realistic rape scene I have even seen portrayed). The PTC did not call for Netflix to remove '13 Reasons Why' during season one, so why are they doing so in season two? Is the PTC saying it is okay to rape a female and not a male? Are they saying this is unrealistic and should not be shown on tv?

The truth is, boys/men/males are raped, just like girls/women/females are raped, and sadly boys/men/males are more scared to come forward about a rape then girls/women/females because of the stigma that is placed on them.

It turns out the PTC says that “Netflix has delivered a ticking time bomb to teens and children who watch ’13 Reasons Why.’ The content and thematic elements of the second season are even worse than we expected.” Well guess what PTC, the content and thematic elements in second session happen in real life to real people EVERYDAY. Unfortunately every day in the United States every 98 seconds another person is sexually assaulted… EVERY 98 SECONDS. And guess what….? Rapist go free all the time, only 97% of rapists will never spend even a single day in jail. This is the truth and this is what '13 Reasons Why' shows.

'13 Reasons Why' is doing what should have been done a long time ago. They did not hide from the hard topics, they are shinning a light on what is going on every day. If we do not talk about what is going on, how can we stop it? There has to come a time when we as a society stop sweeping rape under the rug. We must address what is going on, call out rapist and those who protect them, and start supporting victims.

Teens should be watching this, parents should be watching this, and they should be watching this together. Start having the conversations with your kids about what is okay and what isn’t okay. Let this be the ice breaker to talk about things you may have not spoken about before but should have.

'13 Reasons Why' has a bunch of information online about services, recognizing the signs, how to get help and how to have the conversation. Take a minute and go to www.13reasonswhy.info or watch some of the PSAs they have provide on Netflix.

Start having the conversation!