Former Baltimore Ravens Cheerleader Molly Shattuck has been sentenced to 48 weekends in jail for raping a teenage boy. Most headlines about the case use that word: rape. This is correct because sex with a minor is statutory rape. Period. Why then do headlines about Jared Fogle use the terms “underage sex” or “sex with a minor” instead of rape?
Those screenshots are only a couple of examples. There are likely some exceptions somewhere, but I have not yet seen any headlines about Jared Fogle that use the word rape or any headlines about Molly Shattuck that don’t. There seems to be a double standard when reporting about statutory rape depending on the gender of the adult involved.
Rape is rape, whether you are an NFL cheerleader or a sandwich chain personality.
UPDATE: As noted in the comments those terms are the technical names of the crimes to which Jared Fogle and Molly Shattuck each plead guilty; therefore, the headlines are accurate. The difference still feels wrong whether it originated at the courthouses or the newspapers.
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Kim Z. Dale 