Trigger Warning: As indicated in the title, I’m going to discuss some issues surrounding sexual assault here, so I figured I’d give a heads up that it may not be appropriate for everyone.
Also, who knows… you may not see your favorite names the same again.
I’ve been trying to figure out how I feel about “the rape of [name_f]Proserpina[/name_f]” being the Google search optimization that comes up for [name_f]Proserpina[/name_f], one of my favorite names. It has been about 6 weeks since I’ve posted about it as I’ve been mulling it over, but nothing about this issue is simple or one-dimensional, so I’m still not sure where I stand except to say that [name_f]Proserpina[/name_f] is not off the table for me yet.
From this post here.
For those of you interested in going down this rabbit hole, I found these two articles quite interesting on the subject:
The Brutality of [name_m]Ovid[/name_m]
Reading [name_m]Ovid[/name_m] in the Age of #metoo
In terms of the pure name discussion, though, I would love to get a sense of where people are in this. So many names popular here on Nameberry and elsewhere are names of either those who have experienced rape/assault, or those who have perpetrated those rapes/assaults. So many names on my list, and probably on yours, too. Of course not just ancient ones, either, but that’s where this discussion is stemming from.
Wikipedia “List of Rape Victims from Ancient [name_m]History[/name_m] and Mythology”
Wikipedia “Category: Mythological Rapists”
So, if you love [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] but don’t love [name_f]Proserpina[/name_f] based on one name’s widespread use as a name and the other’s lack of widespread use, what is that? Is it really about the Google search? Is it about the goddess? Is it about the taboo of assault? Is it really about protecting the child from seeing that in connection with their name, because one would assume that [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] would also come across the rape story eventually if you didn’t talk about it first? Isn’t [name_f]Persephone[/name_f] about so much more imagery than rape, which is why we all love the name to begin with?
Why love [name_f]Daphne[/name_f] but not [name_f]Io[/name_f]? Or why be OK with [name_m]Apollo[/name_m] but not [name_f]Sabine[/name_f] (apart from the glaring stylistic difference there)? Perhaps some of you have gone so far as to remove rape-related names from your lists. I’d love to hear about that if that’s the case.
I’m sensing so much covert (to me, until a few months ago) sexism in my own name list, as well as so much feminism. And like I said, I still really don’t have any idea where I truly stand on this or what the implications will be for my future naming prospects. I know I haven’t taken [name_f]Proserpina[/name_f] off my list, but I also continue to use [name_f]Apolline[/name_f] in every middle combo ever (as an honor name for [name_f]Pauline[/name_f]… I think of the name as so bright and sunny yellow, but doesn’t it have this dark underbelly, too?). [name_m]Endymion[/name_m] is among my top boys’ names, but we don’t hear about his rape when he comes up on the forums.
What does all of this mean to you? I’ve been trying to work it all out in my head, but I can’t. I’m not the most qualified person in the world to talk about this sort of thing, so please understand I’m coming at the topic with genuine curiosity and a willingness to keep an open mind. Genuinely interested in discussing this with all my favorite internet people. Thanks, Berries!