I'm gonna soap box for a minute re: the coverage of the Steubenville rape case.

First off, no one "asks" to be raped. That's a fucking cop out, and they know it. Slut shaming and blaming rape victims is reprehensible, and there's a special ring of hell for rapists and their sympathizers.

As for the media feeling sorry for these two "kids" with promising futures? If they cared that much about their futures, they would've kept their dicks in their pants. That simple. They took advantage of this girl's inebriation. And then her name gets published and aired in the news? Way to go there, media. Add to this girl's pain, you cold-hearted assholes. What about HER future?

So, now you're asking why I'm posting this here. Because I make sexy clothes. If any girl wearing one of my designs was raped and people blamed her clothes, I'd sure as hell take offense. But even more importantly, I've been there. Twice. Once as a child, once as an adult. In my case, I fought hard to take my life back, especially since the one of the fuckbags is still out there and will never see a courtroom or jail cell for what he did to me. I do what I do because I believe in strong, beautiful, sexy women who shouldn't be afraid to show it. This girl will have a harder time recovering because--not only were her rapists painted as victims and her name outed--but because some of these disgusting viewpoints CAME FROM WOMEN. We need to be lifting each other up, not putting each other down. Healing will be slow, but with enough support, it will happen.

I'm not saying I'm completely fine, by the way. I've been carrying this cross for most of my 29 years. I have trust issues, I'm so shy it's ridiculous, I'm not a big fan of people, and I hate being touched by strangers. What a great industry I chose to be in, eh? I'll be honest: it helps me. My first burlesque performance terrified me (see below). As you can see from some of the pictures from Full Steam Eugene, so did my first runway show, so I thought back to my burlesque days. If that wasn't evident. (Again, see below.) I watched a few major Fashion Week videos to get over that before EFW '12. If not for my husband of five years challenging me to put myself beyond my comfort zone, I don't think I could do this. The feedback from everyone else helps a lot, too!

Way too much physical flair for the catwalk.

 I don't walk all theatrical anymore, I promise.

Hiding the terror. Oh, and about 50 lbs smaller.

Moral of the story: CNN and everyone else who are lamenting the rapists instead of the rapee are dicks. Plain and simple. The healing process is hard enough. This kind of behavior is counterproductive to societal progress and to the continued healing of rape victims EVERYWHERE. I'm lucky enough to have found outlets, but there are so many who aren't so fortunate. It's time to stop stigmatizing rape victims. The ones who made them that way are the ones to be stigmatized. As with so many other issues, it's time to stop playing this figurative tug-of-war that leans too far in the wrong and regressive direction. And I wish all the best for this young woman who had a little too much fun and paid for it in one of the worst ways.

Now, I'm gonna go put together a hot little number for a fierce model who'd likely make a potential rapist very sorry they even had the thought.