Bengaluru: Lemon Tree hotel in Bengaluru is under fire for posting what the web has described as a “tasteless joke” which encourages rape. Facebook user Anoushka Kapoor uploaded the image on August 28 of what appears to be a framed poster on a wall in one of the hotel's restrooms.
The print tells a joke about a husband and wife’s visit to a zoo. A male silverback gorilla gets excited seeing the wife “dressed in pretty clothes” and the husband then urges her to show the animal a bit more skin. As she continues the teasing, the husband pulls the wife and throws her into the animal’s cage saying, “now tell HIM you have a headache”.
“I don’t know where to begin. I can’t even call this sexist, it’s blatantly advocating rape culture. Rapes can only ever be minimised if and when we stop treating consent as a matter of humour. Humour that relies on bringing down one sex/treats consent lightly/treats women as sex objects is not funny. This is NOT funny. This is rape culture. Share to raise awareness. I am shocked beyond words,” wrote Ms Kapoor on her page.
Her post has now sparked a petition campaign which is calling for the removal of the offensive poster. Other users on social media slammed the hotel for using what was a tasteless attempt at humour which encourages victim blaming. Many are also asking the hotel to issue a public apology over the matter. The Lemon Tree at Bengaluru has not released a statement so far and it remains unclear if the poster has been pulled down, or not.
