“They always just focused on it…” Lorena Bobbitt stated, referring to the media’s obsession with her husband, John Wayne Bobbitt’s, severed and surgically reattached penis. Before the era of the Women’s March and the #MeToo movement, the narrative surrounding John Wayne Bobbitt and Lorena was overwhelmingly fixated on this single, shocking act. Lorena felt deeply that the media, and indeed much of the public, missed the crucial context of why she took such drastic action.
Lorena Bobbitt is right to point out that the sensationalism often overshadowed a critical fact: John Wayne Bobbitt was initially charged with marital sexual assault. (He was ultimately acquitted.) In the early 1990s, the concept of marital rape was still nascent in the legal landscape; it had only recently become a crime in all 50 states, and proving it, especially in Virginia, was an uphill battle. Media outlets of the time, including prominent publications like Ladies’ Home Journal and even a New Yorker piece by Gay Talese, debated the very notion of marital rape. Comedian Al Franken, in his Stuart Smalley persona on Saturday Night Live, even mockingly urged Lorena to apologize to John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis, further trivializing the serious issues at play.
It’s easy to forget that a jury found Lorena Bobbitt not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. Her trial revealed a pattern of abuse. Witnesses testified to seeing bruises on her body, and evidence emerged of repeated 911 calls she had made. Furthermore, John Wayne Bobbitt himself had reportedly bragged to friends about forcing Lorena into sexual acts. In the years following the infamous trial, John Wayne Bobbitt’s history of violence continued; he was arrested and jailed multiple times for assaults against other women, allegations he denied. “This is about a victim and a survivor and this is about what’s happening in our world today,” Lorena Bobbitt emphasized, highlighting the enduring relevance of her story.
This narrative is at the heart of “Lorena,” a four-part documentary produced by Jordan Peele, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2019. The documentary aimed to shift the focus from the lurid details of the incident involving John Wayne Bobbitt to the deeper, more important story of domestic violence and survival. Lorena Bobbitt, now living under her maiden name and dedicated to her non-profit, Lorena’s Red Wagon, which supports survivors of domestic violence, chose to remain in the community where these events unfolded.
Twenty-six years after the incident that catapulted “Lorena Bobbitt” into a household name – a name that became a cultural touchstone referenced in works ranging from a Philip Roth novel to Eminem lyrics – Lorena Bobbitt remains in Manassas, Virginia. She is described as petite and composed, a far cry from the “wounded bird” image initially portrayed. Despite the passage of time and a physical transformation, her eyes still hold a hint of the sadness that defined her public image in 1993. Even now, in her suburban life, people recognize her. When asked why she didn’t leave Manassas, Lorena Bobbitt’s response is resolute: “I live here. This is my home. Why should he have the last laugh?” Her decision to stay is a powerful statement of resilience and reclaiming her own narrative, a narrative that extends far beyond the sensationalized story of John Wayne Bobbitt’s injury.
