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Cultural context on rape
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What is rape culture? Rape culture is something created by society that sexualizes rude and violent behavior as sexy or sexual, inforced mostly be men. Rape is a big problem all around the world, and in some countries, it is accepted by law. It has been stated that 105,000 rapes happen every year in the United States. Most rape happens to female between the ages of 14 and 30. Rape culture is not something that can be ignored, it is a very serious issue that must be addressed. Women are not the only people getting raped however, ⅙ of all men are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. But due to masculinity and the patriarchy, men are afraid to come out and say they were raped. Only 6% of men have committed 5-6 rapes each (Rape Culture). Rape culture has been enforced by law in some cases as well. It is not unheard that judges and other authoritarian figures choose to ignore rape. Brock Turner got away with raping a drunk unconscious woman behind a dumpster in the alleyway, due to his social status. This angered almost all of America, seeing how unjust this was. Part of the reason rape culture is enforced so much is because some women lie about being sexually assaulted. Every 1/20 reported rapes are false. Only 1 in 100 rapists serve more than a year in prison. Brock Turner spent less than 3 months in prison. There have been …show more content…
They enjoy being seen as innocent, that they would not do something like that. Matt Walsh blames women for their sexual assaults, further worsening rape culture and the idea to normalize it. In order to rid ourselves of rape culture in society, it is said men must stand up and dismantle the idea of prioritizing male pleasure over the safety of women. Everyone has the right of being innocent until proven guilty, but sometimes there isn’t enough evidence of rape or sexual assault. But sometimes there is more than enough evidence, but it still gets ignored (Rape
In Rape in the Fields, the issue of sexual assault and harassment in the farm industry
One of the most horrible things that has erupted from the subjugation of women is rape culture. Rape culture is the downplaying of the crime of rape to appease the violator, the accusation that the victim made a choice that led to their rape, or even jokes that suggest rape. According to Jessica Valenti’s, “In Rape Tragedies, the Shame Is Ours,” in today's world many people give in to rape culture by participating in these acts that somehow change our mindsets into believing that, “it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist”. Once ...
Cross-cultural research has shown that rape is most common in cultures that are dominated by males and violence. This means cultures in which males dominate the political decisions and cultures adhering to the male ideology of toughness, interpersonal violence and war (Groth 7). In a culture of people with more traditional or sexist gender role, attitudes are more tolerant of rape than are people with more nontraditional attitudes. Traditional men are more likely to report that they would commit rape if they knew they would not be caught; some researchers have found that a traditional man is much more likely to commit a rape than a nontraditional man is. Many attitudes in our culture perpetuate rape, for example: A husband is entitled to have sex with his wife," "A 'real man' never passes up a chance to have sex," and, "A women who 'leads a man on' deserves what she gets (Growth 7). “ Some media depictions may promote rape. Many movies make violence appear attractive and some movies convey myths about rape. Such as slasher films that make violence seem exciting, or movies suggesting that women like to be forced to have sex or that women's only value...
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
A. Background Information: The next four years of the students’ lives after high school mark the moment they become independent. Because of the freedom, college students are more susceptible to careless actions like drinking, doing drugs, and even committing sexualt assualt. Sexual assault has been around for years and the actions to prevent this heinous crime has been minimal, especially in colleges and universities. In 2015, Brock Turner, a student from Stanford, sexually assaulted a young woman on campus. Turner claimed that because he was drinking, was with friends, and saw a “promiscuous” female student, that pressured him into committing such a heinous crime. This was because Stanford University didn’t teach its students sexual assault prevention which caused the victim to be harm and violated. By teaching college students about sexual assault prevention, it decreases the number of sexual assault cases on campus, prevents psychological damage to the victim’s mental state, and educates other students to know the signs
Rape is currently on the rise on American college campuses and it is the most common committed crime among college students today. In their time in college 1 out of every 5 women and 1 out of every 71 men will experience some form of sexual harassment as reported by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. These numbers are growing each year and have raised a lot of concern in the administrative level of higher education institutions. In an effort to try and prevent these occurrences universities have begun to implement mandatory curriculum to educate students on the subject and have even begun to hold campus wide events and create clubs to spread awareness and show support because of the repetitive nature of this crime. While it is good
From a very young age children have been taught by their parents that girls do one thing while guys do another. The reason for this is because our parents have been taught by their parents who were taught by their parents and so on and so fourth. When talking to most people about gender roles, they will start to see a pattern in the way they responses they receive, which will leave them with a good idea about how our society has formed the ideas and roles of sexes. Rape culture in modern day society is real and the biggest factors that contribute to it are we have been taught that boys need to grow up tough, girls need to be careful of some men, and that women need to be able to take care of a man and his needs. This way is poisonous to the
Their reason to first utilize the term was to “show the ways in which society blamed victims of sexual assault and normalized male sexual violence”. Almost a half a century later, Southern Connecticut State University defines the term rape culture as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture”. Forms of rape culture include but are not limited to: blaming the victim of sexual assault, the assumption that men are weak if they experience sexual assault, making sexual assault seem less of a serious crime, rape jokes/sexually explicit jokes, as well as defining gender roles. All of these forms are seen in today’s society through “jokes, T.V., music, advertising, legal jargon, laws, words, and imagery”. Essentially, rape culture is an actual problem in our society and needs to be addressed
At the 2016 Academy Awards, Lady Gaga took the stage for her performance of “Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground – a documentary highlighting the nature of rape and sexual assault on college campuses in the United States. This powerful performance featured dozens of sexual assault survivors joined hand-in-hand, and was introduced by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who brought light to his previously launched campaign against sexual assault called It’s On Us. The aforementioned celebrity engagements are only a piece of the larger conversation about rape and sexual assault on college campuses that has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Whereas this discussion has brought significant attention to the issue of these crimes
Firstly, Rape culture can be defined as the normalization and excusing of sexual violent behavior towards women in everyday media and culture (marshall.edu). Rape culture can also be the over sexualization of women’s bodies and misogynistic attitudes. These images and attitudes may not seem like they are obvious or even present but they are subtly weaved into many of the symbols and daily interactions in society. This is what causes rape and rape culture to be normalized. For example, if a young woman is sexually assaulted in a club, instead of asking details about the person who committed the act, the questions are reversed onto the victim. There are questions that arise such as, “what was she wearing?”, “was she drunk?”, “was she flirting with him/her at first?”. These questions are problematic because they suggest that the victim is the one is at fault for being sexaually assaulted. This idea is pushed by the symbolic interaction that if someone is trying to get lucky the other individual has to follow through, especially in party settings. I often see this especially in music and movies where stalking and harassing a person to the point of being uncomfortable is chalked up as a heated “romantic” pursuit.. For another example, women’s bodies (and often men’s too) are oversexualized. The is especially in the advertising industry and again in the media.
What do you think and feel when you hear the word rape? Do you feel uncomfortable? Maybe even angry? Your certain feelings and emotions towards this word is a result of rape culture. Rape culture, essentially, is how a society as a whole sees and reacts towards rape or instances of rape. In 2013 rape was defined by the FBI as, “Penetration… of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” (Division’s Crime Statistics Management Unit 1). The definition was finally changed after the old definition deemed inappropriate by today’s standards, which beforehand, stated that physical force needed to be used for rape to be considered rape. This is good news for men and women who have been fighting for the definition to be changed, but unfortunately this does not mean that state laws are being changed the same way. Even though the FBI may acknowledge the older inappropriate definition, most states do not. Sexual assault is a commonly unreported crime, where only an average of 36% of sexual abuse is actually reported to the authorities (Planty 7). Some forms of rape can include physical harm, threats, and even death of the victim, and most victims do not want to tell others for fear of criticism, self-blame, or even the fear that their attackers will carry out on their threats. In many cases, victims do have a reason to be afraid. When someone is brave enough to come forward and say they were sexually assaulted, they are putting themselves in the position of being in not only a long legal process, but also having their motives questioned and misunderstood, which is the last thing they want after their experience. The legal system in the United States...
Rape Culture Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “it would do some women good to get raped,” from a historical perspective, leads us to better understanding how they evolved. Women are still seen as the property of men, and are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world.
According to Marshall University, Rape Culture is defined as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in media and popular culture.” In American society, it is not hard to find examples of rape culture. In popular movies, music, and current events there is an undeniable notion of victim blaming, and sympathizing with male perpetrators. People have begun to use the term rape as a casual adjective. For example “I just raped him in that game,” could be used to describe two people playing a game and one winning easily against the other. American society uses pop culture and current events to promote and justify the prominent rape culture.
Culture and societal norms can affect every aspect of someone’s life. Culture impacts relationships, perceptions, and actions. Culture also affects a person’s perception of sexual violence. In the United States, there is a term for the societal effect on sexual violence called “rape culture ”. A term coined by feminists in the 1970s: “Rape culture is how society blames victims for sexual assault and normalizes sexual violence.” (“What is Rape Culture?”). This includes victim blaming as well as sexual violence in the mainstream media. Rape culture is a primary cause of sexual
Marital rape is a term that is seldom used in legal system and even less often in our society in general. In fact, I would guess that most people did not even realize such an act was real or that this crime truly existed, let alone understand to severity of this act. Unfortunately, I have quickly learned that this violent crime is commonly committed, but infrequently reported and is a large issue that negatively affects and hurts women today.