Gender Issues In Rape Culture

Gender inequality is defined as “unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender”. In our society there are a plethora of gender inequality related issues, and it is vastly important that these issues are brought to light, and ultimately resolved. In society today, the feminism movement is at an all-time high while lots of gender oriented issues are being questioned and analyzed. The portrayal of women in the media is a major issue in todays world. Various issues such as female athletes not being adequately compensated for their efforts, the media portraying a master image for all females to meet, as well as slut shaming are all vast issues in todays world that must be acknowledged. However, contrary to popular belief,

gender inequality is not one sided. Many men are victim to gender inequality and in todays society it is often overlooked or ignored.
Throughout the course of American history things change. What may have been a norm a hundred years ago, may be completely unacceptable today. This being said, as a society actions must be taken to ensure the adequate development of certain issues. For example, Black- American’s were not viewed as people a few hundred years ago; they were viewed as mere property. Obviously, over time, as a society actions have been taken to ensure the equal rights of black individuals. Even with all the progress that has been made, there is still so much conflict in the United States dealing with racial inequality. The scars caused by the past will certainly not heal immediately, but over time the situation will get better. Almost identically related, women also used to not have rights in The United States of America. Over time, more and more rights have been given to women to the point where women and men have the same rights. Just because women have the same rights on paper, does not mean women are treated equally to men. Women in todays society are subject to many unfortunate occurrences. Women are portrayed in the media in a very unrealistic manor, to the extent that some do not feel comfortable to live in their own skin simply due to an idealistic image that society has produced. Females are often subject to slut-shaming, and often times seen as the one at fault when rape occurs. Women are exposed to violence, and often times have no opportunity to speak out about it simply because society turns a blind eye toward the matter. An unexplainably corrupt as well as inhumane system which needs to see change in the near future.
Sociocultural standards of women to have the “ideal body” in popular media is everywhere you look in todays world. Women are stampeded with images that portray a beautiful woman; these standards of beauty are almost completely unattainable for most women. An abundance of research has been done that illustrates women being constantly exposed to such media causes a significant decrease in self body image. Concern regarding a woman’s appearance and weight can surface dangerously early in a girl’s life. Nearly half of girls age 6-8 have stated that they want to be slimmer. The fact that mass media has created such an unattainable image is sad, but what is even sadder is the fact the mass media is now brainwashing and corrupting girls years before they even hit puberty. In fact, many of these models which fit that “ideal image” of beauty are considered to be at an unhealthy body fat percentage. The “Social Comparison Theory” offers some explanation for how media impacts how women feel about themselves. Basically, this theory explains that as a human, it is natural to automatically compare oneself on many different dimensions to people seen on the TV or other forms of media. Depending on the target of comparison, females will typically end up subconsciously decide whether they are better or worse than the subject they are comparing themselves to in that particular target or comparison. A sad reality in todays society, but the question is how is this issue fixed? Some believe the antidote to such an issue may be to stop using such unrealistic looking women in media. Some believe the early teaching of self confidence and that beauty comes in many shapes and sizes may be a better way to go. Regardless of what the right method to fix this is, changed must be made soon.
The term rape culture is skyrocketing in popularity and is seen all over social media as well as mainstream media and even in public conversations.

As the term “rape culture” grows in popularity, it is imperative to break it down to understand what it actually means. According to a report by the Marshall University Women’s Center, “Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture”. Rape culture is supplemented by the objectification of women’s bodies, glamorization of sexual violence, as well as many other saddening realities in society. A sad outcome of rape culture in todays society is that women are often seen as the one at fault in rape. Commonly excuses are immediately made for them men, such as blaming the girl for being too intoxicated, blaming the girl for the way she was dressed, or even blaming the girl for speaking out about it at all. A perfect example of rape culture in the media took place in Steubenville, Ohio. A 16-year-old girl, incapacitated by alcohol, was gang raped by two high school football players who then shared photos of the assault on their social networking sites and with their friends. Immediately, mainstream news and media began to blame the victim saying she should not have chosen to get so intoxicated in the first place. The two boys were given the minimum allowed sentence of 1 and 2 years. This court case caused an uproar and a

petition was created shortly after. Various comments regarding the petition were generally outlined by this idea, “Those boys had a choice. They chose to rape an incapacitated girl. She had no choice.”. Looking at a more in depth approach, rape is about power, it is not about lust or sex. Offenders often choose victims that they feel are vulnerable to attack as well as those who they feel they can assert dominance over. Now that the issues have been brought to light, the next step must be taken which is: How do we change rape culture? The almost immediate answer that comes to mind is education. Since the roots of rape come from power and control, kids must be taught from a very young age that such behavior involving bullying is wrong and should never happen in any circumstance. Another step that must be taken is to teach people that silence is not the solution. People must be taught that if they know of, or have any reason to believe sexual assault is occurring, they must speak up as fact as possible. It could literally save someone’s life. Silence is advocating rape culture, so not speaking up is just as bad as committing the crime itself. A topic typically not talked about in society is men getting raped. The majority of rape cases involve a man raping a woman, however, nearly 10% of rape victims are men. Nearly 3 million men in the united states have been victims of attempted or successful rape. An even sadder fact is that it is nearly impossible to research male rape statistics without coming across horrendous jokes made about the matter. Many do not even ponder the reality of men getting raped, however, it is an issue that is ignored for the most part in society. On top of the issue being ignored, media has made it almost impossible for men to speak out about this. Social media would tear a man apart if he came out saying he was raped. All in all, while rape culture is perceived as a one way street, it is in-fact a two way street and applies for both genders.
Feminism is defined as the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.

The movement to extend equal rights to women is the main goal of feminism, which is a great thing. However, the media portrays feminism in a much more negative light. Media often portrays feminism as crazy women who view men in a negative light, that want more rights than men. In turn, a negative response comes out of this misinterpretation, even causing people to even identify themselves as “anti-feminist”. A sad reality in todays world caused by various aspects. One of the major reasons feminism is seen in a negative light is because some women claim they are feminists, however are strongly misguided on exactly what the principles of feminism entail. Many women consider themselves to be feminists, but will actually end up attacking men, which in turn causes feminism to be associated in a negative manor or even be considered a hate group. This ends up being very counterproductive, making no progress toward the ultimate goal of feminism which is simply to reach equality in various aspects of society. Another example of a hate group being counterproductive for a movement is the “Black lives matter” movement. This movement stemmed from the ultimate goal to reach equal rights between races, but has turned in to a hate group which advocated the exact opposite. Seeing the group in which the movements goal is to attaint equal rights with as the enemy is the

worst possible way to handle a situation, and will not lead to any progress. This type of activity could lead to movement in the wrong direction and could potentially hinder the vast progress that has already been made, whether it be radical-feminists or racial hate groups.
At the end of the day it is important to remember that whether one is black, female, white, gay, skinny, ugly, and so on, humans are humans and we are on this earth together. The most important step that must be taken is people must first acknowledge that there is indeed a problem. Once acknowledgement has occurred, people must be educated on these particular issues, as well as how to handle various situations. The solution to every issue above all comes down to one simple thing, and that is acceptance. People need to learn to accept themselves for who they are, accept others for who they are, and accept the harsh realities that are present in todays world. Upon accepting such things, the process of eliminating inequality between groups of people becomes a lot more likely and realistic.