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An essay about rape culture
An essay about rape culture
Rape culture and media
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Thesis: It is crucial to expose the “poisonous” consequences that are a direct result of a lenient society that allows rape culture to prevail. I. Introduction a. An estimated one in five females has experienced sexual assault on a college campus (Dvorak). b. 97% of rapists don’t “spend a single day in jail for their crimes” (Maxwell). c. Rape culture has been accepted as a social norm and it runs rampant in our society, from the things we see on television, to the actions taken by people to make rape seem less destructive than it really is. II. Subtopic 1 – What is Rape Culture? a. Rape culture is the largely accepted attitude that degrades rape victims, belittles sexual assault, and prioritizes the rights of rapists. b. Examples of rape culture exist in the media, in politics, on college campuses, and in the minds of people. c. Victims of rape are almost always asked if they were flirting, drinking, or dressing in a manner that may have been interpreted as giving consent, despite whether they did actually give consent or not. d. Other example of rape culture include pressuring me...
First, Boswell and Spade describe how rape culture is a set of values and beliefs that provide an environment conductive to rape (217)..As they do a study, the list indicates a host of factors that distinguish higher risks of rape and some examples of setting were the highly distinct ratios at parties (Boswell, Spade 219). They observed 2 opposing fraternities at the same school and noted the distinctions of high and low risk parties in which they generated sexually assaultive behavior by observing interaction between men and women.
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...
In this research paper, we will evaluate how sexual assault is handled on a college campus. What system is used and how does it
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
Palmatier, Dr. Tara J. "Our so-called 'Rape Culture'." Avoiceformen.com. 29 October 2013. Web. 11 April 2014.
Within the criminal justice system, the victim faces re-victimization with the techniques that are done within the court room. For example, the defense attorney may try to use rape myths such as the victim asked for it based on the way she may have dressed, the victim led the offender on by flirting with them, and that she could have avoided being raped if she wasn’t drinking (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). The purpose of using rape myths is to demonize the victim’s character by subjecting the victim to humiliating and inquisitive questions (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). Third, the victim may not report rape to law enforcement because they may fear retaliation by the offender, especially if that offender is a lifelong partner or a boyfriend. Fourth, due to the culture of rape and the influences of the media, a victim may feel guilty and blame themselves for the assault (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). As stated earlier, rape myths are used to demonize the victim’s character and ultimately take the blame away from the offender and put it onto the victim. In fact, rape myths serve to lessen the prevalence and seriousness of
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
Rape culture, a term thrown around the internet like wildfire about many cases of sexual harassment and assault. However, what is it truly and does it actually exist? According to WAVAW (Women Against Violence Against Women) the term “rape culture” was coined by feminists in the 1970’s to point out how society blamed victims, normalized sexualy violent behavior, and how we project the acceptance of sexual assault/harassment through media that is seen and heard everyday. In this paper the extent that rape culture has on our society and why social policy should change will be evaluated; and although rape culture could just be an idea made up by feminists and it could be explained off as just words or actions, rape culture exists in the victim
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.
These myths perpetuated by the media permeate viewers’ minds from a young age and ultimately affect decisions and situations they experience later in life. An ever-popular myth that has stuck with me, is the idea that if a man begs you enough for sex, you are to give into his wishes, because he simply can’t help it. This bit of rape culture was something that affected me at a young age, that led me to believe that was what you were supposed to do, and ultimately put me in a position of vulnerability that I am unable to forget. As a junior in high school, I was quite naïve to the ideas of rape culture or how it would affect me down the line, seeing as I didn’t understand what had happened right away. He was in my theatre club, we had been driving back from “Romeo and Juliet”, which we had seen at a neighboring high school, suddenly, without any prompting he pulled over. Then the begging began. He was relentless, I was scared and naïve. I wouldn’t realize the gravity of the situation until the end of my senior year when I broke down in tears when my therapist had asked, “Has anyone every sexually assaulted you?” The toxicity of rape culture that was shown to me at a young age had affected, not only me, but my rapist. He’s off with a clear conscious, not a care in the world, and I’m left with flashbacks from that night and a deep mistrust of men. The media showed me
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.
What is rape culture? When society normalizes sexual violence a culture of rape is created. In a rape culture, women perceive a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to sexual touching to rape itself. A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm. In a rape culture both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life. Do we live in a rape culture? Of course we do. No it’s not every day that you hear of a new rape case, but there are examples all around us that clearly identify that we are without a doubt living in a rape culture. Some of those examples include victim blaming, rape jokes, pop music, and the factual statics that leave you with no room to deny that we
Rape culture became known during the second wave of feminism that happened in the 1970’s. It specifically is referring to rape and sexual assault in the culture of a society and how we often excuse and tolerate rape in society. We often blame victims for the assault or don’t take their accusations seriously. If only 3% of rapist are held accountable for their actions, that means we are turning a blind eye to what is really happening in cases of sexual assault. We are saying that it is ok to commit these crimes in our society—which is pretty unsettli...