Rape Culture In America

There are 195 countries in the world and America ranks 14th when it comes to the reported rape incidence rate. Why? Easy. Two words: rape culture. America has promoted rape culture by creating an environment in which rape is normalized and excused. We see it in our social media, pop culture, and political figures. Although it more commonly affects female victims, this does not exclude male victims. We perpetuate rape culture in our society through misogyny, victim blaming, and the lack of action taken.
Misogyny has been one of the most prevalent issues that has been in our society which has restricted every woman into a small box of character. We can see how this has been instilled into our society through the various forms of entertainment.

If you take a look at most Disney princess movies, the main female character is displayed as this “damsel in distress” who always needs a man to save her. This dehumanizes a women into something that is helpless. Unfortunately, many children in America grow up watching and subconsciously absorbing the information from these movies, and it automatically instills in their minds that women have a lesser value than men. As we grow older, music becomes a very important part of our lives. Unfortunately, a lot of the popular music often times has lyrics objectifying and degrading women. For example, let’s take a quick look at the chorus in Chris Brown’s “Fine China.” Right here (because it’s in the powerpoint), he says, “you’re irreplaceable; collectible / just like fine china.” He compares a woman to china, an object that can be purchased, which is pretty much objectification at its best. He is dehumanizing women into valued possessions that have no feelings or emotions. However, all of this is normal for us. It is normal to watch movies where the girl’s only role is to play the “love interest”. It is normal for girls to wait for a guy to ask her out. What we don’t realize is that by normalizing the misogyny in our society, we are only telling male rapists that what you did is okay, because women don’t have that much value anyways.
One of the most prominent parts of rape culture is victim blaming, when the victims are questioned or told statements implying they were responsible for their own rape. Many questions come up, such as, “What were you wearing?” “Did you drink anything?” “Did you fight back?” If she wore revealing clothes, it’s her fault. If she had a bit too much to drink, it’s her fault. If she didn’t fight back harder, it’s her fault. The fact of the matter is that the only person that can be blamed in these cases is the rapist. After all, who is the one that made the conscious decision to rape her in the first place? However, this is a common occurrence among rape victims that take place. In 2013, two high school boys from Steubenville, Ohio were convicted of raping a 16 year old girl. She was drunk and not conscious enough to give consent. After the decision was announced, many took to social media to lash out against the victim. (show quotes from social media messages on powerpoint) Social media is a huge platform for people to communicate their thoughts to others and is a big influence on our society. If people use it to express sympathy for the rapists and blame the victim, we are telling our society that rape is okay, thus encouraging its occurrence.
When it comes to rape, the court house becomes apathetic.

In fact, 97% of rapists never go to jail. The problem is, it is extremely difficult to prove rape has occurred.. Many laws have been created that end up protecting the rapist. In more than half of the 50 states, they require that the person have used force in order for it to be considered rape, which is called the Model Penal Code. That means, if you didn’t physically resist the attempt, it isn’t rape. On top of that, there are many flaws with the people who work in the justice system as well. During the trials the prosecutor is subject to several instances of victim blaming by the rapist’s lawyer. In one such case, victim Yee Xiong said, “I felt like he didn’t have any respect for me at all. He did anything and said anything he could to make me feel angry on the stand make, to make me feel frustrated on the stand.” Even those who are supposed to only judge based on what’s laid out in front of them use bias in such cases. One of the California Superior Court judges Derek Johnson stated, “If someone doesn't want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. That tells me that the victim in this case, although she wasn't necessarily willing, didn't put up a fight.” When there is so much negativity targeted towards the victim in the courthouse, it’s easy to see why so many of them don’t press charges or give up during trial. Since so many rapists get away with what they do so much, others see them and follow suit because they know they won’t get

caught.
There are many others in this country who will continue to believe that rape culture doesn’t exist. Well, let me ask you this. If rape culture doesn’t exist, why is it that 54% of rape cases in America never get reported? Why is it that 97% of rapists never get incarcerated? Why is it that, despite living in a “developed” country, 50% of our population will constantly fear for their safety? Because we live in a society where rape is ridiculed, ignored, and discredited. There is simply no way of getting around it. And this isn’t just an issue of “feminists … trying to redefine the term rape in order to fit a twisted worldview where men are perpetually victimizing women like some kind of sport, and that society condones this behavior.” Because guess what? Men get raped too. And these are the kinds of responses that come up. (show statements from powerpoint) Society constantly tells us that the men are dominant and more powerful than woman. People ignore the fact that it is possible for a man to be raped by a woman, so they form these statements to disprove that that is what happened. After all, when, how can we expect people to accept it when the opposite has happened?
By degrading women, shaming victims, and saving rapists, we only prolong and maintain the existence of rape culture in our society. If we work together as a country to remove this horrible environment, we will help thousands of victims get the justice they deserve and save thousands of potential ones from suffering in silence.