Rape Culture in America from 1960 to Present

Due to advances made by the American mass media, the way Americans react to and interact with rape culture has changed dramatically changed from 1960 to the present. News coverage of major rape trials, movies and books involving rape have caused the American people to change their perspectives and reshape the way trials are carried out and the way female rape victims are viewed and treated during and after trials. During the 1960’s, due to societal and religious conventions, a victim’s history, chastity, and moral character were brought to light to serve as attestation against the claimant. After the feminist movement took off in the 1970’s, laws regarding this topic began to change drastically and hard facts and witnesses began being used to determine outcomes of cases. Although news stations, movies, and novels can further new ideas and offer the American people an insight into rape law and culture reform, they often set some of the forward progress back by promoting “traditional” views of rape, rape culture, and rape myths, in which the victim is made into a provocateur. In order to prevent this heinous crime from occuring, or at least reduce the ever increasing number of incidents, Americans must take it upon themselves to become educated upon the topic of rape. This means that they must collectively decide to see only the facts presented in a case, tell the difference between truth and rape myths perpetuated by society, and understand the long term and short term effects experienced by victims before, during, and after the trial, regardless of the situation.

Much of the research already done upon the topic of rape focuses only on the experience of the female rape victim and touches only very briefly upon the male perspective...

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The ever changing country, and further world, in which Americans live provides and arena for change in all forums of the daily lives of Americans including rape culture and rape law reform. The ever increasing number of rapes that occur each year are serious crimes and must be addressed as such despite the unwillingness of the general public to do so. This unwillingness to change the way certain things have always been looked at our carried out, is the main problem facing the American people today. In order for reform of any sort to happen, whether it is the treatment of rape victims post-trial, the way trials are conducted, or the way the media portrays rape victims, Americans must be willing and able to differentiate between popular rape myths and facts. This means that the public must take it upon themselves to become educated upon an uncomfortable topic.