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Effects of popular culture on sexuality
Rape culture and media
Gender in the media effects on society
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Ninety-eight percent of rapist will never spend a single day in jail. This has become the normal in the United States as we have been introduced to a rape culture that has persistently continued for decades. In our media today rape culture is promoted and ignored as a problem. For example, in the rapper Rocko’s “U.O.E.N.O.” song, fellow rapper Rick Ross rapped the following lyrics, “ Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it / I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain 't even know it”. What the rapper is implying is that not only did he have sexual relations with the woman without her consent but that he used drugs he help accomplish this. Not only is he freely stating this but this song has been played over the radio and exposed to …show more content…
This includes music, television, newspapers, magazines, and the social media. I am going to focus on how rape culture is promoted via music. Rape is still going strong because of how free and unconcerned our people are with rape culture. No one is willing to hold the offenders accountable for their actions. When the media takes rape lightly, it conditions everyone to see rape as a minor thing and not as the very major issue it is.
Rick Ross is not the only entertainer in the music industry who has promoted rape culture. Pop mogul Robin Thicke in 2013 released a controversial song called “Blurred Lines”. With lyrics such as "I know you want it", the song conceptualizes consent as a "blurry" idea. A ballad that has been played during the holidays since the 1940s, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” showcases the persistent attempts on a young woman who continues to say no over and over. He tries to persuade her with alcohol, she even asks did he put anything in her drink. Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews Band promotes stalking the singer describes himself watching a girl in a peeping tom manner. At the end of the song Dave
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 ...
Rape is a virus that infects every nation, culture and society. It is constantly referred to as “the unfinished murder”, because of the deep state of despair the rapist leaves the victim in. There is no common identifiable trend that determines who will be a rape victim. Women are not assaulted because of their attitudes or actions, they are attacked simply because they are present. With rapists, just as with their victims, there is no identifiable trend. The old myth that only “sick, dirty, old, perverted men” commit rapes is a lie that society tells itself in order to sleep better at night. The startling truth is that most rapists work under a veil of normalcy. In order for the percentage of rapes to decrease, we have to change our ideas about rape and let go of the old myths of the past. And until this happens, rape will continue to plague our world at large.
Society causes a lot of music censorship. Starting in the late fifties and early sixties members of society made efforts to censor R&B music(http://teenmusic.about.com/library/weekly/aa022301a.htm). They were concerned that the music endorsed wild living, promiscuous sex, and lewd dancing (http://teenmusic.about.com/library/weekly/aa022301a.htm). “During the late sixties and seventies, Jim Morrison’s dark and suggestive lyrics stirred up communities, and parents were appalled to see Elvis Presley’s hip-thrusting” (http://teenmusic.about.com/library/weekly/aa022301a.htm). Society censors music like this because they are afraid of it. They think it will alter the minds of their children and cause them to do things they would have never done if it were never suggested in a song’s lyrics. “Music mirrors the society that creates it” (http://teenmusic.about.com/library/weekly/aa022301a.htm). Some people believe this, while others believe that music causes problems in our society such as crime and drugs. “For every person who believes certain lyrics portray a frightening world, there is another person who finds them deep and powerful because that world is all too real” (http://teenmusic.about.com/library/weekly/aa022301a.htm).
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
1 in 5 women will get sexual assaulted on a college campus. This is absolutely sickening and needs to be taking care of before it gets out of hand. The more and more I have a conversation about sexual assault the more it makes me want to take charge and do something about it. Now that I have the information from listening to our speaker, I defiantly see college parties in a different light. I always see guys trying to take girls back to their room or isolating them from the group. Whenever I’m at a party, I never think of the awful things that could be happening around me. I definitely unaware of situations so now I’ll defiantly be more involved and step in when it’s appropriate. It’s a very common thing to see at a party so for myself I never
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
Every two minutes, an American is sexually assaulted. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey, there are an average of 237,868 victims of rape and sexual assault every year. 9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003, and 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of rape in her lifetime. The question people have to ask themselves is why rape is so common. It is time to accept that the rape epidemic is not just about the crimes themselves, but the cultural and political willful ignorance known as rape culture. Rape culture is an environment where rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture has become so common that it is nearly invisible, but it present and strong in everyday life.
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,
Marc Lamont Hill wrote an article about Bill Cosby’s rape allegation and the culture that currently evades the subject of rape in society today. Discussed are six signs which, “refer to the ways that our society and its institutions normalize, promote, excuse, and enable sexual violence against men and women” (Hill). The article indicates the signs are lack of belief, until there is a male voicing an opinion on the issue, nonbelief of a particular person being a perpetrator because of the perception society has of them, placing the blame on the victim, myths about how and when rapes occur, the downplaying of the act itself, and the view that the rapists are actually the victims.
Rape and rape culture are very real and present problems with our post-secondary system. Not a day goes by without a new revelation, number or statistic coming to light. Not a day goes by without feminists screaming to “take back the night” and men’s rights advocates crying for sex. There probably isn’t a person in existence who doesn’t have an opinion on the issue. There is so much focus on it, millions of dollars going into solving it. So, now there is a question we must ask ourselves - why is none of it working? Why are rape numbers increasing, instead of the other way around? Rape numbers are not decreasing because no one wants to address the root causes of the issue. Universities and colleges don 't want to crack down on alcohol abuse
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.
Did you know that ninety-seven percent of rapists will never spend a day in jail? (RAINN) This fact is depressing considering the large percentage of rape victims. Things like rape and violence have a severe impact on the mentality level of people. Their lives will change forever after going through an intense situation such as being molested, beaten, or anything along those lines. It has caused people to commit the same crime, become severely depressed and suicidal, as well as many other unfortunate events. People look down on those who have gone through such events, some may say things such as, "you probably deserved it”, “you were dressed provocatively" or "how did you not enjoy that?” As such, rape is an underexplored
One of the main causes of perpetuating these sexist ideals in the 21st century is media. Women have moved from being the stay at home housewife that obeys everything her husband says to complete dehumanized sex objects. While we have gone a long way in terms of womens rights, media is doing the most damage to women. More specifically within media one of the main perpetrators of this is music. Not only do music videos show women most of the time scantily clad and being treated as sexual objects but the lyrics themselves are degrading to women. Not only are these artist treating women as sexual objects but also have underlying messages of violence towards them. This is extremely dangerous as is has the potential to send boys the underlying message that it is ok to treat women this way and that girls should expect this behavior from men and that it is normal.
imagine that you live in a world that you couldn 't just say no. Where you were forced to do things that you didn 't want to do. Imagine that just because you said no, that wasn 't enough. That you were worthless, that what you say not matter. This is how 293,066 Americans feel per year(“How often does sexual assault occur?”).They are victims of sexual assaults, there refusal wasn 't enough for someone to stop. No one can truly understand how these people felt until they realize what the problem is, why it 's happening and some solutions to the problem.