Imagine a date rape drug that causes sterilization. According to unconfirmed sources such a drug now exists. Progesterex enables men to sexually abuse women without the fear of the women becoming pregnant. Hence, the man’s identity is never known. He has committed the perfect crime. If, the above statements seem to far fetched to be true, its because they are in fact false. Progesterex is not the perfect date rape drug. It is the subject of an urban legend. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term urban legend as “an often lurid story or anecdote that is based on hearsay and widely circulated as true”. Like most urban legends the rationale for its creation may never be known. The setting of the story is a nightclub or fraternity party. Such places are locations where women previously were raped after unknowingly having their drinks spiked with drugs. Hence, one reasonable assumption may be to remind women of the dangers of the social scene. Whatever the rationale, the story lacks the elements necessary for it to be credible.
The absence of a source’s name and confirmed origin calls into question the validity of the story. Credible sources deny the drug being used at the locations mentioned in the various stories. For example, ““Circulated mostly in the United Kingdom as recently as April of 2006 Progesterex (sometimes known as Progestorex) is a fictional date-rape drug. The UK press has repeatedly run corrective stories affirming the non-existence of Progesterex, quoting government officials such as Home Office Minister Paul Goggins as saying "Progesterex does not exist”” (Papadopoulos, 34-39). The Progesterex urban legend first appeared in 1999. The story initially surfaced as a warning mes...
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...f becoming a rape victim is frightening to women. Most women regard motherhood as a highly anticipated event. It would be cruel to have this experience eliminated due to a date rape drug.
Works Cited
Alice. “Progesterex Horse and Human Sterilizer Date Rape Drug,” Go Ask Alice.com, Columbia
University, 19 Nov 1999. Web 08 Feb 2014.
Christensen, Brett M. “Progesterex – Sterility Date Rape Drug Hoax,” Hoax-Slayer.com, 14
April 2010. Web 08 Feb 2014.
Dillon, Paul. “Progesterex: Another Urban Myth,” Doingdrugs-darta.blogspot.com, 21 Feb
2013. Web 07 Feb 2014.
“Progesterex and Cons.” Snopes.com, 25 Nov 2007. Web 08 Feb 2014.
Papadopoulas, Niki. “Ladies Beware,” Bitch Magazine, 01 July 2007: 34-39.
Tennessee State University Library Media. Web 08 Feb 2014.
Urban Legends. “Progesterex, “ UrbanLegendOnline.com, 21 July 2011. Web 08 Feb 2014.
Many women from around the world live day to day under the shadow of gender roles. While their spouses are away at their jobs, the women are expected to cook, clean, and take care of their kids, all before the husband gets home from work. From A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, Nana is a single housewife who birthed and raised her only daughter Mariam by herself, while doing daily house chores, taking care of her medical conditions, and battling depression. While Mariam was approaching her early preteens, Nana suddenly decided she had endured enough pressure and hung herself. On the whole, the events leading up to Nana’s death proves a desperate act of suicide.
Acquaintance rape, sometimes called date rape, is the most common form of this crime. Yet, until the 1980s, it was virtually unheard of (Warshaw 2). We believed that rape was fairly rare. When it did take place, we wrongfully assumed that the victim was an idealized virginal school girl and that her attacker was a ruthless and depraved psychopath, armed and lurking in the shadows (Warshaw 14). This image needs to be destroyed. Rape is common. One in four women will be raped during her lifetime. Current statistics say that a woman is raped every four seconds in this country (Anderson 213). These women will be assaulted by people they know, most often by people they trust. They will be disbelieved when they tell their story. They will...
...t be able to refuse or defend against sexual assault. Furthermore, drugged individuals may not have recollection what happened. While women are most often targeted with these drugs, they can be used on men too (“Club Drugs Can Be Used to Facilitate Rape”).
One of the most common misconceptions about rape is that is it committed by strangers most of the time. However, this is not the case. Date rape is an epidemic affecting tens of thousands of people across the world at staggering rates. The rape stereotype in our culture today is a jumping out of the shadows type of rape. Most people think that when someone is raped either their house is broken into and they are attacked, they are kidnapped, or something along those lines. Actually, 84% of women know their attacker (Hammond). This can become problematic for our society because victims are looking out for an attack that most likely will not take place, while ignoring assaults that are far more likely.
3. “Rape Myths and Facts.” The Student’s Center of Health. West Virginia University. Web. 5 April 2014.
While it is popularly associated that rape involves a kidnapping of some type by a criminal that the victim has never come in contact with before, this belief has been disproved over the years by the number of cases of acquainted rape, also known as date rape. Date rape is forced or coerced sex between partners, dates, friends, friends of friends, or general acquaintances, often with the illegal use of drugs to alter the state of mind of the victim. Recent statistics show that the most common form of rape is date rape, which comprises 78 percent of all rapes. Rape itself is a very common occurrence, with one in four girls falling victim to an attempt before they are 25 and three out of five of these rapes occurring before the victim has reached eighteen. Not to be forgotten, men as well can be and have been sexually taken advantage of without their consent, either by other men or, in limited cases, women.
When the victim reports the incident to the police there is a long process that follows to convict the rapist. For date rape, which may be a result of teenage drinking or drug use at parties, there is a low percentage rate of the rapist going to jail because society does not understand that no means no. Because of this it is very hard for victims to get justice. For example, there was a girl in West Ch...
If someone does not know what date rape is, he or she can fall victim to it and not even be aware that it happened. Even the slightest clothes torn and no recollection could be an effect of what appeared to be date rape. For example, “twenty-seven percent of women who were date raped did not know that what had occurred met the legal definition of date rape” (University of Sciences: “Date Rape”). One must also know the dangers of date rape and how it can damage the person physically and emotionally (“Date Rape: How Does it Happen?”). Dr. Amy Menna states that date rape can lead to “the victims suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and trust issues.” (“Acquaintance Rape: A Matter of Consent”). According to USciences, survivors of rape and sexual assault are more likely than non-victims to attempt or consider suicide (“Date Rape”). By understanding date rape and becoming aware of the dangers can spread awareness of date
The subject of this report focuses on the phenomenon known as Urban Legend. Urban Legend, henceforth referred to as UL, is well known in the arena of folklore and other sorts of stories passed down through generations; however, it is relatively new to the world of literary composition as a legitimate genre to be analyzed and studied in texts by experts of literature. In fact, if it had to be labeled, UL would be considered a sub-genre of folklore by many of the experts. These stories are known as "modern oral folklore - typically a tall tale with a frisson of comeuppance of horror, related as having actually happened to a 'friend of a friend'" (Clute & Grant, 1997). UL is also considered to be very similar to myth and fantasy.
At the point when individuals consider rape, they may picture an outsider hopping out of a shadowy place and assaulting somebody. Surprisingly, study shows only about a portion who are assaulted know the individual who assaulted them. This notorious action is recognized as date rape. Date rape is involuntary sex that can occur on a date or at a party with a person the casualty knows. It appears that females are presumably to be raped; however, it can transpire to men. Men are not always the suspects. In frequent cases, women are the suspects. Many people overlook date rape which can cause many people to not share their story. However, date rape does happen and it is important to know it occurs, being overmedicated, reactions, avoidance, and what to do after being assaulted.
Despite rape culture being clearly relevant in most all forms of media, many people choose to argue against it. Many point to the fact that even if rape is a common crime it is still considered especially heinous. Others complain that rape culture is too much about the female agenda when rape is more about men. Dr. Tara J. Palmatier says, “Meanwhile, no one ever discusses adult male rape victims who, believe it or not, do exist and in far greater numbers than female rape victims.” She also claims that “The reality is that more men are raped every year in jail than women in the general population.”(2a) Dr. Tara believes that men should be in more fear of women than the other way around. According the the Munoz-Rivas, more women engage in psychological aggression and Parity states that women’s use of physical aggression is equal to that of men (2a). Because of the points put forth by Dr. Tara J. Palmatier, many people are under the impression that rape culture doesn't exist in the slightest.
jumping the gun into thinking they were raped. Are women just crying rape? This is something
"People and Events: The Pill and the Sexual Revolution." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 12 May 2014.
To be raped is to be sexually assaulted forcefully and unwillingly. According to the Uniform Crime reports, of all serious offenses, rape is probably “the most under reported crime.” Victims of rape are not only violated physically, they are violated mentally as well. It is a very traumatic experience that woman have to deal with for the remainder of their life. They usually incur symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome, stress disorders, fear, constant memories of the attack, a loss of confidence, and shame. (Mary E. Williams) These effects alter the victim’s life severely and can interfere with their day to day life and relationships. Being raped is a horrific crime that no woman should ever have to endure. In many cases victims of rape may become impregnated by the perpetrator leaving the victim to another form of violation. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, at least 9,100 abortions each year are attributed to pregnancies that occur because of forced sexual intercourse. (Irin Carmon)
There are many different types of rape including date rape, statutory rape, gang rape, and acquaintance rape. Though there are more than a handful of different names to view rape, all of the names have one thing in common: a victim. The frightening reality is that all of the rape studies that have been done show that the perpetrator is usually someone that the victim knows and/or trusts; during the dating years, seventy to ninety percent of rapes are acquaintance or date rapes (Mackey). Even more terrifying is that only one-third of rapes are reported to law enforcement officials (Buddie & Miller). Victims are most likely afraid that by going through with the process of pressing charges on his/her perpetrator that they, in turn, will be blamed using one or more of the ridiculous rape myths, by society. The reality of rape is a startling combination of ignorance relating to rape myths, lack of reportings and convictions, severe post-traumatic feelings of the attack, and theories of rape, both psychological and sociological.