Naturally, what makes certain activities wrong, and often criminal, is determined by the harm that is done to the victim, for the similar reason that any act of violence or coercion against another person is wrong. A fundamental rule about interacting with other people is reciprocation and respect. Since none of us has a privileged position, no one is entitled to infringe on the other against the other's will. That being said, rape is an even larger issue due to the fact that some people think they’re entitled to things based on their perceived position of power. Rape is about harming the interests of the victim, or survivor, in the name of the perpetrators need for displaying dominance and power. Rape can also be seen as indirectly subordinating all women through the action and effects of a single event. There are two models that attempt to explain the wrong of rape: the …show more content…
Sex and sexuality are central to who we are and the decisions we make. According to the spatial model, rape is wrong because it denies that the victim is, in regard to what is central to their personhood, which is worthy of respect. It is wrong to deny somebody their choices but that is because, it is thoroughly wrong not to think of somebody as a person instead of as a source of value. In this account, Archard states that, “rape is episodic, whereas work is chronic. Work denies those who must endure it the freedom to pursue those of their important goals that conduce to their ultimate well-being while rape does not” (Archard, 16). One can determine that a result of this account is that rape does not stop a person from doing everything they want but rather only harms an important interest. In this case, rape is individual because the harm of rape is concentrated to one individual and to a single
This essay will examine Susan Estrich’s and Lois Pineau’s discussion on rape. Both contribute insights on our society’s negligence when it comes to the protection and justice for women. Estrich provides a peak into the legal system on how it determines rape. We will see that the law is shaped in a way that continues to oppress women and leave them unprotected. Pineau furthers the conversation on placing responsibility on the victim to prove the crime. She narrows her focus on date rape and raises an objection to the model of consent that shapes our culture’s attitude and our country’s law. Pineau proposes a communicative model of sex. From this proposal, I will conclude my essay with an objection of her model and will ultimately defend her model against such an objection.
Oftentimes, the things individuals take for granted as preexisting facts are merely the products of social construction, which exert tremendous impacts on belief and action. Men and women are socially constructed categories inscribed by norms of masculinity and femininity that enables rape to occur. Catharine MacKinnon claims that rape is defined in a male perspective, which lacks the account of female experience. On the other hand, Sharon Marcus argues that rape is a constructed language that scripts the female body. As bell hooks points out, black men celebrate “rape culture” as a mean of expressing patriarchal dominance and endorsing female subordination. In order to redefine rape and to develop effective rape prevention, it is crucial to deconstruct the predetermined assumptions about men and women. Rape is socially constructed, through the ways how individuals possess misogynistic ideologies and endorse patriarchal power, turning the erotic fantasy of male dominance into “reality”.
Susan Griffin’s Rape: The All-American Crime touches on many issues within American society. She begins by recounting how she was taught to be afraid of strange men from such a young age that she had not yet learned what it was she was so afraid of, and then goes into her experience with harassment, an experience shared by every woman at some point in her life. Griffin recounts the belief that all rapists are insane and the proof that they are just normal men and dispels the myth that rape is normal activity that is prohibited by society. However, she goes on to clarify that our culture views rape: “as an illegal, but still understandable, form of behavior” (Griffin 514). It seems that the wrongness of rape is determined by the situation in
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 ...
Often times, a college board and society will lay blame on victims of sexual assault, inherently accepting male sexual violence as innate and natural. This is otherwise known as rape culture. Rape Culture is more broadly defined as a complex set of beliefs that reassure and naturalize male acts of sexual aggression, and consequently supporting violence against women. Sexual violence against women, even men, can be attributed to varying factors. However, the traditional response is to claim that men are biologically inclined to have oppressing sexual desires. To implicate men and their masculinity as dominant and sexually aggressive, is to withhold rape culture. The theory of sociobiology is applicable here, as it is the belief that “both reproductive and social behaviors are powerfully influenced by biological forces” (Kilmartin 57). As understood from the theory sex-linked social behaviors, such as male dominance and sexual assault, has a biological survival value for the individual as a method of a reproductive strategy. Rape, therefore, is a socially deviant behavior that is seen as an extreme strategy for reproduction. The sociobiology theory’s belief that all males are biologically programmed to exert sexual dominance, fails to recognize that less than “8% of men in college commit more than 90% of sexual assaults” (The Hunting Ground).
Rape culture, a term created by feminists in the 1970’s has some serious connotations behind it. Essentially this phrase explicitly states that within our society due to sexism women are blamed for their sexual abuse. This belief, that a woman is to blame for the harm caused to her is not only believed socially but enforces politically. Men are one of the most dominant groups in society. Thus, in this particular case men are the bourgeois and women and the proletarians. These men in power are able to control what civilians read, hear and see everyday meaning they are able to push a cultural hegemony, cultural hegemony is the domination of society by a ruling class that purposely influences the thoughts and beliefs of society for their benefit.
When women’s desires are less worthy of concern or not worthy of concern at all, it becomes evident that the hookup culture promotes women being used as a tool or a means to an end for male satisfaction. According to the Kantian moral theory, the culture is immoral because the woman is no longer being respected. The ambiguity of the hookup culture couple with societal effects of inegalitarian porn, according to Eaton’s “A Sensible Anti-Porn Feminist” and power imbalances in the sexes creates a culture that fosters rape. Women are placed in predicaments where they have to give in to pushy, coercive behavior by men who want to go further than the women intends to. Even if a woman feels liberated by participating in the hookup culture, that doesn’t mean she wants to go all the way, with every partner, every time. The objectification of women and rape are two serious and harmful effects of the hookup culture.
The Merriam Webster dictionary Defines rape as “unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness, or deception”. Rape seems like an act that an individual would never think of committing. However, rape happens every day in many different instances, and what's worse, the excuse for certain rape cases. In my paper I'll be breaking down the social issue of rape through the structural functionalism theory, the conflict theory, and the symbolic interactionism theory. With the conflict theory I'll be examining
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 is non-consensual sexual intercourse that a male performs against a woman whom he is neither married to or cohabiting with. The definition of rape changes by geographic location. In some countries a woman must prove she is pure in order to find the perpetrator guilty. Rape used to be more of a violation to the man than to the women. It was a violation of the man’s rights if his wife or girlfriend was raped. When a woman is raped her devotion to her family is questioned. Rape is a violent act, an act of possession, not a sexual act. The myth that men who rape women are sexually pathological has begun to be dispelled and replaced with an understanding that rape is an act of anger, power and control rather than lust.
Rape and sexual violence is a very serious problem that affects millions of people each year. Rape is someone taking advantage of another person sexually. Sexual assault can be verbal, physical, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. ("Sexual Assault.") Rape is one of the most underreported crimes. In 2002, only thirty-nine percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law officials. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sheet.") Victims sometimes do not report that they have raped because of shame or feeling that it was their fault. It is never the victim's fault. "Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in a whole or in partly responsible for what had happened to them. Most victims believe this. ("Myths and Facts about Sexual Violence.")
Deviant behavior is defined as a behavior or action that is against the social norms of society. Rape is a deviant behavior that is a type of sexual assaults that usually involving sexual intercourse. This happens when one person or more initiates sexual acts against another person without that person's consent. The act can be sometimes carried out by physical force, coercion, or a person not being able to give valid consent. Someone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent would fall under that category. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault. According to R.A.I.N (Rape, Abuse and Incet National Network, 2009) 44% of rape victims are under age 18 and 80% are under age 30. It is sad to report that every 2 minutes another American is assaulted which leaves an average of 237,868 victims, age 12 or older of sexual assault each year (R.A.I.N 2009). So who is to blame for this growing problem? It would be surprising to hear that many times people blame the victims. This is a growing concern for us all because it has led to a tremendous amount of unreported incidents which leads to the perpetrator roaming the streets waiting to strike again. Rape can lead to have severe traumatization and victim can suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder along with causing psychological harm and has been shown to cause physical injury, or have additional effects on the victim, such as acquiring of a sexually transmitted infection or becoming pregnant. Sadly following a rape, a victim may face violence or threats thereafter from the rapist.
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 “women secretly enjoy rape,” from a historical perspective, can lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Much stems back to the idea that 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. Men a...
Abortion is one of the most debatable subjects in our society. There are many different points of views when it comes to this sensitive topic. Initially when I started researching the topic I was almost certain that I would fall into the category of Pro-life individuals. However, after thinking long and hard and taking rape into consideration I have to say my views have changed completely. Although I am still against abortion, I think there should be certain exceptions made for women who are sexually assaulted and become pregnant from the rape. Hopefully after reading the research information I am providing, you will also take into consideration an abortion in the event of rape.
Sexual offence is a serious crime in the society, according to Krug et al. (2002, cited in Burgess, Regehr & Roberts 2013: p.359), sexual offence is “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or by any person, regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limed to home and work”. When a crime happens, victim always shares an important role in it. In some cases such as rape, victim is the major element of the crime.