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rape in modern society
women sexism in the media
women sexism in the media
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According to Marshall University, Rape Culture is defined as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in media and popular culture.” In American society, it is not hard to find examples of rape culture. In popular movies, music, and current events there is an undeniable notion of victim blaming, and sympathizing with male perpetrators. People have begun to use the term rape as a casual adjective. For example “I just raped him in that game,” could be used to describe two people playing a game and one winning easily against the other. American society uses pop culture and current events to promote and justify the prominent rape culture.
Robin Thicke has a popular songs called Blurred Lines which was released in mid 2013. The song spread quickly and rose straight to the top of the charts. This is where the song remained for the next ten weeks; which was the first time any single lasted that long since 2005. A majority of people had at least heard the song, if they weren’t able to sing every word of it. Many people found the song to be undeniable catchy, but not many people looked at the subtext of the lyrics. As the song remained popular for a longer period of time, people became aware of what the song lyrics were actually saying. The literal lines of the song talks about meeting a girl and not knowing if there is blurred lines because she’s a good girl. Once the lyrics were analyzed deeper, many realized that the song was not as innocent as it seemed.
During the chorus of the song, the line ‘I know you want it’ is repeated multiple times (Sociological Images.) This is a phrase that many sexual assault victims have reported that their rapists say. This is a ra...
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Works Cited
Gentilviso, Chris. "Todd Akin on Abortion: 'Legitimate Rape' Victims Have 'Ways to Shut That Whole Thing Down'" Huffington Post. Huffington Post, 19 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
This article talks about Republican Todd Akin's comment about legitimate rape. He claims that if a rape is legitimate the woman's body has ways to shut the whole thing down, and she will rarely get pregnant.
"Law Revue – Defined Lines ("Blurred Lines" Parody) Lyrics." Rap Genius. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2013.
These are the lyrics to the rebuttal of Blurred Lines, called Defined Lines. This song is the feminist version of Thicke's original song lyrics.
Raju, Manu. "POLITICO." POLITICO. Politico, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 26 Nov. 2013.
The article discusses Richard Mourdock's comment about rape and abortion. It talks about how people negatively reacted to what he had to say.
Schneider L, Mori L, Lambert P, Wong A. The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Perceptions of Rape and Its Aftereffects. Sex Roles [serial on the Internet]. (2009, Mar), [cited March 16, 2014]; 60(5/6): 410-421. Available from: SocINDEX with Full Text.
For twelve weeks Blurred Lines was at the top of the Billboard 100 charts and could be heard thumping from speakers everywhere. Sung by Robin Thicke and featuring prominent rappers T.I. Harris and Pharrell, this track was proclaimed the anthem for summer 2013 . At the surface the song is seemingly harmless with a cheery rhythmic beat and catchy lyrics, but when examining the song and accompanying music video, Blurred Lines is anything but harmless. Dubbed “that rape song” by many discerning listeners, Blurred Lines is a song about the blurred lines of consent. With gems such as “You’re an animal, just let me liberate you” and “I’ll give you somethin’ big enough to tear yo ass in two” featured throughout the song it is astonishing how popular this vulturine anthem was allowed to become.
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
Cross-cultural research has shown that rape is most common in cultures that are dominated by males and violence. This means cultures in which males dominate the political decisions and cultures adhering to the male ideology of toughness, interpersonal violence and war (Groth 7). In a culture of people with more traditional or sexist gender role, attitudes are more tolerant of rape than are people with more nontraditional attitudes. Traditional men are more likely to report that they would commit rape if they knew they would not be caught; some researchers have found that a traditional man is much more likely to commit a rape than a nontraditional man is. Many attitudes in our culture perpetuate rape, for example: A husband is entitled to have sex with his wife," "A 'real man' never passes up a chance to have sex," and, "A women who 'leads a man on' deserves what she gets (Growth 7). “ Some media depictions may promote rape. Many movies make violence appear attractive and some movies convey myths about rape. Such as slasher films that make violence seem exciting, or movies suggesting that women like to be forced to have sex or that women's only value...
In her essay, “A Defense for Abortion,” Judy Jarvis Thomson primarily argues for the permissibility of abortion, due to rape, but it can be challenged by exposing flaws in her argument that relies heavily on analogy. However, objections to Thomson’s explanation fail to defeat her argument.
What is rape culture? Rape culture is something created by society that sexualizes rude and violent behavior as sexy or sexual, inforced mostly be men. Rape is a big problem all around the world, and in some countries, it is accepted by law. It has been stated that 105,000 rapes happen every year in the United States. Most rape happens to female between the ages of 14 and 30. Rape culture is not something that can be ignored, it is a very serious issue that must be addressed. Women are not the only people getting raped however, ⅙ of all men are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. But due to masculinity and the patriarchy, men are afraid to come out and say they were raped. Only 6% of men have committed 5-6 rapes each (Rape Culture).
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.
3. Rape culture in the US does exist, and isn’t limited to “just women”, think of jokes about prison rape which make it seem comical when it isn’t. The term “rape culture” was coined to bring to light how society normalizes rape and aggressive sexual behavior. In the 70’s when it was first coined it focused on aggression towards women, who at the time (and currently) face higher rates for sexual assault than men, but currently has been expanding to describe society’s views on rape as a whole. Just because it highlights aggression towards women doesn’t mean it totally disregards men- keyword culture- but any way you slice it, women have a higher chance of getting assaulted, and acknowledging that shouldn’t make men uncomfortable if rape culture doesn’t exist right? That’s basically like saying paying more attention to your sick
“What is rape culture” is the question that has been repeatedly asked since its emergence in the 1970s. From our lecture, we have learned that the thing about Rape Culture is that it doesn’t have just one definition, but the simplest way to define it may be to say that rape culture is the society that accepts and even promotes sexual violence in one form or another. This includes, TV shows that make rape look sexy; you know the kind: guy pushes girl down, throws open her blouse, exposing her breasts, and even though she is saying no, everyone watching is saying yes. Rape culture is when a college student goes to their Dean and tells them they have been raped, and the first question the Dean ask is “what were you wearing?” Rape culture is saying “that exam just raped me” instead of “that exam was hard”. Rape culture is the most popular, catchy songs these days have lyrics like “I know you want it”. Rape culture is the party girl image, the “she was asking for it”, the “boys will be boys”, the slut shaming, the victim blaming, and the most concerning, rape culture is denying the fact that sexual assault is a problem in today’s society. One in six women and one in thirty-three men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. In the United States alone, that
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
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...
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, lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Women are still seen as the property of men, are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men are usually more aggressive, and women are seen as passive. (Vogelman) This socialization process is changing, but slowly.
In the next verse, the artists’ lyrics actually get worse. After brashly complimenting her jeans, Thicke then praises her for being the “hottest bitch in this place” (line 42). Continuing the ongoing theme of crude and derogatory, rapper T.I. creates an impeccably rhymed third verse, in which he pays tribute to how nice the woman looks while simultaneously encouraging her to let him do her bodily harm while they have sex. Toward the end of his feature, he says “I’m a nice guy, but don’t get confused, this pimpin’” (lines 90-91). This statement denotes that although he thinks she is very good looking, he does not want anything other than sex with her. This also refers back to Thicke’s line in which he stated he was against a relationship. Unfortunately for the artists, this feature combined with the rest of the lyrics only further persuades some listeners to not agree with them – that the lines between yes and no are not blurred, but that this is how the artist’s sees it, not how it actually is. This feature also brings forth more destructive pathos in listeners such as repulsion and disdain. In the breakdown of the song, Thicke sings, “Do it like it hurt, like it hurt/ what you don’t like to work?” (lines 94-95). Sung so smoothly, some people almost miss the part where he implies sex should be painful for this woman and she shouldn’t complain about that. In spite of his
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...
Carmen, Irin. “Abortion Bans with Exceptions for Rape Are Hypocritical.” Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 2012. Web. 13 Jan. 2014