Sexual Violence In The Media

Sexual assault and violence is increasing due to advertisements misinforming people into believing that such behavior is acceptable. “In the 1960’s Kilbourne found that she received more recognition for her looks rather than her intelligence” (Grean and Lidinisky, 490). Perhaps this is why Kilbourne wrote her book, Deadly Persuasion, analyzing this problem. Kilbourne found herself in the environment bubble the media is creating where the objective analysis of people is acceptable. Kilbourne’s book is an attempt to bring awareness towards how much harm the media’s portrayal of people is generating. Kilbourne’s book is mainly targeted towards women, and is trying to spur them towards action in an attempt to change the world and, more

After reviewing our book and focusing on Dr. Kristen Zgoba’s lecture, some sex crime does not receive the level of attention, because they are not reported to the law enforcement either being a nine-year-old girl or a nineteen-year-old girl, some people and their families don’t want to report this, either because they know the person (family member) or because they are ashamed. Not supporting the Media, but the Media cannot report what they did not know. On the RAINN’s website, they state that sexual assault crimes are one of the most under reported crimes among all the crimes, with up to 68 percent still being left unreported to the law enforcement. Also stating out of every 100 rapes, 32 are only reported, seven leads to an arrest, two leads

In the 21st century, the U.S culture teaches women to accept violence. Young ladies are told about dress codes to not distract boys from their education. Young ladies are also taught that they are not allowed to show their skin because it's inappropriate and it shows “too much”. Examples of rape culture are sexual jokes, blaming the

The acceptance of rape myths and sexual scripts are also major contributors to the thriving rape culture. Rape myths are the false but commonly-held beliefs about rape, and they are closely related to sexual scripts, the culturally established prototypes for how sexual encounters should proceed. Both of these elements support the act of rape and promote the victim blaming and normalization that rape culture entails. Key rape myths include: 1. Husbands can’t rape their wives, 2. Men must engage in sex once sexually aroused 3.Women ask to be raped 4. Rapist are different from most other men 5. Women enjoy rape 6. Women lie about being raped. These incorrect principles can be traced to the patriarchal system that accepts and fosters rape as an

Along with television shows, news stations are accused of trivializing rape aswell. How many times have you heard, “She asked for it.” or any other type of victim blaming, or a derivative of,“Boys will be boys.” to make rape seem like not such a big deal (1a)? News channels will even go as far as scrutinizing a victim’s dress, mental state, motives and history to make the victim seem in the wrong about their rape (1a). Some channels will inflate the fake rape statistics to make rape seem like a less

As many of us currently know, at the moment there is a movement in place, dealing with dozens of allegations of sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein. Actor Milano tweeted to survivors of sexual harassment to use the hashtag #MeToo. This campaign created a huge amount of responses across social media, empowering many women in particular. On the other hand, not many male victims have received such support. They have been shut down, and were told that their timing and message we

Fitzgerald and Lonsway define myths of rape as “false but persistent beliefs and stereotypes regarding forced sexual intercourse and the victims and perpetrators of such acts” (Kahlor). These rape myths include opinions that women who act or dress offensively are asking to be raped, or women who claim to have been raped when they later regretted having consensual sex. While it may be a common myth that some women lie about being sexually assaulted, “the fact is that only 2% of rape reports prove to be intentionally reported falsely” (Bohmer). An additional flagrant myth about rape is that no actually means yes, and that being raped is what some women secretly want. Although there a many myths about rape that are related to the rape victim and what she was doing and wearing, there are many myths about rape that define the rapist and create false images on what people actually commit rape crimes. An example of one of those myths is that “rapists are sex-starved, insane, or both” and that the action of rape is strictly a passion crime (Iconis). These assertions provide many

I understand that the media is allowing society to become informed about sexual abuse by covering murder cases, high-profile offenders and congressional scandals in headlines and television shows. For decades, the media has portrayed pedophiles as monsters; however, they are no longer being viewed as the “stranger” in “danger.” They are your neighbors, friends, and family members. Most importantly, pedophiles are people before they become criminals. This “stranger danger” perception blinds us from the warning signs when the actual offender could be someone we know and care about. Society is always shocked to learn that someone has sexually abused a child. Often enough, we will ask, how could someone be so evil to sexually abuse a child? But

The media’s role should be to expose and generate awareness against society’s evil and immoral actions and therefore their role should be effective. I think that the media should be more aware of sexual violence against women. Many women have accused the media of being a second assault because of the insensitivity in suing pictures, names and other private information. Still women’s bodies are used as objects to sell and promote products which is very disturbing because 90% of the society will purchase that product if the women is “beautiful and attractive”. The media should highlight injustices meted out to women by the male dominated society.

Women: A Study of Television Viewing and the Cultivation of Rape Myth Acceptance in the United States." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic

Violence against women globally is so widespread a problem that it is now a widely understood fact that approximately one in three women have experienced either physical or sexual violence in her lifetime (WHO, 2013). The media plays a central role in shaping our understanding of the world around us and as a result its influence on how the wider community both views and understands violence against women is powerful. The media story titled: ‘The Steubenville Rape Case: Script goes awry for accused teen,’ tells the story of a sixteen-year-old girl who was raped by two high school football players who then shared photos of the rape on social media. This online article published by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) provides a startlingly

Rape culture is defined as “a culture in which dominant cultural ideologies, media images, social practices, and societal institutions support and condone sexual abuse by normalizing, trivializing and eroticizing male violence against women and blaming victims for their own abuse” (Kacmarek, 2014). Victim blame is present in just about any kind of assault case, but we will look at two cases of idolized men assaulting women. When women come forward with sexual assault allegations, the media’s response is to frame the people involved. The victim is framed by sexualizing, describing their state during the attack, or assume they are just seeking attention. The suspect is framed as a playboy, sociopath, or a monster.

As I mentioned before, rape culture can be seen in any types of media. The media “reinforces our desires to blame and punish, rather than reflecting upon the problem or situation.” One might think that the news media does a great job of telling the story without blaming the victim, but this is not always the case. Rather there has been several occasions where the media subtly hold the victim responsible for being raped. The news media does this by describing the victim’s personality, maybe to “outgoing” or what the victim was wearing when the assault occurred. Then when they describe the perpetrator they do it along with their awards. For example, the OH rape trial where “high school football players Ma’lik Richmond and Tyler Mays” were being

Brinson (1992) reported that “rape myths allow our culture to rationalize the prevalence of rape by offering explanations for its occurrence” . Further she states rape myths actually influence whether or not an assault will be considered “real rape.” Researchers have found evidence that the “greater acceptance of rape myths is associated with greater willingness to attribute blame to the victims of sexual assault” .

Rape culture is an environment in which social attitudes have the effect of normalizing sexual violence against women and excusing it in the media and other popular cultures. Rape culture attempts to rationalize a continuum of sexual violence that range from sexist remarks to unwanted sexual touching, and rape itself. Rape culture has become so desensitized by society that perpetrators may not be aware of their wrongdoings and victims may not realize they are being victimized. It is a culture in which victims are suppressed when they decide to speak up about their traumatic attack, because they are seen as being dramatic or untruthful while the perpetrator's actions are left unpunished. While the majority of victims are women, rape culture is not solemnly an issue of female oppression, it is a general disconnect between human beings. It is a culture that many of us refuse to accept exist, however there are numerous examples that normalize rape and sexual assault on a daily basis. Rape culture is not a new topic. The term was first used back in the 1970’s by a group of feminist to raise the awareness of the normalization of sexual violence in society. In recent years the topic has become a popular, controversial issue and has come to permeate virtually every aspect of our lives through media, song lyrics, and everyday jargon.