The Importance Of Rape Culture

According to Marshall University’s Women Center, the definition of rape culture is “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture.” (“Rape Culture.”) This can be found in ideas such as victim-blaming, trivialization of assault, and pressure for individuals to adhere to strict gender roles. This culture is

Many individuals might wonder, what is rape culture? “Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women’s rights and safety.” Most women limit their behavior because of the existence of rape. (Marshall University)

In feminist theory, rape culture is a setting in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality. The sociology of rape culture is studied academically by feminists. There is disagreement over what defines a rape culture and as to whether any given societies meet the criteria to be considered a rape culture. The notion of rape culture has been used to describe and explain behavior within social groups, including prison rape, and in conflict areas where war rape is used as psychological warfare. Entire societies have been alleged to be rape cultures.

America has a proud history of being a country that has many different ethnicities and cultures living within its borders. But one of the most prevalent cultures is one that transcends race or country of origin, rape culture. The term used by modern day feminist and gender activist defines a culture which normalizes rape and sexual assaults because of the deeply rooted societal attitudes towards gender and sexuality. In a rape culture the instances of rape are accepted as everyday occurrences and even as the prerogative of men, resulting in the stigmatization and blame placing of rape victims. Although the phrase “rape culture” is relatively modern, the

Now as a College student, speaking of rape culture is definitely an obligation. Reading the “The myth of the college ‘rape culture’” article in the NY post by Naomi Schaefer, she talks about the survey Harvard did as part of an effort by the American Association of Universities to quantify sexual assault on campus. The survey where bit vague but it looked like it was more of an alcohol problem more than a rape problem. The statistics show that most of the victims and the offenders drank alcohol or did drugs voluntarily. Yes there are some cases where the rapist was just a mad man that like raping but on campuses this is rarely seen. Quoting two things from Scaefer “On campuses where students are encouraged to see every bad sexual decision as an assault, incapacitated is a way students can explain away their behavior” and “Once you dig through all of the data collected here, there is no evidence that women are

Before the emergence of the Westernized “anti-rape” movement, there was a distinctly rape supportive discourse in our society, supported by myths and justifications for the act of raping another human being. The resulting trauma for the victims of rape was greatly ignored as society

“rape culture includes jokes, TV, music, advertising, legal jargon, laws, words and imagery, that make violence against women and sexual coercion seem so normal that people believe that rape is inevitable. Rather than viewing the culture of rape as a problem to change, people in a rape culture think about the persistence of rape as ‘just the way things are’” (Wavaw,)

Rape Culture is when society normalizes rape, supports it and claims that it is okay. Rape culture was created by American feminists around the 1970’s (“Rape Culture”). According to Transforming a Rape Culture, Rape culture is “ a complex of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexually as violent. A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm” (Buchwald, Emilie, Pamela R.

If someone was asked, would you approve of rape? Usually, the answer would be no without any hesitation, but what people do not seem to realize is that people say yes to rape all the time due its promotion through rape culture that is everywhere in our society. The concept of rape culture is not new, but the term itself is and over the most recent years the definition of rape culture has gradually evolved, that there is not one specific definition for the term anymore. Women and men alike have started to research and discuss concepts revolving around rape culture using a variety of definitions that fit the concept of rape culture. Several of the information gathered from a variety of research has been very interesting and eye opening to the

A big component to the prominence of rape culture is cultural factors themselves. In the “Sexual

Rape culture is defined as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture” (according to Marshall University). Rape culture includes a society where blaming the victim, telling sexual jokes, believing that men don’t get raped, etc. is tolerated. It is a society where it is normalized to tell females to avoid getting raped instead of telling males not to rape. Some don’t genuinely know what rape culture is and they don’t get why it is a problem. Everyone should be aware of what rape culture is but these people are not at fault. Rape and the culture that society has initiated it to be is rarely spoken of or not expressed correctly. It is important for children and adults to understand the severity of what rape is. In the United States of America alone a person is sexually assaulted.

Rape culture is recognized as blaming the victim for sexual assault and promotes sexual violence to be acceptable. Society portrays rape culture in different situations, one of which can be depicted as shameful and unjust in the college setting. In the college environment, it is not uncommon for a case of sexual assault to be kept on a low profile in order to not damage the school’s reputation. The outcome of women reporting sexual assault is low in a college setting due to rape culture and even those who do get an unfair outcome that promotes rape culture in college authority. The unfair outcomes of rape culture through society’s perception, with unjust law enforcement, and can affect women in many ways that can change their lives.

Rape culture is often dismissed as hysterical feminist theories getting out of hand. For most, rape is an uncomfortable topic and is avoided in conversation all together. That is the problem at hand. I am here to tell everyone that rape culture is a serious issue that we need to be more educated about. In order to stop it, we need to have a better understanding about what it means to live in a rape culture. The term “rape culture” refers to a culture in which attitudes about rape are tolerant enough to be an enabling factor in anything ranging from sexual harassment to actual rape. (Rape Culture) An example of rape culture would be when women who come forward about being sexually assaulted are asked about what they were wearing. As if clothing has anything to do with the fact that they were raped. A phrase used commonly by rape culture perpetrators is “she was asking for it.” Blaming the assault on what the victim was wearing, or how she was acting is a prime example of ‘victim blaming’. We need to take a stand against objectifying women and normalizing harassment.

What is rape culture? Rape culture, a term created by feminists circa 1972, ‘…is best defined as a culture in which rape is prevalent, pervasive, and

In class this semester, we’ve spent a particularly long time defining and addressing the problems associated with rape culture. Rape culture can be 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” (Huffington Post). Rape culture can be as simple as a T.V. commercial or as complex as a rapist blaming the victim for “asking for it” and everything in between. Rape culture is something that effects everyone; not just women, but men too. I’m really glad that we were given the opportunity to spread the word throughout the community;