Gender Inequality and Sexual Assault: Why Both Sexes Are To Blame

Gender Inequality and Sexual Assault: Why Both Sexes Are To Blame

In a recent sociology class, Sandra Bem was mentioned. Bem is a sociologist who focuses on gender. However, unlike most sociologists, Bem chooses not to focus on the differences between males and females, but rather on the similarities. She says that polarized gender socialization, the way that we assign masculine or feminine characteristics to things such as walking and talking to make males and females appear to be opposite, keeps us from realizing that the sexes are more alike than they are different. Men and women have the same needs for food, clothing, shelter, affection, belonging, and so forth. So, what are we doing when we divide human beings by gender and exaggerate differences through social constructs that are not even pertinent? We are creating excuses for the problems we have by blaming gender differences. By continuing to dwell on the social differences between men and women in present day American society, we are merely propelling the problem of gender inequality and giving it a reason to remain, rather than eliminating it. Yet, in the 1990’s and continuing now in the twenty-first century, both the men and women of American society are impeding feminism because their shared responsibility is overlooked, especially in cases of rape and other sexual assaults.

It is clear when we look at a topic like rape that both sexes can be at fault, not only for the action at hand, but for the deterioration of equality in gender issues caused by that action. It is a well-established fact that men do not rape for sex, but rather for power. Men already have power just because they are men living in a male dominated society. Why on earth would a member of this "dominant" group feel the need to physically take over another person’s body in order to feel powerful? Are American men so accustomed to having their way that they feel they can do as they wish constantly and without thinking about the consequences? Or, are men who rape merely retaliating as a means of retrieving the power they have been losing since day one of the women’s movement? I am not at all saying that because women want to be treated fairly in society that they are then putting themselves as a whole at risk from the attacks of jealous men. Afterall, one never hears about women raping men even though women are trying to increase their amount of power.