Rape Myth Acceptance: the blame on women Alejandra Prado San Jose State University JS 101-80 December 4 2017 Sexual violence can happen to anyone. In fact, one out of every six women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Although, it is women who are targeted most often, it is important to understand that rape can occur to any person, regardless of various factors such as age, race, sex, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. What many people do not ponder is that most of the time when a woman is raped, she is actually blamed for the assault. As Aosved mentions in her article titled, ‘Co-occurrence of Rape Myth Acceptance, Sexism, Racism, Homophobia, Ageism, Classism, and Religious Intolerance’, she states …show more content…
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 …show more content…
Burt explains that “the hypothesized net effect of rape myths is to deny or reduce perceived injury or to blame the victims for their own victimization” (Burt, 217). When men get raped they don't see it as getting raped. Yet, when it comes to women they are more easily blamed because of “poor choices” like walking down an alleyway late at night, wearing sexy clothes or for drinking too much, giving a man a “justifiable” reason for his actions. McMahon also describes how “common rape myths include the belief that the way a woman dresses or acts indicates that “she wanted it” and that rape occurs because men cannot control their sexual impulses” (McMahon, 357). Chapleau, Oswald and Russel also explicate how “benevolent sexism is associated with victim blaming to protect one’s belief in a just world” (602). Benevolent sexism is the reverent attitudes that reward women who are traditionally feminine and is similar to hostile sexism in the idea that hostile sexism is when women are objectified or degraded often presented as anger, resentment or fear, while benevolent sexism is just as harmful, but put into a positive disguise, in a casual nonchalant manner that doesn’t make it so
Rape myths are false, biased or cliché convictions about assault, assault casualties and attackers which may have the impact of preventing many examples from claiming constrained sex are really assault. To get a better understanding of rape myths, one should first comprehend the lawful meaning of Rape. The Sexual Offenses Act (2003) has given a definition of Rape, which is:
Rape can happen to anyone. Women from different cultures, races, ages, and economic level are all vulnerable. It does not matter who you are or where you live, although women of lowest status are most vulnerable to rape, and so are Hispanic and African American women. (An...
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights how vulnerable women are compared to men. Sexual assault is publicised and exposed in the media, however is often
This journal article explained research involving individuals who accept rape myths and their proclivity to rape. Those who believe rape myths to be true are more inclined to rape, according to the findings. This source is helpful in explaining rape myths and in creating a profile of rapists to discuss the forces behind rape. It discusses how rape is about power in describing the mediating factors behind why it is men who mostly rape, due to larger societal structures of male-dominance; it details how rape is about power, not sex, in describing the research. Information from this source was useful for constructing parts of the website.
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.
In the 2013 article, “Rape Culture’ Was Manufactured to Wage an Unjust War Against Men,” posted on the infamous blog site ReturnofKings.com, the author, whose name was only displayed as “Frost,” argues that “rape culture” was created by feminists and perpetuated by the fact that women falsely accuse men of rape, even if the evidence suggests otherwise. Frost dives into several key points, the dominant one being that women, feminists specifically, “use rape for their own political ends.” He claims that feminists created a mythology around rape, which came to be known as “rape culture” and that they use this as a tool for empowering themselves. While it’s entertaining to read this article as he attempts to make such drastic claims, I can’t help
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.")
In contemporary North America, if one were to ask almost any member of society what were the most heinous crimes a human being could commit, almost assuredly rape would be listed amongst every top five. Maybe it would even be competing for the number one spot. It is highly unlikely, absurd even, to think that any reasonable being would not find rape (or the broader term of sexual assault used in Canada) to be an abhorrent act becoming of no real human being. However, knowing this: that is, that the vast majority of citizens in North American society are in agreement on the nature of such a crime, it is all the more puzzling that many continue to harbour a mindset that gives them the tendency to blame the victim to an extent in such cases – especially in incidents where the perpetrator is male and the victim female.
When women are raped they are almost always faulted. Regardless of how brave some individuals are women were given guidelines on how to avoid being a victim of rape. The brave individuals who decide to speak out about abuse and the horrifying experience. “She should not be walking out alone at night; she should not hitchhike; she should not live alone…she should not dress in such a way as to “invite” rape” (Rosalyn Baxandall and Linda Gordon, Dear Sisters: Dispatches from the Women’s Liberation Movement: Rape: The All American Crime; Karen Lindsey, Holly Newman, and Fran Taylor, pg.196). Why aren’t men being told what they should not wear? Why men aren’t told not to perpetuate rape? Men are once again, capable of keeping women in fear. Rape is force, intimidation, and dreadful to women, so when they go throu...
Men can be raped by women, just as much as the opposite is true and this fact is ignored. Women are statistically less likely to be imprisoned for rape charges, and if charged, will go for fewer years than a man for the same case charges. The feminist movement has brought about a new, well-known saying, “No means No.” No matter the situation or circumstance, if someone says no, the consent has been withdrawn and the activity needs to stop. Rather than searching for physical evidence of rape, the community should concentrate on a person’s lack of consent to constitute whether an act is rape, “By constructing rape as any violation of any person’s nonconsent, feminist discourse broadened the meaning of rape to include a wider variety of situations (e.g., marital relationships) and to encompass acts that did not contain overt physical violence” (Chasteen 101). Rape culture covers all genders and sexualities, and the feminist antirape movement wants to heighten sexual
We live in a world where rape is common and is normalized to be part of a behavior and not a crime. Women are often given tips on how to avoid being raped or how to defend themselves from being rape (Gerdes). Society, in fact, is making people understand rape and cope around it when it’s unacceptable. Once society acknowledges that rape is bound to happen to any woman, rapists tend to blame the victim. There are several factors in which rape victims are being held responsible for the crime and not the rapist.
There are initiatives and programs designed to reduce sexual and other form of interpersonal violence, such as the the ‘Green Dot’ bystander-based prevention program, and the ‘Start By Believing’ campaign, a movement structured to teach how to support survivors to lessen the harm of sexual assault (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Social norms that protect and prevent against sexual and other types of violence need to be added to schools curricula and implemented through every stage of education. The issue of sexual assault needs to be examined in relation to intersecting identities and therefore working on closing the gap of inequality which perpetuates the cycle of violence. The responsibility to reduce the levels of traumatization and incidence of rape is something we can all be part of. Real change does not come from a comfortable place. Telling one’s own story of rape and violence has the power of bringing people together in a contemporary society delineated by inequality, separation, and dehumanization. We need to break the barriers of silence and start addressing anger instead of trying to restrict it. It is not until denial, self-protection, and sexism are hammered away and substituted with kindness and compassion, that true change can happen. The normalization of rape has created tolerance for an act that has lasting
Mackey, Frank Misogynist. Cultural rape myths. Survivors Emerging. Retrieved November 18, 2004 from the World Wide Web: http://people.morehead-st.edu/students/ar/aeruck01/culturalrapemyths.html
Throughout centuries, rape culture has been persistent in various societies, whether it is from the meager boondocks or the more established elite nations, it has been perpetual amongst human beings regardless of any reasoning as to why this practice transpires in the first place. Currently, one would define rape culture as a typical practice where males sexually objectify or violate women who do not first handily consent to the course of action. Stereotypes are constructed from rape culture primarily because there tend to be gender roles embedded within who the culprit and the victim may be. Julia Serano, a transgendered activist and author of “Why Nice Guys Finish Last,” elaborates on the topic of why certain stereotypes
According to statistics, 90% of rape victims are female, and over 98% of rapists are male. Because of our patriarchal society, the majority of all rapes happen to women. A patriarchal society is a predominantly male based society, meaning that men are deemed to be more superior t...