Aspects Of Rape Culture

In the 1970s, feminists coined the term Rape Culture. The term is a combination of Rape, a form of sexual assault involving sexual penetration without consent, and Culture, the ideas, customs, and social behavior of society. When put together, Rape Culture comprises of a collection of beliefs that encourage sexual aggression and supports violence against women. Rape Culture allows the justification of rape and allowing rape to flourish. While some find it difficult to identify elements linked to Rape Culture, the examples below will highlight everyday occurrences that show its prevalence.

An everyday occurrence of Rape Culture is Catcalling. Catcalling is loud whistling or commentary of a sexual nature made by a man to a passing woman. In

Most argue that if people can joke about cancer, dead babies and racism, rape should not be an exception. However, the concern is that rape jokes mock rape victims and normalize sexual assault. Renowned stand up comedian Daniel Tosh received backlash for jokingly saying, “Wouldn’t it be funny if that girl got raped by, like, five guys right now? Like right now?” The girl in this case referred to a member of the audience who had informed him that rape jokes are never funny. The public outrage that followed caused Tosh to tweet that his point on making rape jokes was that “there are awful things in the world but you can still make jokes about them”. While what he said is most definitely true, how he framed his joke was certainly not funny, especially since it publicly humiliated a woman. Rape is never funny and joking about it validates rapists, undermining the seriousness of

Dress Codes are commonplace in today's society but in recent years, outrage at restrictive dress codes are increasing. A report by The Guardian illustrates an example of a restrictive dress code. Stephanie Hughes was called to the Principal’s office because the outfit she was wearing revealed her collar bones. Her outfit, comprising of a cardigan with a tank top underneath and jeans, was deemed as by her School Principal as inappropriate attire. The Principal explains that because her outfit revealed her collar bones, it would distract fellow male students and was hence not appropriate for school. Such dress codes only highlight the objectification of females, teaching males that while it is their responsibility to study, attaining poor scores can be explained as a result of distraction by the female students’ revealing clothes. Such dress codes teach males, in this case teenage boys, that they have the right to push the blame onto the females and shirk responsibility. While dress codes are tied to professionalism and etiquette, enforcing unreasonable dress codes that place emphasis on covering up the female body only ascertains the fact that Rape Culture is