This essay is going to explore how societies, particularly in the western sphere, become desensitized to violence as a result of excessive media coverage. In particular, the portrayal of sex crimes will be discussed in an attempt to understand how and why societies become desensitized to such crimes and the problems attached to an emotionally detached world. As this essay focusses on desensitization, it is important to consider what this term means. Desensitization is a process which is concerned with the reduction in emotional responsiveness to a stimulus after repeated exposure to it (Anderson and Bushman, 2002). Within this essay, the process of desensitization is explored in terms of violence, more specifically crimes of a sexual nature. …show more content…
Key examples of the rape cases published in modern society, particularly across western media sources would be gang rapes occurring in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as drug facilitated rape occurring mainly in the United States and the United Kingdom (Freedman, 2013). These common types of sex crimes are constantly in the forefront of the media, causing entire societies at a time eventually becoming desensitized to such acts, categorising rape and other sex crimes and normal and acceptable behaviour (Bushman and Anderson 2009). This shift in public attitudes is a result of repeated exposure to these particular crimes, which is made worse by the target audience’s morbid fascination with sex crime reports (Pheonix and Oerton, 2005). It can be suggested that desensitization causes a united public response to be decreased or detached in terms of emotional response. This can also be analysed as an example of media representation. This is due to the idea that any unpleasant or troubling events which we as individuals have not experienced personally must fit with the mutual discourse of the event in order for our minds to make sense of it. Arguably in the case for sex crimes, media representations allow individuals to make sense of sexual violence simply by grouping it with the discursive ideas surrounding sex crimes such as rape at that moment in time (Hoijer, …show more content…
This figure is also presented in the sheer volume of media coverage that drug facilitated rape receives. However this coverage may not just be creating awareness of the issue, but desensitizing the audience to drug facilitated rape, resulting in victims not being sympathised with, and attitudes on social problems shifting after repeated exposure (Bushman and Anderson 2009). A study showing the results of repeated exposure to drug facilitated rape was completed using Yale College students. The participants were given scenarios and asked for their opinions on whether it would class as date rape or otherwise (Saporta, 2009). Results found that despite students having extensive knowledge on the legal definitions, they were reluctant to use the term date-rape or drug facilitated rape. This suggests that the inability to define consent within sexual activities will only lead to an increase in rape cases. Saporta argues that date rape has a dangerously high social acceptance, possibly rooting from ideas of sexism (Saporta, 2009). Another conclusion that could be taken from this study is that date rape is seen as socially acceptable due to how much media coverage is displayed on the matter. Modern society is exposed to articles and cases surrounding drug facilitated rape so often that when asked to judge on a situation, their judgement is shifted towards
Schneider L, Mori L, Lambert P, Wong A. The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Perceptions of Rape and Its Aftereffects. Sex Roles [serial on the Internet]. (2009, Mar), [cited March 16, 2014]; 60(5/6): 410-421. Available from: SocINDEX with Full Text.
Cross-cultural research has shown that rape is most common in cultures that are dominated by males and violence. This means cultures in which males dominate the political decisions and cultures adhering to the male ideology of toughness, interpersonal violence and war (Groth 7). In a culture of people with more traditional or sexist gender role, attitudes are more tolerant of rape than are people with more nontraditional attitudes. Traditional men are more likely to report that they would commit rape if they knew they would not be caught; some researchers have found that a traditional man is much more likely to commit a rape than a nontraditional man is. Many attitudes in our culture perpetuate rape, for example: A husband is entitled to have sex with his wife," "A 'real man' never passes up a chance to have sex," and, "A women who 'leads a man on' deserves what she gets (Growth 7). “ Some media depictions may promote rape. Many movies make violence appear attractive and some movies convey myths about rape. Such as slasher films that make violence seem exciting, or movies suggesting that women like to be forced to have sex or that women's only value...
One of the most horrible things that has erupted from the subjugation of women is rape culture. Rape culture is the downplaying of the crime of rape to appease the violator, the accusation that the victim made a choice that led to their rape, or even jokes that suggest rape. According to Jessica Valenti’s, “In Rape Tragedies, the Shame Is Ours,” in today's world many people give in to rape culture by participating in these acts that somehow change our mindsets into believing that, “it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist”. Once ...
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “it would do some women good to get raped,” from a historical perspective, lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Women are still seen as the property of men, are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men are usually more aggressive, and women are seen as passive. (Vogelman) This socialization process is changing, but slowly.
In America, violence has always been an integral part of national culture. Crime and bloodshed are glorified both on and off screen. The more disturbing the act of violence, the more enthralled the public seems. The most prolific of crimes, those committed by infamous serial killers, inspire the most attention. As said by Jeff Lindsay, creator of the book series that inspired the wildly-popular television program, Dexter, “We’re sickened and disgusted, but we need to know. And the more we know about the scene, the more we really are horrified” (“Sympathy for the Devils”). Violence, especially committed by this special class of felons, is enthralling. News reports play a role in this strange attraction, as it is through the news that people even have knowledge of such killers, but the evolution in the “serial killer genre” (Lindsay, “Sympathy for the Devils”) of film and television helps to desensitize people to the gruesome murders that are committed. This begs the question of whether this disturbing trend should be stopped, lest the American “culture of violence” (this has a source) continues to grow stronger. Through news reports, film, and television, criminals are constantly romanticized through use of sympathetic characterization and gratuitous depictions of their crimes, which lends to peoples’ increasingly positive attitudes toward violence and, in turn, feeds the growing culture of violence in America.
One of the most common misconceptions about rape is that is it committed by strangers most of the time. However, this is not the case. Date rape is an epidemic affecting tens of thousands of people across the world at staggering rates. The rape stereotype in our culture today is a jumping out of the shadows type of rape. Most people think that when someone is raped either their house is broken into and they are attacked, they are kidnapped, or something along those lines. Actually, 84% of women know their attacker (Hammond). This can become problematic for our society because victims are looking out for an attack that most likely will not take place, while ignoring assaults that are far more likely.
As the term “rape culture” grows in popularity, it is imperative to break it down to understand what it actually means. According to a report by the Marshall University Women’s Center, “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 supplemented by the objectification of women’s bodies, glamorization of sexual violence, as well as many other saddening realities in society. A sad outcome of rape culture in todays society is that women are often seen as the one at fault in rape. Commonly excuses are immediately made for them men, such as blaming the girl for being too intoxicated, blaming the girl for the way she was dressed, or even blaming the girl for speaking out about it at all. A perfect example of rape culture in the media took place in Steubenville, Ohio. A 16-year-old girl, incapacitated by alcohol, was gang raped by two high school football players who then shared photos of the assault on their social networking sites and with their friends. Immediately, mainstream news and media began to blame the victim saying she should not have chosen to get so intoxicated in the first place. The two boys were given the minimum allowed sentence of 1 and 2 years. This court case caused an uproar and a
In the male typologies there are separate categories for child molesters and rapists, which is largely due to fact that they offend in very different ways. However, for the female typologies there is no such distinction, because all except one of the typologies have victims who are on average less than 15 years old (Vandiver & Kercher, 2004).The Aggressive Homosexual Offender is the only typology with an adult offender, however the victims are female (Vandiver & Kercher, 2004).The lack of a typology for female offenders with male adult victims could be due to certain factors playing a part in society. In particular, in today’s rape culture there is the belief that women cannot physically rape men. One reason why this belief is held is because society views women as physically weaker than men and are unable to overpower men. The male sex drive discourse also adds to this belief if men can never refuse sex than they essentially can never be raped. This belief has various problems for both men and women. The lack of a typology that includes adult male victims minimizes and ignores real men that were victimized by women. Not including men in the victim analysis sends the message that they are not ‘real’ victims. In contrast to that, since these victims are not seen as ‘real’ victims, the female offenders are not seen as ‘real’ offenders. By
Susan Griffin’s Rape: The All-American Crime touches on many issues within American society. She begins by recounting how she was taught to be afraid of strange men from such a young age that she had not yet learned what it was she was so afraid of, and then goes into her experience with harassment, an experience shared by every woman at some point in her life. Griffin recounts the belief that all rapists are insane and the proof that they are just normal men and dispels the myth that rape is normal activity that is prohibited by society. However, she goes on to clarify that our culture views rape: “as an illegal, but still understandable, form of behavior” (Griffin 514). It seems that the wrongness of rape is determined by the situation in
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
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.
Due to advances made by the American mass media, the way Americans react to and interact with rape culture has changed dramatically changed from 1960 to the present. News coverage of major rape trials, movies and books involving rape have caused the American people to change their perspectives and reshape the way trials are carried out and the way female rape victims are viewed and treated during and after trials. During the 1960’s, due to societal and religious conventions, a victim’s history, chastity, and moral character were brought to light to serve as attestation against the claimant. After the feminist movement took off in the 1970’s, laws regarding this topic began to change drastically and hard facts and witnesses began being used to determine outcomes of cases. Although news stations, movies, and novels can further new ideas and offer the American people an insight into rape law and culture reform, they often set some of the forward progress back by promoting “traditional” views of rape, rape culture, and rape myths, in which the victim is made into a provocateur. In order to prevent this heinous crime from occuring, or at least reduce the ever increasing number of incidents, Americans must take it upon themselves to become educated upon the topic of rape. This means that they must collectively decide to see only the facts presented in a case, tell the difference between truth and rape myths perpetuated by society, and understand the long term and short term effects experienced by victims before, during, and after the trial, regardless of the situation.
Within the criminal justice system, the victim faces re-victimization with the techniques that are done within the court room. For example, the defense attorney may try to use rape myths such as the victim asked for it based on the way she may have dressed, the victim led the offender on by flirting with them, and that she could have avoided being raped if she wasn’t drinking (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). The purpose of using rape myths is to demonize the victim’s character by subjecting the victim to humiliating and inquisitive questions (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). Third, the victim may not report rape to law enforcement because they may fear retaliation by the offender, especially if that offender is a lifelong partner or a boyfriend. Fourth, due to the culture of rape and the influences of the media, a victim may feel guilty and blame themselves for the assault (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 377). As stated earlier, rape myths are used to demonize the victim’s character and ultimately take the blame away from the offender and put it onto the victim. In fact, rape myths serve to lessen the prevalence and seriousness of
When reporting crime events the media focus only on the negative scenarios that can impact the society, these events are to be know as “newsworthy” (Hall, 1978). Newsworthy crime news is formed through the selective approach taken by the editors where only the main idea of the topic is likely to be reproduced in the media. This is due to crime is not an open event as witnesses are limited hence the selective approach allows the editor to only report the thrilling parts of the crime. (Stuart Hall, 1978: p.53) quoted “‘News’ is the end-product of a complex proves which begins with a systematic sorting and selecting of events and topics according to a socially constructed set of categories”. As a result, this approach has formed bias opinions towards crime reporting as it’s presented in the editor’s point of view (Hall, 1978). The media hence only targets crime with events that is unexpected and events that’s viewed as out of the norm compared to the majority of the society. Alternatively, this changes the view of audiences as they view the society as a ‘problematic reality’ (Hall, 1978). The majority of world is therefore mislead by the fictional reporting of crime as many consumers
2011). The rape myths most widely studies and acknowledged included: husbands cannot rape their wives, women enjoy rape, women ask to be raped, and women lie about being raped. Assessment of such myths through measure such as The Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (RMAS; Burt 1980) and Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (IRMAS; Payne, Lonsway, Fitzgerald, 1994) show that not only does a portion of the population endorse them to some extent, but also that these beliefs permeate throughout media, religious, and legal domains. A troubling example of the myth that women ask to raped comes from Walklate (2008) in that 26% of polled participants thought a rape victim was partially or totally responsible if she was wearing sexy or revealing