My topic is the effect of rape culture on teens’ behavior at Chandler High. I chose it because it scared me that walking down a street alone made me anxious. In the United States, the odds of a woman being the victim of rape or attempted rape is 1 in 6. From a young age, girls are encouraged to avoid situations that put them in danger; women are told to carry pepper spray, never leave their drinks unattended, and to dress modestly. Even when sexually assaulted, most victims do not come forward; in fact, 98% of rapists will never spend time behind bars. I see this as a huge problem, and rape culture seems to be a large contributor to the issue. Rape culture is an environment in which sexual violence and assault is excused or normalized in a
An Elderly woman, normally a target in an unsafe neighborhood, carries a satchel of cash. It is the receipt of today's betting and the neighborhood knows robbing her would result in punishment that would be swift and certain, unlike the legal system. The retaliation preserves the mob's reputation and honor. The threat precludes an attack in the first place.
My topic is Neo-Nazism in America. Nazism, which is the body of political and economic doctrines held and put into effect by the National Socialist German Workers' party in the Third German Reich is at its highest peak since the destruction of Hitler's dictatorship in 1945. In the streets, Nazis are spreading fear by using murderous violence and terror. This group blames the cultural and ethnic minorities for the problems in our society. These individuals, and their political leaders, are a threat to our democracy, and to everything that is decent.
Also, the colleges that attempt to cover up the crime should be penalized by not our justice system but the media so the world can be better informed about the college they either go to or send their child to. First I summarized "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous Places for Women?" written by A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Space. The. Then I used information from my criminology class to better define violent crime. Lastly, I explained how rape on campus is not a cultural component.
Nicole Johnson*, a 22-year-old senior at an area university looks back at her college experience as graduation approaches, generally happy with how everything turned out, however, a dark cloud still looms over her freshman year when she was raped.
“I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn’t move” (Henneberger, 2012). These are words written by a college freshman after she had been raped, but they are true for many others as well. According to the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties, “every two minutes someone in the US is sexually assaulted” (Get the Facts). “Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the than the general population to be victims of sexual assault” (Get the Facts). These women may be described as slut, cheap, or ready for action, rather than victim, sufferer, or survivor. Rape myths encourage these demeaning terms for women and conceal the reality of rape culture. I will describe the pervasiveness of sexual assault on college campuses as well as the systems and procedures in place to address it. Power plays a role in this issue, including the powerful men on campus such as athletes and fraternity members as well as the administrators in power who regulate the punishments and actions that are taken against the perpetrators. The influence of those in power often goes overlooked in our society because it has become so intertwined with our culture.
Rape until 2012 was defined as “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” It was severely lacking was only updated by the Federal Bureau of Instigation in 2012. It left out an entire section of rape that can be committed which is man being the rape victim. This lead to misclassification of rape of males for years. So even the statistics used till 2014 were underwhelming and inaccurate when it was related to male rape or sexual assault. Rape in the United States is now defined by the Department of Justice as “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” Male Rape or men being the sexual assault victims are rarely ever the subject of a dialogue when Sexual Assault is the topic being discussed because rape is generally seen as a heterosexual highly sexed male attack on vulnerable, attractively dressed female victim. Most rapists have alternative outlets for sexual gratification, many take little notice of their victim 's physical attributes, and some may experience sexual dysfunction during the assault.
Deviant behavior is defined as a behavior or action that is against the social norms of society. Rape is a deviant behavior that is a type of sexual assaults that usually involving sexual intercourse. This happens when one person or more initiates sexual acts against another person without that person's consent. The act can be sometimes carried out by physical force, coercion, or a person not being able to give valid consent. Someone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or below the legal age of consent would fall under that category. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault. According to R.A.I.N (Rape, Abuse and Incet National Network, 2009) 44% of rape victims are under age 18 and 80% are under age 30. It is sad to report that every 2 minutes another American is assaulted which leaves an average of 237,868 victims, age 12 or older of sexual assault each year (R.A.I.N 2009). So who is to blame for this growing problem? It would be surprising to hear that many times people blame the victims. This is a growing concern for us all because it has led to a tremendous amount of unreported incidents which leads to the perpetrator roaming the streets waiting to strike again. Rape can lead to have severe traumatization and victim can suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder along with causing psychological harm and has been shown to cause physical injury, or have additional effects on the victim, such as acquiring of a sexually transmitted infection or becoming pregnant. Sadly following a rape, a victim may face violence or threats thereafter from the rapist.
From a very young age children have been taught by their parents that girls do one thing while guys do another. The reason for this is because our parents have been taught by their parents who were taught by their parents and so on and so fourth. When talking to most people about gender roles, they will start to see a pattern in the way they responses they receive, which will leave them with a good idea about how our society has formed the ideas and roles of sexes. Rape culture in modern day society is real and the biggest factors that contribute to it are we have been taught that boys need to grow up tough, girls need to be careful of some men, and that women need to be able to take care of a man and his needs. This way is poisonous to the
Examples of rape culture exist in the media, in politics, on college campuses, and in the minds of people.
I chose the topic of transgenderism. Transgender is when an individual tries to switch genders. Transgender comes from the Latin words trans, meaning “across.” Transgender literally means “across gender.” Many trans-individuals decided later on in their lives that they want to switch genders, and other people argue that they were born the wrong gender. Trans-people experience many difficulties throughout their lives. Switching genders makes their lives more challenging, because of many reasons. Their lives are more challenging because of their religion, whether or not they are accepted. The military is very strict, and will not accept trans individuals whatsoever. Insurance companies sometimes will not accept them as well. Trans people are not always accepted by certain occupations. Growing up in schools, trans people are all treated differently regarding to which bathroom/locker room to use. There is a huge debate whether or not trans students are even allowed to participate on sports teams, and if they are, which team to be on. Other obstacles such as birth certificates, passports, and driver’s licenses are all major issues as well. Trans people have to decide if they are willing to come forward, and say ‘This is who I am.’ But before trans-people can come out to other, they must come out to
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
What do you think and feel when you hear the word rape? Do you feel uncomfortable? Maybe even angry? Your certain feelings and emotions towards this word is a result of rape culture. Rape culture, essentially, is how a society as a whole sees and reacts towards rape or instances of rape. In 2013 rape was defined by the FBI as, “Penetration… of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” (Division’s Crime Statistics Management Unit 1). The definition was finally changed after the old definition deemed inappropriate by today’s standards, which beforehand, stated that physical force needed to be used for rape to be considered rape. This is good news for men and women who have been fighting for the definition to be changed, but unfortunately this does not mean that state laws are being changed the same way. Even though the FBI may acknowledge the older inappropriate definition, most states do not. Sexual assault is a commonly unreported crime, where only an average of 36% of sexual abuse is actually reported to the authorities (Planty 7). Some forms of rape can include physical harm, threats, and even death of the victim, and most victims do not want to tell others for fear of criticism, self-blame, or even the fear that their attackers will carry out on their threats. In many cases, victims do have a reason to be afraid. When someone is brave enough to come forward and say they were sexually assaulted, they are putting themselves in the position of being in not only a long legal process, but also having their motives questioned and misunderstood, which is the last thing they want after their experience. The legal system in the United States...
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.
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.")
Ken was my voice teacher. I never admired anyone more than him. He meant the world to me. It would be safe to say that we did not have a typical teacher/student relationship. I was infatuated with him. He was tall dark and had the voice of an angel. But he was eleven years older than I was, and he was my teacher. I learned from him, I confided in him, and I trusted him. I never pictured myself being with him. I never dreamt he would think of me as a 'woman' and not just a love-stricken seventeen year-old vocal student.