Male Predators and Female Prey: Gender Roles and Rape Culture

In American society, there are so many cult-like obsessions. The culture of social justice is one of them, and unfortunately the most prominent. A facet of social justice is rape culture, which was coined as a culture during the second wave of feminism during the early 1970’s and was, according to the encyclopedia of rape, “often used by feminists to describe contemporary American culture as a whole.” (1) Rape culture, by definition though, is “a culture in which rape and other sexual violence (usually against women and gender diverse peoples ) are common and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media condone, normalize, excuse, or encourage sexualized violence." (2) At its earliest beginnings, rape culture was more viable. However, today, in 21st century America, one must wonder, why is this even still an issue? Furthermore, one must deliberately consider just why rape culture only applies to women as victims of sexual violence instead of people of sexual violence. Men, for example, are not regarded as victims, ever. Apparently, men cannot be sexually assaulted. Rape culture allows for “gender diverse peoples” but they’re certainly not talking about men. Unless of course, those men just happen to dress as women and are raped because they are mistaken for women. But you see, therein another can of worms is opened, because it specifically relates to women and people who look like women. Sounds a bit ridiculous to me. I can’t remember a time when rape was ever a parlor joke. In America? In the 21st century? No damn way.

In all actuality, rape culture is the perpetuated myth that all men have the potentiality to become rapists. This in turn, makes every woman a victim of their rapist’s potential. In fact, it is o...

... middle of paper ...

... sensations of pain so that the whole thing would be less physically painful. This doesn’t mean she won’t carry the emotional scars. The difference here though, is that men do not have this type of protection. Their bodies do not do anything to make their rape less physically severe. I am aware that physical penetration in which a man is straddled by a woman is quite different from physical penetration in which a man is being raped by another man or by a woman anally. Unfortunately, the arousal of a man being raped is often looked upon as a reaction that must mean that he was enjoying being sexually assaulted. Again, complete bullshit. How many guys out there have ever gotten an erection from their pants rubbing them awkwardly or have woken up from a nocturnal emission? How do any of these things differ from the automatic response to being assaulted? They don’t.