Why rape?

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*Why rape?*

The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) (2009) is the “The nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization.” According to this accredited anti-sexual violence charity, every two minutes someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. Furthermore, they report that approximately 1 in every 6 women has been the victim of an attempted or completed sexual assault. In 2003, 9 out of every 10 rape victims were female (RAINN). The statistics speak for themselves and support the theory that sexual assault is a prevalent issue in the United States. What the statistics do not examine is the reason sexual assault occurs. Moreover, the statistics fail to explain why women are most often the victims of these sexual assaults. This paper will attempt to uncover the truth behind the numbers, by examining research and theories on why professionals believe sexual assault occurs.

While several theorists have presented their understanding of the motivations for rape, no one theory has been solely acknowledged as the correct answer. Understanding sexual assault is a complex issue and may be explained by a variety of factors that play parts in the greater whole. It is a collaboration of institutional and socialized norms that discriminate against women and the characteristics they are associated with. As Marilyn Frye (1983) discussed in her book The Politics of Reality, the oppression of women, like the oppression of many other minority groups can be described as a birdcage. It is her assertion that, when one is close to the cage, each wire stands as an individual hindrance and can simply be dodged, but if one is to back away from the wire and see the cage fully, the collection of the wires is the force whi...

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...seems as though both men and women should increase their education on the topic and reflect on how they can personally contribute to changing the way women are viewed in America.

References

Frye, M. (1983). The politics of reality: essays in feminist theory. Trumansburg, N.Y.:

Crossing Press.

King, N. (2003). Knowing Women: Straight Men and Sexual Certainty. Gender and

Society, 17(6), 861-877. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from the JSTOR database.

Pearson, A. (2000). Rape Culture: Media and Message. Off Our Backs,30(8), 13-14.

Retrieved March 25, 2012, from the JSTOR database.

Statistics. RAINN. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http://www.rainn.org/statistics

Whaley, R. B. (2001). The Paradoxical Relationship between Gender Inequality and

Rape: Toward a Refined Theory. Gender and Society,15(4), 531-555. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from the JSTOR database.

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