Rape Culture's Ugly Effects in Society

Anonymous

This myTake is a extension of the previous myTake.

Another definition to help you guys understand: Rape culture is a sociological concept for a setting in which rape is pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes about gender and sexuality
(Olfman, Sharna (2009). The Sexualization of Childhood. ABC-CLIO. p. 9.). These social attitudes can also affect a person's behavior which in turn normalize and trivialize sexual abuse and assault. These social attitudes can also build up, little by little, to instigate sexual violence against other persons. There is a negative stigma surrounding the word "rape," which people try to avoid any associations with that word as much as possible. For example, claiming that there is no rape culture and how they would beat up a rapist if they saw one. However, there isn't a stigma about the social attitudes and behaviors that promote rape culture.

Rape Culture's Ugly Effects in Society

What is sexual consent?
• It must be mutual
• No persons within the sexual act is drunk, intoxicated, unconscious, or legally unable to give consent for the sexual act
• It can be revoked at anytime

• One time consent doesn't equal consent at anytime

• Being in a relationship with another person doesn't mean you have their consent at any time

This proves that many people, especially guys, don't know that consent can be revoked at anytime
This proves that many people, especially guys, don't know that consent can be revoked at anytime

Calling victims attention seekers or liars when they announce their experience

Despite what you believe, most of them aren't lying and trying to seek attention from this. You promote the reality of rape culture when you gaslight an actual victim as "an attention seeker" or "a liar." That kind of behavior trivializes the rape or sexual assault that has occurred.

Victim blaming

Female victims are blamed for factors that were outside their control or "factors" that shouldn't even have mattered. Victim blaming of male victims is the result of toxic masculinity, which assumes that men can't get raped or sexually assaulted and if he gets raped then he "deserved" because he's weak.

Rape Culture's Ugly Effects in Society

Assuming a gay/bi man can't get raped by a man

Many people have this bias, whether or they are aware of it, because they assume he's attracted to men and he must've enjoyed it, even though he wasn't in the mood to have sex or he's not attracted to the particular man who raped him. Gay/bi men would be gaslighted the most because there's also the assumption that "men always want sex and they can't get raped by a woman."
Assuming that sexual assault victims aren't really victims because they didn't actually get raped

A lot of people seem to think that victims of sexual assault are lucky because they didn't get raped in that event. Sexual assault does threaten the dignity of another person. Sexual assault is a crime and the victim can suffer from psychological symptoms of PTSD.
Assuming that a man is not a "real man" if he doesn't try to convince another person to have sex with him after the other person said no.

This is a part where women are part of the problem because it promotes the idea that no means yes. This promotes some guys who are stupid enough to think it's okay to pressure a woman into having sex with him after she said no like 20 times or when she revokes consent during sex.
Believing that teenage boys should be forgiven for committing assault and rape because they were "just being boys" and "made a mistake"

This is an example of what some people have said about Kavanaugh, regarding if he actually has sexually assaulted Dr. Ford.
Assuming that it's impossible for women to be sexual predators

Although men are more likely to be sexual predators and women are more likely to be victims, it's possible for women to be sexual predators and get away with it. It's also possible for men to be victims of rape or sexual assault. Rape culture is also when people assume that a straight man is gay if he complains about getting sexually assaulted or abused by a woman and that he should feel "lucky," even though he wasn't in the mood to have sex or he's not attracted to the particular woman who raped him
Assuming that unattractive people can't be victims of sexual abuse and assault

While it's been showed that unattractive animals are less likely to be sexually harassed by other animals, but the data on unattractive people being sexually harassed has yet to be found. However, there really isn't an attractiveness requirement for sexual abuse and assault.
Prison rape

This very prevalent in the whole world, including the West. Barely anyone is trying to stop this from happening in prisons, which are supposed to be "behavioral rehabilitation centers." There are women being raped by prison guards. There are gangs in male prisons that rape the weakest male and try to turn him "into a woman." These are examples of how rape is about power and control.

Date rape

It happens very often and it ruins the victim's perception of dating. This is where the victim can be blamed for "picking" the wrong person to date, even though this is really outside the victim's control and psychic power.

Marital rape

This happens all over the world and it still happens in the West. It took a long history to make marital rape illegal in the United States, but there are thirteen states that make exceptions to marital rape.
Rape in the military and war

This is another form of rape as a use of power and control. A lot of women have been raped in the U.S. military, but it's very unfortunate that no one cares for them even though they put their lives up for America. A lot of men have been raped too. Rape is a common occurrence during war, which everyone ignores.

Talking about "rape" fantasies

There is no such thing as a rape fantasy. It's possible to fantasize about being sexually dominated, but it's not possible to fantasize about getting raped. When people say that they "fantasize" about getting raped, they are promoting rape culture.
Rape jokes

These jokes help normalize and trivialize rape within a society. It's built in rape culture. For example, Bill Cosby joked about drugging women to sleep with him and a lot of women claimed that he did rape them. Donald Trump joked about grabbing a woman by the genitals and several women came forward to say that he did grab them by the genitals. These jokes aren't about sex at all. It's about power and control.

Rape Culture's Ugly Effects in Society

Ignoring rape of people outside your race

For many years, Native American women have been raped because of a legislative loophole that allowed nonmembers of the tribe to rape them without any judicial punishment. When a nonwhite woman gets raped, the news is less likely to report it. However, the news is more likely to report a rape story if a white woman gets raped.

Objectification

This mainly affects women and trans-women too. Objectification is when a person's perceived value of you as a sex object exceeds your value as a person. When you reduce someone down to an object, especially a sex object, it promotes sexual violence against that person because it makes it easier to perpetuate violence against a person who is perceived as an object (sub-human).

Having a less harsh view of female pedophiles and rapists

Generally, female criminals get a less harsh sentence/perception from society. A lot of people think that a male student, who isn't eighteen yet, is "lucky" if he sleeps with his teacher even though there is a power inequality between them in all cases or the boy may have not been strong enough to defend himself from his hideous, female teacher. This sort of sexism promotes rape culture.

Rape Culture's Ugly Effects in Society
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