Terms

Objectification: Treating and/or viewing a person as an object

Rape: Forced sexual intercourse

Sexual Harassment: Unwanted sexual contact that stops short of rape or attempted rape

Sexual Violence: Rape and sexual harassment

Despite the name, rape culture doesn’t simply address rape. It is the attitude behind our society. Rape culture is the concept that forges and explains the connection between sexual violence, and the culture of a society. It is the notion that our society tolerates and even excuses sexual violence.

Often, the term ‘rape culture’ is used in the news and media. Those immersed in activism for women and the LGBT communities are familiar with this term, based off the fact that 17% of women and 42% of homosexuals have been a victim of sexual harassment. For the rest of us, what exactly does rape culture mean?

There are a lot of misconceptions behind our culture and its attitudes towards sexuality. At one end, American culture objectifies and portrays women as “sexy” in TV and movies. At the other end, women are condemned for expressing their sexuality and revealing their bodies. This polarization creates confusion in young women who are trying to find their identity, one that their young men contemporaries do not face.

Let’s walk through a scenario that explains the attitudes of rape culture. A young woman by the name of Sally was walking down the street in a miniskirt. Suddenly, she was pulled off the sidewalk and raped. Because Sally was wearing a short skirt, does she deserve to be raped? No. What if she was drunk? Still, no. No one ever deserves to be raped, no matter their race, creed, sexual orientation, sobriety, or what they were wearing. The most unsettling part of our society is that we have the nerve to even ask the question “What were you wearing?”  Like the protestor sign reads, “Don’t tell me how to dress, tell them not to rape.” Our culture has taught women to adapt their behavior to men’s aggressive drives. Sociologist Heather Hlavka studied 100 interviews with young girls and their views on sexual violence. Many of these girls think that sexual harassment is a normal, inevitable byproduct of men. One 13-year-old girl, a subject in Hlavka’s study, explained, referring to boys at her school, “They grab you, touch your butt and try to, like, touch you in the front, and run away, but it’s okay, I mean… I never think it’s a big thing because they do it to everyone.”

This normalization of sexual violence is disturbing. Talking about these topics makes people uncomfortable, so important points go unsaid. When sexual violence is not brought to light, explained, and discouraged in boys, it has wicked consequences. As shown, 13-year-old girls begin to make their own assumptions. Girls start to think that it’s okay to be harassed, or even raped. When boys are not thwarted for treating girls as objects, they begin to think it’s okay too. Studies show that 60% of sexual assaults are not reported to police. When rape awareness is quieted, it literally condones rape.

It is important to be aware of rape culture in our nation. It isn’t just a feminist issue, even though 99% of rapists are, in fact, male. It may not appear to be an issue on the surface of everyday life, but the facts are that 1 in 6 women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. If you have a mother, sister, or friend that is a woman, this issue concerns you. Everyone in this country has met a victim of sexual violence, whether they know it or not. Just remember, rape culture is the outlooks and attitudes of our society that fuel the vicious cycle of sexual harassment. If we can eliminate the attitudes behind sexual violence, then we can eliminate the violence itself. This can be achieved through educating males both young and old to better respect women and to teach women to respect themselves.