Rape culture

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Rape rates (police reported) per 100,000 population, 2010–2012

In sociology, rape culture is a term that is used to describe a society where rape is common. This is mostly due to the views these societies have about gender and sexuality.[1][2] Other behaviours that can often be found include victim blaming and sexual objectification. People in these societies may trivialize rape, or they say that it isn't much of a problem. They also often deny the fact that sexual violence is causing harm to the victim. Very often, there is a combination of all these issues.[3][4]

The term rape culture has also been used for other settings, or to describe the behavior of specific groups of people: Examples of these are people being raped in prison, or using rape in a war, as a form of psychological warfare.

That way, entire societies have been called rape cultures.[5][6][7][8][9]

Some people also have sexual fantasies about raping someone, or being raped; in that context, their ideas may be seen as part of pornography.

Second-wave feminists first had the idea of 'rape culture', in the 1970s. Most of them came from the United States.

Critics of the concept say that it doesn't exist or is not widespread. They also say that even if there may be societies where rape is common, the concept of 'rape culture' implies that the person who rapes is not at fault; rather it is the society that made the rape possible.

There are many movements who have addressed the idea of rape culture. They include movements such as SlutWalk and Me Too. Tatiana Burke, an American activist started Me Too, after she was sexually assaulted in 2006.[10] Some of these movements have developed into self-help groups, where victims can talk about their experiences, and help each other.

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ Olfman, Sharna (2009). The Sexualization of Childhood. ABC-CLIO. p. 9.
  2. ↑ Flintoft, Rebecca (October 2001). John Nicoletti; Sally Spencer-Thomas; Christopher M. Bollinger (eds.). Violence Goes to College: The Authoritative Guide to Prevention and Intervention. Charles C Thomas. p. 134. ISBN 978-0398071912.
  3. ↑ Herman, Dianne F. "The Rape Culture Archived 2019-06-16 at the Wayback Machine". Printed in Women: A Feminist Perspective (ed. Jo Freeman). McGraw Hill, 1994. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  4. ↑ Attenborough, Frederick (2014). "Rape is rape (except when it's not): the media, recontextualisation and violence against women". Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict. 2 (2): 183–203. doi:10.1075/jlac.2.2.01att.
  5. ↑ Sommers, Christina Hoff. "Researching the "Rape Culture" of America". Archived from the original on 21 December 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
  6. ↑ Rozee, Patricia. "Resisting a Rape Culture". Rape Resistance. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  7. ↑ Steffes, Micah (January 2008). "The American Rape Culture". High Plains Reader. Archived from the original on 24 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2012.
  8. ↑ Maitse, Teboho (1998). "Political change, rape, and pornography in postapartheid South Africa". Gender & Development. 6 (3): 55–59. doi:10.1080/741922834. ISSN 1355-2074. PMID 12294413.
  9. ↑ Baxi, Upendra (August 2002). "The Second Gujarat Catastrophe". Economic and Political Weekly. 37 (34): 3519–3531. JSTOR 4412519.
  10. ↑ "Me Too founder Tarana Burke: Movement is not over". BBC News. 2020-07-09. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
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