Rape Culture

Rape Culture? How would one describe Rape Culture? We have heard and probably even used the term many times in recent years, but how would you define it? Well lets I would start by saying it is a culture where every 98 seconds an America is being sexually assaulted. On average annually there are around 321.500 victims of rape in the U.S. It is a culture where younger people have a higher risk of being a victim of sexual assault. A culture where 1 out of 6 American women have become a victim to attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. It is a culture where the horrific act of rape has become so normalized to the point where many times the victim is questioned. The culture has become so sickening that T-shirts that read "I'm feeling rapey " are being sold on eBay. In my last blog post I discussed with you all the affects Sexual objectification had on women. This week we are going to contniue with a part two to that topic and discuss how sexual objectification plays into the way society handles rape. In today's society we are being taught as not to be raped rather than teaching our young men not rape. The concept and stance our society takes on rape reminds me of Karl Marx's definition of ideology. He believed that the values we accept as a culture are usually promoted by individuals who are seen by the ruling class. Males are considered to be the dominant gender, which is why when rape cases tend to occur society wants to know "what did she have on?", "Was she drinking?", "Who was with her?" As women we are taught that we lay a role in being raped. We are told that if we don't wear certain articles of clothing, don't show to much skin, don't let the outfit be too tight, because then we will arouse the young men around us. We have told women that their bodies, if exposed, is the rights to a man. If we make mistake and wear shorts in the summer a man has all the rights to rape us, because well look at the way we dressed. We trivialize these actions of men by stating boys will be boys. As women we are forced to conform and adapt in our everyday lives for men. This concept of "cover up and you won't get raped" is a perfect example objectifying women. We have become items that are only as good as our body. We have been reminded yet again that our appearance is the root of all our issues and if we focus on it and become more cautious life would be a little bit easier.