Rape culture is a concept used to describe a culture in which rape and sexual violence are common and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media normalize, excuse, tolerate, or even condone sexual violence.Where the theory of "rape culture" comes from has not been resolved. People agree it began in the 1970s. It may have begun with "Rape Culture", a 1975 documentary about prison rape. The basic theory describes the attitude toward rape in prison well: prisoners didn't accuse rapists and blamed the victims for many reasons, including the fears of being known as a snitch or becoming the next target. Only recently have the numbers for prison rape been taken seriously by the Justice Department. When prison rape is included, there appear to be more reported cases in the US of men being raped than women.Examples of behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, sexual objectification, and trivializing rape. Rape culture has been used to model behaviour within social groups, including prison systems where prison rape is common and conflict areas where war rape is used as psychological warfare. Entire countries have also been alleged to be rape cultures.
While the situation for society is analogous—victims are reluctant to come forward, knowing that some people will doubt their stories and some will blame them—extending the theory of rape culture in an artificial environment like prison to understand society in general creates problems:
1. The theory assumes a community accepts rape. Most societies treat rape as one of the most serious crimes a person can commit. Where rapists are executed or castrated or incarcerated for years, does it make sense to say rape is normalized, excused, tolerated, or condoned?
2. The theory assumes a culture is defined by its crimes. The US's most common crime is shoplifting. People joke about it and friends excuse it. Is the US a "shoplifting culture"? Aggravated assault is the US's most common violent crime. Does the US have an "aggravated assault culture"?
3. The theory assumes a culture is defined by the minority of men, women, and children who rape. Meet The Predators uses studies of rapists who have not been caught to conclude, "The vast majority of the offenses are being committed by a relatively small group of men, somewhere between 4% and 8% of the population." David Lisak, author of one of the studies, concluded that repeat rapists commit 90% of all rapes. If 5 to 9% of men are or have been rapists, do they define their culture? 16% of the US population is Hispanic—is the US's culture Hispanic? 25% of the population identifies as Catholic—is the US's culture Catholic?
4. The theory assumes sexual imagery promotes rape. But if, for example, the canonical advertisement of a woman in a bikini standing next to a new car promotes rape, does the image of the car promote theft?
5. The theory assumes the subject of a joke shows what a society approves. Does the US approve of pianos falling on people and roadrunners tricking coyotes into standing on the air until they look down and fall into canyons? Do dead baby jokes promote abortion and indifference to infant mortality rates?
6. The theory assumes teaching people the theory of rape culture will reduce or eliminate rape. But if rapists thought society approved or tolerated rape, why would they hide their identities? Only the most insane rapists don't try to conceal their crimes. Would teaching repeat rapists the theory of rape culture change their behavior?
7. The theory does not include an explanation for rape culture or practical steps toward a solution. We live in a rape culture because people are rapists? Men are rapists? Greedy people are rapists? How do we make things better? Some feminists want to change the law so that people accused of sexual crimes are presumed guilty, but we know false charges of rape occur.
I think we need to distinguish between cultural attitudes toward rape and "rape culture". People who study cultural attitudes try to limit their preconceptions. People who study rape culture seek to confirm what they believe, which makes them assume causation in what may be correlation.
Older posts on rape culture:
• modern liberal feminism and rape culture (Jan. 11, 2011)
I found two articles from conservatives which may have been refuted somewhere that I haven't noticed, but they're interesting, even if they're flawed:
Researching the "Rape Culture" of America by Dr. Christina Hoff Sommers
The Campus Rape Myth by Heather Mac Donald
Googling them, I came across Hateful Quotes From Feminists. Remembering the folks who claimed Dworkin never said all men are rapists, I was amused to find this:
I should add that I agree with this quote that was included as "hateful":
• artistic freedom and dickwolves (Feb 3, 2011)
Here's the original cartoon: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/8/11/
The kerfuffle's in many places; search "dickwolves" if you're curious. Here's the writer's response: On The Matter of Dickwolves http://bit.ly/gZ8UGp
I think the idea that rape jokes promote rape culture is as reasonable as the idea that dead baby jokes promote dead baby culture. But this can't be explained to people who don't understand that in art, what's obvious may not be what is meant.
• a note for an article about "rape culture" (Feb. 15, 2011)
Pacific Center for Sex and Society's "Pornography, Rape and Sex Crimes in Japan" is fascinating, not just for its information about Japan, but for its summary regarding rape and pornography elsewhere: http://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/biblio/articles/1961to1999/1999-pornography-rape-sex-crimes-japan.html
Among the things that rape culture theorists don't grasp: Just as there are women and men who fantasize about being raped who hate the idea of anyone being raped, there are men and women who fantasize about being rapists who hate the idea of raping anyone. Human sexuality and human imagination are not as simplistic as moralists believe. We all have fantasies about being powerful or powerless in sexual or nonsexual circumstances. We also know our fantasies are only fantasies.
I think we need to distinguish between cultural attitudes toward rape and "rape culture". People who study cultural attitudes try to limit their preconceptions. People who study rape culture seek to confirm what they believe, which makes them assume causation in what may be correlation.
A part of rape culture is to accuse people who question it of being "rape apologists", so I'll be as clear as I can: One rape is one rape too many. But questioning someone's approach to a problem is not the same as questioning the problem.
Well, unless your theory assumes it does, which suggests I should add an eighth problem with rape culture theory.
Final thoughts: predator theory vs rape culture theory: looking for solutions.
Final thoughts: predator theory vs rape culture theory: looking for solutions.
Older posts on rape culture:
• modern liberal feminism and rape culture (Jan. 11, 2011)
I found two articles from conservatives which may have been refuted somewhere that I haven't noticed, but they're interesting, even if they're flawed:
Researching the "Rape Culture" of America by Dr. Christina Hoff Sommers
The Campus Rape Myth by Heather Mac Donald
Googling them, I came across Hateful Quotes From Feminists. Remembering the folks who claimed Dworkin never said all men are rapists, I was amused to find this:
'Under patriarchy, every woman's son is her potential betrayer and also the inevitable rapist or exploiter of another woman,' Andrea Dworkin, Liberty, p.58.Treat the quotes there with caution; at least one appears to be wrong: snopes.com: Catherine MacKinnon 'All Sex is Rape' Quote.
I should add that I agree with this quote that was included as "hateful":
"Only with the occasional celebrity crime do we allow ourselves to think the nearly unthinkable: that the family may not be the ideal and perfect living arrangement after all - that it can be a nest of pathology and a cradle of gruesome violence,... Even in the ostensibly "functional," nonviolent family, where no one is killed or maimed, feelings are routinely bruised and often twisted out of shape. There is the slap or the put-down that violates a child's shaky sense of self, the cold, distracted stare that drives a spouse to tears, the little digs and rivalries..." Barbara Ehrenreich in TimeThe "traditional family" is a myth, a retcon, like the traditional Christmas. It works for some people, and I'm happy for them, but it can be a prison, too. I figure people should find what works for them, and if it does, it ain't nobody else's business.
• artistic freedom and dickwolves (Feb 3, 2011)
Here's the original cartoon: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/8/11/
The kerfuffle's in many places; search "dickwolves" if you're curious. Here's the writer's response: On The Matter of Dickwolves http://bit.ly/gZ8UGp
I think the idea that rape jokes promote rape culture is as reasonable as the idea that dead baby jokes promote dead baby culture. But this can't be explained to people who don't understand that in art, what's obvious may not be what is meant.
• a note for an article about "rape culture" (Feb. 15, 2011)
Pacific Center for Sex and Society's "Pornography, Rape and Sex Crimes in Japan" is fascinating, not just for its information about Japan, but for its summary regarding rape and pornography elsewhere: http://www.hawaii.edu/PCSS/biblio/articles/1961to1999/1999-pornography-rape-sex-crimes-japan.html
Among the things that rape culture theorists don't grasp: Just as there are women and men who fantasize about being raped who hate the idea of anyone being raped, there are men and women who fantasize about being rapists who hate the idea of raping anyone. Human sexuality and human imagination are not as simplistic as moralists believe. We all have fantasies about being powerful or powerless in sexual or nonsexual circumstances. We also know our fantasies are only fantasies.