Dominique Spence

Crystal Moore

History of Sexuality in America

29 April 2014

What is rape culture?

Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture[1]. Today, some examples of rape culture can be seen through degrading lyrics, movies and explicit jokes. Through rape culture, American values have shifted from very conservative to more liberal and in turn, as a society, we have become accustomed to this objectifying views on women. Women are now seen as objects for sexual pleasure and delight and aren’t fully respected. Society has an expectation of what women should look like and to men this view displays that women are “asking for it”. No matter what a woman says or does it does not mean that they are openly asking for men to take sexual advantage of them.

Gender roles and sexuality for both men and women changed drastically starting in the 1930s with the crisis on masculinity and the ending of different spheres. Men were now expected to be sexually aggressive and forceful[2]. On the other hand, women were expected to be submissive and passive to males when it came to sex. This idea is still very prevalent today. Men believe that all women want to be dominated and they are in fact “doing their job”.  By the 1950s, pornography becomes more popular and risqué which leads to the further objectification of women and their individual body parts. Men are seen as a full being while women are limited to parts like breasts, butts and legs. This shows the disregard that people have for women’s feelings in the media. Ads for perfume, clothing and even food all contain some sort of sexual innuendo that has no prevalence to what they are advertising. This is basically saying that people, men in general, like sex and it sells even at the cost of respect for women.

Even if we don’t notice it, rape culture is very prominent in media and the society we live in. In order to combat rap culture it is important that we realize how serious the situation is. As a society, we should avoid using language that objectifies women, speak out about offensive jokes, and be supportive of rape victims. Women need to be viewed as an equal to men and society often forgets that women are affected by this explicit image that is commonly shown.

 

 

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[1] Marshall University. "Rap Culture." Womens Center. http://www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual-assault/rape-culture/ (accessed April 29, 2014).

[2] Crystal Moore, “Civilized Morality Under Stress Leads to Crusades for Sexual Order 1880-1930” (lecture, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, April 2013)