What is Rape Culture?

This article from DomesticShelters.com discusses rape culture. Rape culture ignores and trivializes sexual assault, rape, and other forms of violence against women. It turns gender-based violence into entertainment.

Rape culture is all around us. As such, we may not always see it or recognize it. It’s on the tv shows that we watch, in the music we listen to, and shapes the institutions that we are a part of and engage with, such as schools and the legal system.

Rape culture includes the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and victim-blaming. It derives from our heterosexist and patriarchal culture that dismisses women’s agency, bodily autonomy, safety, and rights. We are all harmed by rape culture.

The article highlights several real-life examples of rape culture: the sexual assault of Channel Miller by “The Stanford Swimmer,” the public blame of Amber Heard in her defamation case against Johnny Depp, the public questioning of FKA twigs as to why she didn’t leave her abuser Shia LaBeouf, the idea of the “friend zone,” body-shaming school dress codes, sexualized Halloween costumes for women and girls, and the song, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”

How can we respond to rape culture in order to reduce its power?

• We can name rape culture and recognize that it exists.
• We can apply a critical lens to the media we consume and talk about it, especially with children.
• We can speak up in conversations that perpetuate rape culture. For example, we can call attention to what is wrong when someone makes an offensive or insensitive joke.
• We can encourage men to get involved as allies.

Rape culture is a society that accepts sexual violence as the norm. It perpetuates models of masculinity which foster violence and normalizes these ideas that men are aggressors and females are victims. It’s a society where men who brag about grabbing women by the p*ssy can become President. You see yourself above the rules and your behavior is excused.

SOURCE: DomesticShelters.org • AUTHOR: Amanda Kippert and Hannah Craig • LAST UPDATED: November 2, 2022