From e3a835c2a2f1cedb6d5abd76c66480f49c0d9941 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Owen Jacobson Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:43:03 -0400 Subject: Initial draft: how is rape culture sold to the men who perpetuate it? --- wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md | 35 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 35 insertions(+) create mode 100644 wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md (limited to 'wiki/people') diff --git a/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md b/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..24e476d --- /dev/null +++ b/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md @@ -0,0 +1,35 @@ +# This Is Rape Culture + +In the last couple of years, I've been interacting with folks who take a more +active hand in gender and social issues, and it's changed the way I see the +word "rape". Here's my story. + +Growing up immersed in what I now recognize as the early stages of modern +"news" culture, rape was always reported as a violent act. Something so black +and white that if you committed rape, you would know yourself to be a rapist. +Media descriptions of rape and of rapists focussed on acts of overt violence: +"she was in the wrong neighbourhood and got raped at knifepoint", "held down +and raped", and so on. + +Reading more recent postings on the idea of "rape culture", however, paints a +very different picture of the same word. "Raped at a party", "too drunk to +consent", and other depictions of rape as an act of exploitation rather than +violence. + +Let me be perfectly clear here: without _active consent_, any sexual contact +is rape. In that sense, violence, exploitation, intoxication and other forms +of coercion are interchangeable and equally vile. + +However, when the public idea of rape is limited to rapes with overt violence, +it's really easy to excuse non-violent coerced sex as "not really rape". After +all, you didn't hit her, did you? She never said _no_ and _meant it_, right? + +I don't know what I'm going to do with this insight, yet, but I think it's an +important piece towards educating the next generation to be more awesome and +less dangerous to each other and un-learning any bad habits and beliefs I +already have. + +Relevant reading: + +* ["My friend group has a case of Creepy Dude", by Captain + Awkward](http://captainawkward.com/2012/08/07/322-323-my-friend-group-has-a-case-of-the-creepy-dude-how-do-we-clear-that-up/) -- cgit v1.2.3 From aec031914c1bb2658c02573e6385206aaa6a816a Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Owen Jacobson Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:01:07 -0400 Subject: Awkward opening expanded and eased a bit. --- wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md | 13 ++++++++----- 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-) (limited to 'wiki/people') diff --git a/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md b/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md index 24e476d..1be079d 100644 --- a/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md +++ b/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md @@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ In the last couple of years, I've been interacting with folks who take a more active hand in gender and social issues, and it's changed the way I see the -word "rape". Here's my story. +word "rape". It didn't entirely make sense to me how so many people could be +self-identified victims of rape culture while so few people are, even in a +euphemistic way, self-identified rapists, so I dug a bit at my assumptions. Growing up immersed in what I now recognize as the early stages of modern "news" culture, rape was always reported as a violent act. Something so black @@ -13,12 +15,12 @@ and raped", and so on. Reading more recent postings on the idea of "rape culture", however, paints a very different picture of the same word. "Raped at a party", "too drunk to -consent", and other depictions of rape as an act of exploitation rather than -violence. +consent", and other depictions of rape as an act of exploitation (or, +appallingly, convenience) rather than violence. Let me be perfectly clear here: without _active consent_, any sexual contact -is rape. In that sense, violence, exploitation, intoxication and other forms -of coercion are interchangeable and equally vile. +is rape or is on the road to it. In that sense, violence, exploitation, +intoxication and other forms of coercion are interchangeable and equally vile. However, when the public idea of rape is limited to rapes with overt violence, it's really easy to excuse non-violent coerced sex as "not really rape". After @@ -33,3 +35,4 @@ Relevant reading: * ["My friend group has a case of Creepy Dude", by Captain Awkward](http://captainawkward.com/2012/08/07/322-323-my-friend-group-has-a-case-of-the-creepy-dude-how-do-we-clear-that-up/) + (which also reminded me that it's possible to be a creep to your girlfriend) \ No newline at end of file -- cgit v1.2.3 From 4d395ccbe040d0ef1fefa386b408da6dd72edc92 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Owen Jacobson Date: Tue, 30 Apr 2013 19:06:36 -0400 Subject: Wording changes: of course nobody self-identifies as a rapist, don't be daft. --- wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md | 4 ++-- 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) (limited to 'wiki/people') diff --git a/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md b/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md index 1be079d..62d3d67 100644 --- a/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md +++ b/wiki/people/rape-culture-and-men.md @@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ In the last couple of years, I've been interacting with folks who take a more active hand in gender and social issues, and it's changed the way I see the word "rape". It didn't entirely make sense to me how so many people could be self-identified victims of rape culture while so few people are, even in a -euphemistic way, self-identified rapists, so I dug a bit at my assumptions. +euphemistic way, identifiable as rapists, so I dug a bit at my assumptions. Growing up immersed in what I now recognize as the early stages of modern "news" culture, rape was always reported as a violent act. Something so black @@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ and raped", and so on. Reading more recent postings on the idea of "rape culture", however, paints a very different picture of the same word. "Raped at a party", "too drunk to consent", and other depictions of rape as an act of exploitation (or, -appallingly, convenience) rather than violence. +appallingly, convenience or indifference) rather than violence. Let me be perfectly clear here: without _active consent_, any sexual contact is rape or is on the road to it. In that sense, violence, exploitation, -- cgit v1.2.3