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Lindsay Killpack
Stone
English 1010
10 December 2015

Rape Culture Exists; and We Need to End it

On her way to work, a woman is harassed because of what she wears. A victim of rape is
shamed endlessly by their peers when two high school football players were found guilty of
rape and disseminating a nude photo of a minor [and] the next day, two...girls were arrested for
threatening the victim over Twitter (Guarino) . Rapists are going into court with the defense that
society taught them from a young age to take what they want and they had no control of their
urges. The truth is: people should be able to wear what they please without fear of cat-calling,
nobody asks for rape, and everyone has control of what they do. However, our society has
created their own ideals and has caused restriction on others (most often women) through
everyday normalization of sexual abuse, harassment, and excuses for indecent behavior. Because
of this, our society has added to the misunderstandings and injustice surrounding rape, creating
what is known among several groups as rape culture.
Rape is an increasing problem in the world. 1-in-5 women and 1-in-71 men have
reported experiencing rape (Ridgeway). However, many people never even report rape because
Victims may feel ashamed or blame themselves for the rape. They may be reluctant to relive the
experience in court, where defense lawyers may attempt to blame them for the attack. They may
also fear that their attackers will return to punish them (Rape). Additionally, the medical
evaluations to prove the accusations are valid is rigorous so the victim is forced to relive their
rape (Rape). Additionally, abortions relating to rape have become a topic of debate. According to

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Huffington Post, [in 2012] a doctor [in Kansas] was facing the loss of her medical license for
providing an abortion to a pregnant 10-year old rape victim. Because of this, I feel very strongly
that we need to end rape culture and decrease the number of victims whose lives are ruined by
rape; banning abortion for victims of rape does the opposite and puts even more power into the
hands of the rapist.
So what exactly is rape culture? ...Rape culture is an environment in which rape is
highly prevalent, normalized and excused by the societys media, popular culture, and political
figures. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification
of womens bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, which creates a social culture that
disregards womens rights and their safety... (Jordan). Rape culture has always existed.
However, recently, with the rise of feminists and faster communication through social media,
more light has been shed on the reality of rape culture. Additionally, an increase in media
coverage of rape cases and inserting more sexual content in entertainment has caused the topic of
ending rape to become more openly discussed
Shannon Ridgeway, a writer for the website Everyday Feminism, lists 25 examples of
rape culture such as: Pop music that tells women you know you want it because of these
blurred lines (of consent), Women feeling less safe walking the streets at night than men do,
and People who believe that girls allow themselves to be raped. There have also been
extreme cases of victim shaming where friends turn on each other to cyber bully the victim and
mothers of the rapist say that the rape was the victims fault. In our society, these are things that
have become more prevalent and they have the power to negatively impact someones life;
sometimes to the point of the victim committing suicide. The harsh consequences of rape can be
eliminated if we find the true source of the problem and end it before it is too late.

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As the topic of rape becomes more common, it also creates some problems. People create
their own ideas about rape including inappropriate jokes. One example is when boys say, I
totally raped you in that video game (Ridgeway, Everyday Feminism). Making jokes
undermines the situation and is a form of victim shaming because it desensitizes the horrible act
by turning it into a joke. Myths about rape are similar in the sense that they take attention away
from the rapist and place blame upon the victim. For example, some people believe you are more
likely to be raped if you wear a specific type of clothing such as short shorts, tank tops, crop
tops, etc. Additionally, there have been cases where people side with the rapist if the girl was
drunk or unconscious at the time because they believe the rapist may have simply
misunderstood. These myths cause people to turn the blame on the victim and reinforce rape
culture rather than working to fix the true problem at its source; teaching people not to rape
rather than teaching girls not to get raped (Jordan).
Another problem is that men learn from a young age, through society, that women are
simply objects for them to use for many purposes rather than seeing them as actual people.
Rebecca Pearson brings up a valid point on the online magazine, The Vagenda, about how we
view women in the media. ...My friend posted this video of Cate Blanchett walking the red
carpet, cheekily asking the cameraman, as he slowly scanned her body from toe to scalp, do you
do that to the guys, too? (Pearson). The mentality that women are just tools to use leads to the
mentality that the victim of rape asked for it and that young boys who rape just simply arent
in control of their urges . Instead, rapists should take responsibility for their actions. The
normalization of taking advantage of women has led to people taking the rapists side and
blaming the victim.

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People are also occasionally misinformed on what qualifies as rape. For instance, a
seventeen year old boy was dating a girl aged sixteen. When he turned eighteen, the girls mother
pressed charges against him for raping and having a relationship with her underage daughter
(Killpack). Some people also believe that non-consensual sex and rape are two different
things but the truth is this: rape is defined as The crime...of forcing another person to have
sexual intercourse with the offender against their will (Oxford). Rape culture tells people that,
despite the dictionary definition that says they are the same, non-consensual sex and rape are
different acts. If people were better informed about this, there would be less confusion, especially
in court cases where they must determine if the victim was raped based on if they consented or
not.
Another problem with rape culture is that other debates add to it, such as the AntiAbortion campaigns. Pro-life activists are against abortion even if the woman was raped. To
stop abortions, Republicans in Congress have shown a consistent desire to employ the rape
culture ingrained in our legal system to their benefit, manipulating survivors in the process.
(Smith). While against abortion in some situations, I, like many others, find it unfair that a
woman is forced to give birth to a child conceived through rape. ...women impregnated from
rape who seek an abortion after 20 weeks must prove that they reported the rape to police. The
penalty for getting an abortion after 20 weeks? Up to five years in prison, and potentially a fine.
(Smith). Not only has their rapist taken away whatever plans they had for their future, their sense
of dignity, power, and human rights; pro-life activists allow them less control over what happens
to their body.
Although I agree with the debate that rape culture has become a problem, I do not agree
with the radical feminist belief that everyone is tolerant of rape. Many people are actually very

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disturbed and upset that rape occurs. Rape is a horrific crime, and rapists are despised. We have
strict laws that Americans want to see enforced. (Kitchens) The reason it may seem as if people
are more tolerant is because the media has started to bring the debate to light. There is more
information surfacing that people have always avoided before making it look like people have
never taken action against rape. People arent tolerant of rape, they are misinformed and
misunderstand the problems with rape culture.
However, there are other groups of people who think rape culture does not exist
altogether. While I disagree with this, I do stand with those who believe it doesnt exist
everywhere. People think rape culture is made up by feminists to oppress men and that they look
for any instance that could be included in rape culture. While there have been some radical
feminists have expressed hate toward men, according to several accounts, many of them have
had poor excuses with men. Feminists are not out to get men, as stated by Pearson, Im not
accusing them of being the bad guys. Im not rallying against men, but against rape. The
problem is that deciding not to believe in rape culture isnt going to change how extremists think.
However, there are still so many people that just want to have rights: they dont want to have to
live in constant fear. The truth is that rape culture is not gender specific. A rapist can be anyone
and anyone can be impacted by rape. The goal is ending rape and rape culture.
By becoming more informed about rape culture, we can take steps towards ending it.
There are many ways to help our society reduce rape statistics. People have reached out to
victims rather than tearing them down. YouTube videos of people performing songs and poems
trying to combat rape culture have raised awareness for the victims and the problems that
perpetuate rape culture. Standing against rape culture is the only way we will be able to end it. In
the words of Ashley Jordan, [if you want to end rape culture] stop laughing at rape jokes, stop

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wondering if a victim is telling the truth or not, stop glorifying rapists, and stop perpetuating
popular culture that does. You have the power to end hundreds of nightmares...Because rape
culture isnt funny, and we dont have to live in it.

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Citations
Chemaly, Soraya. "50 Actual Facts About Rape." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com,
26 Oct. 2012. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
Jordan, Ashley. "TIME Magazine Is Wrong. Rape Culture Does Exist." TheHumanist. n.p, 3
Apr. 2014. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
Killpack, Daisy. Personal interview. 13 Dec. 2015.
Kitchens, Caroline. "It's Time to End 'Rape Culture' Hysteria." Time. Time, 20 Mar. 2014. Web.
5 Dec. 2015.
Pearson, Rebecca. "On Arguing With Men About Rape." The Vagenda. The Vagenda, 7 July
2014. Web. 5 Dec. 2015.
"Rape." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Opposing Viewpoints in
Context. Web. 8 Dec. 2015.
Ridgway, Shannon. "25 Everyday Examples of Rape Culture." Everyday Feminism. n.p, 3 Mar.
2014. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.
Smith, Jamil. "Republicans Are Still Trying to Redefine Rape." News Republic. N.p., 28 Jan.
2015. Web. 03 Jan. 2016.