What is "Rape Culture"?

Discussion in 'Ethics, Morality, & Justice' started by Bowser, Nov 8, 2015.

  1. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    21,634
    If she is fighting you at the time and crying? Definitely.
    Sadly, they are so common that many people just don't see them any more. You can't see any crime drama without seeing a rape reported (or indeed depicted.)
    Right. Most people don't.
    They sorta do. The Simpsons, as dumb as it often is, is part of our culture. So is fast food, because it's commonplace. So are cars. So are traffic jams. So, sadly, is rape.
    "Built" around it? Agreed; it's not built around rape (just as it isn't built around any one concept.)

    Is it a part of our culture? The awareness that women being raped is a common - and indeed even likely under some conditions - outcome for women who are alone? Almost certainly. Teen girls get lectures about getting into a car alone with a boy, or going somewhere with a stranger, lectures that teen boys almost never get. This isn't because of some conspiracy to make girls afraid. It's because parents are part of this culture as well, and in this culture, the threat of rape is very real.
     
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  3. tali89 Registered Senior Member

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    Well, rape culture definitely exists in male prisons, where some inmates are beaten into submission and raped, or threatened with beatings/death if they don't comply. Victims are used as bartering chips between rapists. Guards either turn a blind eye or blame the victim.

    I don't see any 'rape culture' against women in Western society. As I pointed out on another thread, convicted rapists of women aren't given a garland of roses, nor do they occupy a position of prestige when they end up in prison. I recall one example on this forum where a video of supposed 'street harassment' was posted, and men simply saying 'Hello, how are you?' to women was regarded as evidence of rape culture. The term 'rape culture' is so misused and overused in today's society that I think it does a great disservice to people (men and women) who are actually raped.

    Also note that someone posters in the thread are ridiculing the notion that someone accused of rape should be assumed innocent until proven guilty, and act as though people who propose such an outrageous idea care about or are protecting rapists. First they twist even the most innocuous examples into evidence of rape culture, and then they misrepresent anyone who is simply defending a cornerstone notion of our justice system (ie. Innocent until proven guilty) as being a defender of rapists. Twisting the facts and misrepresenting the views of others to fit your own sick ideology is the M.O of radical left-wing feminists.
     
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  5. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    I would agree with you here. However, on several occasions in my youth, I was kissed by girls without invitation. On several occasions as a young adult, I was the receiver of sexual advances by women. None of it came as a shock, nor did I consider it inappropriate, because that is often how relationships begin, with an unexpected kiss or sexual flirtation. Men do it, as do women. Some examples that people hold up as sexual assault look more like examples of affection or sexual interest. People communicate their feelings in a variety of ways, often it involves risk.

    Again, are they held up as qualities to be admired? In general, we are taught that rape (pretty much any violence on women) is wrong.

    So lets drop the idea that media is somehow a reflection of the social norm, that it somehow defines our character as men.

    I don't believe rape is as common place as are cars, fast food or traffic jams...
    Source: FBI Statistics.

    I would agree that one rape is one rape too many, but I don't believe it is a common trait in our culture.

    When we use the term "Rape Culture," we're suggesting a mindset that advocates rape. It's pretty blunt and to the point. To my best ability, I still believe rape is a crime in my community. Rapist are not tossed on our shoulders and given victory parades.

    When I was a young boy, my parents lectured me about strangers. Children are sometimes victims, too. But you're right, we are more protective of our daughters. But we may be feeding the general hysteria around this issue and share some responsibility for how this idea of rape culture is evolving. If I told my son when he was young that there was a good chance strangers would sexually molest him, he would grow up with a certain degree of fear, too. Regardless, I wouldn't recommend jumping in a stranger's car, whether you be a young man or young woman.

    Yes, a woman has a greater chance of being sexually assaulted than does a man. That is true. Is it sanctioned by our cultural? I don't believe it is. As a matter of fact, it's regarded with contempt.
     
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  7. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    No they aren't. They are suggesting a culture in which women don't report it, or men are given a pass for unwanted advances that do amount to rape. The woman is often blamed for dressing provocatively or being somewhere she shouldn't.
     
  8. Secular Sanity Registered Senior Member

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    264
    Do you guys think this is accurate?

    Here's the math. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS)--there is an average of 293,066 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year.

    There are 525,600 minutes in a non-leap year. That makes 31,536,000 seconds/year. So, 31,536,000 divided by 293,066 comes out to 1 sexual assault every 107 seconds.

    https://rainn.org/statistics

    But reported rapes, not including sexual assault were declining in the U.S.. Is this right? In 2013 it was 0.4 per 1000 people, per year?
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2015
  9. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    You're over thinking the numbers. Again, I'm not minimizing the severity of the crime. My stand is that it's not as prevalent as being touted in this thread.

    here's my source...
    https://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/crimestats
     
  10. Bells Staff Member

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    24,270
    How can you over think the figures that are already there. From the FBI stats on reported rapes, the figure sits around an estimated 79,770 rapes reported to law enforcement in 2013.

    We also know that around 68% of rapes go unreported.

    This is just penetrative rape. If we are to look at the figures for sexual assault and sexual violence, the numbers go up even higher and yes, they too are more often than not, unreported. And you are still trying to play down the numbers and the significance of the numbers? Why are you trying to say that it is not prevalent enough? What do you get out of playing it down?
     
  11. Secular Sanity Registered Senior Member

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    264
    No, I'm not. I'm just looking for more accurate numbers. I could be wrong but I don't think that the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports include rapes that end in death, since those are reported as homicides. Looks like you have to look at the expanded homicide tables for those numbers.

    https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/u...013/crime-in-the-u.s.-2013/violent-crime/rape

    Oh, wait a minute. The FBI stats that you linked indicates that a rape occurs every 6.6 minutes.

    https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/u...wn-to-law-enforcement/browse-by/national-data
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2015
  12. gmilam Valued Senior Member

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    3,522
    Just a personal observation, and I have no hard numbers to back it up... But I've listened to the women around me.
    Sexual abuse is much more prevalent than most people realize.

    Seriously.
    And most goes unreported.
     
  13. tali89 Registered Senior Member

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    343
    So we are drawing conclusions from a data set that was generated via self-reporting? As determining whether consent was given during a sexual act is a such a contentious and gray issue, and that false rape accusations are a real phenomenon, I don't think that the 'One rape every 6.6 minutes' is a very reliable statistic. The 'One rape every 6.6 minutes' is a rather sensationalist way of looking at things, anyway. According to the FBI 2013 figures, the average risk of someone (not just women) being raped during 2013 was 0.025%, which is not nearly as alarming as representing the results as 'One rape every 6.6 minutes'.
     
  14. billvon Valued Senior Member

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    Agreed. And if the woman you mention above kissed you, then held on to you while you cried and struggled, then that would be sexual assault.
    Yes, we've come a long way from the days where it wasn't rape unless it was a black or poor man. However, based on our current culture (almost 20% of women are raped at some point in their lives) we still have a ways to go.
    Of course the media is a reflection of our social mores. And of course it does not define any individual's character.
    No - but 20% is still way, way too commonplace.
    Not at all, any more than the fact that the prevalence of the fat, hapless loser stereotype in media indicates we advocate obesity. It is just a part of our culture, not a list of things we advocate.
    Try telling the father of a teenage girl that his advice to his daughter on how to stay safe is "hysteria." He would at least have some pretty strong words for you, if not physical assistance in leaving the area.
    And if one in five boys was sexually molested, you might just do that to try to keep him safe - even if other people labeled you hysterical for doing so, and blamed you for the climate of fear.
    Agreed. No one claims it is sanctioned by our culture.
     
  15. Secular Sanity Registered Senior Member

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    264
    But tali, I don't think the information above is accurate because the FBI recorded 85,593 rapes in 2010, while the National Institute of Justice Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 1.3 million. In 2010 the FBI was still using their old definition of rape. “The carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” The new definition wasn't implemented until 2013, but even now, only some of the states are using the new definition of rape when collecting the data for the FBI. There are only 15 on the list.

    So, if the National Institute of Justice Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers are more realistic, showing that 1 in 6 U.S. women have experienced rape or attempted rape that’s a huge difference, and it is alarming.

     
  16. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    Which works out to around 56 per 100,000 women. What's the percentage of rapes overall when you compare those two numbers?

    We know? Are there statistics that support that conclusion? I mean, who's reporting and who's taking the survey, what was the sampling? When we deal with assumed figures, there's no absolutes that can be determined with any certainty. At least the FBI statistic gives hard data.

    I'm not playing down the number. I agree, it is way too high. It's higher then yearly HIV infection, road deaths, and a number of other statistic. Yet I don't believe it's an indicator that we are a "Rape Culture."
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2015
  17. pjdude1219 The biscuit has risen Valued Senior Member

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    which is tens of thousands of rapes a year. i get given your misogyny you want to down play rape but there are still a lot and its a problem. and as long as people still have your piss-poor atittude about it it will remain a problem
     
  18. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    I, too, have known a few that were abused, but, then again, I've known a lot of women. I knew one who made an excuse for her abuser: "Well, he was drunk."
     
  19. Bowser Namaste Valued Senior Member

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    8,828
    Having an alternative opinion on the topic does not make a person a hater of women. Personal snipes do not win a debate.
     
  20. milkweed Valued Senior Member

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    1,654
    Then you guessed wrong. I am dismissive of the term 'rape culture'.

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    Falling statistics within a more explicit culture. Hmmm... Further evidence of more current (and continued) falling trend to cover period not included in above chart:

    https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.-2014/tables/table-1

    1995 - 37.1 per 100K
    2014 - 26.4 per 100K.



    Shakespeare and Rape Culture (Yahoo Answers):

    How many instances of rape occur in Shakespeare's plays? I'm working on a project, and am trying to find a complete list

    Best Answer: The most thorough treatment of rape in Shakespeare's plays is Lavinia in "Titus Andronicus".
    "The Rape of Lucrece" is another story about rape, but that's a narrative poem rather than a play, and may not suit your needs.

    I'm having a little trouble coming up with any other completed rapes.

    *But this is irrelevant for the purpose of Rape culture so we will include the rest:

    In "Cymbeline", Cloten plans to kill Posthumus and rape Imogen while wearing his clothes. However, he's killed before he can complete his plans.
    In "Measure for Measure," Angelo threatens to kill her brother to try to force Isabella to have sex with him, but she says her chastity's the more important.
    In "Pericles", there's the truly disturbing set up where the king of Antioch is committing incest with his daughter, and sets a riddle to that effect for potential suitors. Also in "Pericles", the threat of rape hangs over Marina, who manages to protect her chastity when sold to a brothel. The owners of the brothel discuss rape as a way of subduing her.
    "A Midsummer Night's Dream" might be worth a look too. The play is being put on to celebrate the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. It's not explicit in the play, but the source material Shakespeare's drawing on for those characters is a rape story. And Oberon and Titania discuss Theseus's other 'conquests'.

    See, its all Shakespeares fault for writing about these things 500 years ago. Maybe we can ban any further references to this 'pervert' and the world will suddenly be a better place.

    We have falling numbers in a world of internet porn, violent video games and music, and movie cgi that makes 3-d obsolete. The term 'Rape Culture' is a false flag easily recognized by simple, hey, wait a minute. Most men are not rapists and I dont support portraying them that way i.e. rape culture and I will ridicule attempts made to do so.
     
    Last edited: Nov 10, 2015
  21. Secular Sanity Registered Senior Member

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    I don't think that those stats are realistic. I think they are way off. See above.

    If the National Institute of Justice Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers are more realistic, showing that 1 in 6 U.S. women have experienced rape or attempted rape that’s a huge difference, and it is alarming.
     
  22. spidergoat pubic diorama Valued Senior Member

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    Patriarchy starts with denying women bodily autonomy.
     
  23. milkweed Valued Senior Member

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    Thats a big if when they are taking an 8000 women survey and extrapolating that over the entire country. Though I do agree rape is under-reported. But one also has to wonder how under-reported rape was in 1974 vs 94 vs 14. I dont know, but I would think more people are reporting rape now vs 74 or 94, meaning our statistics on rape are more representative than in the past.
     

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