FEMST 150 Lecture Notes - Lecture 20: Plausible Deniability, Rape Myth, Female Promiscuity
Fem 150
5/22/18
Rape Myths
• She asked it
-impossible to ask for rape
• It wasn’t really rape
-not diff categories like rape rape, gray rape…
• He didn’t meant to
-rape isn’t an accident; most rapists rape more than once; not simply
miscommunication
• She wanted it
-either the person was raped or the person wanted it; both can’t be
true at the same time
• She lied
-only 2-8% of reports are estimated false; most don’t like about
victimization despite the myth that women lie all the time
• Rape is a trivial event
-rape is also traumatic for non-virgins; assumes rape is not a big deal
• Rape is a deviant event
-hard to imagine friends, family, coworkers as rapists but not an
exceptional event. ⅕ women and 1/71 men are raped; most rapists
are known to their victims
Rape Culture
• A cultural context in which grape is pervasive, normalized, trivialized,
and rationalized
• Rape as entertainment
• Victim-blaming: victims seen as responsible for crimes against them
• Slut-shaming: shaming sexua behavior or exprsesion as cause for
one’s rape; promiscuous women seen as deserving of rape
• A cultural investment in rape myth
Consent
• Pop culture frames consent as a “gray area” that’s open to
interpretation, affords plausible deniability to representations of
assault as normal sexual behavior
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Not diff categories like rape rape, gray rape : he didn"t meant to. Rape isn"t an accident; most rapists rape more than once; not simply miscommunication: she wanted it. Either the person was raped or the person wanted it; both can"t be true at the same time: she lied. Only 2-8% of reports are estimated false; most don"t like about victimization despite the myth that women lie all the time: rape is a trivial event. Rape is also traumatic for non-virgins; assumes rape is not a big deal: rape is a deviant event. Hard to imagine friends, family, coworkers as rapists but not an exceptional event. Women and 1/71 men are raped; most rapists are known to their victims. Consent: pop culture frames consent as a gray area that"s open to interpretation, affords plausible deniability to representations of assault as normal sexual behavior.
