Rape Culture and Consent
Images in the Media
Rape Culture and Consent: Overview
of Presentation
•
•
•
•
•
1) Definition
2) Reading
3) Law
4) Images
5) Discussions
Rape Culture: Definition
• “…a complex of beliefs that encourages male
sexual aggression and supports violence against
women … a society where violence is seen as
sexy and sexuality as violent.’”
• “… the image of heterosexual sex is based on a
model of aggressive male and passive female.”
• http://www.blackwellreference.com/subscriber/uid=21
18/tocnode?id=g9781405124331_yr2012_chunk_g9781
40512433124_ss1-19
Rape Culture: From Reading
• Myths from text pg. 471:
– “(1) only certain women (i.e., those with ‘bad’
reputations) are raped;
– (2) only certain men (i.e., psychopaths) rape;
– (3) women invite or deserve rape by their
appearance and behavior; and
– (4) women fantasize or fabricate rape, motivated
by desire, revenge, blackmail, jealousy, guilt, or
embarrassment”
Rape Culture: Legal Concepts of
Consent, E.g. 21 OS § 1111, A• 3. Where force or violence is used or threatened,
accompanied by apparent power of execution to
the victim or to another person;
• 4. Where the victim is intoxicated by a narcotic or
anesthetic agent, administered by or with the
privity of the accused as a means of forcing the
victim to submit;
• 5. Where the victim is at the time unconscious of
the nature of the act and this fact is known to
the accused
Rape Culture: More recent consent
law
• Text page pg. 476 Note, Rule by Myth: The
Social and Legal Dynamics Governing AlcoholRelated Acquaintance Rapes:
– “Ow, stop,” she “protested more than once”
– Insufficient evidence for forcible rape, prosecuted
statutory rape
– Barrier to prosecuting acquaintance rape:
mismatch b/w media images and most common
type of rape (pg. 479 bottom)
Rape Culture: Images
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Consent
Female passivity
Male aggression
Alcohol
Violence
Objectification
Victim blaming
Rape Culture: Images
Rape Culture: Images
Rape Culture: Images
Rape Culture: Images
Rape Culture: Images
Rape Culture: Reflection on Images
• What were the themes presented? How do
they relate to our readings?
• Are any of the images surprising? How do they
match with your general perception of our
culture/media/advertising?
• Other reflections?
Rape Culture: Twilight?
Rape Culture: Twilight Clip
• http://www.racialicious.com/2012/01/26/som
e-notes-on-rape-culture/
Rape Culture: Twilight Reactions
• Thoughts? Reactions?
Rape Culture: Victim blaming, case law
• Epley – victim blaming:
– The court rejects defendant’s attacks against the
victim’s character, nevertheless:
– “… the prosecutrix should have insisted on getting
out … she was easy to get acquainted with and
had apparently not been adverse to a mild form of
flirtation” (722)
• “She was not wholly blameless.”
(722)
Rape Culture: Images, Victim Blaming
Rape Culture: Victim Blaming
• “ It’s easier to deal with victims than with
aggressors. It’s easier to tell women what to wear
and how to at and how to avoid rape, than to
root out sexual violence in our society and
culture. … Maybe instead of worrying about we
talk to our daughters about what they wear and
how they act and how that will get them raped,
we need to be talking to our sons about how
they treat women, or objectify women, or use
women.”
Rape Culture: Suggested Shift
•
“1. Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior. 2. When
you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone! 3. If you pull over to
help someone with car problems, remember not to assault them! 4. NEVER open
an unlocked door or window uninvited. 5. If you are in an elevator and someone
else gets in, DON’T ASSAULT THEM! 6. Remember, people go to laundry to do
their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry
room. 7. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from
assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public. 8. Always
be honest with people! Don’t pretend to be a caring friend in order to gain the
trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault
them. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as
a sign that you do not plan to rape them. 9. Don’t forget: you can’t have sex with
someone unless they are awake! 10. Carry a whistle! If you are worried you might
assault someone ‘on accident’ you can hand it to the person you are with, so they
can blow it if you do. 11. And, ALWAYS REMEMBER: if you didn’t ask permission
and then respect the answer the first time, you are committing a crime- no
matter how ‘into it’ others appear to be.”