Rape culture; Get it out.

meeca:

We live in a rape culture. Yes, a rape culture. A culture in which rape and other sexual aggressions are commonplace, and in which the media and attitudes condone, normalize, excuse, or encourage sexualized violence. The blame for this culture has been placed on everything from birth control to the ways in which women choose to dress. I am of the opinion that it is the excuse of the increasingly popularized “evolutionary psychology” theory that bolsters the rape culture.

Evolutionary psychology is a theory that picked up after the Second World War.  It is an offshoot of several fields including eugenics and sociobiology. Evolutionary psychologists can be divided into two camps: those who studied specific animal species and observed the evolution of particular traits found exclusively in that species; and those who applied these findings to human evolution. The premise was that if ducks, scorpion flies or mice exhibited certain evolved traits allowing them to reproduce effectively, then humans must also develop similar traits. Thus evolutionary psychology really began to pick up speed, until eventually the field popularized itself. Articles explaining why men desire certain physical attributes in women, and why women play the “coy female” role appeared in both men and women’s magazines.

The idea of evolutionary psychology has become so dangerously imbedded in popular culture that it seems almost ridiculous to refute these claims. It’s obvious, after all, that men are more likely to cheat on their partner—they need to propagate their seed far and wide, to produce the most offspring. And women only produce one or two eggs a month, and are therefore more selective. Women will search for a suitable mate whose offspring she is ready to invest considerable time and energy in. Hence the theory of the “coy female.”

Any sociologist (or biologist, for that matter) could tell you that these theories completely ignore the larger social institutions in which these actions—sexual relations and marriage—are framed. Furthermore, biologists have revealed that behavior is not as easily determined as blue eyes and brown hair. A primary problem with the evolutionary psychologists who apply animal behavior to humans is that most of them are not geneticists, biologists, or anthropologists. Most of them do not understand how genes function. They believe that if, over a period of time, humans in a certain area develop almost exclusively blonde hair, then humans in a certain area should also inherit the gene for integrity, or prostitution (yes, many evolutionary psychologists have argued that a “prostitution gene” exists).

These researchers would take a single prostitute and look at her lineage. They would soon discover that the woman’s mother was a prostitute, and that her mother’s mother and sisters were all prostitutes, and so on. Obviously a “prostitute gene” was being passed on! The researchers failed to factor in the socio-economic situation of the women, as well as a myriad of other psychological and sociological features.  But the researchers also chose to ignore the function and design of genes. Behavioral traits are extremely complex, and one single gene does not make an individual completely honest or entirely dishonest. Furthermore, genes are mostly influenced by the environment of the individual. This is why children who are not exposed to language by the age of ten will never learn to speak—the gene humans inherit allowing us to speak was never activated, and the essential neurological pathways in the brain were never developed.

However, the public read these articles that seemed logical and reasonable, and this “knowledge” soon became “common sense.” It was common sense that men could not control their natural urges, that this was entirely natural, and that women were in complete control of their (minimal) sexual urges but not so much of their emotional stability. It did not take long for researchers to explore causes of rape in other species. Mallard ducks, for example, will rape a female when they cannot find a mate. They will “gang up” on the female and proceed to rape her, hoping to produce offspring. Numerous other species exhibit this behavior, which led to a normalization of violent sexual urges in men. If they cannot find mates, and face the natural and all-powerful urge to reproduce, then they simply might not be able to help themselves.

Poor things.

What is important to note is that this normalization of men’s unquenchable sexual urges becomes the backbone to excuse the larger misogynistic institutions and practices in society. Many people struggle to attain equal rights, freedom, and liberties for women. But until the female body is no longer commodified by the capitalist patriarchy, this will not be possible. I am by no means saying that the female body is something that should be covered, hidden, or that is shameful. The female body should be celebrated, and women should enjoy their bodies. The issue is that the female body has become a good with a market value, and this fiscal value allows it to be traded. I am not only referring to sex workers. Ads portraying a woman in a sexually demeaning way are selling the body in order to sell the product. Industries such as the music and film markets increasingly capitalize on the male gaze. Men excuse their behavior by saying they “venerate the female body, adore it, respect it”—so long as they can use it to serve their own ends. Would most men agree that a woman’s body is created for her enjoyment, not theirs?

So men have the natural, God-given, irrefutable right to use a woman because that is just how they evolved, and judgment and rationality be damned, there’s nothing they can do about it. Contrarily, women do not have these same urges, and are in fact emotionally attached to men in a way that is seen as cute, naïve, and ultimately a weakness that can be explained through evolution. What this creates is a rape culture, in which the victim is blamed for acts of sexual aggression, not the aggressor. However, this isn’t to say that our society necessarily wants women to be raped, or that we do not care if women are raped. On the contrary, women are cautioned from an early age to avoid situations in which they could be raped.

After pulling from several lists online on “How to Prevent Rape”, I have compiled some of the most common tips offered.

1.  Use the buddy system. If you are leaving the house at night, do not leave without a friend.

2. Stay aware. Do not use your iPod or talk on your cell phone. Be alert and wary of any strangers.

3. Understand that the way you dress and your hairstyle could encourage sexual aggression. A ponytail might allow an aggressor to grab onto it from behind. Certain styles of clothing might give an impression you do not want to portray.

4. Take a basic self-defense course.

5. Plan. Keep a cell phone at the ready. When going out, let at least one person know where you will be, and what time you expect to be home at.

6. Make sure your door is locked, your windows are locked, and do not allow strangers into your home if you cannot identify or trust them.

Do you notice anything wrong with this list? This might seem like very logical and reasonable advice. But the problem is that it focuses entirely on the victim. What about the aggressors? A police officer recently gave a presentation at York University about safety. At one point he said, “If you don’t want to be raped, don’t dress like a slut.” Not long ago an 11-year-old girl in Cleveland, Texas was gang-raped by eighteen young men, most of whom were older than her. Several of the boys recorded the rape on their cell phones. Some members of the community say the girl lied about her age, and that she put herself in a dangerous predicament. News reports detailing the event questioned what the young girl was wearing, and mentioned her use of heavy eye makeup and “adult” clothing. Some locals defended the boys’ actions, wondering how they were “drawn into such an act.”

What kind of a society do we live in when an 11-year-old girl is gang-raped and we are asking what she was wearing? Why aren’t we wondering how these young men were raised? What their ideas of dominance, rape, sex, the female body, respect, and ethics are? What made them think they could force themselves sexually on someone? But the articles I read never once asked these questions. We have seminars on women’s self-help classes, and tips for women to protect themselves at night. But how is sexism harming our young men? What are the effects of teaching them that their sexual urges are natural, understandable, and that women are objects to be bought and used? What conversations are we having with our sons, brothers, boyfriends, husbands about these topics—if we are having them at all?

I have found a fantastic list online of alternative rape prevention tips. Here are some great suggestions from the list that should be taught to young men and women as early as possible.

1. Do not rape someone.

2. A “no”, “maybe”, “I’m not sure” or silence is not a “yes.”

3. When someone says “no” to you, instead of explicitly saying “yes”, and you force yourself upon them, this is rape.

4. If you see a woman in a parking lot, do not rape her.

5. If you see a woman walking by herself, do not rape her.

6. Use the buddy system. If you simply cannot control those pesky “natural urges”, bring a buddy to help knock some sense into you.

7. The way a woman chooses to dress and present herself is never an invitation to rape her.

What young men—and society in general—needs to understand is that rape has nothing to do with sex. Rape is not about spreading semen and producing offspring. Even if we were to think about this in evolutionary terms, it simply doesn’t add up. Animals only rape in extremely stressful situations in which their environment has been altered. For example, the mallard ducks studied by David Barash in Central Park were confined to a small pond where the amount of mates was limited. This is because rape does not assure fertilization, will most likely kill the victim, and might result in death for the rapist. The costs of rape simply do not outweigh the benefits. For humans, this is similar: the cost of being arrested and then jailed, of forever being excluded from society, of losing all friends and loved ones, typically does not outweigh the chance that a woman might produce a single child.

This also does not explain why men who certainly have resources—who are attractive, have money, who often have families and a career—rape. This does not explain why the elderly, who can no longer reproduce, are raped. This does not explain why men, and young children who have not yet sexually matured, are raped. The theory fails to take into account the wide variability of rape, and instead seeks to explain the scenario most of us envision when we think of rape: a young woman, probably out alone at night, raped by a man. But 2/3 of rapes occur by someone the victim knows. Unfortunately, many rapes do occur by strangers who aggress women when they are alone, out at night, or do not lock their doors. But the majority of the time these “tips” are completely useless because the women are in a familiar situation with an acquaintance who does not know when to stop. And as for the logic behind the “don’t dress like a slut” notion—this concept makes the assumption that women who dress conservatively, or women living in regions where they must dress modestly, are never raped. This is obviously very untrue.

What evolutionary psychologists have done with rape is what they do with everything else they seek to explain. They take a trait and infer that it is universal in all humans. They then say that it is hereditary, completely ignoring the underlying mechanisms of genes and heredity. They then create a “just so” scenario that seems to logically explain the behavior in terms of evolution. This is not science. It is pseudoscience being used as the foundation for social policy, popular science and common sense. Which makes it all the more dangerous.

Sexual assault does not only affect women. It also affects men. Not only are male victims generally ignored because there is a notion that men always want sex, and therefore cannot be raped, but men must live with the negative stigma associated with sexist attitudes. Both men and women are severely harmed by the sexist society in which they live. A man must be the aggressive chauvinist, the “manly man” who wants to spread his seed and use his woman as a commodity—to an extent. He must also be a respecting and loving, though caring and providing, mate. The woman, on the other hand, must act the part of the coy female, prepared to be provided for and protected, and who will suppress her sexual urges and therefore would never think of cheating. Those who do not gender perform, as we have seen time and time again through abuse cases of transgendered and queer people, do not fit the mold of “male” or “female” and are at fault for being victims. Why can’t they just dress like everyone else, be normal, and confine themselves to the narrow, socially-constructed and completely erroneous male/female dichotomy? In response to this, I would like to ask: Why can’t we just stop sexually aggressing people?

Anyone who could possibly imagine we live in an egalitarian, non-sexist society need only open up a tabloid magazine. Read the scandals, look at the pictures of women. Examine how these “immoral” women are portrayed. Look at the successful businesswomen, or the “bitch in heels”, and see how the cunning, ruthless, analytical woman is sized up to the equally ruthless man. The man is seen as competitive, intelligent and successful—the woman is just a “ball-busting bitch.” Watch closely at how the media portrays sexual aggression. The headlines always read “woman was raped” instead of “man rapes woman.” While unfortunately we do live in a society where women must think about what time of night they leave the house at, who they go with, and how they protect themselves, men must be educated about their role in the elimination of sexual aggression.

We are perpetually warning women “do not get raped.” When are we going to start warning men “Do not rape”?

It’s quite a lot to take in, but very interesting. I suggest you take the time to read it slowly.


After this article, I talked to my mom, and asked her, who do you think should be blamed? the guy or the girl who wear short skirts? She said "the guy is bad, but girls should not wear short skirts to lure the guy." I was so disappointed in this answer. 

I mean, I know we're asian and all conservative. But.. it's just.. wrong... to think like that.
I want to do something about it. and make sure more people are aware.
STOP SLUT-SHAMING.