Hm, there are a few things to be said about this article. This first of which is how irritating it is that every sentence begins with "rape culture," but forgoing that:

This article is too vague. "Rape culture" could be easily replaced with "murder culture" or "hate culture" or anything else. Few of the things listed are unique to "rape culture." This is not to say that her points are invalid, but his or her "rape culture" is only part of a grander and more diverse "malicious culture."

The author assumes that because we have been desensitized to rape, that rape has become acceptable, which is untrue. Rape -- by which I mean actual rape, not fantasy or humor rape -- is extremely frowned upon. Just because it has gone into pop culture does not mean that the crime is now acceptable. This goes back to my first point; things like murder, pedophilia, racism and holocausts are also joked about al the time. That does not mean that they are accepted. The author makes it sound like people are getting raped left and right and that everyone else is just laughing it up. Yes, there are a few deviants, but they do not constitute the vast majority.

That is just my reaction to the article, but thank you for sharing it because it is an important issue that does need to be addressed more.

but thats the thing, its very hard to get a rape sentence to stick. My friends had to work tooth and nail to get their trial for their 13 year old daughter who had been raped by a childhood (and thus previously trusted) friend of theirs since she was like 7. It came out yes, but not untill she was 12ish, thats unacceptable, as they are some of the most awesome parents i've ever known and just had the unluckyness to have a pedo as a friend they knew since THEIR childhood.
The fact is, Rape is a joke unless your a victim or you know the victim or its pushed into your face. IF they hadn't been smart and pushed like they had, it is very likely he would have only gotten a 5 or 10 year sentence, and then what? He's ex military, VERY smart (it was kept under wraps for so long...) If he ever is able to get out, I worry for her safety. But as I know it he's got 2 consecutive 25 year life sentences. It still doesn't make it right, doesn't make up for her lost innocence.

Your right, it may not constitute the majority, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen, and I do think people are very much desensitized to rape, pedophilia, racism...... all which are very common things even in todays time. That shouldn't be the case, but distasteful jokes are made, we all laugh....
I heard aformentioned dude was getting raped in prison and smiled. but thats because I know of his disgressions toward my friends daughter of the ripe age of SEVEN. It hurts. It hurts to know people get away with it everyday. It hurts to know that it had to happen to her. It just hurts. its sad......

Everything you are saying is very true and I agree. Rape is definitely an atrocity in any context. The fact that rape is not punished as severely as it could and should be is despicable indeed. There are too many tragic stories that I know of personally involving rapists and rape victims.

My comment was not about the seriousness of rape but rather some errors and false assumption that I found in the article itself. Much of what the author is saying is technically true; however, the arrangement of the facts and the conclusions drawn infer a false image of the situation. That's all I was saying.

True. its not JUST rape, but the entire violent nature that some people seem to have as a culture, and not -all- people, Its like saying all pit bulls are mean and vicious. hehe. I might say that with poodles tho, I have -never- met a nice poodle.

Me neither... >_>

True, but what irked me the most was the parts talking about blaming the victim for getting raped, because they wear something or walk somewhere or don't have their guard up 24/7. THAT is what's being taught, girls are being told to always be careful what you do and where you go, and who you go with, or you'll get raped and it'll be partly your fault... when in reality, all you can do to avoid it is lock yourself in a house with bars on the windows and doors for the rest of your life... or just never be in the same room with a rapist.

There is very little teaching towards men and boys about rape, as far as I've noticed. It's all directed towards the victims, as if it's their fault it happens.



You're welcome... it is an important issue. Hate culture and murder and all that are important as well. I just think in GENERAL we're all too complacent with how things are, when we should be working towards something better.

Yeah, even I worried walking alone sometimes in broad daylight and I'm.... well i've been told i'm rather amazonian in stature, its obvious I "shouldn't" be messed with, and yet, there are times that I -don't- feel like its a good idea because I know it just may not be safe. bah!

I'm pretty tough myself, and I feel bad for anyone who tries to fuck with me, because I promise you they'll have scars... but there still is that voice in the back of my head, the fears and possibilities... all those things people told me to do when I was growing because I'm a girl. Gotta be careful!

yeah its sad isn't it. I'm tough, but something in the back of my head says that may not be good enough. >(

And why? Because they have testosterone and I don't. =\

No. we have testosterone too ^.^ just different amounts, just as they have estrogen. ;)
Why is because men are scared of women, and those who hold hatred toward us I've realized are even more scared of what we can do. So they want to be "in control" because they have dangly bits and we don't. hmmmpth. dangly bits made from the same materials...... in the womb we are no different from each other untill a certain stage.

Yeah, I know that... and I meant the whole testosterone as they have more of it than us, and because of that, they're genetically stronger (or can become stronger easily) than us.

And some men do it not because they're scared, but because they have no respect for women and like the POWER that comes with it.

True.......sadly enough :/

True, but what irked me the most was the parts talking about blaming the victim for getting raped, because they wear something or walk somewhere or don't have their guard up 24/7. THAT is what's being taught, girls are being told to always be careful what you do and where you go, and who you go with, or you'll get raped and it'll be partly your fault...

Well it is never the victim's fault; the point in teaching young girls to dress carefully is to make them less likely targets. It's like teaching people to lock their doors. It's just a precaution.

There is very little teaching towards men and boys about rape, as far as I've noticed. It's all directed towards the victims, as if it's their fault it happens.

I can't tell you how many times I've had a class on sexual harassment in my school life, so it is being taught. The thing is, though, that classes and seminars have very little impact on how we will actually behave. We've all been bombarded with information regarding sex, drugs, and alcohol, but people will still abuse them. It is probably those same people who will rape and harass people.

I guess it depends on where you grew up. The only sexual harassment classes I've ever had were after I joined the military. All we talked about in school was STDs and wearing condoms. =\

And more often than not, what you're wearing doesn't change whether you're gonna get raped or not. Rapists rarely care what you're wearing, as long as you're the right gender.

A long journal indeed, rape is bad :( good you linked it so peeps can read about it

^_^ Thanky.

I didn't quiet like it the way she wrote it though Rape culture every 5 second gets very annoying.
And I guess it's worth to read. But rape is NOT accepted by any mean in western cultures. People do not just shrug it of, everyone takes it as a serious matter of business, even though the punsihment for rape should be much worse for the rapist.

It IS a bit repetitive, but eh.

And sometimes I wonder how seriously we take rape in western culture. It's a horrible thing when it happens to someone you know, but it's true that some women who come forward aren't believed, and sometimes families get torn apart because the rape happened with a family member and the victim isn't believed. And then we have Roman Polanski, who raped a 13-yr old girl and won't ever see justice because his country apparently doesn't think it's that big a deal, even though they have extradition laws.

Of course there are problems but she make it look like it's so much worse than it is.

That's mostly because the writer is a rape survivor, so she feels more strongly than those who haven't been in her shoes.

At least, that's what I think.

Yeah I guess so.