Sarikaya 1

Sena Sarikaya
Ms. Caruso
UWRT 1103-037
17 November 2015
What is Rape Culture and is it Real?
Thousands upon thousands of men and women are raped in the United States each year.
In this country alone, 683,000 adult women are raped each year (Listen 1). One would think,
seeing the rape statistics, there would be an even higher number of all kinds of sexual assault,
ranging from unwanted kissing all the way to attempted rape. Rape culture has been identified
as a culture that normalizes, trivializes, and quietly condones male sexual assault against
women, blaming female victims while subtly celebrating male predators (Wilhem par. 2). A
broad definition of rape culture gives the idea; however, rape culture also includes sexual
assaults of all kind, and is not limited to just male rape against women. It does however change
in meaning with the situation. For example, if a man is raped or sexually assaulted in any way
by a woman, he will often be told that his experience was not legitimate, therefore upholding the
belief that a man cannot be raped by a woman. Rape culture is harmful to everybody, not just
women and it is everybodys issue.
For a better understanding of Rape Culture, I made a video featuring certain phrases
that perpetuate rape culture. I started off my video with some strong phrases as an attention
grabber, including the infamous words we have all heard people say She was asking for it,
which is just victim blaming as if thats some sort of a justification on the rapists behalf. Victim
blaming and shaming (Shame and blame only belong to the rapist [also featured quote in my
video]) are a huge part of rape culture. Making excuses for the rapist, criticizing the victim in
any way (clothing choices, sober or not, friendliness, etc.), assuming his or her actions were the
reason for the rape, or simply even saying something along the lines of youre just regretting
having sex are all concrete examples of victim shame/blame.

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By discrediting rape and sexual assault victims and pardoning rapists, society is less
likely to see this heinous act as what it really is a crime. I had this incredibly twisted and
formed view of rape: specifically, that I was never a victim and I never could be. I was also
convinced that women often lied about rape (Pearson par. 6). When a victim is denied justice
and blamed for the act, it isnt so surprising for so many people to think the act was fabricated.
Rape is the only crime where the victim is sometimes blamed for the shameful act. Saying
things such as You were asking for it or Youre just regretting it are not things you would
say to somebody who has been robbed, for example. If someone says something like We cant
wander down the road with our wallets hanging out without fear of them being stolen and If
you leave your house or car unlocked and it is broken into the insurance company will not pay
up (Marcello 1), that person is literally comparing women to inanimate objects such as
wallets, houses, and cars taking away from the humanity of victims.
My video included statistics, such as Every year 32,000 women are pregnant as a
result of rape (Perry par.10) and U.S. Female soldiers in Iraq are more likely to be raped by a
fellow soldier or a higher ranking officer than killed by an enemy (Harman par.1). I used facts
like this in my video in order to educate my audience, which I believe to be possibly everyone,
differing in genders, sexualities, and age groups. People need to know how serious of a problem
this is and how it just gets pushed under the rug, seeing as most of the people who participated
in my video were absolutely shocked when they read these statistics.
The video goes on featuring phrases that are anti-rape culture such as If someone can be
kicked out of school for copying a paper, a person should be kicked out of school for raping
another human being. (quote. Wagatwe Wanjuki) and It does not matter if she is someones
sister, mother, daughter, or wife. She is someone and she doesnt need a title to make her

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matter. Phrases like these throughout my video are very powerful and I believe they challenge
the audience to really think about the issue at hand, such as campus rape for example and how
students dont usually get expelled for raping on campus, even though its so easy to be expelled
in other ways.
It is important to eliminate the blurred lines in rape, and important to educate society on
what rape is and what counts as rape. This was also included in my video. Ranging from what
counts as consent such as Drunk doesnt mean yes and Unconscious doesnt mean yes to just
a simple No means no, it was intended to have the audience know when a person cannot give
consent and just because a person doesnt or is unable to say no doesnt mean that it isnt rape.
A quote I have heard being said frequently was The absence of no, doesnt mean yes.
Examples would be if the attacker makes the victim afraid to say no or if the victim is
unconscious.
The driving force of my product was Pathos and I strived to be as passionate about my
inquiry as possible, as this is more than just a school project for me. Rape and sexual assault is
very real and anybody can be affected by it. I intend to make my audience emotional and really
leave them with something to think about. This video is not meant to be taken lightheartedly and
it might even be uncomfortable for some people to watch, and thats okay. This is an
uncomfortable topic.

Works Cited Original

Marcello, Maria. "10 Things The Internet Told Me When I Wrote About My Rape - TheLi.st @
Medium." Medium. N.p., 02 Sept. 2014. Web.
Works Cited New

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Harman, Jane. "Finally, Some Progress in Combating Rape and Assault in the Military." The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.
"Listen. | Facts About Sexual Assault." Listen. | Facts About Sexual Assault. Listen., n.d.
Web.
Pearson, Alyn. Rape Culture: A Personal Story. Off Our Backs 30.8 (2000): 1515. Web.
Perry, Susan. "Rape, Pregnancy, Statistics and the Ignorance of Some Politicians." MinnPost.
N.p., n.d. Web.
Wilhem, Heather. The Rape Culture Lie. Commentary 139.3 (2015):24. Points of View
Reference Center Web.