A recent UK study that found "men identified more with statements about women made by convicted rapist's than statements made in men's magazines about women." Obviously these findings have me all hot and bothered. I am pounding the keyboard like a punching bag just typing this. It's stirred a whole slue of questions and thoughts in my head that I will delve into later. First, I'm going to paraphrase/quote the article from the Huffington post for those of you who just want the meat and potatoes of the study. The actual study is published in the British Journal of Psychology.
"According to a new study, comments made in men's magazines about women are almost nearly identical to those made by convicted rapists. Miranda Horvath of Middlesex University and Peter Hegarty of the University of Surrey looked through four of the U.K.'s most popular men's magazines, or, "lads' mags," (think Playboy, Maxim, GQ) and selected a range of comments made about women."
For example: "Mascara running down the cheeks means they've just been crying, and it was probably your fault ... but you can cheer up the miserable beauty with a bit of the old in and out."
"Then they searched through transcripts of interviews with convicted rapists in the United States and picked out comments rapists had made about women and how their victims' behavior justified their crimes"
For example: "Girls ask for it by wearing these mini-skirts and hotpants ... they're just displaying their body ... Whether they realize it or not they're saying, 'Hey, I've got a beautiful body, and it's yours if you want it."
"The researchers asked a group of men and women 19- 30 years old to rank the quotes according to how derogatory they were and then to identify the source: men's magazine or convicted rapist." The participants found quotes from the "lads' mags" more demeaning, and their identifications were no better than guesswork."
"In another study, the researchers asked men 18- 46 years old to report how strongly they identified with the quotes without knowing attribution. As a result, the men identified more with the rapists' statements than magazines. "
A Doctor from the Psychology Department at the University of Surrey had this to say: “There is a fundamental concern that the content of such magazines normalizes the treatment of women as sexual objects. We are not killjoys or prudes who think that there should be no sexual information and media for young people. But are teenage boys and young men best prepared for fulfilling love and sex when they normalize views about women that are disturbingly close to those mirrored in the language of sexual offenders?” (Read the rest of this article from the University of Surrey here: http://tinyurl.com/7kfszea)
Well, well, well. I would say I'm at a loss for words, but if you scroll down you'll clearly see I'm not. I'm outraged and angered, but somehow not completely surprised. I mean, there's some shock value to these findings, no doubt. But, when you sit back and think about it, this study gives some form of explanation for the society we live in. Rape culture surround us. It's in "funny" movies (cue the rape scene in "Get Him to the Greek," just to name one), magazines (obviously), TV shows, and music. When these attitudes are infused into our culture, its no wonder our society is plagued with rape. This isn't rocket science, its simple: what goes into our brains as acceptable, funny, or normal, comes out as such.
So let me get this straight... The media normalizes rape, our culture is reluctant to acknowledge it, and scholastic institutions don't educate about it. Well, now that that matzo ball is out of the way, I ask you this: how do we really expect anyone to understand it, much less change it? Is it any wonder 84 percent of men who committed rape, according to the legal definition, said that what they did wasn't rape (according to a 1994 study). Or that nearly half of women who were raped did not classify their experience as such (in a 2000 study by the U.S. Department of Justice" (Huffington Post)).
No wonder so many women don't report their assault, on top of being shamed into silence, victims are made to believe, or at least question if what happened to them was normal! Crippling shame compounded by self doubt is the most unfortunate, unwarranted recipe for silence. It's heartbreaking. But, this study leads me to ponder about the other side of the coin: the rapist.
I cant help but wonder if the 84% stat would change if more men really understood what constituted rape. Anyone educated on this subject knows that rape is a power crime, not a horny guy who got "carried away." No means no-- no excuses. But, think about the environment of a typical college campus, where more women than any other age bracket are raped (1/4). For a lot of people, college is a booze fest. And for a some guys, there seems to be a secret competition of who can get with the most girls, during a semester, a weekend...a night. And though there are a lot of men with outstanding character, we all know there are some without it. So I wonder how many guys commit rape but think they're just "doing what it takes" to get some on a Saturday night. Maybe these "84- percenters" would agree they were being "pushy" but don't think their "pushiness" is the same thing as rape- though it clearly is.
A few things led me to this notion. One obviously being the above statistic. 84%- that's outrageously high. But two, I think back to when I was assaulted. When it first happened, I knew two things: 1) I did not consent to what he did and 2) whatever had just happened was terrible, traumatic and wrong. But my head didn't immediately go to rape. It took time for me to fully realize and come to grips with that had happened. So my thought process initially was, if I didn't realize it was rape, did he?
I've talked about this concept before with a friend who was sexually assaulted. She pressed charges but her attacker passed a lie detector test. His actions clearly constituted assault, but, he passed the test. Of course she and I were very angry and in disbelief. How could this happen? We know lie detector tests are hardly (if at all) reliable but it was the principal of it all. Devastating, heartbreaking, infuriating-- confusing. In the dozens of conversations following the news, we came to the idea that maybe he really didn't realize that what he did was illegal. Who knows, maybe he didn't even think it was wrong. What does a person with no sense of moral judgement consider wrong? Add to that a lack of education and it seems to make even more sense. However, be it known that when I contemplate this notion, I am by no means defending any kind of offender. A lack of morals and education does not justify sexual assault. Sexual offenders are still scum of the earth dirt bags. So lack of education just makes them stupid, scum of the earth dirt bags. Either way, dirt is dirt. I'm just curious if the two factors, especially when combined with influences from the media, could partially account for the 84%.
I think back to the situation at Yale where the Delta Kappa Epsilon's marched across the campus chanting "No means yes, yes means anal." I don't think a single guy from that fraternity really thought a whirl-wind of media coverage and a public scolding (or "slap on the wrist") would actually come from that. I think they truly thought they would do their chant, piss off the women's center and get away with it. Hmm, sounds familiar, huh? I think there are some guys out there with a dangerous sense of entitlement who will do what they want to and flat out disregard any objection. Then, they look around (media, friends, legal system) and see others doing it and getting away with it too. It becomes a perfect, sadistic storm.
It is beyond time we as members of society take a stand. We cannot continue to condone movies that mock rape, music that rhymes about it, and a culture that lives it. As a collective, we so desperately need education and public awareness. Without these factors to help women find their voice, and educate the public about the realities of this crime, we will not see the legal system hold these perpetrators accountable. We need a public uprising of warriors, ready to challenge rape supportive attitudes and shine the light on a disguised crime. It is time we rise and say, enough is enough. Because this- this is beyond "more than enough."
