Do you live in a world where guys walk down the school hallway after taking a test and hear, “wow that test raped me”, or turn on the radio and hear your favorite rapper using vulgar language such as, “rape a pregnant b*tch, call it a threesome”? I live in that world, and in fact, so do you. This world has slowly but surely been infiltrated with filthy jokes. Punch lines, created without taking a moment to think of the impact on others is where rape culture made its entrance. Rape culture can be referred to as, “the common cold of society” and although the two seem to be completely unrelated, they both factor into life in equal proportions (Pearson “Rape Culture: It’s All Around Us 12). Rape culture is simply “cultural practices that excuse or otherwise tolerate sexual violence. It is the way that we collectively think about rape…its situations in which sexual assault, rape and general violence are ignored, trivialized, normalized, or made into jokes” (Ridgway). It is affecting our society and creating, as said by Alyn Pearson, “an environment in which acts of rape are fostered”, have become desensitized and victim blaming is running rampant (Pearson “Rape Culture: It’s All Around Us 12). Although it is a sad pill to swallow, rape can happen to anyone; therefore, rape culture effects everyone. I understand that rape culture can be a topic that stirs up confusion, controversy, and often leads to conversations regarding extreme sensitivity, but rape culture does have a real place and effect on not only American, but global societies and, with that being said, this message is for everyone. 

Before delving into the ins and outs of rape culture’s effects on society, it is important to define a few key terms. First and foremost, the subject rape culture needs to be defined. Rape culture, is formally defined as “a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse” (Google definitions). Within that definition, sexual assault is mentioned and can be defined as, “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities such as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape” (Google definitions). It seems trivial and condescending to define sexual assault in a college level essay, but based on the prevalent sexual assault on all college campuses and around the world, obviously, some people are not quite clear on what sexual assault is, forcing the definition to be broken down. Two terms in reach of rape culture are slut-shaming and victim blaming. Slut-shaming is known as, “the action or fact of stigmatizing a woman for engaging in behavior judged to be promiscuous or sexually provocative” (Google definitions). Victim-blaming is the act of blaming or making the victim feel guilty in a situation that is not their fault. 

Based on the terms and their definitions previously mentioned, one can see a few of the problems rape culture breeds, but rape culture shows itself throughout our society in many other ways. The most obvious appearance of rape culture is the astounding number of women and children raped daily. “One in five women [are survivors of] rape or attempted rape”, “one in 6 men are abused before the age of eighteen” (Maxwell), and “one in seventy-one men have reported experiencing rape” (Ridgway). Although the rape statistics in the United States are quite unbelievable, the staggeringly low population of rapists in U.S. prisons, in my opinion, is the biggest problem. RAINN, or the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, does of lots of work in the field of rape prevention and providing resources for victims. “An analysis by RAINN found that 97% of rapists never spend a single day in jail for their crimes” (Maxwell).  The levels of corruption in the U.S. government and judicial systems is a conversation on a different subject and for a different day, but does play its own role in the manifestation of rape culture in American society. Because of the lack of justice being served, rape culture and its problems are constantly growing in society and something must be done. The statistics mentioned above are only those from the United States. Rape occurs worldwide and a common example of this sad phenomenon are the world-wide sex trafficking rings. 

Because rape culture is such a big issue within society, it is as a result multifaceted. Of course, I am not an expert on rape nor rape statistics around the world, but through my research and every day experience, I have come across trends in rape culture that I feel must be discussed. For starters, it is important to take a moment to discuss the ways in which rapists avoid being called out for what they truly are. Also, I cannot go without mentioning how social media sites and college campuses have become breeding grounds for rape culture to manifest and go unnoticed in daily life. When thinking of the effects of rape culture, it is important to take a moment and think about the groups it hurts/effects the most. Because rape is a crime that mostly affects women, rape culture negatively impacts women most. However, this does not mean it does not impact men or create problems for the LGBTQ community. Commonly, when rape is discussed, we think of “a terrifying monster lurking in the bushes, waiting to pounce on an innocent girl as she walks by” but the actual rapists are “men who are usually known to (and often loved by) their victims” (Maxwell). Although this scenario is usually the case, and there are a few cases of predators stalking and choosing their victims, we must not forget that rape does not only effect women and can happen to men, especially as young children or in jail. Regarding these men in jail, I plan to discuss prison-rape and false accusations that can lead to a lifetime prison sentences for some. Finally, I’d like to make the argument that victim-blaming, as previously defined, is the biggest portion of rape culture and has the largest effect on our society. 

As a woman, avid social media user, and an aware member of society, I can see rape culture for what it is: a harmful phenomenon that facilitates and desensitizes a heinous crime. Rape is wrong, no matter the circumstance. Zerlina Maxwell, a columnist for CNN’s opinion column shared some of her own experience in her article titled, “Rape Culture is Real.” Maxwell opens the article with, “You were drinking, what did you expect?” and “those were the first words that [she] heard when [she] went to someone [she] trusted for support after [her] roommate’s boyfriend raped her” (Maxwell). Questions like these are not uncommon and are usually followed up with excuses such as she was drunk, she wasn’t wearing many clothes, she was dancing too close, or she was not being aware of her surroundings as answers, and possible justifications for why women are raped. These are not just excuses, they are examples of victim blaming and loopholes to avoid facing the judgment, stigma, and punishment that comes along with being a rapist. Sadly, rape is a subject that comes up in daily life. Everyone knows it’s wrong, but some tend to ignore it. It is time to stop the ignorance and come to realize, as a society, that rape is nothing to be joked about, ignored, or trivialized. 

As a teenager and college student, social media plays a strong role in my life. IN her article, “Rape Culture: Media and Message”, Alyn Pearson takes it upon herself to rephrase Marx’ statement referencing religion as the opiate of the masses and says that “opiating the masses is the religion of media” (Pearson “Rape Culture Media and Message” 13). Many of my sources come from Pearson’s novel Off Our Backs in which many of her articles mentioned are taken from. I find Pearson to be a more than credible source and her comment on how media has become a religion to our society plays directly into my point of how rape culture has manifested itself in our social media outlets. Our generation has become very unaware of the true meaning of friendship and often confuses followers with friends. Because of this common misconception, a lot of personal stories and opinions are put out on social media sites such as Instagram and Twitter. Many posts on social media often contain the underlying theme of sexual assault but are masked as jokes and personal opinions. This, makes social media outlets a harbor for rape culture and a place for its manifestation that effects the younger generation in ways different than other adults. It is no secret that the younger generation has a heavier social media presence. It appears as if, because of the strong impact social media has on the life of teens and young adults, rape culture is more prevalent amongst those groups. Taking a moment to reflect on social media’s role in rape culture, it is important to remember that rape culture can show itself in several ways, not necessarily just jokes and cruel humor. Although memes and jokes can be found on any given twitter feed daily, “twitter hashtags that support accused rapists and blame victims” also add into rape culture’s presence on social media. Reddit, a social news website that I personally group in with social media has several posts of “threads with titles like ‘you just have to make sure she’s dead’ when linking to the story of a 13-year old girl in Pakistan being raped and buried alive” (Ridgway). Reddit adds an important aspect to the social media conversation because even though it is not technically a social media site, it is a social news network that many people in the younger generations look to. Also, contributing to social media’s effects, after a rocky ending to a relationship, one partner may expose the naked pictures of the other. Although this is not rape, it is a product of rape culture because of the violation and exposure it creates for victim and the sense of power held by the perpetrator. Some turn to twitter to discuss their sexual conquests of the night before, while others brag and boast about how alcohol and drugs helped them finally ‘hook up’ with the sorority girl they’ve been eyeing for a while. Due to my social media presence, I often come across stories like these that seem harmless but have underlying mention of sexual assault that is often grazed over. These stories expose people as perpetrators of sexual assault. The problem here is that on Twitter and Instagram, people are hardly ever reprimanded. Of course, no one is posting, “oh, I just went and raped a girl last night”, but there are subtle things like, “I got her drunk and she finally opened up to it.” These are the disturbing occurrences happening all over social media. Rape culture is often evident in memes such as the image below: 

(Picture from Shannon Ridgway’s “25 Everyday Examples of Rape Culture”)

When asked, “college students struggle when trying to define ‘rape culture’ and often end up defining rape” (Kacmarek). It is important to point out that many college students do not even truly know what rape culture is; therefore, it goes roughly undetected by many. College campuses all over the world are overrun with sexual assault cases and often provide a safe space for the perpetrators of these crimes. As mentioned in Shannon Ridgeway’s article on EverydayFeminism.com regarding twenty-five every day examples of rape culture, “A university in Canada allows the following student orientation chant: ‘Y is for your sister. O is for oh-so-tight. U is for underage. N is for no consent. G is for grab that ass’” (Ridgeway). Of course, this is only one appalling example of the presence of rape culture on a college campus but it uncovers its real existence in many ways. Another widely-known example of rape culture is “supporting athletes who are charged with rape and calling their victims career-destroyers” (Ridgeway). Many victims of rape on college campuses find themselves “caught up in a flaw within the broader system of higher education. How college campuses respond to allegations of rape can differ depending on the department to which campus security reports and the priorities of that department’s administrator” (McGuinness). This fact, stated by William McGuinness, a writer for the Huffington Post on how effectively rape cases are handled on college campuses, is astounding. Imagine being a victim of rape and reading that your case may or may not be deemed important based on the ‘priorities’ of an administrator whose purpose is supposed to be to keep students safe. Fraternity and Sorority life on college campuses also add an important side to rape culture’s multifaceted makeup. “Some have argued that fraternities are places where rape is likely to occur on college campuses and that the students most likely to accept rape myths and be more sexually aggressive are more likely to live in fraternities and sororities” (Boswell).  Although it is not fair to assume that fraternities “provide an environment conducive to rape”, it has been proven that “the abusive attitudes toward women that some fraternities perpetuate exists within a general culture where rape is intertwined in traditional gender scripts” (Boswell). As a college student myself, specifically a southern college, I cannot say that I have never heard the jokes about the ‘typical frat bros’ being racists and rapists. Referring to the social media aspect of my argument, I have seen pictures of fraternity members with captions referencing rape. Fraternity and sorority life provide an interesting look at rape culture on college campuses but there is another, simpler way that rape culture often sneaks itself into college life. Although many teenagers become sexually active before college, dorm rooms provide a comfortable place for students to explore their sexuality and provides a place for sexual experiences that may not happen at home. As stated by Alyn Pearson in a portion of her novel, Off Our Backs, entitled “Rape Culture: A Personal Story”, “college is a big sex fest” (Pearson). In this excerpt of her novel, Pearson explains how she, as a young sexually active woman, began to navigate her sex life in college, but this is not my focus or purpose of using this article. I feel that it is important to mention that coming to college and the freedom it provides does not help anyone escape possible humiliation from their peers. With that being said, Pearson’s article is extremely important because she acknowledges how rape culture, coupled with possible humiliation, often makes women afraid to say no. Rape culture makes women “want to be the cool chick who could fuck without feeling way more than [being] the strong woman who took a stand” against whatever man was pursuing her at the time and was not afraid to say no (Pearson). Pearson focuses much of her article on women’s burning desires to stick up for themselves, say no, and turn men away but also mentions how this desire is in a constant battle with the way society has taught women to submit and go along with what men want. Although many women face these same struggles throughout their lifetime, high school and college seem to be where they start. It is also important to remember that rape culture’s prevalence on college campus is not something that started recently. Rape culture creates a world where “girls going away to college are taught to invest in pepper spray key chains, but do not teach boys about consent” (Kat Blaque).  In the novel Off Our Backs, Kristen Bain published an article about her service at a women’s center on a college campus in 2002. I was only four years old when this article was written but I can still find parallels from Bain’s college experience and my person experience. Most of Bain’s article focuses on the fact that her college would not allow the women’s center to sell pepper spray. Outraged, Bain writes that she finds the fact that “giving women on campus another outlet to defend themselves is too great a liability” for the university to bear (Bain 26). Sadly, pepper spray on campus, especially in certain facilities is still considered a liability for universities today, even though many have acknowledged the growing risks for women on college campuses and in city life. College is meant to be a safe-space for students to learn, grow, and advance themselves as people and in their careers. The lack of rules, almost complete freedom, and excessive under-aged alcohol abuse can also create a place for rapists and rape culture to roam free and unnoticed. 

It is necessary to reflect on the fact that rape is not only a crime that effects women. Gender roles created by society have a lot to do with the negative effects of rape culture. Gender roles create the idea that men must be stronger than women and are not susceptible to such violating crimes. Rape of men is certainly not something mentioned every day, and when it does happen, the victims are often ridiculed. A clear product of rape culture is “shaming male survivors into silence” (Kat Blaque). A primary example of such humiliation is the experience of Shia LaBeouf, an American actor known for his roles on Disney Channel and in the ‘Transformers’ series. Shia LaBeouf was raped during a performance art project by a woman and her suspected boyfriend. When his assault hit the news, he became a laughing stock on social media and in many friendly conversations. Although Shia LaBeouf is only one of many men who have been sexually assaulted, the jokes made toward him were only in the public eye because of his celebrity status. There are thousands of men across the globe that face humiliation after being sexually assaulted. In my opinion, a major cause of the under the table jokes made about male victims is because of the stigma that follows men who are assaulted. As a final thought on the way rape culture affects men, I must stop and speak on the way women pursue sex when men say no. I would like to point out that I have personally seen stories of girls boasting about how their boyfriend may not have been in the mood for sex, but they made it happen anyway. Many people like to argue that women can’t truly rape men and men being raped by women is a myth, but to be completely honest and transparent, I, personally, did not think of these situations as rape until it was brought to my attention by a guy who stated that if the situation was reversed, the male would have been labeled a rapist. I came across this story after I’d picked the topic of rape culture, and it was not meant to be a part of my research. However, it was something that sort of just fell into my lap, and consequently, it made me open my eyes. Although rape culture is seen all over TV and the internet in more obvious ways, I found that I’d stumbled on a much less discussed topic. 

The extensive occurrences of rape in the prison systems is an often-underlined example of rape culture’s effects, specifically on men. The recent Oscar winning movie, Moonlight, focuses on a young gay male who is ridiculed for being gay and “soft.” As the movie continues, the main character ends up in prison for a few years after a fight at school. His known enemy mentions that jail should be heaven to him, referring to the known fact that men are often raped in jail. Although this comment is geared toward the fact that Chiron, the main character, is gay and is not necessarily meant to focus on rape, the mention of rape in prison in such a subtle way only adds to my point that men getting raped is something often looked over and not made a priority. I think it is safe to say that many people overlook rape in jail because they are more focused on what the prisoner did to get there; but, that does not mean it is not a product of rape culture and not a problem. 

When discussing the problems with rape in the prison system, I am obligated to discuss the disturbing fact that many rapists never see the inside of a jail cell. TV shows such as Law and Order: SVU and others of the kind, portray the idea of law enforcement working day and night to hunt down rapists and make sure they serve the time for the crimes they’ve committed. Unfortunately, that is not an accurate representation of what happens. Only 3% of rapists see the inside of a jail because of their crimes. This sad statistic is a product of women being afraid to report their attackers with fear of the humiliation and stigma that comes along with being a rape victim. Rape Culture “encourages women to keep their sexual assaults to themselves, out of fear of losing family members or ruining their reputation” (Kat Blaque). To many, it seems that law enforcement and the judicial system keeps finding ways to prevent putting rapists behind bars. The infuriating story that almost every U.S. citizen has heard by now is that of Brock Turner, former swimmer for Stanford University and rapist. Turner only spent three months of his six-month sentence in prison, and many across the country are angry. If Turner’s case does not make you want to take a second look at the U.S. judicial system, the Oklahoma court’s ruling that “forced oral sex is not rape if victim is unconscious from drinking” should make you furious (Jones). Early January 2017, the Oklahoma court made this ruling based on the case of a sixteen-year-old female who was forced into oral sex with a classmate while unconscious. The “Tulsa County District Court Judge Patrick Pickerill dismissed the forcible oral sodomy charge, stating unconsciousness and intoxication are not present in the law’s definition of the crime” and therefore the suspect was not charged (Jones). I had to read this article several times over and still could not possibly comprehend how a judge ruled that this was not a crime. This is just more proof that our judicial system does not work the same way it does on TV, perpetuating rape culture, and often failing victims of rape. Because of the lack of prosecution, in cases such as those mentioned before, many women are afraid to speak up because they are afraid no one will believe their story or care enough to do something about it. This situation is especially prevalent on college campuses. There are thousands of articles and stories on the internet and happening every day where colleges have covered up rape allegations to protect the university or all too often, to protect student athletes. Early in my first semester of college, I came across hurtful memes attacking a UNC-Chapel Hill student for accusing a football player of raping her. The case had not yet gone to trial and was rumored to be in the process of being covered up by the university. There was endless back and forth about whether the woman was telling the truth about her accusations, simply because the suspect was an athlete and many thought she was just looking for money and attention. All of this is a product of rape culture. Rape culture has lead us to believe that women will lie and scream rape, like the boy who cried wolf, for attention, money, and fame. Rape culture affects many people, but by the low percentage of rapists who serve jail time and the constant cover ups on college campuses, it also seems to protect suspects, rather than victims. 

While it is a sad thought that some women have been raped with no one believing their stories, it is also important to mention the fact that, on the other hand, rape culture has leads to men being falsely accused. I have a god-brother who is around the same age as I am, and a biological brother who is eleven years older than I. Growing up, I recall hearing conversations about how black men must be careful when dating white women, especially as teenagers. This can come off as racist, but the underlying thought behind this does in fact stem from racism, in the opposite direction. My grandfather is currently ninety-one years old and lived through segregation, the civil rights movement, and all the hostility toward black men that came during that time. One of my grandfather’s best friends when he was a teenager was a black man dating a white woman in a time when that was not allowed. One night, my grandfather’s best friend was caught having sex with his girlfriend by her father. Because she knew her father would not approve of a relationship, let alone sexual relations with a black man, the girlfriend accused him of raping her, even though it was consensual. This story was passed down to my father and from my father to his sons. False accusations of rape can come from women or men of any race, but with the strong racial tensions in our country, other stories like this are not unheard of. Yes, America has made serious strides in overcoming racism, but it is still prevalent in our country and history has often repeated itself. The story of what happened with my grandfather’s best friend repeated itself with someone I know personally, my god-brother mentioned above. In the eleventh grade, he was dating a girl outside of our race. As teenagers who have grown up going to school with people of all races, while we did not see a problem, her father disagreed. One night, they were caught having consensual sex, and even though they’d had sex many times before, she claimed that night that he was raping her. Her family took it as far as pressing charges and it was only then that the girl confessed to her parents that she’d been lying and it was, in fact, consensual. Although I am relieved that she felt bad enough to own up to what really happened, there are cases all over the country where women stick with their accusations of being raped when they know that is not truly what happened. I did not include these stories to say that I think interracial relationships shouldn’t happen and that all white fathers are against their daughters being with black men because that is far from what I believe to be true. But these stories are personal and come from my own experience which makes them more than stories, but real life events. There have been cases of women accusing men of their own race of raping them simply because they got caught, they were ashamed, or even because they have a personal vendetta against their “rapist.” That is a manifestation of rape culture. Rape has become a scapegoat for young girls caught being sexually active or for women who are slut-shamed into believing that they cannot have sex for pleasure so they must put the blame on others. Most of the time when men are falsely accused of rape, they do not get as lucky as my god-brother or others in his position and are often sentenced to jail time. In other cases, victims of false accusations can end up in a much worse position than prison, dead. An example of this is 90s actor, Merlin Santana, who was accused of raping a seventeen-year-old girl. After accusing him of raping her, Santana was shot by two people close to her and she was involved in helping them get away with it. It was only after he was dead that the girl admitted to lying about the rape accusation and was tried as an adult and convicted of first degree murder because of the role she played in his death.  It is very hard to hear, but people often end up spending most of their lives in jail or having their lives cut short because of false accusations. After speaking on false accusations and the effect they can have on people’s lives, I want to make it clear that false accusations of sexual assault are not the norm and “in reality, are only 2-8%” of all rape cases reported” (Ridgway). I think it is important to include this statistic to prove that even though it does happen, I do not intend to add to the pressure felt by some victims who think no one will believe their stories. 

Finally, I’d like to discuss victim blaming. Victim blaming happens every day and can be as simple as a parent asking their child what they did to start a fight that ended up with the child getting hurt. Although this such thing is commonplace in our society, it can take a turn for the worse when it occurs with a rape victim. The most prevalent case of victim blaming that I can think of is women repeatedly being taught what to do to avoid rape, rather than teaching men not to rape. I know that sounds sort of redundant because you would not think to teach men not to do something that they already know is wrong, but in my viewpoint, it is even more ridiculous to try to make women responsible for the violating act of rape. Many believe that “intensive rape education efforts [should] begin in high school, if not sooner, so as to prevent the development of attitudes and behavior that contribute to sexual assault (Elena 60). Although I understand the benefits of rape prevention and awareness courses, many victims who have attended these classes have become outraged and feel that the course places all the responsibility on women. If raped, a woman may be asked: what were you wearing? Were you drunk? Did you have your pepper spray with you? Did you flirt with him? These questions are an expression of rape culture and put women on edge. These questions make women feel that it is necessary for them to monitor not only their actions, but what they wear and who they talk to. This constant awareness of dressing appropriately around men begins at a young age for many. Sadly, some girls are raped in their childhood and teenage years, but that is not exactly what I was referencing. Recently, in a conversation with friends, someone mentioned that as a kid, her mother would tell her to wear pants around the house instead of shorts because of the men around. This is staggering. As a woman and an aunt to a young girl, I can understand her mother’s caution but it is truly sad. It is upsetting that children must be made aware of the fact that they may be sexualized by older men, even at such a young age. As the conversation progressed, many friends were telling their opinions on the situation and felt that her mother was wrong, because she was teaching her child that she must cover up to be protected, rather than making sure there were no creepy and pedophilic men around. As a woman on a college campus I never walk anywhere by myself after dark and regularly must take a second look at what I’m wearing before I go to Five Points or to a party to make sure no one gets the wrong idea. As a feminist, I feel that I should be able to wear whatever I want and usually do just that, but I’d be lying if I said that it never crossed my mind that something could happen to me based on the clothes I wear. I attended high school with a girl named Hannah, who was a year ahead of me and ended up going to college out west in Arizona. Hannah is an active sorority member, loves festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza, and is a die-hard football fan. Based on the pictures posted on Instagram, it is safe to say that the outfits she wears to these events would not be classified as conservative. Her dresses are often very short with lots of holes and as my grandmother would say, “don’t leave any mystery of what she looks like when she takes the clothes off”. During her first semester of college, she was raped, and because of a few girls that kept in touch with her, word traveled fast around my high school. One day, I was walking by a group of boys discussing her assault and remember one saying, “with the clothes that she wears I’m not surprised someone took that ass.” I remember a feeling in the pit of my stomach that was something like disgust, but more anger. Of course, being the person I am, I could not hear such ignorance and just keep walking by like nothing happened so I sat down and told those boys just how wrong they were. After hearing of instances such as Hannah’s story and the harsh comments of those boys, it becomes overwhelmingly clear that women are sometimes forced to be responsible for their own assault no matter the circumstance. Hannah’s story is very hard to hear and it’s awful to know that there are people who truly think the victim is to blame, but this situation becomes worse when the people questioning the victim are not just high school boys but law enforcement, parents, and confidants: the people who are supposed to make us feel safe. 

Even though I have spelled out numerous ways rape culture impacts our society, there are people out there who refuse to acknowledge that it exists, is real, and is a problem. Many imply that rape culture is a myth created by feminists to lead to censorship and hysteria. Many claim that the world has become ‘too sensitive’ and that women shouldn’t be offended by songs such as Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines, which focuses on the ‘blurred lines’ of consent under the influence of alcohol. Although these arguments are made with a ‘blind-eye’, they have an audience to stand behind them, which gives them credibility.

The Amazing Atheist, a YouTube star, created a video entitled “There’s No Rape Culture!”. He states that rape culture is a term often found on websites where ‘modern day feminists’ like to hang out. Throughout his video, the Amazing Atheist uses a condescending and sarcastic tone when describing what rape culture is and its facets. I am willing to acknowledge that his tone and gestures mirror his opinion that rape culture is just a concept made up by feminists who feel that “anyone who does not totally concede every single point to the feminists, their trump card is you are a rape apologist, a rape supporter, and you agree with rape” (Amazing Atheist). I do not agree with his statement that anyone who does not agree with feminists or feminist ideology or even rape culture ideology is a rape supporter/apologist because that is simply not true. Everyone has their own opinions and are entitled to those opinions, just as the Amazing Atheist is entitled to his. His video lists out various ways in which feminists say rape culture exists and he pretty much laughs at all of them. His counter argument to rape culture and the problems it breeds is laughter, making him, in my eyes, a contributor to the growing rape culture in our society. This portion of my argument is formally called concession and refutation. In my opinion, the video is the Amazing Atheist’s own version of a concession and refutation, except his only refutation is laughter which only fuels my point further. People do not take rape or rape culture seriously, which is exactly what has allowed it to manifest into the problem it is today. 

 Caroline Kitchens, a writer for CNN’s opinion blog, is strongly against rape culture and believes that it is just a phenomenon that needs to be stopped. Kitchens cites RAINN, the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network and mentions the fact that, “Rape is caused not by cultural factors but by the conscious decisions, of a small percentage of the community, to commit a violent crime” (Kitchens). In my opinion, this statement does not really have anything to do with rape culture. My argument is not that rape culture is the cause of rape because of course rape is caused by the people who commit the crime. But, I do feel that rape culture creates an environment, especially for teenagers, to make light of very serious and harmful situations which desensitizes the effects of rape itself. 

I am not very sure what else can be said to persuade anyone to believe that rape culture exists and is a problem. I believe that rape culture creates a society that not only desensitizes the act of rape, but makes everyone a little too comfortable with the heinous crimes that happen in our world. I do not believe that rape culture has made rape okay or has made victims feel that what has happened to them is not important, but it does lead to jokes, cover ups, false accusations, and low punishment percentages. Rape culture shows itself daily in song lyrics, twitter memes, classroom jokes, and stand-up comedy. When making an argument, one must provide a policy proposal and mine is simple: be aware. As stated in the article “What is to be Done”, pertaining to rape culture, one contributor stated that “everyone is responsible to her/himself and to society to do what is possible to change the status quo”, which exactly what I have proposed (Neidorf 32). A huge problem with society, inside and outside of the rape culture realm, is the lack of sensitivity and empathy for others. I believe people should take more time to think about what they’re saying and who it might affect. All too often we as humans say the first thing that comes to mind and don’t stop to see the negative consequences our words can have. When walking to class telling a ‘funny story’ about the freshman girl some older guys had sex with while she was drunk, or blasting music with lyrics such as, “her body’s beautiful so I’m thinking rape”, you may be passing by someone who’s sister was raped two weeks ago or someone who lost a friend to suicide after being raped. Of course, it is impossible to consider every person’s opinion and feelings when stating your point of view or just talking to friends, but when the topic of rape is brought up, it should not be joked about or taken lightly. Comedians, politicians, celebrities, musicians, everyday people, and avid social media users, should stop to consider the depth of what rape does to its victims. It is so important for us, as a society, to open our eyes to the obvious everyday examples of rape culture and make a change.
