The idea is that rape proclivity in men is dependent on sociocultural factors. By adjusting those sociocultural factors, we can help prevent rape.
It’s an approach to the problem of rape. Basically there are two main factors contributing to the cause of rape:
- Biology. Here we have to assume that men are somewhat evolved to use rape as an alternative reproductive strategy. This is no doubt somewhat the case. But how many rapes can it account for? I personally believe not many.
- Culture. There are cultural factors that contribute to rape. It has been shown that the attitudes and beliefs men old towards women are highly predictive of rape proclivity. Ideas that women mean yes when they say no, that women don’t know what they want, that sex is something men get out of women, that men are entitled to sex from a woman for any number of reasons, low empathy for women (arises more in male dominated environments), etc all contribute. There is actually a lot of research you can look at on rape proclivity in men that explains some of these patterns.
The idea of “rape culture” came from observing that rape prevalence is highly dependent on culture. I saw a stat recently that claimed rape prevalence has actually gone down significantly in the past decade or so. I’d attribute this to all the awareness and education about consent.
I think “rape culture” is used because it’s jarring and captures your attention. What’s really being said when we talk about rape culture, is that culture influences rape prevalence. By combatting cultural components that contribute to rape proclivity in men, we help minimize rape at a systemic level.
I would actually argue that the “rape culture” approach to preventing rape is the most pro-male view, as the alternative view paints men as biologically programmed rapists. Rape is far too common for that to be a reasonable conclusion in my opinion. 7% of men self-report that they have committed rape. This is too high a number. On some level this is a symptom of a “rape culture” rather than 7% of men just being horrible people. This is just my opinion.
Also, the biology argument only really works for low status males. And what you see is high status males raping. And in interview studies, you can see how cultural factors enable their justifications. You can also look at how men rape other men in prison and why. Is it about reproduction? No. Is it about seeking sexual gratification because of a fundamentally reproductive drive? I don’t think so.
The way I came across the term “rape culture” was back in 2012, when my friend told me his girlfriend got raped. I was really upset. Being me, I was thinking, “What is the solution to rape?” And so I did a lot of academic research on rape proclivity. I was especially disturbed because she got raped by a male friend, and none of her friends believed her, despite the fact that she’d had to go to the ER with anal bleeding. It was so hard to wrap my head around that I needed answers. I wanted to understand what was going on here and also how rape proclivity could be sensed or predicted. “Rape culture” was an eye-opening concept to me personally.
When I hear “rape culture” I see a solution, an action plan, and something to fight for. There’s nothing you can do about the rapist who fucked up your friend. But there is something you can do about the sexist jokes, about the guys who are too pushy, about the lack of empathy men have for women when they see us as so much different, about the culture that enables rapists and will not listen to victims, etc. For people who like solving problems, there’s hope in that.
Personally, I’ve had a lot of guys disrespect my boundaries. It’s really amazing how many still don’t get that “no” means “no” in 2018. I’m starting to feel like maybe I need to warn some of them they will get themselves in trouble because not every girl is literally going to yell and hit them. You know? I’m not physically scared of men for some reason. Some women are. Maybe it’s because I’ve never been attacked. I trust no guy is going to hurt me. I am actually of the opinion that a great many rapes happen because of misunderstandings, but I know that isn’t P.C. However, obviously drugging a female friend and raping her ass does not happen because of a misunderstanding. But what this guy told her was it was consensual. It drove her so nuts she became an alcoholic and dropped out of medical school. And that’s where you really see the cost on society.