The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

The Official Student News Media of Southeastern Louisiana University

The Lion's Roar

    Why rape jokes are no laughing matter

    emily stephan

    Last Tuesday evening, I attended Dr. Rebecca Hensley’s workshop on “rape culture,” which is the term used to illustrate how our ideas about sexuality and gender normalize rape within our society; such as the idea that rape happens because “a man just cannot control himself” or “she led him on.” The idea that a woman should be afraid to go out alone at night is accepted as natural and normal.

    Much like how your elementary school books go at great pains to tell you racism ended with the Civil Rights Movement, we are brought up with the idea that sexism is something that no longer exists in the U.S. The examples of rape culture are numerous, from the way prison rape is readily used as the punchline of jokes (even in children’s media such as “Spongebob Squarepants”) to the victim blaming at play in the infamous Steubenville rape incident. Remember that? Two football players attacked a high school girl, and many were more upset at how the scandal cut short their promising football careers rather than the damage they inflicted upon the young woman. Locals and the media were quick to point out that she was drunk and shouldn’t have been out so late, instead of condemning the criminals who took advantage of her.

    The worst part is people insist that we live in a world too enlightened for such misogynistic concepts to be prevalent. Those who challenge this notion are dismissed as whiners using the “sexism card” to gain special privileges. Anyone offended by rape jokes are just killjoys. Any woman out late in a midriff top got what was coming to her.

    These excuses for rape and sexual assault should have died out long ago, but warped ideas about sexuality and gender linger on like a chronic illness, even in our supposedly progressive world.

    We can combat this. According to an article about rape culture on The Nation’s website, “rape culture exists because we don’t believe it does.” 

    The best way to put an end to this tolerance and normalizing of sexual violence is to unlearn all we have been taught about sexuality and gender roles. When a woman is attacked, we should seek justice instead of wondering what she wore or whether or not she had too many drinks. We need to stop acting as though prison rape, male-on-male rape or any rape is a laughing matter. While we should continue to advise women on how to be cautious with rape prevention methods, we should also be educating men and boys on matters of consent.

    In the end, the key word is education.

     
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