Reflection, 4/30

Katie Covey

Eng. 460

Reflection Paper

4/30/2015

Reflection of Rape Culture

Wow, I can’t believe that I am writing my last reflection of my college career. It is so crazy that this semester went by so quickly and honestly, my entire college career flew by. I am about to dive straight into the real world and I can’t believe how much my views on various topics have changed over the last four months. In this class in particular, I was blind sided at the beginning. I had no idea that this class was going to be about rape. At the beginning of the semester I did feel a little uncomfortable about the idea of dedicating an entire semesters worth of material to rape and the subject of forceful assault. However, I was also excited because I really enjoy talking about a topic that is considered to be taboo or swept under the rug because it challenges societal views. 

Rape is such a challenging, yet sensitive issue. I find it interesting to talk about for a number of different reasons, yet I also can find it to be a reoccurring cycle because it all seems to connect after analyzing it all semester. At the beginning of the semester, I didn’t know much about rape. Obviously I knew what it was and what it entailed, but I didn’t know the details, contributing factors and how rape and sexual assault is actually different. At the beginning I viewed rape as something that happens to girls when they are being stupid and walking home at night alone, when a predator pops out the bushes that line B Street and rapes her. Also, I was aware of the date rape drug and that people can slip it into your drink while you are out partying. My parents would always chime to me, never leave your drink sitting at a party and come back to it, always keep your drink in hand. With this knowledge, I was generally safe when I was out and about during my younger college days. However, after taking this class, I began to realize how stupid some of the decisions I made back in the day and how fortunate I was that nothing happened to me. Overall, my perspective and lifestyle decision making began to change. After talking more in class about sexual assault and feeling my stomach cringe a few times after class, my knowledge base increased massively by the end of the semester. By learning just the simplest of facts about perpetrators and victims, I was able to understand what is usually found in a typical crime scene on a college campus. 

Applying rhetoric to college campus rape and rape in general was also very helpful in increasing my knowledge about rape. After the first essay that we turned in, I was able to identify many commonplaces within news articles about rape and what had happened. I discovered the difference between stranger rape and acquaintance rape and how unlikely stranger rape occurs. Within this class, I was able to use rhetoric and apply it to rape through different rhetoric terms. I also learned that rape has Kairos and there is an opportune moment for it to happen. There were many factors that have been studied in which I did not consider. I also discovered that in many news articles and popular media articles, that many journalists are biased when viewing either the victim or the perpetrator. Even today, some people still view the victims as the one’s who were asking for it. Overall, my knowledge of rape and myself as a learner has been given an insight that I never would have considered at first. I never would have believed the information that I learned in this class. Ideally, I feel very fortunate that I was able to take part in this class. It taught me the truth about rape, not the societal myths that we are taught all of our lives.   

Over the semester, I have also found my attitudes about rape have changed immensely. I find myself being more cautious and listening to my gut about people that I come across. I have also found that my views on being safe and choosing to associate yourself with the right people is a very large part in situations of rape. However, I don’t believe women should be overly cautious and not have fun and not enjoy themselves in college due to the dangers of sexual assault. It is all about choosing to make the right decisions and looking for the signs that could lead yourself into a situation of sexual assault. Understanding situations that create sexual assault is very important and I believe the lack of education that our young generations are experiencing will not be enough in the future. They have no idea what to look for and what to comprehend, and this is crucial in stopping rape and sexual assault. I also believe that the discourse and the language that we use in our society is huge. I have found myself cringing at the use of the word rape in an inappropriate context, like, “I raped that exam.” Using language such as this is horrifying in knowing that these people may be the leaders of our future America. I find myself choosing more carefully about what to read and watch because I pick up on inappropriate content. For example, I was reading the second book in the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy and after we talked about it in class, I found myself disgusted and I couldn’t finish reading it. I was appalled by the idea of this hyper masculine sense of man and I lost interest. Other interesting details I learned about myself this summer is my mix of traditional and modern values. I found myself agreeing and disagreeing with many things we discussed in class, such as views of gender roles in the corporate world. I believe that sometimes men are better at certain jobs than women are and there are some jobs that women are better at than men. I am not a feminist and I still believe in some traditional values, however I did find myself feeling challenged with some of these notions. I tend to still believe in some sense the idea of hunter and gatherer, and that a man should earn a woman, however, I believe that a woman should equally contribute if she is in a relationship. 

During the duration of this class, I also found myself very interested in the concept of hyper masculinity and sexual assault in the military. Before this class, I did not know much about hyper masculinity. I honestly didn’t even really know what it was. However, after dedicating my second essay to hyper masculinity and focusing on different facets of hyper masculinity within our culture, I found that it can be a very troubling topic. It plays a major role in sexual assault and rape, so I was able to gather more knowledge about this and start looking out for different hyper masculine traits within my every day life. I also found that the struggle the military is experiecing. It is so sad and unfortunate that the men and women who are dedicating their lives to save ours, are the one’s who are very at risk for rape and sexual assault. For what America preaches, it is a shame that it is so hypocritical. Honestly, overall, this class helped me view things differently within in my every day life. I began to understand more about my role as a woman in this world and begin to comprehend things that I may come across in my life at one point or another, if I haven’t already. 

In the end, I found this class very rewarding in understanding my life more clearly. By taking this class and being exposed to such a taboo topic, I was able to understand and dissect my views and ideologies more about how I feel about a number of societal issues that still take place today. I am entering the real world here in a few short weeks and feeling confident about where I am in life and understanding my views about gender roles, hyper masculinity, sexual assault and much, much more allows me to feel confident about where I stand when these issues come up in my life. Thank you for teaching a great two semesters of rhetoric. I will be able to use this knowledge in many different areas in my life in the future. 

Project #3

Below you can find the link to my website.

http://kaitlynncovey.wix.com/rapeculture

Response to Class Discussion - 4/7

During class, when we began talking about the article, I found it repulsive and just wrong that some cultures see women as "rapeable." The discourse and language that people use to discuss and talk about rape (which is actually what I am discussing in my third essay) is rather displeasing to the ear. How do you define someone as "rapeable?" I guess that goes back to the idea that many people have such as:

The way she was dressed
The way that she behaved at whatever social event
She "asked" for it
She drank too much, so it doesn't matter.

All of these examples are an unfortunate and inexcusable reasons for why a woman was raped. It is not at all an acceptable type of behavior, yet it still continues to happen. Why? Why is sex considered a taboo topic? Sex is the reason behind why the human population still lives and breathes on this earth today. So why is rape unspeakable? This is sort of irrelevant, but whenever the word rape is said, the line from Harry Potter of, "He who must not be named" pops up in my head and that how I feel rape is viewed as in society.

The cultural view on women as the weaker gender is interesting to me. I absolutely stand behind the ideal that women are just as capable as men and can run a business or do whatever the want. However, traditional values such as hunter and gatherers is not always a bad thing. Isn't the idea behind being able to provide for a family make a man, a man? What happens if you take that away from them? Does that create hostility towards women? And isn't hostility towards women a trait behind perpetrators of rape? If men can't provide for women because women insist of doing that themselves, what will the man do in the relationship? Will this discourage him of feeling like he can't provide, which connects to a number of different things, such as intimacy and personal feeling within a relationship? Then, won't that lead to the idea behind hyper masculinity where he begins to overcompensate and it may bleed into the wrong category and he will begin to rape? Rapists desire the idea of control, so will this idea of the women being able to do it all feed that need for control?

I am definitely not saying that women need to be the princess and rely on the man to provide and gather for her, however, I believe that there is a balance in every relationship, and really, honestly, in just socializing with the opposite gender.

Response to Class Discussion, 3/31

Today in class, I found the discussion to take a different perspective than it usually takes, which was examining how culture has affected how certain social interactions send underlying messages. For example, Professor Condon’s example of “Hey, can I buy you a drink” at the bar is a great example of how the underlying tone of sexual content thrives. Unfortunately, our culture norms have interpreted that as a pick up line and it is assumed that the guy wants to go home with that girl. Unfortunately, sometimes that may not be the case and the guy may just be interested in who you are. However, another solid point was that men feel as though the women need to get loosened up a bit and everyone needs the bit of liquid confidence, so buying a drink is just an easy way to break the ice. (I feel as though I am interpreting pick up lines) In a cultural such as this, when women feel uneasy or are approached, many put up a defensive wall very quickly, not sure of the guy and who he truly is. Which is why I feel like we hear less rape stories about women and bars than we do frat houses and house parties. The bar is really just an area of controlled meeting and interaction for adults.

Which leads me to an interesting concept to think about: what would it be like if our culture practiced as though house parties and frat houses were a meeting place for older adults, while bars were open to young adults? In a sense, bars are a controlled environment where if an individual appears too drunk, the bartenders will cut you off and the bouncers X you out. At a frat house or a house party, there is no sense of control anywhere. The people responsible for kicking out the obnoxiously too drunk people are drunk themselves, so they really don’t have a good sense of control either. If our culture was like this, would rape still occur? Well, yes unfortunately I think so.

Viewing the culture of rape has lead me to believe that it has so many different lenses, I find it hard to grasp it all at once, which may be another factor as to why this appears as such a taboo topic in the United States. Will rape ever be a crime that no longer exists in this culture? With the amount of social media, lack of communication and honestly lack of understanding of this crime, it is hard to say where this will lead to in later years.

One question I would like to look into more as to why men think that they need alcohol to help ease them into conversation with women? As lame as rejection feels, that cannot be the sole reason to feel like they must feed alcohol into women to break the ice?

Response to Class Discussion, 3/26

Well to start class off, I really enjoyed the cake so that was great. They can visit any time they would like!

But translating and interpreting the handout that was My Last Duchess by Ferrara was an interesting piece. Without going through it as a class, I would have set that down as soon I began reading. Old English language such as that is not my forte. But, translating it and reading from different perspectives help understand it. But the guy in the story is definitely creepy. And like Professor Condon said, the guy is hiding.

In the culture of rape, I guess I never did think about the assumptions that are usually assumed in most rape cases. The assumption that the girl went home with the guy because she was drunk, then it must be okay. The assumptions and unstated comments that are in the air that are created from our culture is what is going to interfere with the culture of rape. Other assumptions that go along with it is consent and sex. Also, how the girl presents herself. If she is flirtatious, dresses provocatively then "she was asking for it." Our country practices and preaches about individualism and how no one should be judged for what they wear or how they act, yet we are the most hypocritical and stereotypical country out there. If someone isn't conforming or acting the same as every body else, they are judged and it is very wrong.

Other hidden facets that are apart of rape culture is the way assumptions of success. It is assumed that white men have solid jobs, the women are at home in the kitchen and people of color are neither. In the world of business, it is sad to see how people judge and assume instantaneously. The common cliche quote of, "Don't judge a book by its cover"is pathetically inaccurate yet we preach it like it is a moral code. Yet, our moral goods aren't practiced either. And rape should fall under Do Not Harm, and do not do to others what you would not like them to do to you yet this happens multiple times on a day to day basis. The unfortunate matter is hiding behind the assumptions and unstated comments are killing the success of a rape free society. 

Essay #2 - March 24, 2015

Katie Covey
English 460
Essay #2
March 24, 2015

Hyper Masculinity in Our Culture
   
Hyper masculinity is an issue that is not only becoming immune in our society, but it is helping play into acts of sexual violence and assault. It is seen in every day contemporary society, yet it has become yet another facet of an exempt topic. Hyper masculinity is seen in a variety of cultural ways through entertainment, such as movies, sports, and books to even more of a day to day professional basis, such as the army or even heads of corporations in the business world. Unfortunately, hyper masculinity is also seen through a monetary value. In the business world alike, it is seen far too much that women take a pay cut far more often than men do. With just these examples, the idea of hyper masculinity may be one of the main causes behind aggression and hostility toward women alike, leading to these types of personalities being the perpetrators behind rape.
    According to Dr. Sarah Edwards, lead researcher behind the study titled Denying Rape by Endorsing Forceful Intercourse: Exploring Differences Among Responders says that men who have hostile feelings towards women along with negative interactions, tend to be the men who project the personalities that many rapists have. However, men who said they wouldn’t directly state that they would rape during this research fall under the hyper masculine classification. This specific group of men that fell under the classification that they would not rape a woman, said they would force a women into having sexual intercourse. Edwards stated, “In general, they objectify women and feel expected to be ‘sexually dominant’ and display some traits of hyper masculinity.” (Frost) Edwards found that working with hyper masculinity and the males that fall under this category, tend to display very different personalities than that of rapists. “If you’re working with hyper masculinized groups, you think of the usual suspects. Male sports -- it’s very competitive, there’s a big focus on body image and the idea that bodies are power and you’re taught to value physical conquest over others.” (Frost) With these extrinsic proofs and Edwards testimony about the hyper masculine category, behaviors of forceful aggression can lead to rape. And we see still see many cases of rape and athletes all around the nation. Many well known college campus rape stories that hit newsstands do involve athletes, such as Florida State University’s Jameis Winston or the Vanderbilt case, that involved multiple football players who were found guilty of numerous different counts of sexual violence. Hyper masculinity does heavily play into the Vanderbilt case. In this specific case, the victim was gang raped by multiple football players in a dorm room. Competition is a key here, displaying that these hyper masculine males felt the need to compete with one another. Rhoda Jordan, writer for the Huffington Post, perfectly defined hyper masculinity in a recent blog posting. “Simple: It's the delusion that masculinity is king. That aggression, toughness and competition trump compassion, expression and collaboration.” (Jordan) This perfectly describes the hyper masculinity that can be found in our contemporary society today.
    Sports do conduct a tenacious view of hyper masculinity, however the army also subsists a very heavy hold on hyper masculinity. Michael T. Crawford, a solider in the U.S. Army, as well as Communications Assistant for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape cannot believe the rates of sexual assault that is taking place. Crawford states, “Rates of sexual assault in the military are staggering. Our service men and women deserve better than this. A culture of hyper masculinity -- strength and stoicism -- breeds the sense of power and entitlement that drives sexual assault.” (Crawford) A man, a solider and a citizen who is speaking out against rape is able to identify the problems of sexual assault within the military and he is also capable of establishing the belief that it is wrong. Hyper masculinity is not only a driving force behind sexual assault, it is a cultural norm that we are too comfortable with. This cultural norm isn’t just included in the way we think and act, it is practice through our discourse and rhetoric. Hyper masculinity is produced through our cultural needs for entertainment. Hollywood takes hyper masculinity and uses it to provide a story line in movies, advertising and even books. When Crawford began to examine and analyze the field of anti-sexual violence, Crawford said that, “Anti sexual violence brings forth a lot of introspection. For me, that has meant coming to terms with learning that my world views were largely manufactured by Hollywood and advertising. ... Everyone is exposed to the same messages, and those messages are rooted in hyper masculinity.” (Crawford)
    In Hollywood for example, hyper masculinity is seen a variety of different genres of film and TV shows. Hyper masculinity can often be found in movies that contain law enforcement or war. Just to name a few that easily came to mind, Starsky & Hutch, Fight Club, The Terminator, or even the classics, like James Bond. With these movies, come the existence of gender roles and the objectification of women. As movies are just one facet of Hollywood, music, often seen in Hip-Hop or Country, women are also objectified to look pretty and do what the man wants. The unfortunate case in our society has now used to this discourse and we are now paying for it in the result of sexual assault. Our use of language as well as our practiced norms are setting up our society and younger generations for failure against rape. And unfortunately, it is not just happening in the United States, it is universal phenomenon.
    Crawford agrees with such a statement.
    “Hyper masculinity is not just unique to the Army, or any branch of service. That’s     national. Hell, that’s global. And sadly, to a degree, it’s necessary for a select group of     men and women who ultimately have to pull the trigger, so others don’t have to. But     instead of being treated as the conditionally necessary evil it is, the world celebrates this     kind of "macho" behavior. That kind of behavior is rewarded, and the people who have     been force-fed these messages their entire lives wind up in the military.” (Crawford)
The frightening truth behind masculinity is just that. It is a celebrated type of behavior we see in our daily lives. This is practiced in almost all stages of life; from the time we are children and playing with the neighbors to the time we are old sitting in our chair, while my husband and I are drinking tea, that I made for him... The unfortunate matter of the fact detail is, hyper masculinity is an underlying bearing that we will always see in some place in our lives. Hyper masculinity can and does begin at a young age. With a number of diverse reasons that can contribute to the development of hyper masculinity, young men will begin to evolve these habits into unspeakable and terrifying actions, such as rape. Many do contribute hyper masculinity to the patriarchal system that the U.S. has carved out for young boys growing up. Gender roles can be based on this type of system, where male entitlement becomes active in a young man’s life. Other things that contribute to an adolescent's young life is how the control of the family is portrayed and the urgency to compete with others. With so many different factors to consider, hyper masculinity can be seen through a variety of family habits. Patriarchal routine can lead to family violence and be an origin for hyper masculinity. According to Ian Gault, a presenter at the No To Violence Conference, presented his findings and proofs about the Macho Man and how hyper masculinity and adolescent behavior can lead to it. When young males are born into families that have a patriarchal system, they tend to produce hyper masculine behavior.
    “Encouragement of violence and sex can lead hyper masculine fathers to be complicit in     their sons' sexual violence, for example, by excusing the behavior and minimizing it to     police. [Ian says,] "The message is 'You can have your fun and get away with it too'.     That's incredibly important, because in patriarchal families, the father is seen as the most     important person." (Gault)
With this testimony from Gault, the extrinsic proof is displaying that these types of families are creating and producing young men that may possibly be perpetrators in the future. This type of control and desire for power create men who also rule over the business world and bring hyper masculinity into this area of culture too.
    In today’s world, it is more common to see a woman in a commanding position, if not top position in the business world. However, women still struggle receiving the same pay grade that men do on an average income. Based on empirical data from Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women still earn quite a bit less than men do.
    “In 2013, female full-time workers made only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, a     gender wage gap of 22 percent. Women, on average, earn less than men in virtually every     single occupation for which there is sufficient earnings data for both men and women to     calculate an earnings ratio.” (About Pay Equity & Discrimination)
Although hyper masculinity cannot be proven to be directly tied with thus data, it is can still be assumed that it plays a role. In a contemporary society, such as this one, it is hard when women begin to compete with men for higher ranking position. For so long, a traditional value was held that women would be there to support the man, that it was unseen that women could also carry out the same responsibilities that men did. Gender roles were set and for many (especially men) that was okay. However, when this began to change and women started taking over, competition emerged, which also brought aggression.  The desire and need for power and control also emerged, which are underlying attributes for hyper masculinity. When all of these things begin to merge, acts of sexual violence can begin to form. In 2006, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center gathered information from the Equal Employment Opportunity Council and received 12,025 charges of sexual assault (15.4% filed by males). (What is Workplace Sexual Violence?) And unfortunately, there are many different types of sexual violences that can occur. The NSVCR stated that jokes about rape or women as sex objects was the most frequently used behavior, with language, images, pay inequity, verbal abuse following, then at the top being physical abuse, rape and sexual assault.
    With all of this data, it is easy to testify that the culture of rape, sexual violence, hyper masculinity and gender roles are becoming much more of an immune behavior. Among the cultural norms that are produced on a daily basis plus the origins of patriarchal habits and family violence, hyper masculinity is becoming much more common and celebrated in our daily lives. With the perpetual existence of hyper masculinity, hostility and aggression will continue to thrive in our society and from that will branch more occurrences of sexual assault and violence in the work place, on college campuses and in our daily lives. With the hermetic cultural that persists to carry these norms, society will not see change unless we can begin to penetrate the walls of hyper masculinity.



References:
"About Pay Equity & Discrimination." Institute for Women's Policy Research. Institute for Women's Policy Research, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. <http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination>.

Crawford, Michael. "A Culture of Hypermasculinity Is Driving Sexual Assault in the Military." Huffington Post 4 Apr. 2014. Huffington Post. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-t-crawford/a-culture-of-hypermasculi_b_5147191.html>.

Frost, Aja. "Study Examines Rape, Hypermasculinity and Hostility in College Men." USA Today - College 21 Jan. 2015. USA Today. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. <http://college.usatoday.com/2015/01/21/study-examines-rape-hypermasculinity-and-hostility-in-college-men/>.

Gault, Ian. "Macho Man: Hyper - Masculinity and Adolescent Dating Violence." Www.ntvconference.org. No to Violence, 16 Nov. 2012. Web. <http://ntv.org.au/conference/wp-content/uploads/2012-ntv-conference-workshop-3d-macho-man-doc.pdf>.

Jordan, Rhoda. "The Problem With Masculinity." HuffingtonPost.com. Huffington Post, 7 July 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

"What Is Workplace Sexual Violence?" Http://www.nsvrc.org. Http://www.nsvrc.org. Web. <http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/file/SAAM/SAAM_WPSV-Factsheet.pdf>.

Response to Class Discussion, 3/10

During today's class discussion, we were able to cover how pathos is portrayed in the rape culture. Pathos is the emotional side of the audience or what the writer is trying to portray throughout the story. One concept that is related to the culture of rape that we discussed was collective compassion and what that truly is. In my opinion, collective compassion is compassion that the entire community can agree on. If we as a culture want to reach collective compassion, there are many things we need to begin to change to achieve that.

One thing that would need to change over time is being proactive versus reactive. When connecting this specific particular to media, media is always going to be reactive to the situation. And by doing so, we in our communities are not getting anywhere further in progressing to making communities safer and decreasing the rate of rape. The difference between being proactive and reactive will, I think, begin to see the differences in collective compassion and rape. Being proactive would be the beginning of changing the cultural norms in our society. Changing the commonplaces that we tend to look at as a normal "college" thing and understand that what we are doing is not being proactive. To be proactive, we should begin to analyze the where these cultural norms are not so normal. Binge drinking and drinking until you are blacked out, is something that should be worry some to the world. We as a culture focus too much on reactive side of rape and not changing the factors that help cause it. We focus on what the victim could have done wrong, we focus on how much everyone involved drank and the location that the crime took place in. However, what about what can we do to create positive proactive traits to help the victims or the people who find themselves in these situations. We need to begin to acknowledge that the taboo of rape is not a bad thing. It sits at the same place that sex does, where it is not a public topic to discuss, but hey guess what? Everyone is doing it. Everyone has sex. How would we keep producing and populating this world without it? By acknowledging rape, we are taking one step closer to reassuring victims of direct and indirect cases of rape that they will be okay and it is okay. By doing so, we can help them take a stand to how they got themselves in that position. Another important proactive detail that we should look at it, is what can we offer to victims to help them share their what they want. By properly educating people in this world, we can begin to help prevent rape around our communities.

If we can begin to be proactive and not reactive, we could see a change in rape numbers in our society. Unfortunately, we as a society must be picky how we to choose to demonstrate and voice our opinions without it coming across as an extreme. Too many times in our society, people cry wolf and then no one takes their opinion, voice and incidents seriously. How can we find the middle ground to properly educating the men and women of this generation without them viewing it as a joke?  

Class Discussion, 3/5

After reading the article about AR Wear -- A clothing line offering wearable protection for when things go wrong. You know, it is not a bad idea, but realistically, how many girls will end up purchasing one these? After I read the introduction, I felt sort of inspired by this idea. AR Wear stated,

"Rape is about as wrong as it gets. The only one responsible for a rape is the rapist and AR Wear will not solve the fundamental problem that rape exists in our world. Only by raising awareness and education, as well as bringing rapists to justice, can we all hope to eventually accomplish the goal of eliminating rape as a threat to both women and men,"

was inspiring in itself. The idea behind a garment that only frustrates attackers is a very solid idea, however, I do doubt the success behind it. And I wonder why I am first hearing about this and it hasn't been discussed among popular opinion.  Made out of a resistant webbing and cut resistant straps, the product is designed to show tough wear and tear and not allowing an attacker to remove this piece of clothing.

I read the review from Ellen Snortland, Lawyer Activist Author Playwright from the USA Today article. Her snarky and sarcastic tone made me laugh and I also do agree with her. Unfortunately, if there was a piece of clothing that could help prevent rape, then that would be nice, but I believe that Snortland has a more significant outlook on the unfortunate crime of rape. 

Snortland states, "So, in the spirit of "Got Fight?," please don't buy or fund anti-rape panties. Instead, help us get our education out to the many people who could use less medieval attitudes, and more practical resistance tactics.

News flash! Despite entertainment depictions to the contrary, men and boys are simply flesh and blood. A well-placed heel-palm, knee to the groin, or eye-strike works wonders!

Susan B. Anthony had it right."

With this being her conclusion, I agree. Unfortunately, men do have a driving force behind things other than their brain. And until we begin to educate properly and shift our focus on men and not the victims, we may still find ourselves in the same place we are now in today.

I do believe that another challenge will follow with that and we talk about it constantly in class, but the idea of the cultural norm. Unfortunately, just like racism, rape is in the roots of society. I remember reading texts that state rape can go as far back as the Vikings or Mongolians. (Which I am sure it goes back way further than that.)  Our society is past the fragile point, we are are trying to change and improve something that is so deeply rooted that we have a lot of digging to do before we begin to see a change. Sure, we can attempt to make rape proof pants or attempt to share the necessary knowledge about rape to the surrounding others, but unfortunately, until we start digging past these points, we may see some change.

Class Discussion, 3/3

Ugh, I'm sorry I am a little late on this. It has been a very hectic week. I found the class discussion rather amusing which was really nice for a change. Even though 50 Shades of Gray is something of it's own kind, I am happy we were able to pick out the humorous parts of it.

However, now that I have been taking this class, my views and immunity to rape are definitely different than they were at the start of the course. As I mentioned in class, I view a lot things that just come across in my daily life that I begin to see red flags. For example, in 50 Shades of Gray, I never would have viewed that trilogy of something of abusive until I started taking my courses this semester. The manipulative behavior that is so prevalent, as well as the weird sexual acts and the idea of this man "who does not do love" is something that is so normal in our society that it didn't seem like it was bad until I viewed it with a different mindset. But hey, isn't most stuff like that in the world? Another example that I have caught myself doing is viewing things on my social media accounts, such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and an app called The Berry. Within these different accounts, (mostly on Pinterest) I will see these quotes that act as though a girl is a victim of something. Hold on, let me find one...

And about a minute and fifteen seconds later I found this:



With some gibberish below about a girl who felt something.This is just one example of many that shows how immune we are to victim-like behavior. We see things like this and we don't even take a second look because it is second nature to us now. And I believe that girls like that, who post stuff like what is above, are going to be more at risk of being a rape victim versus a girl posting something like this:


(This took me twice as long to find versus the top one. I believe that it may be easier for people to be pessimistic versus optimistic).

Someone who can see the true depth within this quote probably are a little more in tune to the life that is surrounding them. After seeing talking about this, I wonder if there are commonplaces and behavioral traits that rape victims to have? I believe that to a certain degree, girl's can pick up on boys that are creepy. I feel as though if a girl were to allow themselves to get that drunk and black out, that there are definitely other underlying issues. But as I was saying, I believe that society has become to immune to this boy cried wolf tactic, which probably leads people to believe in the assumption that the woman was asking for it? SOOO many cultural norms play into rape and movies such as 50 Shades of Gray that you begin to wonder, where did we go wrong and how long ago did this start? And how do we even begin to fix such an issue?

Class Discussion, 2/26

During today’s class discussion, I found that we hadn’t really discussed much about statutory rape. Statutory rape honestly makes my stomach cringe. However, like it was said in class, statutory rape is considerably heard of more than cases of rape within college campus. Although it is said to be that they are more than likely to face charges and a trial, after googling statutory rape, it was interesting to see that not as many articles popped up versus just googling rape.

It is hard to do a lot of research on statutory rape because it is against the law for media to report names of people under 18 without the consent of a parent, so I then began looking into stories about men being raped by women. The website thoughtcatalog.com has stories from 19 different men that shared their stories about being raped by women. Many of the stories that were reported said that they did not want to call the cops or fight against their assailant (all women) because they were afraid that they would get charged. Most of the women that were raping these men were either ex-girlfriends or babysitters or even family members that would commit these crimes. These crimes go untold for the majority unless the victim was young and told a superior who felt that it was wrong. Comparably to these stories of those who are women getting raped by men, the victims knew the perpetrator.

In an article by CNN’s Sarah LeTrent interviewed James Landrith and when he was raped when he was 19 years old. Now, Landrith is a marine who speaks out against rape, particularly men raped by women. Landrith states, “I want people to understand that it's not about how physically strong you are," he says. "We [men] are conditioned to believe that we cannot be victimized in such a way." And as though it seems like oh yeah right, sort of thing, it is true. We have grown up in a society that practices the habit that men cannot show emotion and they must be strong, regardless of what is happening. It also shows that these men cannot be raped. According to Jennifer Marsh, vice president for Victim Services at RAINN says, “Often, male survivors may be less likely to identify what happened to them as abuse or assault because of the general notion that men always want sex." This notion is more than likely to be true. It is a cultural norm for many that men think about sex all of the time. Elizabeth Donovan, a psychotherapist said, “Males have the added burden of facing a society that doesn't believe rape can happen to them ... at all.” With this new area of fact, this could be considered as another commonplace that is too frequently used. Men, just like woman, can be considered victims and are victims. It said in the article that 1 in 71 men are raped, however, it is believed that those numbers are under reported. There is a cultural norm that is practiced too much that men cannot be victims, yet they too are victimized.


http://thoughtcatalog.com/lorenzo-jensen-iii/2014/08/19-men-share-stories-of-being-raped-by-a-woman-nsfw/

http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/09/living/chris-brown-female-on-male-rape/

Response to Class Discussion, 2/24

During today’s class discussion, I found that discussing cultural norms was a very interesting part of the culture of rape. Unfortunately, I even find myself immune to hyper masculinity and not finding it uncomfortable when I should. Like the example I gave today in class, it just goes to show what norms we are raised with. And it is not our parent’s fault or their parent’s fault, it is just the historical context that is being strung through our lives. Women have always been looked at less superior and do not deserve the same that men do. We made that clear in discussion today by even the example of pay wage and in the work force. However, what we can do? Another point that was brought up by a fellow classmate which is was something that I had not thought about, but that certain jobs are intended for women. Like it was mentioned in class, teaching or nursing were jobs intended for women because these jobs can be built around time off. This was a great insight for me, because I had personally never thought of it at that perspective. However, does this also build around and help protect the cultural norms that we are practicing? I do find this to be somewhat true. There are gender labels that accompany specific jobs. Like nursing for example, when you hear of the word nurse, there is a female connotation that is tagged with it. So when you are at the hospital and are expecting a nurse and you get a male nurse, it may sometimes still shock you. Even this would be an example of gender roles as well.

Gender roles are also another cultural norm that still seem out of tact for the twenty-first century. The example of a male nurse could be considered a gender role and it would be an unfortunate case for the male. Does it make the male less masculine for wanting to be a nurse? Well, of course not. However, in many eyes this could be seen as less than masculine career choice. This does relate back to rape because people could look at a case of rape with the same suspicion and ask, well what was the victim doing to provoke such an act? I enjoyed reading the USA Today article that was posted because the media took a different spin on viewing rape cases. In the article, it decides to look at it from the victims perspective. “As long as we as a community continue to make victim-blaming statements, such as, 'She put herself in this situation,' … 'She didn't fight back, she must have wanted it,' we will continue to see rapes go unreported," Stevenson said. "We have to stop blaming the victim. The conversation needs to shift to the person who chose to rape." (USA Today) I found this statement relieving. You know, out of all of the rape articles that we have read this semester, this if the first time I have read such an opinion so bluntly. It makes me wonder why can’t be more blunt with this crime? It is brutal and life changing and how can it be fair for young women to experience such trauma, yet have it go unseen for years and may never be solved? Our priorities is yet another cultural norm that needs to change.

Discussion to Class, 2/19

In class, we were able to discuss how different sources and mediums will give different perspectives on stories such as rape. We discussed the article that was posted by the mommyish.com blogger who’s tone conveyed a sense of sarcasm and wit, while if we were reading it from the New York Times, that sarcasm and wit would have been fact and intellect. I honestly, did not really like the mommyish.com article very much and reading the comments below confirmed my disliking even more. Writing a public response or an article to or about rape is a serious topic and I believe that it must be handled with class and maturity. I believe that this woman blogger sort of takes on an aspect of feminine, lady power and it takes away from her point; that the school actually handled the situation with quick actions, just like many other universities should start doing. However, the way that she conducted herself and this article lead to an array of comments, sharing stories and arguing. However, viewing it in a different lens, this could be a beneficial thing because it did get people talking about an issue that is clearly wiped off the table in many situations.

Another issue that was discussed in class was sexual assault in the military. An interesting facet that was brought up was the lack of actions versus the amount of trust that we see with entities all around the nation. It is hard to understand, especially in the military, why so many sexual assault altercations are swept under the rug, yet isn’t the military supposed to be an organization that protects our country and the people who belong to it? These men and women are risking their lives everyday to help citizens like myself and protect this country from war, yet they aren’t even protected themselves because they are at a high risk for sexual assault. And even with that being said, the military and government tend to sweep in under the rug more often than not, yet choose to share stories like the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg falls asleep during the State of the Union address because she had too much wine. Although that is humorous, it has really no sense of rime or reason as to why that affects the rest of the nation. Rape continuously affects the nation and many young adults within it, yet it is barely reported of unless it involves an athlete.

I believe that one problem (of many) is that rape is a priority, but not a serious priority. I believe that it required a sense of communication that we have learned to not talk about and be okay with. It is like anything else that we have culturally altered over time. For example, the idea that it is not manly of men to show their emotions; that they must hide those emotions because real men don’t cry. Now that our society is striving for equality among genders and race, I believe that these types of cultural norms are becoming less of a norm. I know in my family that my parents have always taught my brother to show his emotion if he is feeling sad and don’t let it sit inside of you. I know my family may be like many others, however, there are probably a lot of other families that don’t do that. Learning and sharing new idea’s of equality and disarming hyper masculinity will help the culture of rape begin to shed a new light and new hope and begin to help rape become more of a priority. 

Response to Class Discussion, 2/17

During today’s class discussion I found that the topic of choice was actually very beneficial in relating rhetoric to the culture of rape. Although the topic may have been initially thought of as awkward, it was helpful in almost summing up what we discussed in the first part of the semester. Kairos, meaning the opportune time and place, is actually a crucial thing in a case of rape due to the many occurrences of rape. There are so many different times that offenders take advantage of the victim due to time and place. Like in many cases that we have talked about this semester, the time can include consumption of alcohol, the occasion and the power dynamic. Places can include hypermasculinity, such as frat houses and athletic dorms. With this factors that play into Kairos, there are many, many stories of rape that have all of these contributing factors.

It was interesting to talk about Kairos against rape. Honestly, I found this part a little more difficult because what we were trying to achieve was change the entire culture of rape. I believe that a huge factor that plays into this is the idea of rape is that fear of openly talking about sex, rape and violence. When sexual violence occurs on a college campus, or in general, many attempt to pull the “hush hush” act and convince the general public that this a topic that is not appropriate to talk about. But what if it was talked about more frequently? Would this help decrease rates of sexual assault and violence? Also, our American culture see’s sex as a private thing. Obviously, there is some common rule to this which is true, and no one should be out in public doing the deed, but it is such a common perspective that when young adults go buy condoms it may be looked down upon. But why aren’t why praising that? At least they are being responsible and doing the right thing!

The American culture has many ideals besides sex that need to change. It is understandable that it may be embarrassing for the victim that she/he let this happen to them, however, that is another cultural value, alcohol. It is believed that in college, the consumption of alcohol, getting “blacked out” and not remembering your night is a cool thing. However, when most normal adults look back on these experiences, most will say, “God, I was stupid.” I am not even out of college yet and I am thinking about times two years ago that are making me think of how stupid I was. The culture that universities practice is in desperate need of change. If the continued ideals stay in colleges, we will begin to see many problems in later generations.

The change of culture and language is at a large demand for change and without doing so, rape will be a continuous trend in our society. It is time to change the idea behind cultural values and pinpointing what is wrong and what needs to be changed. There are so many common places within each victim’s story so we need to start identifying the commonplaces before it is too late for another victim.

Essay #1

Katie Covey

Eng. 460

2/10/2015

Essay One

Applying Rhetoric to Rape
  
 In today’s society, the media brings attention to various forms of crime; murder, burglary, racist acts of violence.  Unfortunately, there are crimes that lack attention that is truly deserved. One crime that is extremely overlooked is rape on college campuses. In today’s world, the inadequate amount of knowledge that takes place when it comes to such a brutal crime is frustrating and hard to understand. Didn’t the older generations that took control over this society teach the young the gravity of this situation? The lack of resource, among the meager amount of knowledge can lead to a lifetime of healing for many young women who face the threats of rape everyday. The questions that need to addressed are where are the weak spots in these cases? What common occurrences are underlying issues? By applying stasis theory and finding the commonplaces among the culture of rape, society can begin finding the answers that are vital in helping make rape preventable.
    Throughout the duration of this essay, stasis theory and commonplaces will be applied to two different articles that tell two unfortunate stories of rape. By using two different stories, commonplaces will be more identifiable as well as allowing to apply stasis theory more effectively. In the first article, stasis theory will be the story of the recent reports of the Vanderbilt case. In this story, four Vanderbilt football players are facing charges of rape and aggravated sexual battery after raping an unconscious female student in a dorm room. Apparently, one of the boys brought her back from the bar and raped her in his dorm room. Brandon Vandenburg’s and three other football players were found guilty of these charges. In this particular case, the boys had been drinking and claimed that they don’t remember the act or crime. However, when waking up the next morning, Vandenburg found photo and video evidence on his phone that the crime had occurred. (New York Post) The boys then attempted to cover up the crime. When applying stasis theory to this specific sexual assault, four questions need to be applied. 
Conjecture: Does it exist? Did it happen?
Definition: What kind of things or event is it?
Quality: Was it right or wrong?
Policy: What should we do?
The conjecture to this scenario is the act of rape. It was clear through photo and video evidence that yes, this act of sexual violence did occur. When it comes to definition, it needs to be sure that this particular crime falls under the act of rape. According to the State of Tennessee, where Vanderbilt is located, rape is defined as follows:
    “unlawful sexual penetration of a victim by the defendant accompanied by any of     the     following circumstances: (1) Force or coercion is used to accomplish the act; (2) The     sexual penetration is accomplished without the consent of the victim and the defendant     knows or has reason to know at the time of the penetration that the     victim did not     consent; (3) The defendant knows or has reason to know that the victim is mentally     defective, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless; or (4) The sexual     penetration is     accomplished by fraud.” (Scheb II)
According to the above definition from the state of Tennessee, rape is exactly what occured. The third question, “Was it right or wrong?” is obviously an easy question to answer. This was an act of sexual violence, which means that it was wrong. This means that, as a society, has agreed that the act of rape is wrong therefore, quality is agreed upon. The fourth stasis, policy, may face controversy depending on evidence and under what circumstances rape took place. “What should we do?” in Policy is an unfortunate way to end copious amounts of sexual assault cases. In reality, rape is a crime that will go unreported for a long duration. When victims do not report this immediately, the physical evidence can be hard to come by and in the meantime, the offender can repeat the same act. In this case, two of the men were convicted of five counts of aggravated rape and two counts of sexual battery. The other two men involved have yet to stand trial. Within each of these stasis, more questions can develop and follow. For example, other questions of conjecture can be, “Is it true? How did it begin? What is its cause? Can it be changed?” Questions like these vary from case to case in different acts of sexual assault, however, some of these questions can share the same commonplaces.
    Besides conjecture, rape cases can carry many consistencies. These would be called commonplaces. Commonplaces are any statement or bit of knowledge that is commonly shared among a given audience or a community. In relation of rape, there could be many repeated commonplaces that we can find through a various cases. In the Vanderbilt case, it was public knowledge that these players had been drinking, as well as the victim when the attack occurred. With this bit of knowledge, alcohol could be identified as a commonplace. During this particular crime, the defendant blamed that he drank too much, and stated that he was “too drunk to know what they were doing and that a college culture of binge drinking and promiscuous sex should be blamed for the attack.” Alcohol is present in most of these cases. However, it may not just be the attacked who has been drinking, it can also be the victim who is raped. Unfortunately, in some cases, the victim will be unconscious and have no recollection of what had happened. That was true for the Vanderbilt case, as well as a recent case that just occurred in the middle of January. Stanford freshman swimmer, Brock Allen Turner, was caught mid act and tried to flee when two men on bikes saw what was happening. The victim was unconscious and being violated outside of a fraternity. Although, it is unstated if the freshman swimmer was drinking, the victim was clearly too intoxicated to give consent, which means that Turner committed rape. (Murphy)
    Another commonplace that lies within these two stories is the location. According to Crisisconnection.org, more than 60% rapes occur on campus. (College Campus Rape) Meaning that the lack of supervision among campus entities, including dorms and fraternity houses is flawed and absent. In the Vanderbilt case, the woman was brought back to Vandenburg’s dorm room and sexual violated. In this Stanford case, this woman was being sexual assaulted outside of a fraternity house. This, however, is not the first fraternity house incident to hit headlines in the last year. Multiple cases including University of Virginia and Hobart and William Smiths College in New York were addressed to the public when two young girls were gang raped in fraternity houses. The commonplace of unsupervised frat houses or dorm rooms, should be an eyeopener for many to start comprehending the dangers behind college campus rape.
    Today, society has been trying to come up with alternatives to college campus rape, however, the numbers that are reported tell a different story. Recently, an article was published by the New York Times asking why don’t sorority houses have the parties? During the article, many women were up for the idea, stating that they would feel more protected and that they have “home-court advantage.” However, many believe that it would be hard to change the tradition now. National sorority organizations have banned alcohol in their houses for decades. Officer Julie Johnson from the National Panhellenic Conference prefers to keep the calm of sorority houses and let the frat houses assume the cost, risk and clean up of house parties. (Schwarz) Although this article is still fresh, many don’t take it seriously. On the bright side though, at least the discussion of rape is finally becoming more of a public issue.
    People say that college can be the best time of a person’s life, but what if it’s not? The seriousness and perturbed truth behind rape is that it can happen to anyone. College campus rape is becoming much more of a serious issue and there are for sure signs that begin to materialize when dangers are present. When applying stasis theory and commonplaces to these incidents after the fact, it is easy to see where things went wrong, but the real question is, what does it take for young college students to start seeing the dangers themselves, before things can make a turn for the worst? As a society, the need for resource and support is at an ultimate high and things to need to change when it comes to the increasing numbers of college campus rapes. 








Works Cited
"2 Ex-Vanderbilt Football Players Convicted of Raping Student." New York Post 27 Jan. 2015.     Web. 4 Feb. 2015. <http://nypost.com/2015/01/27/2-ex-vanderbilt-football-    players-convicted-of-raping-student/>.

"College Campuses and Rape." Crisis Connection. PSC. Web. 4 Feb. 2015. <http://    www.crisisconnectioninc.org/sexualassault/college_campuses_and_rape.htm>.

Murphy, Kate, and Tracy Kaplan. "Stanford Swimmer Arrested, Charged with Felony Sex     Assault." San Jose Mercury News 27 Jan. 2015. Web. 4 Feb. 2015. <http://    www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_27404357/stanford-swimmer-arrested-    suspicion-attempted-rape>.

Scheb II, John. "An Overview of Criminal Offenses under Tennessee Law." University of     Tennesssee, Knoxville. Web. 4 Feb. 2015. <http://web.utk.edu/~scheb/overview.html>.

Schwarz, Alan. "Sorority Anti-Rape Idea: Drinking on Own Turf." The New York Times 19 Jan.     2015. The New York Times. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/    2015/01/20/us/sorority-anti-rape-idea-drinking-on-own-turf.html?_r=0>.

Response to Class Discussion, 2/3

Today, in class we were able to talk about feminism and how it relates to rape. I feel as though feminism is a misunderstood topic of discussion for many. Many have a negative opinion about feminism and what it represents due to past events. For example, the first thing I did was google the word feminism and see what would pop up. The definition of feminism was the first to appear which stated, “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” I believe that this definition offers a correct and valid statement of what feminism represents. Another interesting piece of data that I found interesting was that at the bottom of this box, it showed a graph of data about the use of the word feminism.












With this graph, it shows how the work feminism has skyrocketed right around the 1990’s, which makes sense reflecting back on the way society has taken its course.

Another interesting tidbit that I found was after I scrolled down, the first few links that popped up were “Feminist.com,” “Women Against Feminism,” and “Who Needs Feminists.” Wait, what? The amount of stigma that plays part and takes place against feminists is so wrongly portrayed that it’s embarrassing. Where did this stigma come from? Why is it not okay for women to realize that they have rights and deserve the same respect that men do? On a Tumblr site that I ran across while googling “feminism” that was called “Who Needs Feminists,” it caught my eye because the description underneath the link stated, “Identify yourself as a feminist today and many people will immediately assume you are man-hating, bra-burning, whiny liberal.” This little blurb made me snicker. Because that’s exactly what people associate with feminists. The women that are out on the streets, waving signs and not wearing bra’s when they should be are who people picture when they think of these activists. The link below is the link to the Tumblr. It’s actually quite interesting.

whoneedsfeminism.tumblr.com/

Another interesting bit of information that we did not talk about in class, but I talked about with fellow classmates is the recent article concerning the Stanford Swimmer who was caught “mid-rape.” In multiple articles, it stated that Stanford University did a great job handling the situation... However, the most ironic part about the entire situation is that the only thing that Stanford did was not allow Brock Turner back into Stanford and he cannot re-enroll. The real heroes are the guys who rode by on their bikes and tackled him and didn’t let him back up until the police came to get him. The police and the Samaritans who handled the situation are the real winners, not the university. The link that is attached below is an article from the Daily Beast, who takes on a professional bias and a realistic view about rape and how this situation was handled correctly. This article picks out extremely valid points when it comes to viewing how universities all around the nation, do not properly take care of rape cases that occur on college campuses. The writer of the piece, Emily Shire does a fantastic job validly examining the mistakes universities take and what steps should take place when college campus rapes occur. Clearly, at this point in time, any action that takes place is more than what is happening. We need to start somewhere so why not start with one of the biggest contributors to lack of convictions, the lack of university help.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/28/when-police-not-professors-handle-rape-cases-justice-is-swift.html

Response to Discussion 1/29/15

The lists of what I would ban/limit and what I would be proactive about was a great way to look at the articles we talked about today. What I found very shocking what that on average there are 350 rapes that occur on college campuses. Seriously? I might hear of one or two, but never 350. Imagine, that is 350 women that do not report going through such a traumatic experience. But a question that I think of when I think of those numbers is where is the supervision? In class, we discussed the drama between the WSU Police Force and the Pullman Police don't exactly "get along." Honestly, that really frustrates me. Isn't the point of a police force is to make sure that all of society is safe? So shouldn’t their shared goal is to make sure the citizens of Pullman, including the students, be safe?

What I also found very shocking was the idea that one person in the entire Pullman area is certified to run a rape kit, who is usually located in Moscow. Resources are so scarce that it only makes me wonder, how many rapes really do go unaccounted for? So many women that go through rape and their perpetrators don’t even get caught, because someone wasn’t able to perform the rape kit? The necessary resources and funds to help prevent rape are at such a minimum, that its amazing that we as a society even consider it a crime anymore. And unfortunately, this is what our community has come too. The choice of language we use to describe such a harsh and brutal crime are soft and not at all intimidating. And unfortunately, this crime is intimidating and we need to make it so. This crime should never be taken lightly and yet it is.

I really enjoyed talking about the idea’s and things that we can do to help prevent rape. Unfortunately, banning/limiting is never a good idea because that may cause a rebellion. I feel as though, there are more things that we can to help prevent rape that we are not doing. By creating more resources for young women on college campuses would be a great first step. Here, at WSU, I feel as though there aren’t very many known resources that women can turn to when in need. As for women’s transit, I have never personally used it but it would be nice if that was advertised more at the bars, so women aren’t walking home by themselves. Also, adding more lighting to off campus streets and places women are walking at night. B-Street is a very poorly lit street and even at 5 p.m. in the winter time, it’s a sketchy place to be walking alone at. Another area that needs improve are the parking garages. After talking to many of my female friends, they express their fear of parking garages. With barely any cell phone service, poor lighting and tight parking spaces, it can be a very scary place for women to be alone. I know I am always looking over my shoulder to make sure that everything is okay.

Rape is a very sad case that goes unreported. Now that I am more aware of this crime and how brutal is truly is, I find myself being more cautious is public places and finding myself choosing to stay in than go out anymore. When I am by myself, I am learning to become more aware of my surrounding, with just three weeks of class underneath my belt. Imagine the results if this knowledge became everyone’s knowledge. This crime would barely occur.

Class Discussion Response, 1/27

During class today, I felt that the conversation that we had was very important that we were able to cover what “no means no” and “yes means yes” actually is. I found that many points that were brought up are extremely valid and those points are also introducing the idea that the line is very, very thin when it comes to many things in regards to rape.

When it comes to gender differences, I believe that there are a lot of misconstrued language barriers between men and women and what exactly each of those mean. I believe that women, especially young women are in stages in their life during college that they are insecure so they wouldn’t want to come across as prude or turn down “that one football player.” According to the New York Times article I posted, the girl could be asking for a “social suicide.” So I do believe that many young women can find themselves in a poor position and will want to consider their reputation as well. However, it is also very sad when young women do not say no and do not put up a fight if they are put into a bad situation. With saying all this, there are so many fine lines and struggles that occur in the lives of young women that it is hard to know where to stand. Young women face so much criticism about body images, what clothes they wear and buy, who they are dating, who their friends are. With all of this going on, imagine how hard it is for a young girl to be lead on by a football player or a frat boy that has a “nice” reputation and then get raped by them. Can you imagine the psychological problems that the girl is then going through?

During class when we were talking about the practices that we don’t practice as well as we should, one thing I wanted to make clear was let people know that there are so many barriers that are placed between the rape itself and then trying to persuade a young woman to go to the police to report the rape that happened. Plus, Pullman police are so focused on issuing out MIP’s and DUI’s that rape doesn’t even seem like it’s on their radar. Plus, people appear very scared of them. Pullman police a d their reputation and how they present themselves is very unwelcoming and the last thing anyone wants to go do is go up to these police officers, while you are drunk and say you you have been raped. Like seriously? Not many girls will be able to do that, because rape isn’t just scarring, but can be embarrassing. Another factor, like I mentioned earlier is the psychological damage that women have already been through. It's all traumatizing. Like when I am out and about at night, going to the bars I usually try to stay with a group of people, majority my boyfriend and a close group of guy friends. This way I do feel safe and I know I have people looking out for me. However, this is not available for everyone.

When it comes to rape, I have a hard time finding words for how frustrating it is that so many cases go without being reported. If we as a society, could build a better system for young women and their safety, and if they do get raped, what can we do to help them feel less like a victim and more like a fighter? How can we value the person and seek justice, while we still find the evidence to convict the perpetrator? Rape in the American Society is so flawed that we have a long ways to go before we start finding some justice.

Response to Class Discussion, 1/22

During class today, I found it very shocking considering some of the laws and statistics we discussed. However, I would like to say that I am excited for the large range of essay topics we get to choose from. During class, when we were discussing ideas, I though of what I plan on doing, so that was really helpful.

After reviewing the RAINN Statistics about rape, I was quite shocked in reading the differences between sexual assault, the different degrees, and what classifies as rape and what classifies as sexual assault. I had a really hard time understanding the difference between sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree and rape of a child in the third degree. According to Washington State Law, it classifies Rape of a Child in the Third Degree as “Engaging sexual intercourse with another one who is at least 14 years old but less than 16 years old, not married to the defendant and the defendant is at least 48 months older than the victim.” Sexual Misconduct with a Minor in the First Degree is classified as the following: “Engaging, or knowingly causing another person under the age of 18 years to engage, in sexual intercourse with another person who is at least 16 years but less than 18 years and not married to the defendant; and the defendant is:

• at least 60 months older than the victim;

• In a significant relationship to the victim; and

• Abuses a supervisory position within that relationship in order to engage, n or cause another person under the age of 18 to engage in sexual intercourse with the victim.

I guess what I found hard about this and generally with all the laws, that rape is rape right? If someone forces someone else to engage in sexual intercourse then that person is in the wrong. If that person is under the age of 18, then yes, that is rape and yes, that person should be faced with punishment - which includes prison time.

Another question that rises in my mind is what if the girl is just “crying rape?” Unfortunately, a story comes to mind, in which a family friend back in the day has gone through an exact situation like that where the girl faked it. Fortunately, the situation never got too far out of control and both parties were able to settle the differences and come to an understanding. In this particular situation, a friend of mine went home with a girl we knew of, but didn’t know. She wasn’t apart of our normal friend group, but was always believed that she had a small crush on our friend. One night, with both of them being under the influence of alcohol, he went back to her place with her and they had sex. However, the next day she confronted him and told him she was going to press charges because he raped her. Of course, in complete distress he told us about the situation and told us that is was consensual. By the end, after having many conversations and trying to save our friend’s reputation, it turned out she had a boyfriend and had cheated on him, but didn’t want to tell him the truth. In situations like that one, it was extremely lucky that our friend was able to come clean. (Plus, he is a very genuine person and none of us would ever expect him to rape a girl.) However, situations do occur like this all the time, which I believe is where we have a flaw in our legislative system. We as a society, need to find more effective ways in finding the right bad guys and saving the one’s who need it most.

Response to Class Discussion 1/20/15

I don’t know about the rest of the class, but I found today’s discussion really interesting. I really enjoyed that we were able to focus on pop culture and it’s views on rape as well as being able to connect that to rhetoric. From our readings, it is interesting to take an article like the Rolling Stone article about the student at University of Virginia and apply, such as the common topic of conjecture and figure out the answers for each of those questions. Those questions being, “What exists, what does not exist, the size or extent of what exists, how things use to be (past conjecture) and how things will be in the future (future conjecture).” If applying those questions to that Rolling Stone article the answers will be the following. For “what exists” we know that Jackie was gang raped by the Phi Kappa Psi house members. For “what does not exist” is the proof that these men committed that crime. As for the questions, “the size or extent for what exists” is very large due to the amount struggle and emotional pain, along with sexual assault and violence that Jackie has gone through to get close a peaceful place again. For the conjecture question, “How things used to be” is that many students wouldn’t come out about rape and when it happened to them. Many women learned to doubt themselves and convince themselves that they were over reacting. And for “how things will be in the future”... I can only hope that we as a society can learn to support and help these women come out and face their fear of judgement and retaliation. It is so sad that women face that fear after they are the one’s that are victimized. It is hard to understand where society went wrong in making women fear the consequences after they are the one’s who have been hurt.

But I wanted to go back to the conjecture question of “how things used to be.” When we talked in class today, and Professor Condon talked about how they were allowed to ask out girls and it made me laugh, but at the same time it made me start thinking too, would it be that bad if things were like that? Understandably, it would be hard to run things and push people to act like that when we have such a strong grasp on technology. With the way that society is ran and the way my generation is so attached, controlling young adults would be almost impossible. And if it got too strict, a rebellion would break out. (Not super shocking.) Is there a way now, in present day to control dating to some degree, and make it safer for young female college students too go out and have a good time? Also, is there a way for us to filter out the nasty, gross inconsiderate men that run these frat houses? And also, where is the University when these problems do occur? Are more universities, such as Florida State University, more concerned about their reputation and the athletes they produce versus the well being and safety of their students? Also, another thing is where is the guidance and the rules taught from the parents when these students were younger? Didn’t anyone teach them that “no means no?” There are so many fine lines, you wonder where does that fine line end? And how we can help make that line not so fine? And how can we properly teach young women the signs and safety that is required to live in a society like this?