Gossip Girl And Rape Culture Analysis

Gossip Girl’s audience consists primarily of young adult men and women, a demographic particularly at risk for campus sexual assaults. As rape on college campuses continues at an alarming rate, Gossip Girl’s depiction of teenage sexual assault is even more troublesome. Fortunately, Chuck Bass is a fictional character; however, in 2015, a strangely similar figure appeared in real life. In 2015, on Stanford University’s campus, Brock Turner raped an unconscious female student. Thankfully, unlike Chuck Bass, Brock Turner faced a criminal trial for his actions; however, similar to Bass, as a white, wealthy, and popular student-athlete, Turner escaped severe punishment. In fact, though he could have received up to fourteen years in federal prison, …show more content…
Rape culture is everywhere: from college campuses to gender stereotypes to the mass media. Depicting a society in which sexual assault has few if any consequences damages teen perceptions about the issue. This is not to suggest that every television show, or every person, will contribute to rape culture, much less commit sexual assault. It is, however, irresponsible to ignore the impact Gossip Girl has had on the American teenage population and rape culture. Gossip Girl’s inaccurate depictions normalize sexual assault and rape culture. As the Stanford rape victim proved through her emotional testimony, sexual assault has serious consequences that should not be taken lightly. Nevertheless, Chuck Bass, Jenny Humphrey, and Serena van der Woodson all enjoy happy endings, with no apparent memory or mention of the sexual assaults. Emily Doe “enjoyed” no such happy ending. In fact, her rapist is free after serving a total of only four months in custody. She suffered real mental and physical pain. Sexual assault is real, and Social Learning Theory reinforces the fact that it should be depicted accurately. Rape culture is too dangerous to