People Against Rape Culture

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Rape Culture is a term that has become increasingly relevant in modern society. It encompasses a wide variety of cultural practices propagated through media that condone and normalize sexual abuse. The prevalent message the media has been sending is that men are sexual aggressors and that women are purely objects for men’s sexual desire. In other words, the actions represented in Rape Culture express that rape is acceptable. This may come as a surprise to most that this even exists, because who in their right minds would consider rape acceptable? The fact is many people do; they are just not aware that they are doing it. Society unintentionally shows that they find rape acceptable. In recent decades, the inflation of sexualization in different …show more content…
This is why society has several organizations that raise awareness on the subject of Rape Culture. One of these organizations is RAINN: Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. RAINN is the largest anti-sexual violence organization that is committed to preventing sexual violence and helping victims of sexual assault. They are also keen on student activism, and educating youth on the importance of knowing the effects and consequences of sexual assault. Another organization associated with the awareness of Rape Culture is PARC: People Against Rape Culture. Their goal is to promote positive sexuality and change rape culture into a respectful culture. One aspect of Rape Culture that both these organizations consider is victim blaming. This is when a victim (most likely a woman) of sexual assault is blamed for the event as opposed to the perpetrator. In 2011, Police Officer Michael Sanguinetti spoke at York University in regards to campus rape, and stated “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized”. Officer Sanguinetti was quickly scrutinized for …show more content…
Over the past decade, the song lyrics in music have progressively become more sexual than ever before. Similarly to advertisement media, the shift to “sex sells” has made its way into music as well. The genre of music that has especially made its way into Rape Culture is rap. Rap music is often referencing sex, drugs, alcohol, and women in its lyrics. Many of these lyrics found in rap music suggest that sexual violence against women is acceptable. For example, famous rapper Rick Ross featured the following lyrics in one of his popular songs: “Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it; I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain’t even know it”. This lyric is representing an instance of a date rape drug being used in order to sexually assault an unaware victim. Rick Ross was caught up in a short controversy as a result of this, and excused himself when he stated: “It was a misunderstanding with a lyric, a misinterpretation where the term rape wasn’t used. I would never use the term rape”. Whether Rick Ross used the term rape or not, it still doesn’t change the insinuation of rape that is being conveyed in those particular lyrics. Many other artists are also known to have lyrics questionable to Rape Culture. Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” and Lil Wayne’s “Young Playa” are just a few other songs whose lyrics condone rape. Lil Wayne does not even try to hide his reference to rape in his

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