Rape is acceptable today. It is okay to rape. Sound shocking? Why should it? We have an entire culture dedicated to suppressing accurate knowledge of rape and sexual violence. It has become acceptable because Rape Culture desensitizes people to the issue of rape in American society. The subject of rape is one that causes many people uneasiness, and for those who have been victimized, a lifetime of scarred suffering. Rape Culture is present in news media, television, movies, the music we listen to, and videos that go with it. To understand Rape Culture and its effects on society, we must first take a look at the things that contribute to its existence.

Objectification, the treatment of human beings as commodities, is the foundation of Rape Cultu

I may just be crazy. I mean, after all, these are just numbers, and they could be wrong. The Justice Department, the FBI and RAINN all could be manufacturing these numbers to make a small problem seem worse than it really is. But what is the risk fi I'm right, and the numbers are correct? What happens when men control portrayals of women? What does the future hold for our society, more specifically, for women?

The X-files (FOX) presents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who is a female character who appears to be equal to her male co-star. Within the confines of the show, she does present a character not easily objectified sexually; yet in publication of TV Guide, Rolling Stone, and SPIN, Anderson appears, like so many others, dressed in lingerie, and spread-eagled on a bed.

The fact is that anyone you ask will more than likely tell you that rape is wrong. It is so wrong in fact, that in America, a woman is raped every two minutes. (U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau of Justice Statistics) The U.S. Department of Justice, National Crime Victimization Survey and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, estimated that in 1995, 354,670 women reported rape or sexual assault. In 1996, 38, 830 more women were reported raped than in the previous year, for a new annual total of 393,500.

Lilith Fair was a two stage, multi-artist, traveling concert for women performers; it included artists like Paula Cole, Lisa Loeb, Jewel, and "Lilith" founder, Sarah MacLachlan. MacLachlan states "(the concert) doesn't exclude men, it celebrates women." Cole, Loeb, Jewel and McLauchlan are all supporters of women's rights, and all present themselves as strong, independent women. Yet when placed into the spotlight of the video market, they writhe around on beds and talk to the camera, begging to be take back for some wrong, or pleading for the camera not to leave them alone. They ride on horseback in winter, wearing negligees, singing about how lonely and bored they are without a man.

The movies don't make it better either. How many went to see Striptease for the dramatic plot? Scream, and I Know What Did Last Summer resurrected the "helpless-women-against-the-brutal-killer syndrome." Batman and Robin showed us Gotham City, dominated by men and male representations; of the two females in the move, one needed to be "transformed" and then becomes a killer, and the other had to "prove" herself to the male hero figure in order for him to acknowledge her as a person.

'51% of the boys and 41% of the girls said forced sex was acceptable if the boy, "spent a lot of money" on the girl; 31% of the boys and 32% of the girls said it was acceptable for a man to rape a woman with past sexual experience; 87% of the boys and 79% of the girls said sexual assault was acceptable if the man and the woman were married; (White)'

What about children? How are they affected by all of this? The U.S. Department states that 1 out of every two rape victims are under the age of 18, and 1/3 of all juvenile victims of sexual abuse cases are children younger than 6 years of age. And no only that, a survey of 11-to-14 year-olds found:

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Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)