The concentration of sexualized violence images.
When men (and many women) watch other men being raped in television and in movies, they are incensed by it. It can ruin their evening, curb their sexual desire temporarily, and just make them generally sick to their stomach. When I have asked men why this bothers them but they seem relatively unaffected by the visuals of women being raped, they typically respond with references to male rape being rarer or something else.
I find this response to be both incredibly revealing and also jarring. Because we are constantly inundated with images of women being abused, sexually assaulted, sexually harassed, and raped (through media, television, and movies) there is a general sense of apathy and acceptance towards it.
Granted there are times where this is not true. I know few people who can stomach the rape scene in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but for the general presence of images involving violence (sexualized or otherwise) against women, they are unaffected.
This is deeply concerning to me and also strongly rooted in the culture of rape our community embraces subconsciously. Rape should never become something we are accustomed to. Seeing rape should always make us incensed.
What is further interesting to me is that, as a woman, I am constantly overwhelmed images and stories of rape. I am reminded on a daily basis that 1 in 4 women are raped, most by someone they know. Men watch one scene of a man being raped and are repulsed- yet I see these images in television and in movies all the time.
So I adopt behavior that I hope will protect me, if at all possible (ex. I am obsessive about locking doors). I am teased relentlessly for these behaviors, primarily by men, who tell me I'm "crazy," and that I can't let rape "change my behavior/life." Yet the first questions people ask when a women is raped are not about her attacker, they are about her behavior, her clothing, her actions.
How do people not see the double standard here? On one hand, you think I should not let the fear of rape impact my life but on the other hand you are quick to pick at a woman who is raped. On one hand, you are disgusted by images of male rape victims/rape and it can deeply impact you for a while, but on the other hand, I who am inundated with images of female rape victims/rape am crazy for being afraid and trying to do anything I can to protect myself.
Sometimes I just want to shake people for not understanding how troubling it is that our society has adopted both an attitude of apathy towards images of violence against women and systematically picks women once they become victims.
I find this response to be both incredibly revealing and also jarring. Because we are constantly inundated with images of women being abused, sexually assaulted, sexually harassed, and raped (through media, television, and movies) there is a general sense of apathy and acceptance towards it.
Granted there are times where this is not true. I know few people who can stomach the rape scene in Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but for the general presence of images involving violence (sexualized or otherwise) against women, they are unaffected.
This is deeply concerning to me and also strongly rooted in the culture of rape our community embraces subconsciously. Rape should never become something we are accustomed to. Seeing rape should always make us incensed.
What is further interesting to me is that, as a woman, I am constantly overwhelmed images and stories of rape. I am reminded on a daily basis that 1 in 4 women are raped, most by someone they know. Men watch one scene of a man being raped and are repulsed- yet I see these images in television and in movies all the time.
So I adopt behavior that I hope will protect me, if at all possible (ex. I am obsessive about locking doors). I am teased relentlessly for these behaviors, primarily by men, who tell me I'm "crazy," and that I can't let rape "change my behavior/life." Yet the first questions people ask when a women is raped are not about her attacker, they are about her behavior, her clothing, her actions.
How do people not see the double standard here? On one hand, you think I should not let the fear of rape impact my life but on the other hand you are quick to pick at a woman who is raped. On one hand, you are disgusted by images of male rape victims/rape and it can deeply impact you for a while, but on the other hand, I who am inundated with images of female rape victims/rape am crazy for being afraid and trying to do anything I can to protect myself.
Sometimes I just want to shake people for not understanding how troubling it is that our society has adopted both an attitude of apathy towards images of violence against women and systematically picks women once they become victims.
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