Rape Culture and the Way Women Dress

TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion of rape/ sexual assault.

Due to the recent publicity of the Steubenville rape case (and the horrific way it has been handled in the media), I have decided to write a blog series about rape culture to better explain how it is upsetting yet unsurprising that this rape happened, and that it is being addressed so callously in the media (as Hannah Graces articulates so well). In this series, we will explore what rape culture is, and the qualities that define ours as one.

There are certain rules that women abide by to remain safe. Some were taught to us, and some have been learned and internalized. As women, we know to never walk alone at night, in an alley, or to our cars. We know that we must always carry our keys in our fists, to check the back seats before getting in the car, and to always lock the door as soon as we’re inside. We’re taught not to wear anything too revealing, so as not to give anyone the wrong idea; not to put our drinks down, lest someone have the opportunity to slip something in them; and to never leave without our friends, because if someone abducts one of us, at least there will be someone to call the police.

Men in American society are most likely familiar with most or all of these strategies to remain safe in a dangerous situation, though they probably seldom find the need to use them. Women in American society, however, most likely follow these strategies every day, often without thinking twice.

If you’re wondering why there is a disparity between the precautions that women and men need to take to ensure their own safety, you may find the answer in the term “rape culture.” According to the Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, rape culture is a term used to describe a society where norms, practices, attitudes, and the media make rape and sexual violence seem normal, permissible, or excusable. It is a culture that teaches women how not to be raped, because rape is seen as an inevitable practice, instead of teaching men not to rape. Now, before you write me off as another feminist trying to pass off the actions of a few lewd individuals as a societal problem, allow me to tell you that I understand that not all men are rapists. However, in rape culture, the people who normalize rape often do so unintentionally and unknowingly. It is when women and men intuitively accept and promote the basic idea that women are sex objects that we perpetuate this culture of sexual violence.

Since we were children, we were all taught that men are from Mars and Women are from Venus, that one gender is vastly different from the other. Where there is “different,” however, there is always “better,” because two things cannot be dichotomized and hold the same status. In American society, masculine qualities are those like strength, power, and intellect. Feminine qualities, however, are fragility, submissiveness, and emotionality. Though neither is inherently bad or wrong, as a society we have clearly chosen one over the other. To be a man is to have the power, and to be a female is to be the reward.

It is no secret that women are expected to put more time into our appearance than men are. This is especially prominent in the dating scene. Women will sometimes take hours to get ready for a date or party, while men will at most wear a suit and tie for a formal affair. Even this implies that women are meant to impress with their looks, while men are able to capture romantic interest without changing what they look like .

When women are over sexualized, we become objects instead of people. This kind of desensitization in turn influences the way we are viewed in society, and takes away our voice and our choice. Failing to take every precaution against sexual assault should not and does not take away a person’s right not to be assaulted. Being asleep doesn’t imply another person’s freedom to do what he or she wants to my body. Being too drunk to make decisions doesn’t imply this freedom, either. Wearing a low-cut shirt, a short skirt, or an outfit that is in any way sexual or revealing does not mean that I am dressing up for any and every man that I see, and the fact that you like what I am wearing does not grant you the permission to touch me if I haven’t made it explicitly clear that I want you to. In fact, I should be able to run into a dark alley while naked and drunk and not have anyone lay a hand on me, because there is nothing that I can wear and no way that I can act that implies consent. The only real consent is sober, enthusiastic consent. If you believe anything other than explicit and enthusiastic consent is a green light, ask yourself who gave you permission to touch someone else: society or the other person?