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Rape Culture and Society

Lauren Montgomery Professor Laura B. Kruger March 25, 2022 IDS - 400: Wellness Milestone Three Wellness, You, and Society Speakers Notes Slide 2: What is the origin of the issue? It is speculated that rape culture originated from evolution. According to evolutionary scientists, rape's origins predate the emergence of our species, one of the arguments being that forced copulation is widespread in the animal world (Vandermassen, 2011). Science would have you believe that rape is necessary for reproductive purposes. They want us to believe that it is the innate behavior of men to force women to copulate. Genetic make up is noted to be the origin of rape culture Slide 3: What is the issue about? Rape culture today is more prevalent that it has ever been. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women's bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women's rights and safety (Joseph, 2016). The issue is mainly about minimizing the human rights of women. The culture attempts to normalize rape by men at the same time grooming women to accept it. Rape Culture is essentially societal mindsets that standardizes rape based on gender and sexuality. Slide 4: Who is impacted by the issue? Rape culture has an impact on everyone in society, but more specifically women. 82% of all juvenile victims are female. 90% of adult rape victims are female (Rainn, 2022). Women and girls are severely impacted, and young boys face rape trauma as well. They are put in traumatizing situations and then are further victimized by being blamed, ultimately silencing them. It does a huge disservice to men as well. It does not teach then right from wrong when in sexual situations and gives them false entitlement. As a result, they do not see the error of their ways. Slide 5: What is important to know about them? Societal Impacts It is important to understand the impact society has on rape culture. Society sends the message don't get raped rather than don't rape. It is being attempted to normalize, once again. something that is dehumanizing mainly to the female gender. The normalization of rape culture causes people to further distrust institutions such as the justice system and medical institutions. Societal norms on this topic increase mental anguish due to fear of speaking out against it. Slide 6: How has critically analyzing your issue/event in wellness informed your individual framework of perception? Consider how it has altered the way you perceive the world Analyzing this topic has caused me to further question the morality and intensions of those of the opposite sex. I often wonder why they think this kind of behavior is normal and undamaging. It says a lot about a person that can easily brush off another's trauma especially the traumas they cause. The topic of rape culture almost solidifies that most men will get off easy, which causes me to make generalize statements about men. Reviewing the rape statistics