Terms of Rape Culture
When we talk about things like rape culture, there are a lot of terms that come up that can be confusing, and at times are misused or misunderstood. It is important we understand the content we approach so we can talk about it and navigate it in helpful ways. These are some commonly used terms we have heard lately in association to rape culture and how they can appear in our daily lives.
Rape Culture
Rape culture is a norm within society where sexual violence is minimised, normalised, even accepted through its media, laws and jokes. As society justifies the idea of rape culture, survivors are blamed for the incidents of abuse they experienced while their perpetrators are excused, instead of being held accountable. This normalisation erases the seriousness of sexual violence and silences victims, creating a dangerous and unsafe environment for all people. Rape culture also enables sexual violence to be considered permissible.
Examples of rape culture include victim blaming, sexual assault, misogyny, rape jokes, gendered stereotypes, toxic masculinity, sexual coercion and more.
The Rape Culture Pyramid
The rape culture pyramid refers to a model that helps us to understand how tolerating certain behaviours which might seem ‘harmless’ can actually enable more harmful behaviours to be excused or even normalised.
Consent
Consent is a clear, enthusiastic and willing agreement to an ongoing activity. Consent can be found in any and all situations and is not only applied to intimate or sexual acts. Consent must be informed, freely given, and can be taken back at any point as it ensures the autonomy of the person and is a continuous choice. However, if consent is provided in a pressurised or fearful manner, it does not equal consent. True consent will only be respectful and mutual and encompasses more than just the absence of a “no”.
Victim Blaming
Victim blaming occurs when people hold survivors of harassment or sexual assault responsible towards the violence and abuse they faced. The concept of victim blaming suggests to survivors that if they had changed their actions, they would have been safe and not hurt by their perpetrator. Victims are placed at the front of the issue and perpetrators' actions are ignored. Victim blaming can ‘gaslight’ survivors into believing it was their fault therefore discourages them to come forward, which creates a dangerous narrative where their abusers are free from accountability.
For example, responding to a victims story with questions towards their behaviour rather than the assaulters actions such as “Why were you drinking?”.
Enabling
Enabling is the act of supporting, excusing or protecting a person who commits harmful behaviour, done either intentionally or not. Maintaining a non-confrontational attitude allows a person’s dangerous actions of harassment, manipulation or assault to continue without accountability. Therefore, when society acts out enabling attitudes it is a way for abusers to maintain their power.
“Boys will be boys”
“She asked for it””
Gaslighting
Gaslighting is when someone makes another doubt their perception of memory, their feelings, sanity or reality through emotional manipulation. In the context of sexual violence, this is a way for the perpetrator to gain control and avoid responsibility for their own harmful behaviour. Gaslighting is a tactic to silence people and make them feel ‘crazy’, and is often displayed in abusive relationships, workplaces and even in our public systems to discredit victims and preserve their power.
For example, using language such as “You’re being dramatic, that never happened” to trick someone's perception is gaslighting.
Red Pill
While ‘red pill’ is a concept originating from The Matrix, it now also refers to men who believe the idea of feminism has “brainwashed” society and reinforces women to be manipulative. These discussions mainly occur online under the guise of claiming to teach men to “see the truth”, however, are just spaces to spread sexism, entitlement and hate towards women and other minority groups. ‘Red Pill’ content rejects equality and operates through continued misogyny.
For example, Andrew Tate’s content could be considered as ‘Red Pill’ content, and we are also shown an example of the red pill concept in the Netflix series Adolescence.
Misogyny vs Misandry
Misogyny is hatred, distrust, or prejudice against women, while misandry is hatred, distrust, or prejudice against men. Misogyny is a major, deeply rooted norm that shapes laws, culture, and everyday life; we do not see misandry embedded in our system this same way, as it tends to be less institutional and on a more interpersonal level. both are harmful, only misogyny is a systemic problem that controls and limits women’s lives.
For example, making fun of a man for showing emotion could be misandry, but banning women from owning property (which has happened historically) is misogyny.
Sexual Coercion
Sexual coercion is where someone is manipulated, pressured, threatened or guilted into participating in sexual activity without willing consent. This action does not always involve physical violence, however it strips away someone’s bodily autonomy and choice. When “yes” is forced out of pressure, emotional manipulation or fear, it does not count and is not a gateway for sexual acts. Sexual coercion can make someone feel as if they owe sexual acts to another, however, that is never the case.
Examples of Sexual Coercion include:
Being psychologically blackmailed into having sex
Repeatedly being asked to have sex despite already stating your answer as ‘no”
Use of power to pressure you (could be from a boss, teacher, elder family member) to perform a sexual act for their pleasure
Incel
Involuntarily celibate or ‘incel’ refers to people - usually men - who are hateful, angry and bitter towards the fact that they are not having romantic or sexual relationships. Incel communities place their blame towards women accusing them for their unhappiness promoting violence, misogyny and dangerous conspiracy theories. Incel culture is extremely toxic and dangerous due to its encouragement towards real-world harm.
For example, some incel forums claim that women purposely reject "nice guys" and only choose "bad boys," fuelling hatred toward women.
Alpha Male
The ‘alpha male’ myth is the notion that the most dominant, patriarchal, aggressive man is also the most respected and successful based on misunderstood behaviour studies of animals. This stereotype dangerously prescribes men to act in a specific regime of controlling, emotionless and even violent manner to prove their worth as an individual.
