Never Asking For It

Rape—as well as date rape—is one issue that has been prevalent in society for as long as anyone can remember.  So much so, that it is now referred to as a culture in its own.  “Rape culture” is a term used in feminism that links rape, or in other words, sexual violence, to the culture of a society.  It says that certain actions and attitudes in society “normalize, excuse, tolerate, and even condone rape”.  In today’s society, rape is an issue that nearly the entire population is aware of, yet on the other hand is also an issue that is too often ignored and almost thought of as inevitable.  In America, one in five women will survive rape or attempted rape.  97% of attackers won’t receive any jail time for their crimes.  With an issue as big and as frequent, why isn’t society doing attempting anything to make rape and sexual violence less of a “norm”?  In my opinion, society does exactly the opposite.

One thing that has never seemed right in my eyes is the fact that there are strict dress codes—particularly for young girls and women—in public schools even in this day in age.  This may be one of the biggest factors as to why it is a problem in society, because school is where most of a person’s socializing occurs. They start children off so young, making to school every weekday, six hours a day for 12 years straight.  So, of course this will be a place where they learn how to interact with others, about what is right and what is wrong, etc.  Dress codes are essentially teaching boys and girls as young as ten years old that they have to watch what they wear because it can be distracting to the opposite gender, and this is effecting how they think as teenagers and adults. 

One commonly known dress code imposed on young girls is that their shorts or skirts must be as long as their fingertips when their hands are placed at their sides.  Another is that their shirt straps must be as thick as three fingers.  If either of these rules are not followed, they are usually told to change, but even harsher punishment is an option.  These rules do nothing more than oversexualize the body parts of young girls and women; shoulders and legs in particular, two body parts that both genders share, and ones I’m sure boys would not find distracting had they not been taught this at a young age by none other than their public school.  Schools teach women how not to get raped rather than teaching men that is wrong.

In today’s society, many people will blame the victim, or say that they deserved it because of actions that they took.  They will be asked if they had been drinking, or they will be asked what they were wearing at the time of the attack.  This is basically saying that men will have an excuse to rape.  It also gives the notion that boys will be boys, or that all boys are “pigs” and will rape a girl for reasons such as the ones previously stated.  In my opinion, there needs to be a different view on rape in today’s society.  Forcing women to dress for men from a young age and telling them that there are reasons that they could be raped if they aren’t careful is not the right approach.  There needs to be a change.

http://www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual-assault/rape-culture/

http://time.com/40110/rape-culture-is-real/