Exploitation of the Inferior
The existence of rape culture is one of the most controversial yet unaddressed topic in society. While many claim rape culture is a strong misconception, there are those who believe rape exists throughout the world and threatens the lives of ordinary people every day. Reports of sexual assault in news articles frequently surface the media and grab the attention of the public eye. Despite any accounts of sexual assault featured in headlines, rape is commonly referenced to in plays and books, such as A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and Where Have You Been? Where Are You Going? by Joyce Carol Oates. Although many believe the rape culture in society is based on faulty convictions, A Streetcar Named Desire, Where Have You Been? Where Are You Going?, and articles which include statistical evidence about rape prove the unfaltering existence and reality of rape culture throughout the world.
Blanche, the protagonist in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, is a woman who has lost all that was to her name, including Belle Reve, her family owned mansion. She decides to reside with her pregnant sister, Stella, and her husband, Stanley, in their apartment for the time being until she can get back on her feet after her loss. Blanche attracts the attention of Mitch, a close friend of Stanley’s, who visits to play poker. Stanley, already bitter with Stella’s arrival, becomes infuriated that his wife’s sister has stolen the affections of his friend and threatens her that he will inform Mitch of her dark past if she does not plan her departure soon. Regardless of Stanley’s warnings, Blanche and Mitch plan a date together where both consume excessive amounts of alcohol. Blanche reveals that her former husband has passed, and the two agree that they need each other. Upon learning of the infamous date, Stanley takes it upon himself to reveal all of Blanche’s ugly secrets to Mitch, leaving him dumbfounded. Before her arrival at New Orleans, Blanche was fired from her job as a schoolteacher because of an affair she had with one of her students. Her husband committed suicide because of the shame he felt after being caught in intimacy with another man. Blanche’s reputation plummeted after people learned she engaged in prostitution at the Hotel Flamingo. Her hidden past restrains her from living a successful life, and upon her exposure, any chance she has left at prosperity is far out of reach.
Stanley returned home to an intoxicated Blanche after Stella went into labor and proceeded to overpower her, leading her to the bedroom. He rapes Blanche, stealing her of what little sanity she has left. Stella does not believe her sister when Blanche tells her about Stanley’s impulsive actions, and Stella calls a doctor to transport to her to an insane asylum (Williams). The plot line of A Streetcar Named Desire contains a hidden message. Stella is a representation of society. Upon hearing of a report of statutory offense, there are always people who indicate the victim is exaggerating the incident in order to gain benefit in some way. Stanley represents the people who abuse their power and authority to take advantage of those who are weaker and force harm upon them. Mitch depicts the acquaintances of rape victims: once the secret is out, fear invades their lives. Blanche and her distress is a symbol of the victims of rape. The story ultimately portrays that coitus always will result in death. Blanche’s experiences with partaking in sensual activities reflects the traumatization that occurs in the mind of an innocent victim after rape has occurred.
Joyce Carol Oates’ Where Have You Been? Where Are You Going? is about a young high-school girl who lives the conventional teenage life. She is currently on summer break, and much of her time is spent with friends. Her closest friend’s father drives the two girls to a local shopping plaza, where they are left alone. Connie’s friend and she cross the highway where they are met with a drive-in restaurant, specifically to meet boys. Their unwise decisions backfire when a few days later, a gold car with two men pull into Connie’s driveway. She immediately associates the car and one of the men with her recent experience at the drive-in restaurant. The men, Arnold Friend and Ellie Oscar, knew she was home alone and saw the opportunity to show unannounced at her house. In a state of oblivion, Connie proceeds to open the door, and the men persist that she get in the car. She ran to the telephone to notify police, but the threats rang in the back of her head. If she told someone, the men would bring harm to her family. The same is true in society. Many people who have experienced the impact of the rape culture firsthand understand Connie’s dilemma. They are afraid of the consequences. Connie continues to get in the car as she observes her neighborhood through a different set of eyes. The tragic truth of rape and sexual assault is that the victim will never be able to look at life with innocent bliss, and they carry scars that will remain for the rest of his or her life. Connie performed an act of self-sacrifice to save her family (Oates).
Sensual jokes, games, and Hollywood’s created impression of glorified rape are leading causes of the prevailing rape culture. Rape is not perceived as a serious subject when it is referenced to in a lighthearted manner. Rape is an ambiguous term used to constitute any act of enforced sexual immorality against one’s will (Gruber 1030). Rape occurs when a person, male or female, typically male, has an authoritative power over a smaller person, male or female. Ridiculing rape in society creates a barrier between victims of sexual assault and the rest of culture. Ultimately in a rape circumstance, the victim did not give the rapist consent. Identifying stories of rape in society becomes challenging when the act of rape itself is viewed indifferently. “The blogosphere is rife with critiques of rape culture, which is said to include everything from brutal sexual assaults to jokes about sex, women’s general inequality, casual sex, catcalling, child beauty contents…” (Gruber 1028). This poor societal behavior sets the standard for what is acceptable regarding the topic of rape. In order to conquer culture’s lax understanding of rape, cases of rape must be thoroughly addressed and further investigated.
Gender roles, such as masculinity, is a predominant reason why rape exists so heavily in the world today. “Students need to understand that while rape culture is the mechanism that channels toxic masculinity into specific, socially legitimized practices of sexual violence, if we want to eradicate sexual violence, we must transform the apparatuses by which boys are objectified into toxically masculine men” (Posadas 178). When young boys are taught that in order to express their masculine attributes they must engage in activities where they bring harm upon others, society is found to be at fault. The entire system of boys who grow to be men who abuse their power must be reconstructed if sexual violence is to be eradicated. Rape can be eliminated if young boys do not mature into grown men who believe his masculinity is found in his ability to vanquish someone because he or she may be the weaker force.
Statistical evidence manifests the reality of rape in culture. College campuses are major targets for rapists to lure young ignorant women. While most women are aware of the harsh reality of the rape culture in society, there are those who believe otherwise and engage in activities that puts themselves or others at risk, such as parties, bars, or other inclusive activities where cautionary measures are not properly taken. According to the Albany Law Review, “sexual assault of women by men is a significant problem in the United States, as approximately one in five women are victimized over the course of their lives” (Hildebrand and Najdowski 1059). Regardless of the high percentage of victimized women, there are many rape cases that remain confidential either because the woman knew her rapist, no weapons were involved, there was no evidence of physical assault, or the woman blamed herself for the rape (Hildebrand and Naidowski 1060). Women are sexually objectified which contributes to the rape culture. A study took place where researchers asked college undergraduate women to record occurrences over a period of two weeks where themselves or another woman were treated with different status because of gender. The results uncovered that “sixty-five percent of women experienced at least one gender-based incident, twenty-three percent of which involved experiencing or witnessing some sort of sexual objectification (e.g., street harassment, threats of sexual contact)” (Hildebrand and Naidowski 1066). Despite the fact that some people deny the existence and brutality of the rape culture, the statistical evidence of sexual threats from men to women is inevitable and undeniable.
Many people in the world, such as Luke Gittos, believe the rape culture is nonexistent or not as serious as statistics and reports of rape would have one to believe. Gittos argues that “between three and seven percent of the adult male population at college either had committed sexual violence or would do so. In other words, a small minority of the college population” (Gittos 10). If people believe the rape culture exists, Gittos claims society will be less competent when dealing with the difficult times of people’s intimate lives and will not be able to find help from the law. Luke Gittos has a strong conviction that “the panic around rape has given rise to a new form of justice, which prioritizes the confirmation and validation of individual experience over and above the objective establishment of the truth” (Gittos 14). He is accusing those who have reported stories of personal rape to find self-affirmation in their experience rather than focusing on the truth as a whole. People who stretch the truth beyond what actually occurred are ruining the justice system as a whole simply because no one knows what to believe after hearing rape reports that were later revealed to be faulty. It is difficult in determining whether a rape actually occurred when there is little to no evidence.
Luke Gittos presents an array of valid arguments that rape culture does not exist, but given the accounts of personal rape stories mentioned subtly in books and statistical evidence of rape in the world, an individual will acknowledge the unrelenting rape culture that does not plan on diminishing until measures are taken to expose rape in the most hidden parts of society. It is important that fallacies are recognized and rape stories that are made up do not surface the media for sake of those who have experienced the traumatic event of sexual assault.