A topic I found interesting that we discussed
in great abundance in class was the issue of sexual violence against
women. As we learned, sexual violence
can occur is a variety of different settings; women can be victims of domestic
sexual violence, from acquaintances, or from complete strangers. This is what makes sexual violence so unique
from other types of violence’s. However, when discussing terms of rape or
sexual assault, there seems to be a sort of gray area when defining the terms. Typically, women and men have different
definitions of these two terms. In the article, “Fraternities and Collegiate
Rape Culture” by A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade, groups of women and men
were asked to define certain terms, and I found the results interesting. As
stated in the article many men answered that rape was “when a guy jumps out of
the bushes and forces himself sexually onto a girl.” And date rape was defined as “when one person
has sex with another person who did not consent.” Many men also said, “date rape is when a
woman wakes up the next morning and regrets having sex.” When it came to asking women the same
question, there were mixed responses.
One Woman stated “If a girl is drunk and the guy knows it and the girls
says, ‘Yes, I want to have sex,’ and they do, that is still rape because the
girl can’t make a conscious rational decision under the influence of
alcohol.” Another women disagreed and
said, “I don’t think it is fair that the guy gets blamed when both people involved
are drunk.”
In my
opinion, the second woman brings up a good point. Why is it that the man always gets blamed for
“rape,” when both the man and woman are both under the influence of
alcohol? Is this to suggest that women
cannot make rational decisions for themselves as opposed to a man who can? This
is where the gray area comes in when defining rape, it is a hard term to define
and to know where to draw the line. http://sapac.umich.edu/article/52
I found this article explaining the myths and facts of sexual assault, which
many points I tend to agree with. One of the points I liked in particular was
the myth that “sexual assault is often the result of a miscommunication or a
mistake.” I would agree, a harasser knows
what they are doing to their victim; it is definitely not a form of
miscommunication when a victim has been assaulted.
I have to agree with Karlee's post that there is a large grey area when it comes to sexual assault, mainly when it involves consent. According to "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture," rape is defined by law as "the penetration of an act of sexual intercourse with a female against her will and consent, whether her will is overcome by force or fear resulting from threat of force, or by drugs or intoxicants." With this definition it makes the issue of consent very hard to determine. In the Ohio University Court Street case, consent is largely what makes the case so hard to determine and charge. Both the guy and girl were intoxicated, so according to the definition she was not able to use clear judgment, but is it right to blame the guy? If both were equally under the influence and she did say yes, drunk or not, she was not held against her will and did not show any sign that it was forced. I am not saying that she isn't a victim, I believe she is a victim, but not of rape, she is a victim of bad judgment. I can't agree because rape is such a serious charge and actual rape, women being forced to perform sexual acts against their will, is being imitated by girls who just can't make clear decisions. What I wish was more clear was what these allegations of rape can do to someones life, whether convicted guilty or not, he is seen in the public eye as a rapist.
ReplyDeleteI definitely have to agree with both Karlee and Alex's argument. In the "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture article it talked about how alcohol is a very important factor and that there usually aren't witnesses. Consent is a huge factor in rape cases and can be misunderstood especially if under the influence. The Court Street case did involve alcohol and is different in the fact that there was visual evidence of the act from that night. I followed along with all of the articles the school and national news was posting about the incident. It even ended up on a website called Total Frat Move because the guy is apparently in a fraternity on campus. Alex is right when there was no evidence of the girl being held against her will to perform in sexual acts. Rape cases and sexual assaults make individuals assume that every guy is out to rape them, when in the article "I am not a racist" it clearly explains differently that not every guy is like that. I also agree with Alex that we aren’t saying she’s not a victim because she is, but girls have a lot of power and control with the word rape. Raping a person is a serious felony charge. If someone was charged of rape they could spend jail time, could be on probation and has to register as a sex offender (which later on could hurt their chances of getting a career). Rape does happen, but people have to look at the facts and the situation before the other person has to live as a sex offender for the rest of their lives.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Karlee brings up the point that rape shouldn't be solely blamed on a drunk guy when both parties are under the influence. The blurred lines of today's definition of rape is creating more problems than ever, beginning with the recent Court Street incident we discussed briefly in class. I know everyone has their own strong opinion as to who was at fault, whether or not it should be considered rape, etc. According to a recent article in The Post (http://thepost.ohiou.edu/content/onlooker-details-alleged-court-street-rape), an onlooker to the incident said,
ReplyDelete“I guess the thing that put everyone there at ease was that she never said stop, she never struggled and she never asked for help. She put her hand on the back of his head. She seemed like she was enjoying it, so I guess for everyone there it was like ‘OK, it’s not assault. It’s not rape.’”
From talking to numerous students about the issue, we've all agreed with the student who witnessed the situation above; none of us think the incident should be considered rape. I think that the girl was just embarrassed about the situation after photos and videos surfaced and threatened to ruin her reputation, so she cried rape. The thing that's hard about this situation is that in claiming she was raped, she is allowing the guy to have that label hanging over his head for the rest of his life, when in reality, there's a good chance the whole situation was consensual by BOTH parties at the time. Yes, they were both under the influence of alcohol. But is it really fair that this guy is labeled as a rapist for something this girl just considers a mistake? Wrongly sentencing someone as a rapist is one “mistake” no one can afford to make.
I can say that I do agree with what this article says about there being a grey area. in my opion there is a really big grey area. Now I am not condoning rape or saying that it is right or justified, but there is some areas where men get screwed over when they did not do anything wrong. Going back to what the post said about if both parties are drunk and only the man gets charged with rape after both consent is some bull shit. How can a man get in trouble for doing something that he was told yes he can do and this aslo makes women look incompitant to be able to do anything for themselves other than just let men rule there lives. Also would if the only the male is drunk and they have sex how is that viewed, from what I have heard and seen that it is not viewed as rape and it is viewed as that guy is lucky. Would if he did not want to have sex with this women and she forced her self on him this is not seen as rape but if you flip it put the women in the mans position its a rape and there is a huge deal made about it. The double standard for this subject is a vast difference between them. In concluding I agree with what is stated above and that there is a huge grey area with regards to sexual assult and what is considered to a sexual assult.
ReplyDeleteI am also in agreement with Karlee. I am not speaking for every man when I say that In my opinion there does exist a grey area in which I am unsure of what is legally and technically considered rape. To me, rape is considered an act that is horrific, gruesome, and traumatizing. That being said rape has always seemed like more of a black and white or set in stone crime. If a girl says "No" than that is where it ends. Any further pursuance of a Male or Female after he or she has said "No", constitutes harassment or even rape for me. I also don't believe that if both parties are drunk, Men are given the chief duty to be the most rational party when both are in the same position and are capable. Ultimately, both parties should be able to make the most responsible decision when put into a similar decision. Additionally, I understand that all circumstances are not the same when dealing with these types of situations which allows for a grey area to exist. This "grey area" needs to be better understood and given more meaning to allow for a system where less rape and rape culture discrepancies exist.
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