(Student blog post #1 - Alyssa D.)
I chose to be the first student blog post for this semester in College Writing II but I’m not exactly sure where to begin. I know my post has to pertain to violence but there’s so many angles of violence to choose from and they all equally need some attention. Though, when I think of violence the first thing I think of is rape. Growing up, we are told repeatedly about the sexual predators that live nearby and to never travel alone in the city or at night. For a girl, you don’t grow up without being taught to fight back in dire situations such as rape or assault. About 90% of the victims of sexual assault are female. This evidence gives far more protection and support for the female victims creating another problem. Since there is so much attention given to the female victims’ emotional care and future safety; the other 10%, male victims, get thrown on the back burner.
Men get raped too. It’s a harsh statement to make but it certainly needs to be said. I found an organization dedicated to male rape victims, after weeding out loads of female rape victim organizations.
As I scrolled down through the Victim’s Response column, I was shocked due to societies approach towards male rape. Society has actually built the idea that male’s should be able to defend and protect themselves therefore they are unable to be raped. Umm… WHAT?! If you scroll back up to the top where there a few key stats, this will strike you: “71% of male victims were first raped before their 18th birthday”(Tjaden & Thoennes, 2006). Most male victims were under the age of 18 when they were raped and somehow we expect all 1-18 year olds to defend themselves. These are just children. Helpless children are taken advantage of by some satanic sexual predator and yet we can’t see past their gender?
This causes a domino effect. Society’s views on male sexual assault are causing males to blame themselves for the rape even though they are victims. “It is common for a male rape victim to blame himself for the rape, believing that he in some way consented to being raped” (Brochman, 1991). It’s disheartening to read the word ‘common’ in the previous quote. Why must males be victimized after already being victimized? Don’t they deserve a break just like the women?
The article explains why a male victim might ejaculate during intercourse. I had never heard of this concept and was very confused but I also had society’s beliefs rattling in my ear as I was trying to keep an open mind on the subject. To sum up this concept, a boy/man has the ability to ejaculate even during rape because of the body’s natural instincts. This can leave the victim confused and self-blaming which is so incredibly wrong! Girls are almost always fully educated on rape and rape prevention but boys fail to know more than what they hear from the perspective of a woman.
Our schools should take the time to properly educate both genders on sexual assault and abuse. This will likely lessen the blame that boys/men often put on themselves which can be detrimental to their well-being. Often, severely depressed or troubled rape victims find no point their existence and take their own lives. Imagine the affect that we could have on rape victim suicide rates. Education may seem like a huge undertaking but if even one more suicide was prevented due to a victim’s ability to not blame themselves, then it will have been worth every ounce of effort.
I conclude this blog with a question: What are your thoughts on male sexual assault and how has society molded your views towards female vs. male victims.
Sexual assault is, in my opinion, is the most concerning act of violence. Few different violent acts could pass it up if not any. Don't get me wrong all violence is important and should be acted upon, however, I just believe sexual assault is by any means an act of violence that should have more attention because it is so relevant. Society's "image" of people has always upset me. I hate that a man needs to be "manly" and things as serious as sexual assault, depression or just simple emotions can not exist in a mans life because that is against this imaginary image. On the other hand society thinks women need to be tall and skinny. Women need to be motherly and kind as well as "lady like." Society makes it seem as though women can not fight for themselves even though they are told to; especially on the topic of sexual assault.Don't let society's "image" control you, if you are a man or women that does not fit that image don't let it discourage you because we ALL do not fit that image and that is PERFECT.
ReplyDeleteSexual violence is a huge problem in our world that seems to be swept under the rug and avoided at all costs. Considering that many people have this misconception that only women are the target of sexaul crimes, people seem to be missing out on a huge number of people that are effected by these terrible acts. Of course, when people hear that someone has been sexually assaulted, we initially think that it's a woman. However, as Alyssa pointed out, about 10% of all sexual assault victims are males. This is a far larger number than I had ever expected. I guess I am guilty of believing the sterotype that only women get assaulted, however, that is completely false.
ReplyDeletePeople, myself included, need to become more informed on these type of issues and how they effect people of every race, ethnicity, age, and as I now know, gender. This post really opened me up to the problems that all people, including males, face regarding sexual violence.
So Justin Bieber got arrested (good), and already jokes are flying around the internet about him deserving to get raped in jail. I'm willing to bet that a good percentage of these same people would be horrified if they heard anyone say that a woman deserved to be raped because of what she was wearing, where she was, etc. But when it's a male, the idea is somehow funny and far less threatening.
ReplyDeleteOn a similar note, check this out (yes, I know it's a Lifetime movie, sorry - it's more the reaction to the idea of such a film that interests me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Men_Don't_Tell)
Society has basically formed the illusion in my mind that men are always the perpetrators of violence. According to the stereotypes of society, women are easily taken advantage of. Many people even believe they also "deserve" what comes to them. It is very uncommon to hear of a man being the victim. 15% of rape cases actually consist of men, however! Men should be taken just as seriously as women.
ReplyDeleteTo comment on the Justin Beiber comment, okay yes Beiber is a horrible singer and a horrible role model for young children. But that isn’t a reason to wish rape upon someone. There are VERY many people I don’t like, but I dont wish they get hit by a car or raped. Rape is a horrible crime and I am disgusted by the act of it. Yes people get raped in jail, but does the fact that they’ve committed a crime to get in there change anything? Okay, I guess im contradicting myself, but if anyone is convicted of rape and gets put in jail and ends up getting raped I might laugh. I know that’s horrible, but now they know the pain they inflicted on others. Rape is still not something to wish upon to other people. The world is a messed up place, with horrible people. And even Justin Beiber doesn’t deserve to be raped.
ReplyDeleteI went to a seminar for cult & civ that focused on the male as the rape victim instead of as the rapist. To be honest, prior to this semester, I never really fully grasped the concept of the male being a victim of rape. I've always heard of the male being dominating and the female is take advantage of. That's saying something though, if in 18 years that I have been alive, my first year of college is the only time that the male as the victim is talked about. I think teachers need to focus more on the male victims and not so much on the female victims. I get that there are more female victims than male victims, but we still need to focus on the issue of there being male victims, and that the victims are apart of every day life and not just stuck behind bars. We need to have the education and learn more about the male victim and what we can do to help them.
ReplyDeleteMy parents are big fan of various crime investigation television shows, i remember watching an episode of one of them a couple years ago that was about a male rape victim. I don't remember the entire story-line of the episode, but i do remember that the victim was a 15-16 years old. This was the first time I ever heard about a male as the victim and i was 17 years old. I think people do need to know that this doesn't only happen to women. And I think that doing episodes like the one I saw is a good way to sort of educate people about it.
ReplyDelete