It's time to recognize the culture we live in. I'm not talking about political culture or our cultural differences. I'm referring to the rape culture that we all promote whether we acknowledge it or not. We are a point in society where women are finally standing up and voicing the harassment and assault they have faced, and we are fortunate that consent is being a topic of conversation all over college campuses. But are we recognizing these strives and deciding that all of those things are enough?
Is talking about sexual assault and rape enough to prevent it from happening? Is one girl coming forward with her story enough to stop the culture we live in?
No. It's simply not enough, and we are all part of that problem. For example, if a girl comes forward at a college party and says she was sexually assaulted, are girls going to continue to go to that same party the next weekend without fear? Of course, they are. This is because while we recognize that rape is awful and shouldn't happen, we have become immune to it.
We hear the word rape or sexual assault, and instead of that immediate sick feeling everyone should naturally get, we just hear it and feel no reaction because it has become such a common thing. It's is something that we hear about so often that when we hear it, the significance does not register. Rape has become normalized.
Still not getting it? How do you feel when you hear about a random homicide on the news? I doubt you think about that homicide whenever you visit the city where it took place. I doubt you even think of that person for more than a second of the day. We are beginning to do the same thing with rape and sexual assault.
We cannot afford to become a society where this is okay. We cannot be okay with the normalization of rape. It is not right for us to only care when we know the person affected or when it is us. We should not live in a world where we dictate what matters strictly upon our own connections. A world where we think like that is a world where sexual assault prevails and rapists win.
We can't afford to be immune to sexual assault. We can't become complacent and satisfied with where we are now in regard to this issue. We need to keep progressing and fighting for a world where this isn't something anyone fears. Blocking out commentary on sexual assault is a simple disservice and endangerment to society.
While not to discredit the progress we have made, it is so important not to turn a blind eye to the problem at hand. As a society, we owe it to the victims, who bravely spoke out, to listen and not ignore their story. Those who feel any differently need to take a long, hard look in the mirror because they are part of the problem too.
