Rape.
Sexual Assault.
Abuse.

Just three of the many words that can be used to describe an unwanted sexual experience. It's not just words like these that scare the public, it's phrases that a majority of individuals don't fully understand--the most widely misunderstood phrase being "rape culture."

What does "rape culture" mean?

If you simply search the phrase "rape culture" in a search engine, you're bound to get a variety of results. Some people claim that rape culture is a conspiracy created by feminists. Some claim that rape culture is the "liberal media." Most just have no idea what rape culture actually is. Call me crazy, but the best way to form an opinion on an issue is to actually know what it means...

To find out the true meaning of this concept, I decided to break the phrase into into individual words. The Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) noted that the definitions of "rape," "sexual assault," and "sexual abuse" varied state by state, but when referring to rape culture, rape is meant to refer to all crimes of sexual violence. Culture can be descried as beliefs, customs, and behaviors that are all shared by a group of people. The ways in which the group behaves is generally passed down from the older members to the younger members, the individuals in the groups are not consciously aware of their "culture," and it is all learned behavior. So when evaluating the phrase "rape culture," one can think of sexually violent tendencies shared by a group of people, and passed down through the year with a variety of different results. Some denounce rape culture as a "myth" made up by feminists as some kind of conspiracy, but the truth is that rape culture is very real, and has negative impacts on people of all genders.

What does rape culture look like?

A very common example of rape culture is the tendency to blame victims of assault for being assaulted. Asking questions about intoxication, the victim's clothing choices, and whether or not the victim wanted to be violated are all very prevalent in Western society. These embody rape culture because they are sympathizing with the abuser, and that enforces sexually violent tendencies.

Another way in which rape culture is highlighted, is the tendency of colleges to ignore sexual assault survivors / excuse students who have committed assault. In America especially, it is no secret that sports are valued extremely highly, but are they really valued over human rights? Survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of college athletes frequently find themselves feeling re-victimized by the school itself, refusing to pursue legal charges or remove the student from campus. Colleges also frequently do not believe young girls' stories of assault, and blame rapes on women with hookups that they later regret. This type of behavior by highly paid and highly respected individuals showcases not only that sexually violent tendencies
are tolerated in our society, but that students who do not cause a problem by going against this institutional value are praised and protected.

The Future of Rape Culture

Many people reading this article will be rolling their eyes, calling me a crazy feminist liberal, probably a man-hater. The truth is that I am liberal, I am a feminist, and I love everyone (regardless of gender) that deserves it, but I refuse to close my eyes to what is very clearly a society problem. I feel that I should not have to carry mace around campus because it is my job to protect myself from attackers. If I report an assault, I want to be believed, because the number of false rape allegations does not differ statistically from the number of total false crime allegations. I don't think it is fair that men get praised for having a large number of sexual partners and women get shamed. The first step to stopping this epidemic, is opening people's eyes.

The college athlete with multiple rape allegations is not a good kid, they're a predator. The 40-year-old female teacher sleeping with her 15-year-old student is not in a relationship with him, she is taking advantage of him. The girl that wanted to hook up with you but later never said yes did not consent, because she needs to say yes to consent. Education is what will change how our society functions, whether it be education about rape culture in general, education about not sexually assaulting others, or education about consent, this is what has to change in order to have a safer, and better functioning society.