A great article in U Penn’s Daily Pennsylvanian about men’s role in ending sexual violence. Darcie Richie points to the ways that our tendency to blame victims leads us to ignore men’s role in sexual assault prevention:
What messages are men receiving through the media and through our words about how women are to be treated? The idea that so many men are painfully confused about their role in the sexual experiences they have, along with the prominence of rape, suggests one truth: that we have overemphasized the female fear in our message about rape, while neglecting the man’s role. We teach women about safety and protection from the scary men in dark alleys. We teach women that acquaintance rape is still rape despite their sexual history and despite their relationship with their aggressor. We teach women that they deserve to be respected. But what are we teaching men?
We do not continue this dialogue of respect for women with young men. Perhaps the inherent characteristic of men that motivates them to rape is a struggle to define what it actually means to be a man through messages of dominance, aggression and an un-compromising demeanor. Perhaps as men struggle to self-express, the idea that sex is a commodity is something tangible that they can hold on to.
The rest of the article is also excellent. Go check it out!
Sounds very in line with a thought I’ve been mulling over for years. In fact, I touch briefly on it (april 17 08) here. This to me, is the hidden part of feminism. Males are crushed inside unnatural roles and they suffer and they take out that suffering on women. Not that we know that’s what is going on. And that plotline is oversimplifying of course! But that’s the basic thought I’ve had.
[...] were excellent, including the UPenn article on men’s responsibility to end rape that Ashley linked to already. What was lacking was a focus on the broader context for the institution’s responsibilities. [...]