Rape Myths Deconstructing Unquestioned Assumptions About Sexual Assault by Jessie Blundell graphic by Michelle Fields Rape happens. And, as a practice shrouded in the silence of social taboo, rape remains difficult to prevent. Most anti-rape efforts, though well-intentioned, fail to address the larger issues of social inequality which make rape possible. Educational and preventative measures largely ignore the link between discrimination based on race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and social, political, and economic status. The resulting power differentials are crucial to understanding issues of consent and sexual assault, yet we continually focus anti-rape efforts elsewhere. By ignoring the system of inequality which allows rape, we permit misconceptions and stereotypes to flourish. Myths about rape abound and determine, in part, how we think about and qualify rape. To evaluate the influence of such misconceptions and stereotypes we must recognize rape myths and their presence in our community. As the host to a transient population, U.Va. could potentially create substantial resistance to the practice of rape through educational efforts. To educate our students effectively, however, we must actively deconstruct and debunk the stereotypes which inaccurately portray rape, rapists, and rape survivors. Several common rape myths are listed below, with a description of their functions and effects. In addition, examples are included of these stereotypes and misconceptions here at the university, gathered through personal interview and anonymous survey. My purpose, rather than to implicate U.Va. as an anomaly, is to present examples of common misconceptions so we may recognize and address them in our community. As this process may challenge the status quo of social interactions and question the "natural" categories by which we construct our personal identities, it may prove threatening. Such critiques, however, remain integral to the prevention of rape. As students at the university and inhabitants of the Charlottesville area, one set of stereotypes we must address focuses on the assumed identity of rapists. The rapist most often acknowledged is the stranger rapist. This is not to challenge the existence or the severity of stranger rape. (I know a woman who was raped by a man she did not know, at knife point, in the parking garage on the Corner -- it happens.) The problem is that often we understand only stranger rape as real rape. Stranger rape defines the accepted norm for qualifying a rapist and places the offender at a comfortable distance. Women believe that they maintain this buffer by restricting their physical mobility. Unfortunately, the reality of rape encompasses a broader spectrum of offenders, the majority of whom are known to their victims. Recognizing the validity and prevalence of rape by boyfriends, friends, and aquaintances remains difficult because it implicates our own. This reluctance to acknowledge the known rapist surfaces in anti-rape educational materials and efforts around Grounds and prevents women from recognizing the risk of rape by a peer. Flyers that teach U.Va. women how to jog safely imply the threat of rape only by a stranger. The blue security phones on Grounds remain noticeably absent at parties. Courses in self-defense fail to address the conflict of interest inherent in kicking your boyfriend in the crotch. By recognizing only the threat of rape by a stranger we create a false sense of security for women, misrepresent the population of potential rapists, and perpetuate the stereotypes that define rapists. One rape myth that disqualifies potential rapists is the idea of an uncontrollable male sexual drive. This myth serves to justify the sexual, physical, and emotional domination of the male offender over his victim by naturalizing his coercive behavior. By categorizing male sexuality as not active but reactive, this myth of uncontrollable male sexuality absolves the rapist from responsibility for his actions and blames the victim for instigating such behavior. Akin to the idea that "boys will be boys," we accept that men reach a certain point of sexual arousal at which point they lose mental control of their physical desire. This myth essentializes men, naturalizes rape, and heaps the burden of sexual morality and responsibility, for both genders, on women. In contrast, a stereotype used to qualify offenders is the rapist as serial criminal or clinically insane. The stranger rapist stereotype originated in early studies of rape such as A. Groth's Men Who Rape. Based on data collected from criminally convicted rapists these studies defined rape as psychotic behavior. Recent studies, for example by Mary Koss, show that for stranger rape, reporting and conviction occur in higher numbers than in cases of acquaintance rape. This happens for several reasons: first, rape by a stranger represents the stereotypical rape and is often considered "real" rape in comparison to rape by an acquaintance. Second, with stranger rape the issue of consent is less ambiguous and jurors are more likely to believe the attack as unprovoked. Finally, the majority of rapes qualify as acquaintance and of these the vast majority go unreported. Convicted rapists, representing a minority of offender types, therefore provide misleading and skewed evidence. The prevalence of this myth made itself apparent in one interview with an administrative figure here at U.Va. This man, despite his education and professional appointment, insistently defined rape as a psychological disorder, the result of childhood trauma or molestation. Despite extensive evidence presented to the contrary, even from within the discipline of psychoanalysis itself, this administrator refused to acknowledge the reality or influence of underreporting in cases of rape by an acquaintance. As an administrator espousing a powerful misconception, this man presents a direct threat to the already tenuous credibility of women who report rape by an aquaintance. Another myth which limits the definition of rape survivors claims that "all women want to be raped." Susan Brownmiller, in her book Against Our Will, suggests that this myth attempts to make rape an integral part of femininity, just as coercive sexuality exists at the core of how we define masculinity. Twenty years later, her words have developed their meaning. From the original anti-rape movement surfaced extremes which suggested all heterosexual sex included aspects of violence. "All women want to be raped" now functions as the resounding reply to "all men are rapists." But whereas some men in fact are rapists, no woman, regardless of sexual or erotic preference or fantasy, wants to be raped. Margaret T. Gordon and Stephanie Riger support this assumption through their work summarized in The Female Fear. According to their research, the fear of rape pervades the lives, in varying degrees depending on race, class, and place, of all women. Ironically, the myth that all women want to be raped coexists with another powerful rape myth that claims: No one can be raped against their will. This myth represents contradictions of the social and legal facets of reporting rape and implies that forcible rape does not exist. Resisting rape is a classic Catch-22. If a victim does not resist we assume it was consensual sex, not rape. If she physically resists we note her behavior as unfeminine and admonish her concerning the potential risks. If she verbally resists we may assume that "no means yes." If she successfully resists we have no case because no rape occurred. An attacker with a weapon, other than his body or his words, is rare and only complicates matters. If a victim resists against a weapon she appears foolish. If she does not resist against a weapon, again we hear consent, not forced compliance. Finally this rape myth, like many others, serves to blame the victim, a highly effective accusation. Another effective, though extremely subtle myth, claims that "only virgins can be raped." In efforts to simplify, contain, define, and identify rape we severely limit the scope of what and who qualify. The issue of consent, for example, so complicates our legal and social ideas of rape that we narrowly define victims. The outcome of most rape cases and the effects of rape reporting suggest that we accept only the most clear cut cases of rape as valid. Therefore, any woman with a sexual history assumes the social role of ever consenting. This stems from a conception of female worth as defined by monogamy, chastity, and of course, virginity. In addition to our misconceptions about rapists and rape survivors, there also exist myths which facilitate sexual assault. An extremely common example of this is "blue balls." Common slang used to describe a painful sensation in the testicles resulting from delayed sexual release, the threat of blue balls is used as a means to ensure orgasm. As a coercive measure this threat works well because it plays off socially prescribed gender norms. Stereotypically we expect women, as wives, mothers and co-workers, to be sensitive to and responsible for the "basic needs" of others. For women in heterosexual relationships this implicitly implies sexual gratification of the man. The threat of blue balls therefore questions the naturalized gender identity of a female and her ability to function as a successful woman. "Blue balls" may seem laughable but one first-year woman interviewed was successfully coerced by use of this myth. Her date insisted that she perform oral sex to help him avoid the extreme physical discomfort of unfulfilled sexual desire. Influenced by the threat of physical pain, this woman was strongly influenced by yet another myth. Because she had engaged in some consensual foreplay, she also felt obligated to her date. "You owe me," whether spoken or implied, serves up a powerful message, another one grounded in traditional gender roles. Though less influential than several generations ago, gender-specific dating behavior norms still exist. In part, these stereotypes imply a system of exchange wherein men provide material goods and women provide sexual services. A man may provide transportation, alcohol, drugs, food, or entertainment and by receiving/consuming these goods a woman becomes indebted/obliged to perform sexually. Men who comply with traditional gender norms for dating control the physical situation, accrue the benefits of expending capital, and present no threat to the social status quo. If women comply with these behavioral norms they risk buying into the underlying system of exchange and possible physical (and therefore emotional) exploitation. If women fail to comply they risk social immobility and present the threat of social non-compliance. For socially non-compliant women, another rape myth exists. This myth claims that some women deserve rape. "You deserved it"serves a dual purpose. First it implicates the victim of rape by judging her behavior, dress, and/or decisions as socially or morally reprehensible. Second, it exonerates the offender by sanctioning his actions as appropriate, necessary, and productive. Innumerable and highly subjective, the reasons an individual may "deserve" rape include clothing, actions, and decisions deemed provocative, promiscuous, flirtatious, indecorous, bawdy, obnoxious, dangerous, lascivious, calculating, rebellious, or otherwise inappropriate. For those who ascribe to this myth the offender becomes the judicial hero, doling out a permissible and well-warranted punishment to the benefit of the large social order. In an anonymous student survey conducted at U.Va. for this article, this rape myth was prevalent. Even a small percentage of the women polled believed that some women deserve rape. Another equally powerful rape myth claims that some women want or enjoy rape. This misconception absolves the offender of any untoward behavior and denies the existence of a rape by negating the issue of consent. If a woman wants/enjoys a sexual encounter then it instantly qualifies as consensual sex and rape becomes an impossibility. This myth also reverses the accusation of rape and characterizes the offender as the victim of slander or revenge. Finally, claiming a victim "wanted/enjoyed it" may weaken the already fragile stand of the reporting survivor. Of the acquaintance rapes reported few make it to trial and fewer still result in "guilty" verdicts. Rape offenders are innocent until proven guilty and rape victims are liars until proven morally, socially, and sexually faultless. Faced with this reality the above myth may prove devastating. However, the rape myth I find most devastating and most prevalent remains: "No means yes." This myth may seem ancient and ridiculous, a relic of 1970's anti-rape propaganda, but it wields surprising amounts of power. For many men "no" means "keep asking, keep insisting, I will give in eventually." Men expect "no" because we socialize women as sexual gatekeepers; since monogamy, chastity, and virginity determine social worth for women, women must police both their sexuality and that of men. By absolving men of sexual responsibility we offer no consequence to coercive behavior and rape continues. To combat the plague-like presence of rape in our community we must examine our assumptions about rape, rapists, and rape victims for evidence of the myths listed above. Far from comprehensive, the stereotypes and myths above only hint at the extent of out misconceptions concerning sexual violence. Rape happens, but we need to know to whom, where, when, how much, and of course why, it happens. We also need to acknowledge our social, political, and moral environments which allow rape to continue. Before prevention can become a truly viable option, we must recognize the seemingly invisible or naturalized facets of rape and how they occur and function in our community at the University of Virginia.

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