Paper Title
Stepping on Toes: Social Roots of Date Rape Lead to Intractability and Politicization
Keywords
- Sex Crimes
- Acquaintance Rape
- Date Rape
- Sexual Aggression
- Rape Victims
- Sexual Coercion
- Peer Influence
- Rape-Supportive Culture
- Gender Roles
- Victim Blaming
- Social Context
- Fraternities
- Aggressive Behavior
- Societal Censure
- Rape Prevention
- Sexual Violence
- Behavioral Interdependence
- Cultural Norms
- Victimization
- Reporting Barriers
- Stereotypes
- BDSM
- kink
- Masturbation
- Sadism
- Mummification
- Sexual Assault
- Coercion
- Intoxication
- Victim Impact
- Trauma
- Survivor
- Abuse
- Consent Violations
- Power Dynamics
- Perpetrator
- Legal Response
- Emotional Abuse
- Psychological Impact
- Healing
- Recovery
- Support Services
- Sexual Abuse Recovery
- Advocacy
- Date Rape Drugs
- Trauma-Informed Care
- Prevention
- Intimate Partner Violence
- Support Networks
Research Impact Tools
Publication Info
| Pages: 4-21
Published On
March, 1997
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Abstract
The early 1990s found rape research, especially as it was depicted in the public media, embroiled in an intensely politicized debate over the nature of date rape. This politicization can be contrasted to the environment of the early 1980s, before the last decade's wave of rape research changed the way we think of sexual violence. Then, rapes were seen as products of a psychopathic fringe of men. Some 15 years later, researchers faced a drastically different understanding of rape and sexual aggression, one that we ourselves helped bring about. Through surveys of college men and women, community surveys, and a growing body of qualitative data, scholars have documented that rape and other forms of sexual coercion are not limited to a disturbed minority but are found among all social strata. The levels of sexual coercion recorded by researchers would seem unlikely to endure in the face of unambivalent societal censure. Yet recent surveys point to similar or even higher levels of aggression than recorded almost 15 years earlier (i.e., contrast Abbey, Ross, McDuffie, & McAuslan, 1996, with Koss & Oros, 1982). Two general arguments could account for the endurance of date rape—either the research is seriously flawed or society does not censure it. Because the former argument has been addressed elsewhere (Gilbert, 1993; Koss, 1993; Koss & Cook, 1993), this chapter focuses on the latter assertion. Using both qualitative and quantitative findings, we argue that abundant rape-supportive environments encourage sexually aggressive men to act on their impulses and discourage women from reporting experiences in which they feel they were victimized. To support this perspective, we first examine the ease with which coercive beliefs and aggressive behaviors fit within our cultural understanding of sexuality. Second, we discuss the social context in which the potentially sexually aggressive man lives, considering the mediating role played by peer-group support. Third, we consider the effects on women of being nested within these contexts, paying special attention to scripted notions of women's sexual roles and stereotypes of “deserving victims.” After discussing the influences on, and behaviors of, both sexes, we conclude with a discussion of the dyadic aspects of sexual coercion, examining the role that each sex plays in determining the immediate environment of the other. We argue that it is this behavioral interdependence that leads to the intractability of date rape. In the course of making these arguments, we attempt to demonstrate both the reasons why this area of research has become politicized and the meaning that can be drawn from this politicization.
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