Morgan Johnson, 2023

I recently encountered the article “The Not Rape Epidemic” by Latoya Peterson which I will use to help focus on my main concern. Rape culture, toxic masculinity, victim blaming, and silencing are seen as the prominent issues amongst sexual assault victims. Therefore, making the article a great segway into these issues as well as the idea of what not rape is.  I wanted to focus on this article because how powerful Peterson’s testimonial was towards the audience and how it stirred up the idea in my mind to focus on rape culture and more. Peterson’s piece discusses her environmental up-bringing and how she was taught what rape was. Peterson and her peers were taught the basics of rape, the text-book definition which was considered non-consensual penetration of a penis into the vagina. Therefore, they were conditioned into this concept of “not rape” and how if they told anybody about these situations, they would be the ones to take the blame for these men’s actions. However, young girls are conditioned to have these hypersexual and inappropriate relationships with older men because they want to be viewed as mature women, but they are falling prey into this trap of sexual violence. Which in turn silences their experiences because they will never be viewed as victims, but the reason these men acted out.

​

Peterson states her own story of when she was in middle school and experienced an incident of when a neighborhood friend took advantage of her being home alone, forced his way into her home, and felt on her body without consent. His first and last words to her were “ I can do whatever I want”, proclaiming his power and dominance over her. This was her experience of “not rape” and how it affected her mental being going forward in her adult years. Why did this man think he can get away with forcing his way into her home and taking advantage of her body? This is because of the conditioning of rape culture in our society especially in young men. From a young age men are told that they are dominant, powerful, controlling, over sexual induced individuals that can have whatever they want. This breeds the toxic mentality that later leads into acts of sexual violence because we are teaching boys that certain behaviors are okay because if a man doesn’t act a certain way, he is considered weak. The word weak usually being associated with women and being anything close to a woman is seen as inferior. The way that guy made Peterson feel is unacceptable because it silenced her and gave her power over to him. She wanted to tell someone about her assault, but all her options left her powerless. If she went to the police, it would be her word against his since there was no physical evidence such as semen or any other form of DNA. She couldn't go to her mom because she would get in trouble for opening the door for a boy. All she could do is confide to her friends in the neighborhood because they too, were all in similar predicaments. This is the power of rape culture, having the ability to be so strong that victims are so worried about getting in trouble with their parents or not getting the help they need, that they can only choose silence. Silence should never be considered an option for victims, their voices deserve to be heard, taken seriously, and understood, however that is never the case.

​

The cycle continues when Peterson mentions that when she entered high school, she became interested in becoming a lawyer, a person who can stand up for others when she couldn't stand up for herself. She was in a mock trial where the case involved the guy who assaulted her back in middle school along with a really close friend that she would have never thought would brutally rape someone. In fact, she was invited to that gathering the night the incident took place and if she would have gone that could have been her. Shocking to discover someone that you completely trusted when you were younger turned out to be a part of the problem. What made Peterson even more upset was the fact that the defense attorney was victim blaming and of course playing the card of his client being a good kid, outnumbered and defenseless by a system that was made in favor of him. The attorney stated “You will also hear that —– wasn’t such a good girl after all. You will hear that she skipped school. You will hear that she smoked marijuana. You will hear that she willingly skipped school to go smoke marijuana with two boys she had just met.”  Toxic masculinity, rape culture, and the power of silencing all wrapped into one. Mostly all men in society are given this “ get out of jail free card” by being told that “boys will be boys” or “he’s a good kid, he would never do that.” Of course never putting the responsibility on men and leaving women to pick up the emotional damaging pieces to put themselves back together. Hence, those sayings alone give boys the ability to behave and commit any actions they want which later follows them into adulthood continuing the path into rape culture. When boys are conditioned into these mindsets, it greatly impacts rape culture and fuels the power that drives these men in early adolescents and adulthood to take advantage of people because their behavior is normalized. Lastly, comes the silencing/victim blaming that is a product of rape culture. Prime example being the defense attorney's response to the victim’s previous behaviors leading up to the case. The attorney’s blaming takes away the little power she had in the situation and making her the enemy, as if she had asked to been raped because she agreed to smoke with her abusers or skip school. Her actions didn’t entice those boys, she didn’t force those boys to do anything, she didn’t rape them, or assault them, but the boys involved in the case did. However, they are seen as innocent and clearly made a mistake because of their promising futures as men in society. Her right to stand up for herself and have a voice in this case is stripped because she is not seen as a person, but an object. All these actions are just a cycle that repeats itself because of the lack of change. Allowing boys to continue certain behaviors, toxic mindsets, not educating boys and men about assault, silencing, repeat. Hence, how can we start the change that will put an end to rape culture and more? 

​

By Peterson experiencing this trial she learned that her “not rape” was in fact a form of rape, sexual assault. Being told what was and what wasn’t considered rape brainwashes people and gives more power to rape culture. Twisting people’s perspectives for one’s advantage minimizes these victims’ stories and makes others want to stay silent, but as a collective we can stop this from happening. Peterson claims towards the end of the article that as a society we must do better to make victims heard, teach young women that dating way outside their age range is wrong, that young men can aid in speaking up against sexual assault before it occurs, that men should be aware of their actions and take responsibility of how they will affect young women, older women giving advice to younger women, and giving younger women the proper educative tools to defend themselves.  By implementing these behaviors, taking a stand, taking responsibility, and most importantly educating, dismantling rape culture can be a possibility. Peterson states “Finally, we need to cast a critical eye on how rape culture is perpetuated on an institutional level. From how hospitals distribute rape kits to keeping tags on questionable verdicts, we must take the lead in telling the criminal justice system that rape apologists and enablers will not be tolerated.” It starts from the root of the problem which is the institutional power system that attributes to the power of rape culture, toxic masculinity, and silencing. If society can break down the institutional power, then justice can be properly served, but it is easier said than done. Therefore, why taking steps on educating young men and women about consent, building bodily autonomy, speaking up, knowing that people are more than just a victim, but a person can go a long way into dismantling the system that leaves so many people scarred.