Rape Culture
A set of deeply entrenched societal attitudes and beliefs that normalize sexual violence. It is demonstrated through media, language, and policy, promoting sexual objectification and coercion, lack of agency over one’s body, and dismissal of feminine-presenting or gender nonconforming individuals as not “fully human.” Rape culture is ubiquitous in representing violence as “sexy”, “alluring” and “hot”. These ideas pervade everything from the magazines we read, the movies we watch, the music we love, to the language we use to talk about sex, and the laws that govern bodies and behavior. Rape culture relies on other systems of oppression to perpetuate victim blaming and gender inequity, including hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy.
Source | Harvard University Office of Sexual Assault Prevention & Reponse
