How Does America Have A Rape Culture

America is known for its many diverse cultures. Mostly, these cultures are celebrated and widely accepted, however, there are some that are not so easily accepted. Since the 1970’s, there has been an ongoing debate on whether or not America has a “rape culture.” The term rape culture was introduced in the United States in the 1970’s by feminists who wanted to display how society normalizes sexual aggressions, behaviors, and violence. Rape culture includes everything from unwanted “catcalling” to rape jokes to movies that focus on male characters getting girls drunk in hopes that they will have sex with them. Those who believe that such a culture exists point to main stream movies, music, television, etc. that all make sexual violence a normalized
On the opposite hand, there is a large following of people who believe that a culture of rape in America in fact does not exist, and that the term was made up by feminists as a way to pin men as being dangerous, as well as shift the focus away from the people committing sexual assault crimes. According to them, in order to make any progress against sexual assault and violence, the term “rape culture” needs to be shelved. Of course, the issue of rape is one that should not be taken lightly, but to decide if a “rape culture” exists, we must look at both sides. Here are some facts on rape to set the stage for the debate: According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network), 54% of sexual assaults are not reported to police while 97% of rapists will never spend a day in jail. More than half (54%) of all rapes of females happen before age 18, and the perpetrator is twice as likely to be an adult (National Institute of Justice, US Department of