Blurred Lines and the Acceptance of Rape Culture
This week, we are going to start tackling some of the pretty weighty issues prevalent in our world today. These issues do not only affect women as you will see; all too often society has a way of excluding the men from the victimology of sexual assault, abuse and harassment, and some of the things we will read about and look at will show how damaging that can be.
First, we need to talk a bit about the notion of "rape culture" and how we can define that. So, you guessed it--I'd like you to take the first stab at making sense of something that should really not make any sense to anyone.
What exactly is "rape culture"?
In class we are going to be taking a look at songs and their lyrics, and to that end, we will be examining the 2013 summer jam "Blurred Lines" by R. Thicke, that everyone and their uncles were singing 3 years ago.
Are there other books, movies, songs, videos that you feel may send mixed messages about what constitutes appropriate sexual behavior. expectations, etc? Give some examples.
Finally, the link below will take you to an article about Project Unbreakable. Give it a read. The images are powerful. We will talk about it in class throughout the week.
First, we need to talk a bit about the notion of "rape culture" and how we can define that. So, you guessed it--I'd like you to take the first stab at making sense of something that should really not make any sense to anyone.
What exactly is "rape culture"?
In class we are going to be taking a look at songs and their lyrics, and to that end, we will be examining the 2013 summer jam "Blurred Lines" by R. Thicke, that everyone and their uncles were singing 3 years ago.
Are there other books, movies, songs, videos that you feel may send mixed messages about what constitutes appropriate sexual behavior. expectations, etc? Give some examples.
Finally, the link below will take you to an article about Project Unbreakable. Give it a read. The images are powerful. We will talk about it in class throughout the week.
Rape culture to me is normalizing rape and making it prominent in everyday life in music, movies, and books. An example in music would be with the hit song “ What Do You Mean” by Justin Bieber. In the song he says “ when you nod your head yes but you wanna say no”. The song is basically saying that the reason that he is having problems with the girl in a relationship is because she is saying one thing when he THINKS she wants to opposite. Many rapist justify their horrible actions by saying something along those lines of“ He/or she said no or to stop, but I can tell he/she wanted it”. Thinking opposite of what somebody says does not count as consent. Another line in the song is “ when you don't want me to move, but you tell me to go”. This line is explaining how he is assuming that the girl is saying for him to go but that's not what she wants, again doing the opposite of what is said. This song relates to rape culture because it is normalizing many actions of rape. Justin is essentially saying that the girl never means what she says and to just ignore her and do what you want.
ReplyDeleteRape culture is the culture that I consider to either accept rape or ignorant to it, in the sense they look the other way or try and not involve themselves in the matter. If you you know something is going on and do not do anything about it you are just as wrong as those who are okay with it. All over pop culture context of rape is present. Especially in hip hop, the demeaning of women and their primary use for sexual pleasure is displayed throughout every song, music video, and/ or interview. Every rapper nowadays preaches that women are only good for sexual activities and that's the only thing on the rapper's mind. “Her friend gon' lick me like a fruit roll up, She in her feelins' on the 'Gram, grow up, 21, flexin' on that bitch, hold up, I ain't textin' back that bitch, hold up, I ain't stressin' bout that bitch, hold up.” -21 Savage
ReplyDeleteTo me, rape culture is a term that is used to identify our generation as people who are ignorant to rape. In other words, it is a general term for everything associated to rape that is displayed in movies and music and books and songs. Sadly, I feel like our generation is so used to hearing about rape news stories (or the lack of them) that there is now a label for it. I feel like every popular song that is played today sends mixed signals about appropriate sexual behavior. Just like we discussed in class, the songs talk about mistreating women (and even men), and making them sound like they are an object. Along with the song comes the music video that shows how women are viewed, or should be viewed. I'm bad when it comes to song titles, but I know that the music played on stations like 99.3, 104.9, and pandora all portray this kind of behavior. People listen and watch this stuff, and then are encouraged to act the same way.
ReplyDeleteThe term "Rape Culture" to me stands for its okay to rape someone. Rape is a very hard topic to talk about. Just the word itself can bring someone to tears. Before our generation rape culture wasn't even a thing. Rape wasn't as common as it was 10 years ago as it is today. Rape culture involves a lot of music. Many modern day song use a lot of violent words toward sex. The songs make it seem like beating and slapping woman during sex is what the they want. They indicate that forcing yourself onto woman is a good thing and that's what makes them feel good. Rape culture is making it seem like raping someone makes you tough and strong and maybe even cool. People listen to these songs everyday and don't even realize what the lyrics are saying. I think its bad that these songs encourage violent behavior when it comes to sex. Its encouraging not just men but woman to take advantage of people. Its making it seem like something illegal is normal and that just adds on to all the problems the world faces today. How can rape cases go down when our music is telling us to do it.
ReplyDeleteRape culture is basically when rape is justified and accepted in society. Rape culture is often seen in the movies and music we watch and listen to. Many people are ignorant of it because it is seen so much they think things like that are normal. It's often covered as "entertainment." It is seen so much among women that we often forget about the males that are dealing with the same issue. One example of this is in a movie I watched called "Only For One Night." To make a long story short, there was a wife who went out of town and her sister who was grieving after losing her husband. The sister has been staying at their house to recuperate after such a devastating loss. Once his wife went out of town, him and the sister went out for a business event with friends and drinks since his wife couldn't make it. Deceitfully, the sister put something in his glass and took advantage of him so she could sleep with him that night. Although that was a movie, stuff like that actually happens and people are using things like that in movies we watch to catch our eyes and get views but they don't realize how it's actually hurting society.
ReplyDeleteRape culture is unfortunately something we do everyday. Whether it's listening to music, talking to our friends about how hot a boy or girl is, watching movies or reading a book, it's all around us. Rape culture is normalized, even if we didn't mean for it to be. And that's sad because while there are a ton of perverts out there with a lot of ambitions, there are plenty of normal people who witness rape culture happening in their everyday lives, and assume that it's ok. Take for instance music. We all know music is energy fuel for anybody because there's so many different genres of music that one person is bound to like. Two popular genres that everyone listens to is hip hop and pop music. I mean just listen to the lyrics of Rack It Up by Yo Gotti & Nicki Minaj. In the third verse rapped by Yo Gotti, he says, “I know the bad bitches but know niggas who bitches too, You a (beitch) and ya bitch should expose you, All that pillow, talkin’ nigga, that's what the hoes do.” Another place where we see rape culture and it's not really talked about much is video games. In the Last of Us, a game that came out originally in 2013, centered around a man named Joel and a 14-year old girl named Ellie and both have to work together, in the apocalypse to find a cure for the infected mushroom people (because they're not zombies). But one of the overwhelming themes of the game is that the people not infected, or bitten, are much worse than the people who are. Towards the end of the game, Ellie, looking for medicine to heal Joel who has been stabbed, runs into a man named David and David is a cannibal and has been eating humans to stay alive in the apocalypse. He captures Ellie and she tries to escape and it's in the moment where the game is implying David is trying to rape Ellie. David says, “I knew you had heart. Y’know, it's okay to give up. Ain’t no shame in it. Just not your style is it? You can try beggin. You think you know me? Huh? Well let me tell you somethin’. You have no idea what I’m capable of.” The game I believe, handles the situation nicely in talking about and it definitely pulls at your heart. Like how can you rape a 14-year old girl in the apocalypse? So rape culture is something that should be taken more seriously because it's a growing issue every year. And it shows in the games that we play, the music we listen to, and the movies and books we read and watch.
ReplyDeleteRape culture is society's way of normalizing rape. The justification of rape is a result of the attitudes that people have towards sexual assault. Rape culture makes it seem as though it's okay to not take sexual assaults seriously, which in turn makes victims hesitant to speak up. Media plays a huge role in rape culture, as several movies and songs promote the idea of forcing oneself upon another. An example of a song that does this is "Baby It's Cold Outside". In this song, the woman wants to leave, but the man insists that she stays because it's cold outside.
ReplyDelete"I really can't stay"
"I've got to go away"
"The answer is no"
But the man continues to beg that she stays, and even offers her a drink..
"But baby it's cold outside"
"Beautiful, what's your hurry?"
"Put some records on while I pour"
"No cabs to be had out there"
Its obvious that she wants to leave and he tries to bribe her with drinks and music, because he wants her to stay, despite her wish to go home. Songs like this contribute to rape culture, as it normalizes that kind of controlling behavior.
Rape culture, to me, is the normalization, and generally comfortability with the notion of rape. It is ever present around us, especially in poorer countries. For me, songs, especially hip hop and rap, send the strongest, and most mixed messages about sexual behavior. The content in this genre is so violent it’s no wonder why sexual assault is so widespread, when kids as young as 8 or 9 are listening to these kind of things. It’s pretty funny, but I remember jamming to “Rack City” by Tyga on my way to games in middle school. I had no clue what he was saying, but I listened along as he rapped about having “ya grandma on my dick” and repeatedly rapping about money and titties. The beat was great, and that’s all I cared about. Yet the way it portrayed women as just being concerned with money and sex really devalued them, and we all know what happens when a guy just sees a girl as a sexual object. Assault, abuse, and/or rape. This kind of stuff that we grow up with desensitizes us, and further solidifies rape culture.
ReplyDeleteRape is a terrible thing that unfortunately happens very often and can really do damage to someone’s life. Rape culture is something that is very real in today’s world, but not many people know about it or know what it means. Rape culture is anything that makes it seem like rape is okay or that makes it the norm. Rape culture does exist and it is all around us and it’s at the point where there is more than there has ever been before. Rape culture is mostly in songs, social media, and even movies. But it is most popular in the music that millions of people listen to today. A lot of music has rape culture in it, but I think it is most popular in rap. Many rap songs make it seem like taking advantage of women, using violence towards them during sex, and using them for sex only, is acceptable. These songs make it seem like rape and sexual assault is normal when in reality it definitely is not. We listen to these songs not really paying attention to what they lyrics mean and some lyrics really are terrible. There are countless examples in music and I could go on quoting them for 10 pages, but we really need to be aware about how common rape is and how it seems like it can happen so easily. We all need to be aware of rape and rape culture and try to spread awareness before it keeps becoming more popular. Mistreating women isn’t cool even though rape culture makes it seem that way and everyone needs to be informed about this. Rape is something that needs to be reduced, but it is so hard to do this with all the rape culture that we have in the world today.
ReplyDeleteRape culture is something that happens in today's world much more often than it should and has only increased over time and it is continuing on this path as we speak. Rape culture is the basic principle of criticizing or talking down upon women to make it seem as though men can do whatever they to them and they will do anything that men ask them to do. In today's music industry of hip-hop and rap, rape culture has become something that is almost bound to be interlaced in the stanzas of a rapper's lyrics. Some of the things that come out of these rapper's mouths are just despicable disgusting as they talk about their so called "hoes". Now I'm not saying that every rapper in the world talks about women this way but surprisingly a majority do. Songs like "Ignition" by R. Kelley and "Boyz in da hood" by N.W.A criticize women to a whole different level. It's sad to think that these people spread the idea that women are only good for their looks, sex, and to be slapped if they don't "behave" properly. As youth and others listen to these songs it starts to become a more common idea that can be accepted hence why rape culture is only increasing due to the rap music industry becoming more popular. Rape culture is something that is never accepted in this world and the fact that it's starting to be is terrible. Rape culture awareness needs to be spread to the youth and others to make sure they know that this way of thinking about women is nowhere near okay.
ReplyDeleteRape culture is allowing rape to become part of what we as a society deem normal. The lack of respect and negative portrayal of women has, in my opinion, reached an all time high. I think it all stems from highly suggestive song lyrics that in turn implement these expectations for women into the heads of anyone listening to them. To me, this is frightening because a rapper that a young boy looks up to can be talking about how he has sex with random women all the time and talks about them in a degrading manner, and this little boy would most likely not know any better so he too starts to think this way. Music influences us whether it is in a beautiful way or a negative one. Some example of this would be when men sing about throwing money at women to make them dance, calling them sluts, whores, hoes, etc., talk about their body parts, specifically butt and boobs, and asserting their dominance.
ReplyDeleteRape culture is basically when people agree and or ignore the ideas of rape. People tend to not hear about rape nowadays and we should because some people need an eyeopener on todays views on society. Now its all about how good a girl exploits herself let alone what she's wearing. When the news covers a story on rape a lot of the time we hear the comments "Well what was she wearing?" "Was she drinking?" instead of focusing on the victim as said in class. Rape culture ignores who the real victim is by making excuses and ignoring what the abuser has done. How the news covered the Brock Turners case for example. Because he was a successful white male swimmer his case was overlooked. Articles that covered him focused more on him being a swimmer rather than him being a rapist, as to where around the same time there was an African American student who committed the same crime was sentenced 13 years (2 years less than the maximum time you can spend for committing rape) as stated in class as well.
ReplyDeleteRape culture is a term that was created by feminists and it finds a way to blame victims of sexual assault and normalize sexual violence. In music, movies, and books sexual behavior is more violent, forceful and describe a lot of what rape is and when doing this it makes all these things seem normal and ok for people to do to each other. A popular song made back in 2008 called “blame it on the alcohol” written by T-pain is a perfect example of rape culture in today’s society. The song talks about a guy using drinks to get a girl to sleep with him. “Just one more round and you’re down I’d know it.” If a girl was drunk at the time of a rape it is much harder to convict the rapist and this song is talking about getting the girl drunk first so that it is easier to get her in bed.
ReplyDelete“Ay she say she usually don’t But I know that she front
Cause shawty know what she want
But she don’t wanna seem like she easy”
In this lyric he assumes what the girl wants is to have sex with him even if she acts like she doesn't want to. A very important word is CONSENT. You can not assume that a girl wants to have sex with you especially if she’s acting like she doesn’t. This song sends a bad message to men and women all around the world. It says that using alcohol as a way to seduce a woman is okay when it is 100% not okay. Songs like this ruin society by normalizing rape and boosting rape culture.
In my eyes, rape culture is the normalization of rape. Not many people take it seriously so with that notion, those people are making jokes about it and not taking it seriously. That’s rape culture. The level of normalization we have let rape get to is unbelievable and disgusting. It’s getting used in music, film, even (and unfortunately) politics. That’s a statement I never thought I would see myself typing. Anyway, a part of rape culture that almost no one talks about is when a girl gets raped by an athlete and she is the one that is blamed. Instead of him being the one told he is in the wrong and that he deserves to be let go from his college team, she is the one who talks all the hits and blunts. She is the one that gets told she ruined someone’s career because she ‘couldn’t keep her legs shut’. He’s not wrong for getting verbal consent but she’s wrong because she couldn’t handle herself. That’s rape culture. Blaming the victim, putting him/her in a full circle. And that’s another thing it gets overlooked; men get raped as well. We have this hyper masculine view on how men are supposed to enjoy sexual intercourse and how they’re the ones who should be bragging about it. We don’t realize how badly rape can affect them mentally, emotionally, even physically. We just assume they’re the perpetrators or expect them to ‘enjoy’ it.
ReplyDeleteThe one song that gets me every time is ‘U.O.E.N.O’ by Rocko, Rick Ross and Future.
Put Molly all in her champagne, she ain’t even know it
I took her home and I enjoyed that, she ain't even know it"
He’s literally saying that he’s going to drug her, rape her and enjoy it. That’s so sick in every way, shape and form. I can’t believe we’ve gotten to a point where this sells for money. Shouldn’t we be more concerned? Why he’s rapping about this? Date-rape drugs are so scary, no matter the gender and situation. This is rape culture. Letting people sing about how they’re going to rape someone and how they’re going to enjoy it. Without question. I’m sad.
“ Rape Culture “ is basically all of the music, photography, etc that illustrates the hatred of females. By the hatred of females I mean that women are seen as “bitches” and “hoes” rather than anything else sounding more polite. Also, us as women are seen as objects and like nothing more. The men (and sometimes women such as Nicki Minaj) make it seem as if they can control us and tell us what to do.
ReplyDeleteThe song “Blurred Lines” was extremely disturbing and disgusting. It’s unbelievable how men can treat us women and discuss it in front of the whole world. However, most of the music I listen to contains “rape culture.” Some of them include rappers known as; Meek Mill, Offset, Cardi B, Lil Bibby, Gherbo, etc. One of the songs includes Meek Mill rapping about having sex with a girl. For example, “I hit raw though, Get a plan B Hoe.” Although the lyric wasn’t as explicit as others are, it sounds disturbing as a women. Especially because he mentions that he’ll have sex with someone if he wants to use a condom or not. This rape culture needs to stop and there should be more awareness about it.
To me, rape culture is anything that makes rape sound ok or acceptable in society. I think in the past few years many people contribute to rape culture and don't even realize it or think it's ok. A lot of lyrics these days are sexual and many people can assume it's about rape. Justin Bieber's song "What Do You Mean" has lyrics that say "what do you mean, when you nod your head yes, but you want to say no" and the music video itself contributes to rape culture. When the song came out, there were articles on how his new hit song was implying rape. Many girls love Justin Bieber, they're almost obsessed and they idolize him. Many artists along with Justin Bieber write lyrics like these and than these lyrics become something everyone sings. People love music and there's nothing wrong with that, but sometimes these lyrics have a negative effect when you actually think about what they're saying. Rape is something women and men deal with, but it's mostly women. It's wrong to do anything against somebody's wishes, especially when it can scar them for life unimaginable ways.
ReplyDeleteRape Culture: The normalization and acceptance of the concept of rape, sexual assault, or sexual abuse.
ReplyDeleteRape, sexual assault, and sexual abuse remain serious issues in today’s society. Although men can also be victims of these issues, women are more vulnerable than men as victims of these issues just because of the sexually objectified manner in which women are portrayed in society. The issue with the instance of rape with both women and men is that with women, it is harder for a woman victim to receive the appropriate amount of justice for the pain their rapist has caused them, but on the other hand, if a man were to confess to being a rape victim, he would not be taken seriously and seen as “weak”. That is completely ironic/a double standard, and it is part of the underlying issue in situations such as human/sex trafficking. I also acknowledge the role race plays on this issue.. Although the same pain is felt through any rape victim, a difference of sentencing often occurs with it (that’s to be explained later).
Actions of rape can occur by the excuses of some cultures (like child marriage), but the biggest influence is rape culture.
Rape culture is sickening. The normalization of demeaning women through derogatory lyrics in songs or everyday language or sexual portrayal in the media (music, music videos, movies, Instagram, etc.) somehow makes a man who is a rapist believe that sexual mistreatment of women is acceptable. Why? Because it is so normalized, and now it is even worse as youth listen to music with these concepts without considering the lyrics due to liking the beat of the music.
At Oak, I witness this happen everyday in many people. Although I personally do not listen to music with suggestive or explicit lyrics, I hear it so much at school that I have become used to it. I hear trap music blasted by some students who listen to some artists who apparently think sexually assaulting women is okay by having them drunk first for instance (Again, not all artists, but many).
The problem with rape culture in the media is that even if it is labeled as “entertainment”, these issues are portrayed in the entertainment industry, and it conceals the seriousness of these problems. Instead of trying to do something about rape culture, rape culture through music encourages people to do these actions by people who are oblivious to these concepts, and that must stop.
Sexual assaults including rape, and their victims should never feel guilty about their experience. Already vulnerable and depressed from the incidents, they get bashed and ridiculed because of something that was never their fault. Not only having to confess to being sexual assaulted, the victims are then put through a series of tests to prove that they indeed had sex. This does not prove that they were raped. A complete investigation into their personal lives, and the situation itself develops and tries to piece together the incident. The victim needs to prove that they were raped. Not only word of them saying they were assaulted and claimed they did not want to have intercourse, now having to tangibly prove it. I believe many people perceive this as rape culture. I believe that the reason for abundant investigations was derived from the position of false accusations. Girls in previous events has blamed sexual assault on males in their life that they wanted to get in trouble or just cover their mistake. Recently, the first female was charged for a rape accusation. This is then wrongfully applied to other cases and again coins the term rape culture.
ReplyDeleteEvery piece of literature, theatre, cinema, and art that are considered masterpieces of their time, have involved sexual intent, and sexism in their scripts. Music has prevailed into one of the most influential rape culture pieces in media. Hip hop, r&b, and rap all include verses that describe misogynistic views and are considered to be apart of rape culture.
Rape culture is the normalization of sexual violence and assault in our society through things we watch, listen to and look at everyday. A lot of this seems to come from the music we listen to and we don’t realize the message it sends. When you actually listen to the lyrics in your music you sit there with a sideways face wondering why that was incorporated into the song. For example “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx, he says the girl wants it but she doesn’t want to seem easy, and later in the song that she's “dizzy” and they can blame it on the alcohol. He insinuates that she wants to have sex with him now that she's drunk and can barely stand up straight, mindless to the fact that alcohol can be used as a date-rape drug. In addition, on social media you can find memes of side by sides of woman with posters telling their stories of sexual assault countered by an edited version of the poster. The edited poster will read “I got really drunk and won't take responsibility for my actions”, and it's supposed to be comical for some reason.
ReplyDeleteRape culture is when people undermine the seriousness that comes with rape.
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of instances in our society today that normalize rape. B lured lines is a great example of that. The song is specifically a conversation between a guy who is saying things trying to convince a girl to have sex with him. He says "I know you want it" "domesticate you" . Another song is rake it up by Nicki Minaj. In this song she says stuff like Break it down, bag it up"
Fuck it up, fuck it up (fuck it up, fuck it up)
Back it up, back it up (back it up, back it up)
Rake it up, rake it up (rake it up, rake it up)
Back it up, back it up (back it up, back it up)
I tell all my hoes (what?) "Rake it up
Those lyrics normalize sexual actions and make it seem like its OK to disrespect girls during sex.
Rape culture, to me, is the culture of humans where we either accept, ignore, or are just comfortable with rape. People don't really know how to handle or they aren't comfortable with the overall topic of rape and the situations included in it so they turn it into a friendly or joking matter leading to "rape culture". This could be done in many ways such as joking with friends about a cute girl or guy or watching movies with one gender's dominance over another gender or people just lyricizing it. Just like in the song "Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke, it says, "I know you want it." encouraging this "rape culture." That phrase is the number one phrase rape victims remember from their attackers and this "man" had the decency to put it in a song. Another example would be Ugly God's "I'm A Nasty Hoe" that goes, "I made yo bitch say ‘uh’. I put my hand on her butt. She said, ‘boy I'm on my period.’ I said, ‘I don't give no fuck!’ All I said was, ‘I'm Ugly God’ Now her pussy wet like a duck. Take advantage of me bitch I wanna be yo slut. Face, Titties, Booty, and Toes is what I'm eating for lunch. Sit upon my face baby, I ain't ate vagina in months. I'ma dip your titties in Koolaid baby watch how I lick it up. I'ma gamble witcha' booty baby, lemme try my luck." Rape culture is all around us and people are starting to accept it when in reality it should be rejected.
ReplyDeleterape culture to me is not just about a guy having forceful intercoarse with a female weapons could be used too. when I hear "rape culture" I think of the "Audrie & Daisy" its about two girls that have been raped by older guys in high school. one girl was highly intoxicated and passed out on the bed while a guy was having sex with her. He did not have her consent he should have just left her alone or took her home, The other girl there was a guy groping her while she was passed out and he shoved a marker up her vagina. also there was writing all over her body saying things like "enter here" with arrows pointed at her vagina.
ReplyDeleteRape Culture: A culture that promotes or normalizes rape
ReplyDeleteTo be completely honest with you I don't think America has a rape culture. From my view and experiences, everyone condemns it. Can you name anyone you know personally that thinks rape is fine and promotes it? I can't and neither can you. Look at whats happening in the news right now, rape allegations in the film industry and political field are popping up everywhere and everyone is condemning them. These people are losing their Jobs and are going to jail. Of course there will be things like "blurred lines." But this is not common at all, there is blog post after blog post condemning this song. No one thinks rape is fine.