Image of Asking for It: Rape Myths, Satire, and Feminist Lacunae

Feminist Studies

Asking for It: Rape Myths, Satire, and Feminist Lacunae

Download PDF

How we talk about sexual assault matters. Language and framing help construct our understanding of any issue, but particularly one as fraught as sexual violence. At any given time, wildly different frameworks of any culturally contested topic compete with one another. Following revelations of years of sexual assault by film producer Harvey Weinstein, the outpouring of allegations against other powerful men and the flood of #MeToo testimonials have helped to at least temporarily shift the mainstream conversation a little closer to a feminist frame. The public spectacle around sexual harassment may have finally demonstrated to many onlookers that there is indeed a systemic problem—though that assumption is vehemently disputed in some circles. One area in which this concern is particularly visible is in the world of comedy and performance. Changing industry practices, including the fragmentation of media outlets and the development of narrowcasting (aiming television programming at small niche audience groups, as opposed to the previous “broadcast” model), have led to a greater number of high-profile female comedians and producers. With that shift has come new perspectives, and with them an interest in exposing rape culture, as performers are moving past offensive jokes about rape that target victims and instead are drawing attention to the systemic forces that encourage sexual violence. Rape culture refers to societal norms that promote stereotypes about rape and rape survivors, as well as other “cultural practices ... that excuse or otherwise tolerate sexual violence” (Ridgeway 2014). The concept has become a flash point for conservatives—and in particular adherents of the alt-right—who are often “inspired and defined by a discourse of anxiety about traditional white masculinity, which is seen as being artificially but powerfully ‘degenerated,’ with catastrophic consequences for the nation” (Kelly 2017, 69). Unabashedly outspoken female performers, especially those of color, often find themselves the objects of vitriolic online attacks simply for having a platform and particularly when they address structures of power

Detail Information
Publication Information
: Chicago university Press.,
Number of Pages
-
ISBN
-
Language
English
ISSN
doi/pdfplus/10.1086/705005
Subject(s)
Sexual Assault
Feminist
Rape
Power
Description
-
Citation
Other Information
Type
Article
Part Of Series
-
DOI Identifier
-
Related Publications

No Related Publications available

Comments