Rape culture, as defined by everyday feminism, is the way we collectively think about rape. This includes situations where rape, sexual assault and general violence are joked about, made to be normal, and ignored entirely.
Rape culture is present in songs, when people blame the victims of rape or do not take them seriously, rape jokes, and in sexual assault prevention education that focuses on measures that women can take to prevent being raped by men.
Generally, rape culture is when rape is not taken seriously, when the victims are blamed rather than their attackers, and when rape is made to seem as normal.
All of this is a huge problem because it is creating a society which will grow up to think that it is okay to treat or talk to a woman in demeaning ways because it is all they heard growing up.
Still not sure about what it is? Here are some examples.
1) Blaming a victim for their sexual assault. This includes saying that they were lying, too drunk, or because of what they were wearing.
2) Teaching women to avoid getting raped rather than teaching men not to rape.
3) Turning rape into jokes. Any joke about rape should never exist in the first place. Nor should one ever be said.
4) Trivializing sexual assault by saying something incredibly stupid such as "boys will be boys!'
5) Supporting celebrities and athletes who were charged with rape and immediately calling their victims out for being "career destroyers" rather than listening to what the victim has to say.
6) Calling those brave enough to come forward a liar.
7) The fact that women walking home alone at night still feel unsafe. In fact, there was a poll done which discovered that only 62% of women feel safe walking home alone at night while 89% of men felt safe doing so.
8) Rape culture is even in songs, such as Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" song.
It is 2017, and we need this to end for once and for all. We need to stop with the mentality "boys will be boys". This states that boys cannot be held responsible for their actions. That they cannot be held responsible for the way they act, treat, and speak towards women. Which is ridiculous.
We need to stop victim blaming and blaming anything and anyone else but the rapist. Don't blame the alcohol or what they were wearing. Blame the rapist instead, and actually listen to the victim rather than instantly calling them a liar.
Rape jokes need to stop because they ridicule the victim rather than the rapist, which is why they are not okay because you are telling people, including rapists that rape is okay because you can laugh about it, meaning that it isn’t serious.
We need to start early and teach children what is not okay to say and think. If girls are taught at a young age that they shouldn't walk alone at night, then boys should be taught at a young age about consent. They should be taught to always make sure that a girl or a boy clearly says yes, and to not take advantage of someone who is drunk.
