Recently, my article on rape culture has caused quite a stir. The response has been mixed, with some people loving the article and supporting it fully, and others disagreeing with my sentiments entirely. I'm here to respond to some of the criticisms my article faced, and respond to them the best that I can.
Let's start off with a point of contention many people had: that I used a Wikipedia definition. If you have read any other of my "debunking" type articles, you know that I frequently use Wikipedia definitions because they are generic and encapsulate many definitions into one. Many people disagreed with the definition that I used. But here's the thing: every single site I clicked on for a definition of the word "rape culture" had a different definition.
Every. Single. One.
Apparently, when asked to define exactly what a rape culture is, these ardent defenders of the idea that we do live in a rape culture all come up with different definitions and cannot agree on one. This is a problem. Words exist for a purpose, so we can use them. The definition of a word tells a person when and where it is appropriate to use it.
If the word "rape culture" doesn't even have a single, synonymous definition, then how can anyone properly label countries and places a "rape culture" when they themselves don't even know what it means?
You'll find this is a common theme with the new vocabulary of social justice.
Words like "microaggressions," "triggers," and "rape culture" all have several different meanings and can be twisted in whatever way the person using them wants them.
Many people make generic statements like "the fact that Donald Trump is president is evident that we live in a rape culture," but how does that show anything? How does that tell me anything about what a rape culture is, or explain the concept to me? Making blanket statements to try to prove your point because you can't even define what a rape culture is doesn't mean it exists.
You could apply that same sentence structure to anything, which shows how weak of an argument it is. For example, you can say "the fact that skinny models exist shows we live in a fat-shaming society," but that literally does nothing to further your argument, it just shows you know nothing about what a "fat-shaming society" really is.
Again, with the Brock Turner case, I mentioned that that was an exception to my article. Just look at other crimes, where the guilty party was set free or barely got punished. These exceptions happen across the justice system and are not specific to rape.
Innocent people go to jail, and guilty people go free occasionally. It happens. Our system is not without flaws. But I'd much rather have this justice system than Shari'ah Law or have a system where you are guilty until proven innocent.
Many people say that because slut shaming and victim blaming exist, we live in a rape culture.
These behaviors do exist and they are despicable, but not to the extent that many believe. We've seen from the #MeToo movement just how much love and support goes out to the victims of sexual assault and abuse, and this far overpowers the slut-shamers and victim-blamers.
These people are a minority, and these attitudes are far more prevalent in other parts of the world like I mentioned in my previous article.
And lastly, some people have told me that because rape is common we live in a rape culture. So many people have attacked me with the "1 in 5" statistic. And what do I do? I laugh.
Apparently, it's not clear to people that statistics can be misleading and not entirely representative. This statistic actually indicates that 1 in 5 women on college campuses will be sexually assaulted, but it has been blown up and now I hear 1 in 5 women in America and 1 in 5 women in the world. It also seems that this number is getting smaller.
I've heard 1 in 4 now, and 1 in 3. Is it going to be 1 in 1 next? Just the fact that these numbers are being skewed and thrown around and distorted is evident of the fact that this statistic is not legitimate at all. Christina Hoff Sommers does an excellent job of debunking this statistic, so I'll link her video here.
I would advise people to look into the research, agenda, biases, and representative samples and come to your own conclusion before just grabbing a statistic that fits your agenda and running.
And that's all the main criticisms I have time for today.