Let's start by defining the term, because I know it's pretty loaded. "Rape culture" is an environment in which rape, victim/slut shaming, and sexual objectification has become pervasive and normalized due to societal attitudes and expectations about gender and sexuality. Discrimination and intolerance are at the root of rape culture, and includes most often racism, sexism, and homophobia.
The reality here is absolutely heart-wrenching. We live in a culture that has become blinded to what is at the root of its humor and lifestyle. And I feel as college students, because of the environment that we are in, we are especially exposed to this type of culture. We are most exposed in the most ironic of events, welcome weekend. A time when we as a campus open our arms to incoming students, it is their first glance at what college life is really like. As they enter campus in their mom's mini van, they are bombarded with images and explicit phrases on sheet signs. Since the hanging of sheets and banners has become tradition and normalized, then it makes sense that the messages they portray must also be normal, right?
I have to say this was the first year I actually paid attention to the sheet signs that were being hung and the message they were communicating to incoming students and their parents. I was in shock, to say the least. I had always seen the sheet signs as a fun college tradition—sure they had inappropriate jokes, but they were just jokes—what's the harm in that? Maybe it was the courses I had to take this summer on sexual assault, consent, and sexual harassment, or maybe it was just from all the experience I have of growing up as a woman and realizing the expectations that are already established for my body and my sexuality, but whatever it was, my reaction to the signs changed.
How could anyone think this is funny? But that's just it, I, like many others, was blinded to the intent. I just accepted and told myself the messages were normal, the whole guys just being guys type of thing. We the observers, just like the students who raised the signs as a joke, remove ourselves from the rape culture that the signs are representing. It's only when we make the issue personal to ourselves, that we see the danger that is inherently in them. For example, apply the message "no means yes and yes means anal" to your mother or sister or niece. Not so humorous anymore, is it?
A lot of scrutiny I get about this topic from the people who raise these signs are, that they themselves aren't going to rape women, so how is their sign promoting a rape culture? The issue at hand in those situations, even if their sign does not directly address rape itself, is because their message objectifies women. They see women as objects or tallies to be earned for men in competition with each other to in a sense prove their masculinity. I think we've all heard about the group of senior guys who are in competition to see how many freshmen girls they can sleep with. That is just one example. Tell me where in these signs does it promote a respect and dignity for the female body or sexuality. Your signs imply that because she is a woman, she will be available and willing to sleep with you, so then it follows that parents can just "drop their daughters off" at your house.
While the Sigma Nu Fraternity at Old Dominion University has been receiving a lot of heat in the news lately for their inappropriate banners (see headline photo), I want you all to know that this is not a singular event. Even our beautiful UD has experienced this phenomenon.
Though, a note of comfort, the people that display these sheet signs are in the two percent on campus. And it is my hope that the students that do choose to display these messages are only trying to find humor, but just doing it in the wrong way. UD, like many other campuses, promotes a sense of community, and love, and welcoming, especially to the incoming first years. We want them to feel at home. We, like many other campuses, are facing the struggle of educating and talking about the issues at hand with perpetuating a rape culture. It's something not a lot of people are comfortable talking about. But luckily, with students like us, we can change the silence into a positive discussion, one in which hopefully change can occur.
