According to the Joyful Heart Foundation 1 in 5 women and 1 in 75 men have been raped during their lifetimes.

The Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) reported that 21% of trans and gender non-conforming college students, 18% of female college students, and 4% of male college students have been sexually assaulted. According to Lawrence A. Greenfeld, a Bureau of Justice Statistics, statistician “Nearly all arrestees for forcible rape in 1995 were male (99%), while about 8% of arrestees for other sex offenses were female.”

Why is one's gender such a large factor in their likelihood of being sexually assaulted, and why do men tend to be the perpetrators of such assaults?

Androgens, known as the dominant hormonal group in males, can increase libido, and muscle mass along with physical stamina because they increase red blood cells. Is it because men tend to have more androgens which fuel these assaults and gives them a physical advantage? Everyone has sex related hormones like androgens, estrogen, and progesterone in varying amounts, women's and men's hormonal levels do not differ in a polarized way.

Societies that enforce concrete misogynistic ideas of gender tend to have higher rates of sexual assault along with other abuses of women, the physical effects of androgens does not provide an answer as to why that is. Machismo is an example of such, defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary as, "a strong sense of masculine pride." In South American countries, where the concept of machismo is prominent, femicide is also. Whether it is an abusive relationship or a sexual attack that turns violent, when an aggressive controlling view of masculinity and an inferior view of femininity is enforced, men are conditioned to believe they are entitled to women’s bodies.

The United States is not immune to the machismo mindset. The product of such a mindset can be observed in the general perception of females in media, which sexualizes and sensationalizes women without giving them a platform to have their narratives and experiences heard in society or media. The majority of popular movies made in America continue to fail the Bechdel test, a test that encourages nuanced and strong voices from female characters; it asks if two female characters talk to each other about something other than a man in a work of fiction.

Misogynistic ideas blend biological sex with gender as if people perceived as having XY chromosomes and external genitalia are inherently athletic, analytical, and leaders, while people perceived as having xx chromosomes and internal genitalia are domestic and submissive. These binary ideas that are viewed as concrete lead to the exclusion of intersex people who are physical forces into gender binaries often times through "corrective," surgeries.

The rigid view of gender as only male or female fuel nonacceptance of gender nonconforming people. These people are often forced to either completely fulfill male or female gender expressions or face trouble finding work and existing in a professional or corporate setting and are more likely to be sexually assaulted. According to Crosby Burns and Jeff Krehely writers for "AmericanPress.org," 90 percent of transgender workers reporting some form of harassment or mistreatment on the job.

Not all tall people like basketball and not all people who are perceived as physically attractive are good-natured. Most of us have a logical understanding that physicalities do not speak to someone's character, interests, or identity. However, when it comes to gender, that is not the case.

In a culture that values women and men who adhere to gendered norms. Erases gender non-conformity and still forces intersex children to undergo unneeded and unconsented to genital surgeries. It comes as no surprise the view of gender has given way to sexual assault, sexism, and gender inequalities. If the statistics on sexual assault are ever to improve there has to be a complete shift in how gender is viewed. Sexual assault statistics, the wage gap, and the lack of women in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields show that the legal protections in place that women have fought for did not put an end to misogyny in the US.

In a 1974 study by J. Z. Rubin, F. J. Provenzano, and Z. Luria's "The Eye of the Beholder: Parents' Views on Sex of Newborns," in the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, parents described their newborns who do not have secondary sex characteristics, the parents “described their daughters as little, beautiful, pretty, cute, and resembling their mothers, and described their sons as big.” The indoctrination into gendered stereotypes and perceptions, affects how everyone is treated, but for women and those that don't conform to gendered binaries these perceptions hold them back socially, economically, and heighten their risk of being physically assaulted.

Websites Cited

Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics | RAINN, www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-

violence.Joyfulheartfoundation.org, www.joyfulheartfoundation.org/learn/sexual-assault-and-rape?

“Take Five: Fighting Femicide in Latin America.” UN Women, www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/2/take-five-adriana-quinones-femicide-in-latin-america.

Krehely, Crosby Burns and Jeff. “Gay and Transgender People Face High Rates of Workplace Discrimination and Harassment.” Center for American Progress, 1 Apr. 2016, www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2011/06/02/9872/gay-and-transgender-people-face-high-rates-of-workplace-discrimination-and-harassment/.