Rachel Kim

Composition 111
Kimberly Turner
6 November 2014
Argumentative Paper
Rape, particularly towards women, has been hounding society since the beginning of
civilization, yet, people are still not doing enough today to stop this atrocity. Rape has a
lasting psychological and social effect, not on just the victim but on all of society. Ultimately,
the causes of rape can be traced back to patriarchy and the standards surrounding it. It is once
humans understand the root of an issue that it will be able to be eliminated and the same
notion applies for rape. Fundamentally, it is because of societys unawareness towards rape
and lack of education surrounding rape culture that rape continues to exist.
Rape is defined as the act of forced, nonconsensual sexual activity with another being
(Rape). Rape essentially happens when a persecutor sexually pushes and disrespects the
boundaries of a victim, causing the victim to be unable to oppose to the act (Rape). The
reason behind the majority of the victims taking the form of women and the persecutors
personifying men is due to long-established patriarchy (Thornhill 55). Patriarchy, a society
governed by a systematic belief in the supremacy of men as opposed to women (Patriarchy),
is the leading cause of rape culture - that is, a culture where sexual violence and violation is
common and considered normal in the sense that it is inevitable and also dismissed (Green).
Men are given the excused title of being incontrollable in their sexual desires, and rape is
made acceptable as a result (Green). Women, on the other hand, are deemed as not significant
enough to be concerned over, and instead, as something that is allowed to be physically used
in the circumstance that a male cannot control his needs. This preconceived mindset promotes
violent masculinity: the social expectation that males shouldnt exhibit weakness, and

therefore, are entitled to take advantage of women to prove power, dominance, and respect
(Green). Violent masculinity is habituated in patriarchal society, and this plays a huge role in
the normalness of rape culture (Green). Sex is seen as something women should provide
for men, regardless of whether or not they desire it (Green). Hence, this seeming prerogative
for men also supports violence against women who refuse to oblige (Green). It is this kind of
pride and entitlement society instills into men that is also the cause of victim blaming, or the
mentality that by engaging in certain behaviors, the victims ask for harmful situations to
occur (Green). Women are given a list of rules to abide by in order to not elicit sexual
advances from men. For example, if a woman dresses in revealing clothing and walks around
alone at night, society deems her unworthy of pity if she is sexually attacked since her actions
supposedly elicit such behavior. Victim blaming does not pay any focus to the persecutor,
who is essentially the reason a crime happened and made the definite choice to violate
someone. Instead, victim blaming protects and condones the persecutors crimes and leads
victims to blame themselves, keeping them passive and quiet about these deeds (Green).
Once society can stop itself from inducing such ideas into the minds of men, and instead,
recognize the validity of women and their rights as like human beings, civilization will have a
chance at a better world.
These rapes are part of a cultural and societal illness that especially affects women
around the world. If society can focus on reversing what it is currently teaching itself, this
male-dominated rape culture may have a chance of diminishing.

Works Cited

Green, Laci. ELLIOT RODGER: MORE THAN A MADMAN. YouTube. YouTube, 6 Sep.
2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
Green, Laci. SHE ASKED FOR IT. YouTube. YouTube, 6 Sep. 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
Patriarchy. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC, 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
Rape. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, LLC, 2014. Web. 2 Nov. 2014.
Thornhill, Randy, and Craig T. Palmer. A Natural History of Rape: Biological Bases of Sexual
Coercion. London: The MIT Press, 2000. Print.