Ashley Judd, Oprah Winfrey, Sandra Dee, Teri Hatcher, Maya Angelou, Fran Drescher, Queen Latifah, and

Gabrielle Union. Each of the women shown are very different. They come from different backgrounds, were born in different eras, and gained their fame by different means. Although these women are different, they do all have one thing in common. Each of these women has been a victim of rape. Rape is defined as the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse. And it affects everyone. But I dont want to talk about what rape is. I want to talk about how we, as a society, treat it. Girls get raped because they wear short skirts. They get raped because theyre intoxicated. Sexual assault happens because she was asking for it, and boys will be boys. These are all examples of what is defined as rape culture. Rape culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. It is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of womens bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence. All of this together makes for a society that disregards womens rights and safety, a society that we live in. Rape culture exists because we dont believe it does. We unknowingly accept everything from casual conversations with our peers to the media we consume, we accept the degradation of women and uncontrollable hyper-sexuality of men as the norm. However, rape is an endemic to our culture because theres no widely accepted cultural definition of what it actually is. So Ive come up with 5 ways to end the collective tolerance for violence against women and create an environment that empowers both men and women to change the norm. ONE: Name, and know, the real problems. Violent masculinity and victimblaming are the cornerstones of rape. When an instance of sexual assault makes the news the first questions that are asked are about the victims clothing, sobriety, or sexuality. Instead we should be asking what messages the offender received about rape and being a man over their lifetime. The right question is not what was she doing/wearing/saying when she was raped? but rather What made him think this is acceptable? TWO: Re-examine and re-define masculinity. Men are constantly pressured to be as manly as possible. They are supposed to be dominant and sexually aggressive, and are constantly being pressured to score. We need to understand that rape is not a normal and natural masculine urge, and rape cannot be excused by the idea of violent masculinity. THREE: Get media literate. Media, like everything else we consume, is a product; someone imagined, created and implemented it. Ask the right questions about who creates media that profits off the objectification of women. Feed your mind with media that portrays women as full human beings with the right to autonomy of their body. FOUR: Stand up. Rape culture thrives in passive acceptance of female degradation, victim-blaming and hyper-masculinity in our communities. Report

abuse on Facebook. Lobby college administrators for more safe spaces to discuss sexual assault on campus. One in five women are assaulted during their college years, yet many colleges don't have a competent system for reporting incidences and punishing perpetrators. It doesnt matter if you participate in a protest or just sign a petition, everything helps. FIVE: Listen. There are so many cases of rape, and there are also many women who have shared their stories and personal experiences. Listen, read, and connect to the struggles these people have gone, and continue to go through. Put yourself in their shoes and it will help you to better understand the harm of rape culture and the reasons something needs to be done. It is not enough to bring individual offenders of rape and sexual violence to justice. Since the problem lies in a culture that is entertained by degrading acts and images of women, the solution is to look at the individual acts as a symptom of rape culture and solve it holistically. We all have a part to play in allowing rape culture to exist so we can all do something to end it.