OUR LIPS ARE SEALED

Every two minutes in the United States, “someone is raped, and the chances of being that victim are four times greater for a college female student than for any other age group. The phenomenon of date rape is not new, however it has evolved into a communication phenomenon, in which communication about sex and rape, the negotiation of consent, the rape itself, the aftermath of rape and the reaction to date rape, are central to defining a rape culture on campus. Women have been muted in a multitude of ways, including the methods in which women tell stories, through male-controlled media, in ways women’s bodies are portrayed and analyzed, and through censorship of women’s voices. Rape is a horrible experience, so why would women keep quiet about it. Campus cultures perpetuate the `culture of silence` that exists among young men and women by fostering a culture of rape which silences experiences and advocates victim blaming (self blame) that is set ablaze by the social acceptance of rape myths, experiences not being defined as rape, secondary rape, and the absence of deterrence, all of which create an underlying tolerance towards rape. In this paper I will examine how women are affected by the rape supportive culture that exists on campuses and creates an internalization of self blame are muted before, during, and after the experience of date rape. Both male and female students contribute to muting women, thus perpetuating a rape culture in which rape becomes an expectation, or part of the social milieu.
Only a male dominated society that trains men to use women as objects and that legitimizes violence as a tool to achieve personal goals with a callous indifference to the feelings of victimized others, could breed a large number of men who openly assault women they know, and in fact may even like. Is it bad enough to treat complete strangers in