Why Is Rape So Bad Why Is Rape So Funny
Humour is an excellent tool to de-stress, to address pertinent bug, and to entertain. However, information technology seems comedy is often used as an excuse to insult and make ugly remarks. "Funny" doesn't come to mind when this humor minimizes the struggles of people who have experienced something outside of their control, equally in rape jokes.
Comedians have a platform — they operate in a position of power — and then they can hands utilise the powerless as fodder for their "jokes." Survivors of sexual violence deserve support and respect. They should not be made to experience triggered for the sake of a few laughs. This is just basic decency. So it must be said: Rape jokes are not funny.
We've heard all sorts of justifications for rape jokes, and then permit's take a wait at the most mutual ones:
"I have the right to free speech!"
Aye, nosotros all practise, which ways that nosotros can use our right to complimentary speech to brand or criticize a rape joke. No one is saying that someone should go to jail for their joke. We're just maxim that they morally shouldn't say it. Everyone is well within their rights.
"It's just a joke; people need to lighten up."
First, rape is horribly common. I in five women and many men are victims of attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Whenever a rape joke is made, in that location is an incredible and unfortunate likelihood that a survivor is hearing information technology and could be negatively affected.
Second, rape can have a severe and negative bear upon on survivors' lives. Many survivors experience Rape Trauma Syndrome, resulting in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a multitude of physical, emotional, and social consequences. Rape jokes could trigger emotional distress and even flashbacks.
And fifty-fifty if the joke doesn't trigger such a severe response, it certainly shows that the joker doesn't take rape seriously. Friends who feel sexual violence may end up not trusting the joker plenty to share their experiences with them.
"Comedy is about pushing boundaries. / Nothing is off-limits. / People make jokes about all sorts of terrible things, so why should rape get special treatment?"
Rape culture encompasses the ways in which club blames victims of sexual set on and normalizes sexual violence. Author Emilie Buchwald explains that when society normalizes sexualized violence, information technology accepts and creates rape culture. We come across rape jokes in Boob tube, movies, social media, video games, and and then much more.
Generally speaking, when we see news about a murder, our first reaction is to acknowledge how terrible this criminal offense was. But when nosotros meet news about rape or hear almost friends' experiences with sexual violence, our first reaction is to question and arraign the victim.
It'due south of import to recognize the context of our jokes. Because we alive in a rape culture, a joke at the expense of a rape victim feeds into that normalization and victim blaming. This makes information technology different than say, a joke about murder, which in general doesn't normalize homicide or the victim blaming of homicide victims.
"Come on, of course I don't really mean it."
In his enquiry, David Lisak identified "undetected" rapists – those who are not reported or prosecuted – and asserted that these represent the vast bulk of rapists and account for the vast majority of rapes. Furthermore, these undetected rapists commit rape or sexual assault but do non characterization those acts as such, nor do they think of themselves every bit rapists. They often get undetected because they are not perceived as dangerous in the conventional sense.
So because this, we never know if the guy cracking a rape joke really means information technology as "just a joke" or if he'due south ane of these undetected rapists who thinks he isn't doing anything wrong while he sexually assaults someone. We never know if the guy cracking a rape joke is actually unsafe or not.
And if the joker actually does autumn into the "just a joke" category, in that location is a possibility that an undetected rapist hears the joke and feels validated in his atrocious criminal behavior.
Lisak'south research found that undetected rapists:
• "hold stereotyped behavior nearly the 'proper' roles for women and men in society."
• "harbor chronic, underlying feelings of anger and hostility toward women."
• exist in "'sexually tearing subcultures' – such as fraternities and gangs – that "both reverberate the rapist'south views… and also aid to shape them."
• "meet themselves as hyper-masculine" and react to women'southward resistance to his coercive sexual pressure with "anger and aggression."
Most rapists hold these beliefs and aren't challenged on them only are instead encouraged by our rape culture to be hyper-masculine and view women as sexual conquests who are lying or who secretly want to be raped. In this context, a rape joke or a joke most women's "proper" roles reinforce these ideas and lend cover to rapists and their actions.
Non but do rape jokes offend survivors and their allies, they validate rapists in their beliefs and thinking. With a large number of rape victims (i in 5 women) and a large number of rapists (1 in 16 men) in our society, there is a strong likelihood that you have at some indicate interacted with someone who has committed or experienced sexual violence. And in that interaction, perhaps a rape joke was told. People may take laughed; some may accept not said annihilation. But appreciation or silence in the face of a rape joke condones rapists' beliefs.
So today, tell a cheesy joke or entertain yourself a stand-up special, but please have the decency to finish rape jokes in their tracks – because rape jokes are not funny.
—
Lahari Pullakhandam is a new volunteer at the Heart, assisting with office assistants and program preparation. She is a sophomore at UNC-Chapel Hill majoring in Nutrition and minoring in Computer science.
Alyson Culin is our Associate Managing director. She supports the Center through fundraising, communications, and outreach efforts.
Source: https://ocrcc.org/2016/08/16/rape-jokes-are-not-funny/
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