Rape Culture in Contemporary Media

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Rape portrayal in Contemporary Media The general public learns most facts about crime through the lens of the media. Every day, society views images, reads, and hears songs that may subconsciously influence their opinions. Often, these sources affect one’s conception of the stereotypical crime, particularly if one has not personally experienced that crime. The media especially shapes the image of rape. Since society still holds a stigma around sex crimes, often, rape remains undiscussed in polite conversation. For that reason, the media provides much of society’s knowledge of the frequency and nature of this crime. However, the media serves two opposing functions. One, raising awareness of rape, is positive. Two, skewing information contributing to rape culture, is not. The way the media depicts rape can misinform the public. The portrayal of rape in media often perpetuates “rape myths,” which negatively alters the public’s perception of the crime. Even though rape affects so many people, mostly women, the topic is not often spoken about. That’s why the media plays such a crucial role in informing the public – and if they skew the way they convey this information, then the results can be unfortunate. The news media has a large contribution to victim blaming. The media focuses a significant amount of attention on false rape accusations. For example, the Duke lacrosse scandal (three Duke lacrosse players were accused of raping a stripper, but were proven innocent) dominated TV and print news from 2006 to 2007. This case generated a great deal of press time because it brought infamy to the academically prestigious school Duke. Another example of the media’s focus on false rape accusations is the case of Heidi Jones, a weatherwoman who claimed to have been raped and then admitted to cops that she fabricated the story as a bid for sympathy. Due to her slight

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