Rape culture in our society has it forced into our heads that only females are victims of rape, when that is inaccurate. Yes, females are sexually abused and that is a problem, but 38% of men are sexually assaulted as well. Yet we rarely ever hear about cases in the media where men are the victims. Why do 63% of all sexual abuse cases go undocumented?  Victims in our media are held accountable for what happens to them, male or female. They’re judged for what they were wearing, how they were acting, who they were with, where and when they were at a place. Victims are told time and time again that it is their fault for sexual abuse. Females are told they wanted it, males are told they should be lucky for going through the experience of being abused.

In the picture, I tried to capture three separate aspects of Rape Culture in our society. To the far left and far right, you can see actors portraying the roles of victims. The male victim on the far right is showing how society tells men that their assault is something to be proud of. It is also meant to show how men blame themselves more severely, feeling emasculated and alone because of the fact only 38% of men come forward about their abuse. On the left, the female actress is covering her mouth because her voice is constantly being silenced due to the rape culture in our media. Her eyes are crossed out, explaining how her identity isn’t important, making her inhumane in a sense. ‘If you don’t physically know a victim, why should it affect you?’ In the center of the photo you see a society protecting three male actors. In many rape/sexual assault cases, the victims are told that the male abusers should go free and get to move on with their lives. The men are treated as if what they did was fine and they are the real victims for being treated like they are monsters when that is overall inaccurate. As you can probably tell, rape culture in our media is bias towards protecting the non-victim. I think it is time someone took a stand for all these victims who have had their voices silenced throughout the years.

Work cited:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/audrie-and-daisy-2016

http://kcur.org/post/analysis-netflix-documentary-brings-maryville-rape-case-back-focus#stream/0

http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2014/04/male_rape_in_america_a_new_study_reveals_that_men_are_sexually_assaulted.html

https://laverne.edu/campus-times/2014/05/rape-culture-the-medias-role-in-normalizing-assault/

https://mic.com/articles/141781/here-are-9-times-clothing-was-blamed-for-sexual-assault-rather-than-the-obvious#.Ynt3bAKVI