Wendy Elroy
April is Sexual
Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, and it will be used to promote a big
lie — namely, that we live in a “rape culture.”
The term “rape
culture” was coined by politically correct (PC) feminists in the 1970s. It
refers to attitudes, beliefs, and values that allegedly normalize sexual
violence against women and encourage the act of rape by men. America is called
a “rape culture” because sexual violence is deemed to be so pervasive that all
women live in constant danger from all men. The violence or threat of it occurs
on a continuum running from sexual glances to physical rape. The fact that so
many people are unaware of the rape culture surrounding them only points to its
omnipresence; that is, the rape culture is supposed to be as common as air and
taken as much for granted.
The solution
proposed by PC feminists is to change the fundamentals of society, especially
with regard to gender, sexuality, and power. Institutions such as law,
religion, and the educational system must be deconstructed and reconstructed in
order to remove the alleged danger and discrimination that is inherent in being
a woman today. Of course, this deconstruction and reconstruction requires
extensive action by the state. For instance, PC feminists are trying to use the
dubious legal doctrine of “affirmative consent” to increase the regulation of
sex on post-secondary campuses.
The idea that
America is a rape culture is a particularly vicious big lie, because it brands
all men as rapists or rape facilitators. This lie has been successful despite
reality. The rate of actual rape is declining. The crime is severely punished,
and even an accusation can ruin lives; men who rape are reviled; the social
messages on rape delivered regularly to young men are the opposite of encouragement.
Nevertheless, in
January 2014, the White House Council on Women and Girls issued a report that
stated, “1 in 5 women has been sexually assaulted while in college” (PDF). A
key reason for this amazingly high statistic is that the report significantly
expands the definition of rape, and it counts every accusation as true. Since
then, the “1 in 5” statistic has gained legs in the media and been used as
proof that we live in a rape culture. (For a debunking of the White House
report, please see The Future of Freedom Foundation article “Making MenRapists.”)
How do big lies
like this one become politically powerful forces?
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