Male Dominance
Fraternities and athletes have played an extensive role in the sexual assaults, abuse, and rape of young women attending universities. Special treatment is often the leading cause of dominance by males because they realize that even if a student makes allegations, they can competently get exonerated from all blame.
"I prefer to characterize rape simply as a form of torture. Like the torturer, the rapist is motivated by the urge to dominate, humiliate, and destroy his victim. Like a torturer, he does so by using the most intimate acts available to humans - sexual ones."
Helen Benedict, Virgin or Vamp, 1992 |
Aggressive group behavior is accepted in an abundant amount of fraternities because the dynamics involved in the fraternity's system causes a "group-think" state of mind that endorses and frequently reinforces the myths of sexual assault by abusing a woman. Unfortunately, some men live up to the theory that in situations where others are acting in a similar manner, they are not responsible for the harmful consequences of his own behavior because ultimately, all feeling of blame is diminished.
Hegemonic masculinity has been represented through emotional detachment, homophobia, aggression, and a desire for higher societal rankings. This concept has been embodied in just the term "masculinity" and those alienated by white fraternities have attempted to develop organizations reflecting those same values. Using rape as a method for obtaining the principles, men compete with each other, especially in sports, trying to establish a higher level of importance. Men, as a group, are therefore even more powerful than just one individual because "the incongruence between one's self and hegemonic masculinity causes them to feel [incapable]." 1 Generally, reported rapes are "associated with some form of ridicule and sexual humiliation, such as urination on the victim, anal intercourse, fellatio, and ejaculation [on] the victim's face and hair" as an expression of toughness by disregarding fragility. 2
|
1 Argiero, Sarah J., Jessica L. Dyrdahl, Sarah S. Fernandez, Laura E. Whitney, and Robert J. Woodring. "A Cultural Perspective for Understanding How Campus Environments Perpetuate Rape-Supportive Culture." Journal of the Indiana University Student Personnel Association. Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://www.indiana.edu/~iuspa/journal/editions/2010/Argiero%20et%20al.pdf>.
2 Herman, Dianna F. "The Rape Culture." Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://homepage.smc.edu/delpiccolo_guido/soc1/soc1readings/rape%20culture_final.pdf>.
2 Herman, Dianna F. "The Rape Culture." Web. 10 Apr. 2015. <http://homepage.smc.edu/delpiccolo_guido/soc1/soc1readings/rape%20culture_final.pdf>.