Depressing/Unsurprising Study: Girls View Sexual Violence As Normal

[ismnotwasm]

A new study published in a forthcoming issue of Gender & Society finds that girls and young women rarely report incidents of sexual violence because they view such incidents as "normal." These findings are at once supremely depressing and remarkably unsurprising.

The study, "Normalizing Sexual Violence: Young Women Account for Harassment and Abuse," analyzed forensic interviews conducted by the Children's Advocacy Center with 100 youths between the ages of three and seventeen who may have been sexually assaulted. It finds that "objectification, sexual harassment, and abuse appear to be part of the fabric of young women's lives." Furthermore, these things are so ingrained into young women's quotidian experiences that they didn't see them as particularly unacceptable or inappropriate:

Male power and privilege and female acquiescence were reified in descriptions of "routine" and "normal" sexualized interactions... Assaultive behaviors were often justified, especially when characterized as indiscriminate. For example, Patricia (age 13, white) told the interviewer: "They grab you, touch your butt and try to, like, touch you in the front, and run away, but it's okay, I mean... I never think it's a big thing because they do it to everyone." Referring to boys at school, Patricia described unwelcome touching and grabbing as normal, commonplace behaviors.
According to the research, it's also common for young women to trivialize their experiences of sexual harassment or assault; to see such behavior as just a part of regular masculinity (having internalized society's old favorite excuse, that "boys will be boys" garbage); and to define "real" assault according to incredibly narrow parameters and "various conditions that were rarely met," i.e., forcible stranger rape.

http://jezebel.com/depressing-unsurprising-study-girls-view-sexual-violen-1563173156

[seabeyond]

1. newflash. it is a norm. in our entertainment, movies, tv shows, porn, conversations.

even in our damn PSA that are supportive of women.

oh. now i will read.

[ismnotwasm]

2. Yeah

But what happened to "you touch me and say goodbye to your balls? For a week" Or was that just me?

[seabeyond]

4. i have never had anyone be violent toward me. again. i have not read yet...

just answering you. and maybe because i have never experienced violence ever, under any form, i would be in a pretty easy position of walking away at the first hint. easily recognized.

i will see if i can find it. gotta read yours first. but there was a poll on middle school, high school kids and the acceptance, way back when.

[MadrasT]

7. I had no concept that was even an option.

Way back when.

[zazen]

10. Me too! I punched a guy in the nose who grabbed my behind at an NCAA b'ball victory celebration

He chased me through the crowd. I was 16 and can't believe I had it in me, but I must say, it was most enjoyable. He never caught me. I hope I drew blood. I suspect he thought twice about doing it after that.

It doesn't make up for years of assault and harassment in other situations, but I'll never forget the look of shock on his face when I fought back against his sense that he was entitled to grope my behind.

But yes, generally, we were taught that that kind of harassment was normal and if it wasn't, it was because we caused it by the way we were dressed or otherwise leading a guy on. I'm sorry to see that a lot of these issues haven't much improved, according to this study, but at least the study's getting some traction, which it wouldn't have 30 years ago.

[ismnotwasm]

11. I should say

I hit the streets at 15; (runaway) the word "bitch" meant a fight and I saw no reason to backdown for anybody. On the other hand, I was surrounded by prostitutes-- mostly male, and had a measure of protection that way.

[Maedhros]

3. For those who deny that rape culture is real, here is some hard evidence.[n/t]

[KoKo]

5. All I know is that Mylie Cyrus did Wonders for Pre-Teen Sexualization.

Yesterday...Sunday Morning in Southeastern USA..I was at "Whole Foods" picking up bread and olives and a young family came in and their daughter was dressed in an outfit that seemed very "eye catching."

She was maybe 8 years old and dressed in a spangled red net dress with a bow at cleavage showing off in sequins and a high cut zig zag skirt... that I would have loved to have worn in my 20's out to a Party in NYC with Wall Street potential suitors when I lived and worked there many years ago.

It seemed inappropriate for her age...although at 14 or 15 might have been seen as provacative..but a bit of show off and fun...and nothing wrong with that for that teen age. But she was just a very little kid...and the outfit was way beyond her age and invited many onlookers kind of gawking at her.

I know there are DU'ers who have no problem with even a 7 year old running around in thongs and a fake bikini top to show off their cleavage... But....there are others of us who find the Sexualization of Young Girls under 12...not something we'd want for our daughters, grandaughters and other female family kin. So, we do have a problem with that. And we get intimidated for speaking up about the Sexualization of our youngest when people start saying...."Let them be free to chose what they wear and jail the predators."

But why would Parents want their Kids to go into Sexual Activity so Young? Does anyone have a problem with our Daughters and Grandaughters, Nieces and Others...being "Provacative at younger than 12 or 13? And...why is Mylie Cyrus so Popular?

Is there a cultural change where our young girls are now becoming sexually active at such young ages that this is our New Lifestyle? What if they become pregnant at 10, 11 or 12? How will we deal with it? How will parents cope.

Or is this normal for this time? And, I shouldn't get worried about this.

[CrispyQ]

9. An excellent post.

And we get intimidated for speaking up about the Sexualization of our youngest when people start saying...."Let them be free to chose what they wear and jail the predators."

But why would Parents want their Kids to go into Sexual Activity so Young? Does anyone have a problem with our Daughters and Grandaughters, Nieces and Others...being "Provacative at younger than 12 or 13? And...why is Mylie Cyrus so Popular?

Is there a cultural change where our young girls are now becoming sexually active at such young ages that this is our New Lifestyle? What if they become pregnant at 10, 11 or 12? How will we deal with it? How will parents cope.

Or is this normal for this time? And, I shouldn't get worried about this.

We recently checked out our department store purchases near a pre-teen area & the prepubescent mannequins were sporting tee shirts that I would have worn in my 20s, maybe even my late, late teens, like in after I moved out of the house. One referenced being juicy. At eight? No wonder men are getting away with raping three year old girls. Our entire culture views women as nothing but something to fuck.

[MadrasT]

6. That's what I grew up with.

In the 70s and 80s.

It wasn't until I was much older that I understood that it was OK to say no, and to make it clear that was unacceptable.

If it is all around you, even if your gut says it is fucked up, everything else in the world is communicating to you that it is status quo and tough shit for you if you don't like it.

Every time I fought back, I was made to pay for it 10 times over.

Am I still angry? Goddamn right.

Not for me... for ALL girls and women who are treated as "less than" and who are gaslighted into thinking they are the ones who are fucked up for objecting or questioning their treatment.

Hell yeah, small town Pennsylvania? It was normal as air.

[redqueen]

13. Big city Dallas, too.

And in the small town I live in now, the boys at school talk about porn around the girls. Like they give a fuck about creating a hostile environment. Society says it's normal, healthy, good, etc. So who are these girls to complain?

[CrispyQ]

8. I read parts of this to my husband & he was stunned.

This is one of the reasons why sexual assault is so vastly under-reported: young women oftentimes don't recognize assault and harassment for what is is.

[redqueen]

12. Heartbreaking and predictable.

Those who deny the existence of rape culture enable it.

[seabeyond]

14. here is the study i was thinking of. just ran into it

Only Psychos Think Rape is OK...Right?

Societal Attitudes Supporting Rape

- A survey of 6,159 college students enrolled at 32 institutions in the U.S. found the following: (ref 4)

· 54% of the women surveyed had been the victims of some form of sexual abuse; more than one in four college-aged women had been the victim of rape or attempted rape;

· 57% of the assaults occurred on dates;

· 73% of the assailants and 55% of the victims had used alcohol or other drugs prior to the assault;

· 25% of the men surveyed admitted some degree of sexually aggressive behavior;

· 42% of the victims told no one.

- In a survey of high school students, 56% of the girls and 76% of the boys believed forced sex was acceptable under some circumstances. (ref 5)

- A survey of 11-to-14 year-olds found ref 5)

· 51% of the boys and 41% of the girls said forced sex was acceptable if the boy, "spent a lot of money" on the girl;

· 31% of the boys and 32% of the girls said it was acceptable for a man to rape a woman with past sexual experience;

· 87% of boys and 79% of girls said sexual assault was acceptable if the man and the woman were married;

· 65% of the boys and 47% of the girls said it was acceptable for a boy to rape a girl if they had been dating for more than six months.

- In a survey of male college students:

· 35% anonymously admitted that, under certain circumstances, they would commit rape if they believed they could get away with it (ref 6,7).

· One in 12 admitted to committing acts that met the legal definitions of rape, and 84% of men who committed rape did not label it as rape.(ref 6,7)

- In another survey of college males: (ref 8)

· 43% of college-aged men admitted to using coercive behavior to have sex, including ignoring a woman's protest, using physical aggression, and forcing intercourse.

· 15% acknowledged they had committed acquaintance rape; 11% acknowledged using physical restraints to force a woman to have sex.

- Women with a history of rape or attempted rape during adolescence were almost twice as likely to experience a sexual assault during college, and were three times as likely to be victimized by a husband. (ref 9)

- Sexual assault is reported by 33% to 46% of women who are being physically assaulted by their husbands.(ref 10)

http://www.uic.edu/depts/owa/sa_rape_support.html


this one doesnt have as much on it as the other i saw. but some idea

[YoungDemCA]

15. Jesus....

It's even worse than I thought. What is our society doing to our kids?

[seabeyond]

16. Rape is entertainment today. How bad can it really be. A norm. Nt

[YoungDemCA]

18. the perpetuation of any norm

depends on the assumption on the part of a lot of people that the norm is unchangeable, fixed, natural, innate. That's a major reason for why people don't throw off the conditioning, and don't work to change the power relations in society.

[seabeyond]

19. Exactly. Excellent, perfect and thank you. You are right. And

What you say, matters.

[YoungDemCA]

17. This is why violence against women continues

Because people-men and women, boys and girls-are taught from a young age that objectification, sexual harassment, and abuse of women is "normal" or "inevitable."

K&R.