00:00Hashtag me too. Believe women. Time's up.
00:03All of these hashtags stem from our society's most favorite thing in the world, rape culture.
00:08Yes, it's obvious we live in a cesspool of rape culture.
00:11Only three in every 1,000 sexual assaults result in conviction.
00:15And out of every 1,000 rapes, 994 rapists go free.
00:20With odds like that, who would want to speak out about their rape?
00:23If you think rape culture isn't a heinous issue, let me over-explain it to you.
00:30Rape culture could be simply summed up as the normalizing and tolerating of sexual violence.
00:37It was designed to help expose society's inherent need to blame the survivor and encourage the aggressor.
00:43Rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women, or against any victim.
00:49Rape culture was created in 1975 as a part of a feminist film of the same name,
00:54in the hopes of raising awareness of sexual violence plaguing our society.
00:58This film was the first time that the relationship between rape and culture was examined.
01:03But let's be honest, rape culture existed way before 1975.
01:08There's evidence of rape culture in Greek mythology.
01:11In fact, it was common.
01:12One day Zeus morphed into a swan, swam up on the king of Sparta's wife, and raped her.
01:18Poseidon raped Medusa in Athena's temple, and then Athena blamed Medusa and turned her beautiful hair into snakes.
01:25And every man who looked at her turned to stone.
01:28If that's not victim blaming, I don't know what is.
01:30Rape culture manifests in countless ways.
01:32Let's go through a few, shall we?
01:34Rape culture is the man, or more horrifically, the woman, who refuses to believe the people who speak out.
01:40Rape culture is R. Kelly's success.
01:42It's parents teaching their daughters not to wear short or tight clothing, or warning them to never leave a drink unattended,
01:48or accept a drink from a stranger while ignoring the opportunity to teach their sons the lesson of no means no.
01:55Rape culture is connecting queer sexuality with non-consensual sexual practices, like pedophilia.
02:01Rape culture is popular music lyrics like,
02:03you know you want it, or you may be young, but you're ready.
02:07It is ignoring rape in prisons, or accepting it as a type of hilarious punishment for criminals.
02:13Rape culture is making the rapist the victim.
02:16It's not understanding consent.
02:18Rape culture is the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
02:22Rape culture is Donald Trump's grabbing hands.
02:25Rape culture is the joke of Donald Trump's grabbing hands.
02:29Rape culture is Donald Trump mocking Dr. Ford.
02:33Rape culture is getting raped and being shamed into silence.
02:36It's rape kits that go unprocessed, and rapists who go unscathed.
02:40Rape culture is softening the blow by calling it sexual assault.
02:44Rape culture is claiming that the survivors are lying about being raped,
02:48even though 61% of rapes go unreported.
02:52Rape culture is as American as apple pie, red hats, and being great again.
02:56Rape culture thrives in our society through the use of misogynistic language,
03:00the objectification and entitlement of women's bodies,
03:04and the romanticizing of sexual violence.
03:06The world has learned to disregard women's rights and safety,
03:09or any victim's rights and safety.
03:11But all isn't lost, even though rape culture is so completely embedded
03:15into the thread of our lack of humanity.
03:18Just like rape culture is a learned behavior, you can unlearn it.
03:22Change the language you use, especially if it degrades or objectifies women.
03:26Use your voice to speak out in support of survivors.
03:29Be aware and respectful of others' physical space.
03:32Affirm with survivors that they are not to blame.
03:35Hold rapists accountable, relentlessly.
03:39Never assume consent.
03:41Until next time, I'm Danielle Young, and this is The Overexplainer.
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