This past week, I spent a lot of time searching for sources about social isolation and anxiety in college. I was struggling with finding sources to connect with, so I decided to search for sources on my other potential topics. The sources that interested me the most were the sources about sexual assault on males on college campuses and the attitudes, myths, and stigmas surrounding it. I really didn't want to abandon my previous idea about social isolation and anxiety and college, as I had been writing about it and researching it a lot, and Professor Goeller had given me some great sources and ideas. But I found myself to be much more drawn to the scholarly articles related to sexual assault on males on college campuses, and felt like I had many more ideas on what to write about, because it's such a complex and multifaceted issue. It's a bit late in the game to change to such a different topic, but I feel much more comfortable with this topic. The point of my paper will not be to point blame at one gender or another, but rather to identify and acknowledge the harmful stigmas which exist surrounding male rape, effectively analyze sources to identify why and where these stigmas exist, where they are most prevalent, identify how these stigmas affect the victims (especially as far as college, but also beyond), and identify what can potentially be done about these issues.
After researching through Google Scholar and the Rutgers library databases, I want to focus on the attitudes of both male and female students towards male sexual assault (perpetrated by both males and females), comparing them and the reasons why they may differ. Sexual assault on males is not as prevalent as it is towards females, so it isn't acknowledged in the same way, and there is a lot of ignorance and stigma surrounding it. I would like to talk about the different kinds of stigma attached to sexual assault on males, because based on my research so far there are many different factors that play into it. I'm not focusing on male sexual assault to suggest that sexual assault towards females isn't an issue on college campuses or is somehow less important (in fact there are many parallels as far as victim blaming), because of course it is a huge issue, and I'm not going to ignore it, it just won't be the focus of this paper. They are closely connected, so it will definitely be mentioned and discussed as it relates to my topic.
This article (http://jiv.sagepub.com.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/content/27/14/2807.full.pdf+html) helped me to see how male on male sexual assault and female on male sexual assault each seem to be regarded very differently and different biases such as gender roles, homophobia (could possibly branch off into talking about sexual assault in the LGBTQ community), sexism, victim blaming, etc. come into play in different ways, based on whether the assault was perpetrated by a male or by a female.
I would like to use real cases from various college campuses to show evidence on how this stigma affects male sexual assault victims, during the sexual assault itself and beyond, and further adds to their suffering.
This study (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Joan_Chrisler/publication/226598144_Gender_role_and_attitudes_toward_rape_in_male_and_female_college_students/links/5605e6e808aea25fce34237f.pdf) focuses on the differences in attitudes towards male sexual assault. It also discusses the prevalence in acquaintance rape and how many college students have misconceptions about what constitutes rape. I would like to analyze this as far as how it applies specifically to sexual assault on males and what can be done to help better educate college students and create a less stigmatized environment for rape victims both male and female. (although maybe if I talk about both male and female victims, the paper might seem too disorganized? I'm not sure. Ultimately I want to focus on male victims, but if I discuss what needs to change on college campuses, it's kind of across the board, because female victims are stigmatized and blamed as well, though for different reasons)
This source (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michelle_Lowe7/publication/222607725_Male_sexual_assault_victims_A_selective_review_of_the_literature_and_implications_for_support_services/links/559ebbe308aeb40ee93c209e.pdf) discusses the effects of sexual assault on males (there is an existing belief that men cannot be raped by women because they enjoy it. Long-term negative effects prove otherwise) It outlines findings that reactions towards a male sexual assault depend on the victim's sexuality and the perpetrator's gender, which is a main point I want to make.
Some other possible sources:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michelle_Lowe7/publication/222600153_Perceptions_of_male_victims_in_depicted_sexual_assaults_A_review_of_the_literature/links/559ebbe308ae97223ddc4e76.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brenda_Russell/publication/5593270_Male_rape_myths_The_role_of_gender_violence_and_sexism/links/0c96051eefa60e5ae8000000.pdf
http://www.middlebury.edu/media/view/240971/original/sable_article.pdf
http://www.d.umn.edu/cla/faculty/jhamlin/3925/Readings/sameSex.html
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Aaron_Turner/publication/251105616_Male_and_Female_Recipients_of_Unwanted_Sexual_Contact_in_a_College_Student_Sample_Prevalence_Rates_Alcohol_Use_and_Depression_Symptoms/links/00b495384986623afb000000.pdf
http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/javaid_male_rape_the_invisible_male_ijc_jan_2014.pdf
http://tagv.mohw.gov.tw/TAGVResources/upload/Resources/2013/1/Myths%20about%20Male%20Rape%20A%20Literature%20Review.pdf
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