Monday, November 14, 2016
Blog #6 Visual
This graphic illustrates the findings of the 2010 NIPSV Survey, which are pretty shocking. When I first started researching this topic, I really had no idea that the numbers were that drastic, because many of the statistics thrown around regarding male victims don't include different forms of sexual assault, which are the types which make up the bulk of the numbers for males. This underscores how urgent the issue really is and how shocking that this is so under researched and underreported,
Blog #7 Research Post
The focus of my paper revolves around the terms "perfect victim", "real rape", "rape myths". I am writing about how these related concepts, which are embedded within our cultural view, stigmatize rape and create an environment where rape and assault victims are more likely to self-blame and minimize their assault, and therefore unlikely to report their assault to the authorities. In this environment, rapists (many of whom are repeat offenders) can continue to assault people unpunished while their victims stay quiet for fear of negative judgement. Male victims are particularly affected by rape myths, as male rape and sexual assault is an issue which is largely ignored, erased, and highly stigmatized. Many people don't even believe that a man can be sexually assaulted, and gay or bisexual male assault victims are often even further marginalized and stigmatized. No male victim fits the mold of the "perfect victim" by our current societal standards, and because of this they are even less likely to report than female victims ("Male Sexual Victimization: Examining Men's Experiences of Rape and Sexual Assault" by Karen G Weiss). Rape myths actually make males perfect victims for predators, and places like college campuses, where rates of sexual assault are already abnormally high, are the perfect hunting ground.
I was first introduced to the concepts of rape myths in the article "Examining the Relationship Between Male Rape Myth Acceptance, Female Rape Myth Acceptance, Victim Blame, Homophobia, Gender Roles, and Ambivalent Sexism" by Michelle Lowe, Paul Rogers, and Jennifer Gilston. Rape myths are a collection of false beliefs surrounding sexual assault, and especially plague male sexual assault. They are based on harmful negative stereotypes and concepts, and are often rooted in sexism and homophobia. Rape myths surrounding male sexual assault are often related to the belief that men are strong and dominant and women passive and weak, so when it comes to sexual assault, men are categorized as predators and women as victims. According to “Male Sexual Assault Victims: A Selective Review of the Literature and Implications for Support Services” by Michelle Davies, men are believed to always want sex, and following that myth are incapable of being sexually assaulted by a female because a) they are always seeking sexual contact and b) they are stronger and therefore cannot be physically dominated by a female. If a man claims to be sexually assaulted by a woman, his masculinity is brought into question as well as his sexual orientation (the same goes for straight men assaulted by men, or gay men assaulted by men). Since females are considered to be physically and emotionally more vulnerable than males, so according to rape myths a male victim cannot be traumatized to the same extent as a female victim. No matter what combination of perpetrator-victim gender and orientation, or no matter the relationship or lack thereof between perpetrator and victim, rape myths dictate that a man cannot be a victim.
The article "The Role of "Real Rape" and "Real Victim" Stereotypes in the Police Reporting Practices of Sexually Assaulted Women" by Janice Du Mont et al. is where I first read about the terms "real rape" and "perfect victim", which are characterized by rape myths. The article defines these two terms as "an act of violent, forceful penetration committed by a stranger during a blitz attack in a public, deserted place. The victim is portrayed as a morally upright White woman who is physically injured while resisting (Steketee & Austin, 1989; Weis & Borges, 1973; Williams, 1984)." Any victim who does not fit the mold of the perfect victim is less likely to report their rape or assault, which is one of the reasons why the concept of the perfect victim is such a harmful one.
I was first introduced to the concepts of rape myths in the article "Examining the Relationship Between Male Rape Myth Acceptance, Female Rape Myth Acceptance, Victim Blame, Homophobia, Gender Roles, and Ambivalent Sexism" by Michelle Lowe, Paul Rogers, and Jennifer Gilston. Rape myths are a collection of false beliefs surrounding sexual assault, and especially plague male sexual assault. They are based on harmful negative stereotypes and concepts, and are often rooted in sexism and homophobia. Rape myths surrounding male sexual assault are often related to the belief that men are strong and dominant and women passive and weak, so when it comes to sexual assault, men are categorized as predators and women as victims. According to “Male Sexual Assault Victims: A Selective Review of the Literature and Implications for Support Services” by Michelle Davies, men are believed to always want sex, and following that myth are incapable of being sexually assaulted by a female because a) they are always seeking sexual contact and b) they are stronger and therefore cannot be physically dominated by a female. If a man claims to be sexually assaulted by a woman, his masculinity is brought into question as well as his sexual orientation (the same goes for straight men assaulted by men, or gay men assaulted by men). Since females are considered to be physically and emotionally more vulnerable than males, so according to rape myths a male victim cannot be traumatized to the same extent as a female victim. No matter what combination of perpetrator-victim gender and orientation, or no matter the relationship or lack thereof between perpetrator and victim, rape myths dictate that a man cannot be a victim.
The article "The Role of "Real Rape" and "Real Victim" Stereotypes in the Police Reporting Practices of Sexually Assaulted Women" by Janice Du Mont et al. is where I first read about the terms "real rape" and "perfect victim", which are characterized by rape myths. The article defines these two terms as "an act of violent, forceful penetration committed by a stranger during a blitz attack in a public, deserted place. The victim is portrayed as a morally upright White woman who is physically injured while resisting (Steketee & Austin, 1989; Weis & Borges, 1973; Williams, 1984)." Any victim who does not fit the mold of the perfect victim is less likely to report their rape or assault, which is one of the reasons why the concept of the perfect victim is such a harmful one.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Literature Review #4
1. Image of the authors.
2. Studzinska, Anna, and Denis Hilton. "Minimization of Male Suffering: Perception of Victims and Perpetrators of Opposite-sex Sexual Coercion." ResearchGate. Sexuality Research and Social Policy: Journal of NSRC, Mar. 2016. Web. 4 Nov. 2016
3. The reading is about the minimization of male suffering as a result of unwanted sexual contact. Studies reveal that male victims of sexual assault are negatively impacted just as much as female victims, but female victims are perceived to suffer more than men after after a sexual assault. The authors conducted studies in which they gathered how participants perceived the perpetrators as well as the severity of victims' suffering. The studies found that perpetrators who assaulted females were perceived more negatively than perpetrators who assaulted females, and female victims were perceived to suffer more than male victims.
4. Anna Studzinska:
Denis Hilton:
5. SH: Sexual Harassment
MMS: Minimization of Male Suffering
6. " Research on effects of all types of SH shows that its victims suffer from numerous psychological and somatic problems, which include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, headaches, and decrease in sleep or weight loss (Pina and Gannon 2012; Willness et al. 2007; Charney and Russell 1994)." (4)
"It should be noted that even though SH is more frequently experienced by women, men are not only victims of SH but the number of claims of SH of men is also increasing (Foote and GoodmanDelahunty 2005). Several studies show men of different ages and backgrounds to be victims of different types of SH." (5)
"As predicted, sex of the victim influenced the perception of their suffering. We observed that all of the scales measuring perceptions of the victim’s state overall showed results consistent with the hypothesis; i.e., a female victim was perceived to suffer more than a male victim. However, men and women differed in the kinds of distress they attributed more to women. Thus, female participants evaluated the female victim as suffering significantly more from depressive symptoms than the male victim ... whereas the male participants evaluated the depressive symptoms to be similar for both male and female victims." (9)
7. In my paper, I'm arguing that this incorrect perception that males do not suffer as a result of sexual assault contributes to male sexual assault being taken less seriously or even believed to be impossible. This study will help me to demonstrate the fact that many hold the belief that men are not affected by, or are largely unaffected by sexual violation and unwanted sexual contact. This plays into the notion that men are perpetrators and females are victims, and that men are emotionally stronger than women, and therefore unaffected by sexual assault, while women are weaker and emotionally vulnerable.
2. Studzinska, Anna, and Denis Hilton. "Minimization of Male Suffering: Perception of Victims and Perpetrators of Opposite-sex Sexual Coercion." ResearchGate. Sexuality Research and Social Policy: Journal of NSRC, Mar. 2016. Web. 4 Nov. 2016
3. The reading is about the minimization of male suffering as a result of unwanted sexual contact. Studies reveal that male victims of sexual assault are negatively impacted just as much as female victims, but female victims are perceived to suffer more than men after after a sexual assault. The authors conducted studies in which they gathered how participants perceived the perpetrators as well as the severity of victims' suffering. The studies found that perpetrators who assaulted females were perceived more negatively than perpetrators who assaulted females, and female victims were perceived to suffer more than male victims.
4. Anna Studzinska:
Research Project Manager
University of Social Sciences and Humanities · Faculty of Psychology
Poland · Warsaw
Denis Hilton:
Professor of Psychology
University of Toulouse II - Le Mirail · Cognition, Langues, Langage, Ergonomie (CLLE-ERSS) · Axe E, Contexte social et régulation de la cognition
France · Toulouse
MMS: Minimization of Male Suffering
6. " Research on effects of all types of SH shows that its victims suffer from numerous psychological and somatic problems, which include, but are not limited to, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, headaches, and decrease in sleep or weight loss (Pina and Gannon 2012; Willness et al. 2007; Charney and Russell 1994)." (4)
"It should be noted that even though SH is more frequently experienced by women, men are not only victims of SH but the number of claims of SH of men is also increasing (Foote and GoodmanDelahunty 2005). Several studies show men of different ages and backgrounds to be victims of different types of SH." (5)
"As predicted, sex of the victim influenced the perception of their suffering. We observed that all of the scales measuring perceptions of the victim’s state overall showed results consistent with the hypothesis; i.e., a female victim was perceived to suffer more than a male victim. However, men and women differed in the kinds of distress they attributed more to women. Thus, female participants evaluated the female victim as suffering significantly more from depressive symptoms than the male victim ... whereas the male participants evaluated the depressive symptoms to be similar for both male and female victims." (9)
7. In my paper, I'm arguing that this incorrect perception that males do not suffer as a result of sexual assault contributes to male sexual assault being taken less seriously or even believed to be impossible. This study will help me to demonstrate the fact that many hold the belief that men are not affected by, or are largely unaffected by sexual violation and unwanted sexual contact. This plays into the notion that men are perpetrators and females are victims, and that men are emotionally stronger than women, and therefore unaffected by sexual assault, while women are weaker and emotionally vulnerable.
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