Rape Culture

"Remember that intimate conversation you had with your son? The one where you said, "I love you and I need you to know that no matter how a woman dresses or acts, it is not an invitation to cat call, taunt, harass or assault her"?

Or when you told your son, "A woman's virginity isn't a prize and sleeping with a woman doesn't earn you a point"?

How about the heart-to-heart where you lovingly conferred the legal knowledge that "a woman doesn't have to be fighting you and you don't have to be pinning her down for it to be RAPE. Intoxication means she can't legally consent, NOT that she's an easy score."

Or maybe you recall sharing my personal favorite, "Your sexual experiences don't dictate your worth just like a woman's sexual experiences don't dictate hers."

Last but not least, do you remember calling your son out when you discovered he was using the word "slut" liberally? Or when you overheard him talking about some girl from school as if she were more of a conquest than a person?

I want you to consider these conversations and then ask yourself why you don't remember them. The likely reason is because you didn't have them. In fact, most parents haven't had them." -Source

     On Monday, we briefly discussed the concept of rape culture and the ways it manifests itself throughout society. Three realms that draw particularly passionate criticism for demonstrating and perpetuating rape culture are pop culture, politics, and religion. Personally, I think the reason that these three domains receive such high and concentrated attention is because they are arguably the three most influential sectors of human society as we know it. For many and to varying extents, pop culture shapes our thoughts, politics and legislation shape our behavior, and religion shapes our morality. Even if one grows up without a strong religious affiliation, it is virtually impossible to avoid the influence of the media or the political sphere, and there is a high crossover between the three. After all, as we've mentioned, the personal is the political, and vice versa. Because pop culture, religion, and politics have such a powerful bearing on social attitudes and actions, it is especially important to examine what their authority figures put forth as truth or morality.
     In the most recent issue of the LDS Church magazine The Ensign, an article features a speech delivered by high authority within the Mormon Church, Elder Tad Callister. The original address was delivered to the entire student body of Brigham Young University- Idaho in January of 2013, but Callister's words are concretized and publicized to a much wider audience within the magazine. Though the entire address is problematic in a multitude of ways, I want to focus on one small section— the one entitled "Immodest Dress."In what ways do you think that this point of view endorses rape culture? Are there points you agree with? If so, why? What about any points with which you disagree?
     I don't post this article to specifically target the Mormon Church. It is unbelievably easy to find examples of similar stances from more mainstream or common religious perspectives. Additionally, I don't intend to point a finger exclusively at religion either. As I mentioned earlier, various secular authority figures have expressed similar views (and yes, every hyperlinked word there leads to a different example). This problem is not one that is limited to any one culture or belief, but is society-wide on multiple levels. Why do you think this is? How do you think we can hope to begin to change it? Do you think it's necessary to change how we view sexual assault and consent?