...we have these statistics, from Dr. Violet Socks:
Posted by binky at April 24, 2006 06:49 PM | TrackBack | Posted to Shine the Light on ItHere’s what middle-school kids think about rape, according to a survey of 11-14 year-olds:
- 51% of boys and 41% of girls believe that a man has a right to force a woman to kiss him if he has “spent a lot of money on her.”
- 32% of boys and 32% of girls say it’s not improper for a man to rape a woman who has had past sexual experiences.
- 87% of boys and 79% of girls say rape is okay if a man and woman are married.
- 47% of all those surveyed say it’s okay for a man to rape a woman he has been dating for more than 6 months.
Doesn’t sound too good, does it? By middle school, American children have already drunk deeply from the patriarchy: they know that men have the right to sexually possess women, that women can be bought, and that women who aren’t virgins are fair game for rape.
So perhaps it’s not so surprising what happens when they get to college:
- 1 in 4 college women report being victims of rape or attempted rape.
- 1 in 12 college men admit to committing acts that meet the legal definition of rape.
- 35% of college men indicate some likelihood that they would commit rape if they could be assured of not getting caught.
And it doesn’t stop when they get married…
- 10% of women are the victims of rape or attempted rape by a husband or intimate partner in their lifetime.
- 33-46% of husbands who beat their wives also rape them.
… or have children:
- About 20% of all rapes are committed against children under the age of 18 by their own family members.
- 20-40% of women and 10-20% of men report having been sexually victimized as children (this includes sexual abuse other than rape).
And then you go to the top and start all over again.
Uh, how many 11 year olds even know what rape is? At least back in my day I don't think a lot of 5th graders knew that.
The other problem I have with this study, or this interpretation of it, is that while some of this might be due to patriarchal influences, it wouldn't shock me if some of it (for the boys at least) is due to the fact that even at 11 a lot of kids have difficulty in understanding that there is a world beyond them - that other human beings are equal to them, have their own freedoms and desires, etc. And that strikes me as more a human thing or a biological thing than a patriarchy thing.
Posted by: Armand at April 25, 2006 08:24 AM | PERMALINKi'm just going to say [insert something sounding in anecdata and expressing skepticism at the proposition underlying these surveys that pretty much all men would pretty much throw women into the nearest alley or broom closet at the first opportunity if they thought it wouldn't come back to bite them in the ass]. [insert preemptive caveat regarding self-aware use of anecdata in a vain attempt to avoid being ripped to shreds by binky.]
Posted by: moon at April 25, 2006 10:20 AM | PERMALINKGosh, these "men" critters are just nasty! Why do we put up with them?
Posted by: jacflash at April 25, 2006 06:15 PM | PERMALINKInteresting the focus you all are taking, when the numbers for boys and girls aren't so different.
Posted by: binky at April 25, 2006 07:27 PM | PERMALINK1. I was being silly.
2. Binky, don't you think that's a little disingenuous? These numbers aren't talking about crimes committed by women.
Posted by: jacflash at April 25, 2006 07:41 PM | PERMALINKWell, if there were any MRAs here they would hotly dispute that. And I wasn't really singling you out.
Posted by: binky at April 25, 2006 07:45 PM | PERMALINKHooey, you are missing out. Ginmar goes after some MRA whining, Pandagon comments on MRA's obsession with chivalry, and most scathing of all, the Countess. Really, do read her first.
Posted by: binky at April 25, 2006 09:02 PM | PERMALINK"Interesting the focus you all are taking, when the numbers for boys and girls aren't so different."
I take it I'm missing something - why should the numbers be different for boys and girls given the nature of my complaints?
Posted by: Armand at April 26, 2006 09:04 AM | PERMALINK