Rape Is a Less Technical Term Paper

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She argues that women must accept responsibility for what happens on a date and men must not always be blamed for the situation. She felt that vague definition of date rape was making more women feel like victims:

If we assume that women are not all helpless and naive, then they should be held responsible for their choice to drink or take drugs. If a woman's "judgment is impaired" and she has sex, it isn't necessarily always the man's fault; it isn't necessarily always rape" (28).

In this debate of who is to blame for such incidents, there appears to be little consensus. Some researchers feel that men must proceed cautiously on such occasions.

When I assume that because [a woman] doesn't say "no," she means "yes," I'm taking a tremendous risk. I would rather hear "no" than hear later that she thinks I raped her... Do we want to be men who are dangerous and stupid, or do we want to be people?" (Read, 7A)

Roiphe on the other hand feel women are as responsible for communicating their wishes and desires and men are responsible for hearing and interpreting them.

The idea that only an explicit yes means yes proposes that, like children, women have trouble communicating what they want. Beyond its dubious premise about the limits of female communication, the idea of active consent bolsters stereotypes of men just out to "get some" and women who don't really want any (30).

Conclusion:

Date rape is a serious social issue, which must be addressed appropriately.
But before we start blaming each other, it is important to first develop a clear and absolute definition of date rape to protect men from false accusations and to protect women from sexual victimization on dates. This definition is needed so women can realize when things are proceeding in the wrong direction and take some action to stop it while men can proceed cautiously and shield themselves from false allegations that next morning.

References

Gibbs, Nancy. When is it rape? (Cover Story) Time; 6/3/1991;

Joseph Weinberg, quoted in Read, Katy. "Rape Counseling with a Difference." Times-Picayune. February 11, 1992.

Kanin, E.J. (1957). Male aggression in dating-courtship relations. American Journal of Sociology, 63, 197-204.

Korman S., & Leslie G. (1982). "The Relationship of Feminist Ideology and Expense Sharing to Perceptions of Sexual Aggression in Dating." Journal of Sex Research, 18:114-29.

Koss, Mary, Dinero, Thomas, & Seibei, Cynthia. "Stranger and Acquaintance Rape." Psychology of Women Quarterly. 12 (1988): 1-24.

Mary Jordan, Jury Finds Smith Not Guilty of Rape, Washington Post, Thursday, December 12, 1991; Page A01

Parrot, Andrea. Coping with Date….....

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