Athletes and Rape Culture
by Jade
Athletes on all levels are praised
members of the community. The provide
entertainment to the general public, and instill pride into the fans of the teams
they play on. On college campuses,
student athletes are sometimes revered as celebrities. These celebrities are accessible: there in
the classes you attend, you might see them at the cafeteria, or a friend’s
party.
What happens when one of these “local
celebrities” are accused of rape? When
someone of public stature is involved with the areas of consensual sex and rape
seem to grey. Statements of “she wanted
him”, and “she shouldn’t of drank that much”; statements that are all too familiar
in rape culture seem to pop up all over social media when an athlete is
accused. The bottom line is: No means no, it doesn’t matter if you are a person
of social standing or not. The same
rules apply.
It is clear to see why more women
do not come forward. Being publicly ridiculed
and having parts of your personal life blasted in the media does not seem like
an easy thing to cope with. To them it
may seem easier to not acknowledge what happened. It seems odd that in a country where the actuality
of a woman president is looming in the near future, we are still fighting to be
taking seriously. To have our voices
heard.
The headlines are bringing more
and more of these cases to the public.
Maybe this can be a wakeup call to universities; a spring board to
implement rape awareness as part of the student body curriculum. Also
it could support those who are too afraid to come forward.
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