Gender roles, sex, and love affect our views on sexual assault by Benedictine University blogger Karly Sacco

As time changes, the view that people have on what is a “normal” love relationship has altered from the old days. Man and Woman. That was the only possibility for a long time in order to be in love. Today, love is love. It shouldn’t matter if it is man with man or woman with woman but unfortunately it does. But with every relationship there are good and bad components no matter whom you are with, and that is unfortunate as well. Gender roles are issues that have been occurring for decades and with this idea become certain assumptions.

1.    

Males are the dominate ones in the relationships, so if someone is being sexually assaulted it is ALWAYS the mans fault, no matter what.


2. The woman is usually helpless when she is in a relationship with someone who is sexually assaulting her and she has no way out because of him being so powerful over her.


3. The relationship is complicated because he still “loves her” so its okay if her takes advantage.






There are other assumptions about gender roles if you look at it from a sexual assault point of view, but I feel like these three are the ones that most people think of when it comes to this topic. However no matter if you are gay, lesbian, straight, or something in between. There is always a way out, or a way to prevent getting sexually assaulted. Do not think that just because you are “in love” or when you make love then that makes it okay because they really do love you. If someone is hurting you, get out; it is not worth the hurt. There are ways to prevent or get help with the three above assumptions.






1. It is not ALWAYS the man’s fault; women can be just as capable of sexually assaulting as men. However, to prevent this issue, make sure that you commit your life to an individual that treats you with respect and does not believe in dominance. If you see any sign of your significant other acting that way, get help! Talk to someone, to HIM OR HER about it. Chances are you can prevent the issue before it gets worse.


2. You are never helpless. A lot like number one, there is a way out. Prevent the issue before it gets worse with support from others.


3. Sometimes people can be trapped in a relationship because of the aspect of loving one another, but you have to come to face reality and realize if that other person really loved you they wouldn’t be sexually assaulting you.








The ideas that society has about these topics really affect our views on sexual assault. However it is up to you to be strong and see that there’s is always a place to get help or to talk to someone, if you are ever in a hard situation with your significant other just remember you are not alone.