# Rape Culture "Rape culture" is the feminist argument that sexual assault is normalized through jokes, victim blaming, and social attitudes about sex and gender. Coined by New York Radical Feminists in a 1974 book and popularized by a 1975 documentary of the same name, the term became one of the internet's most contested feminist arguments during the 2010s YouTube culture wars. ## Origin The phrase first appeared in print on October 31, 1974, in the book "Rape: The First Sourcebook for Women," edited by members of New York Radical Feminists[3]. A year later, the 1975 documentary "Rape Culture," produced by Cambridge Documentary Films and shot in part inside Lorton Reformatory, examined how mainstream media and pop culture treated sexual violence and pushed the term into wider circulation[1]. The phrase stayed inside academic and activist writing for decades before college papers picked it up. On November 26, 2001, The Michigan Daily ran "Fraternities and a heightened rape culture," tying the term to Greek life on U.S. campuses[3]. - **Platform:** Print book (1974 origin) / YouTube (viral debate) - **Creator:** New York Radical Feminists - **Date:** 1974 ## Overview The label names both a theory and a rhetorical target. Supporters point to slut-shaming, dismissive rape jokes, and blaming survivors for what they wore or drank as evidence that society treats sexual assault casually[1]. Detractors argue the term is stretched to cover trivial incidents and is less accurate for Western societies than for places with formal legal barriers to prosecuting sexual violence[7]. Online, the argument played out mostly through video essays, stand-up clips, and campus commentary rather than image macros[3]. Feminist creators used "rape culture" to frame high-profile news stories, while skeptic YouTubers recorded rebuttals framing the concept as moral panic[5]. By the mid-2010s the phrase was a shibboleth in feminist versus anti-feminist YouTube, with each side treating it as shorthand for the other camp's worldview. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Rape Culture? A feminist term for the idea that biases about sex and gender, from victim blaming to rape jokes, work together to normalize or excuse sexual assault[1]. ### Where did Rape Culture come from? The phrase was first published in the 1974 New York Radical Feminists book "Rape: The First Sourcebook for Women" and then popularized by the 1975 documentary "Rape Culture"[1]. ### What does Rape Culture mean? It labels behaviors like slut-shaming, teaching potential victims to avoid rape rather than teaching people not to rape, and dismissive jokes as symptoms of a society that treats sexual violence casually[7]. ### How do you use Rape Culture? The phrase is used by feminist writers and YouTubers to frame news stories such as Steubenville[4], and by critics like Christina Hoff Sommers and RAINN to argue the framing is overstated[3]. ### Is Rape Culture still popular? The term is still a fixture of feminist debate and its opposition, and Urban Dictionary entries from both sides show how divisive it is still[7]. ## References 1. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwdVENIVaJY]() 2. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhejmYsTyIg]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/rape-culture]() 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KQQ1bzQn0k]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKgrYVtYSCk]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z86oaQ4aLcM]() 7. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Rape%20Culture]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/rape-culture Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library