Fraternities and Rape Culture

Rape culture is defined as "culture in which rape and sexual violence against women are common and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media condone, normalize, excuse, or tolerate sexual violence against women". Fraternities are constantly coming under fire for objectifying women and blaming the victim of sexual assault. This video shows pledges at a Yale University frat house chanting. Note that Yale University is one of the best, most respected schools in the country and could be looked at as what many Americans strive for.

The video contains swearing.

In the video, frat boys are chanting "no means yes, yes means anal". Obviously, this is an extreme example, but on college campuses, sexual assault is a growing problem. I'd like to point out that the top two responses to this on Youtube are "blah blah blah this happens all the time i did this at my frat" and "those guys get more pussy than you do".

I will analyze this from a conflict theorist perspective. Rape as a problem in fraternities could be traced to two different cultural shifts: the advent of dating on campus and the growing awareness of homosexuality.

Dating on campus was as a result of women's increasing freedom. Before, they were expected to wait for a man to court them, and then when one person showed interest, they were expected to marry and have kids. Since before this time often women did not go to school either, many of these marriages were somewhat planned by family or friends. As women began to enter the higher education system, men began to feel threatened. Now, the decision to date or marry became much more of a joint decision. They were used to having an academic environment in which they were superior, and they tried desperately to do something to show the women (and themselves) that the women were inferior. This is exactly what is going on now. Fraternities are gender-exclusive and follow old rules. They try to foster the environment of being privileged and above the rest and are usually arranged in a fairly rigid hierarchy. As demonstrated in the video above, frat houses are often set up in such a way as to foster misogynistic thinking. A "boys will be boys" approach is usually taken with them, as the old gender norm of men as the dominant ones is something that still lingers on today.

Another influence on rape culture at frat houses was the increasing awareness and discussion of homosexuality. As LGBT people gain greater acceptance in society and strive for more rights, the discussion has entered the limelight. One of the most common insults a man will say to another man is "faggot". If one doesn't embody everything that is masculine, one could be called a "faggot or sissy". This registers them as "other", outside the privileged group and looked down upon by his peers. This is why so many men follow others in acting in an exaggerated stereotypical "male" fashion. They are afraid of being kicked out of their privileged position.

Fraternities are often a breeding ground for misogynist thinking and violence against women. Why is it so often downplayed? What does it mean that fraternity members are often glorified as the "cool guys"?

Syrett, Nicholas L. "Bros Before Hos: College Fraternities and Sexual Exploitation." National Sexuality Resource Center (NSRC). 1 June 2009. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. .

Turner, Eric. "Shut 'Em Down: Do Fraternities Cause Rape Culture? | HyperVocal." HyperVocal | Internet Sherpas Bringing You the Vital & Viral. Hyper Vocal, 25 Apr. 2011. Web. 20 Sept. 2011. .