By Willie Burnley, Jr., Staff Writer, Emerson College
In the past month, much has been said about Emerson College’s administrative response to claims of sexual assault. Publications as large as The Huffington Post and The Boston Globe have written about student allegations of mishandled cases in light of the recent federal complaint filed by an unknown number of Emersonians, three of whom are public. In response, President Pelton has provided an open letter to the Emerson community in which he recounts the work done in past months. He also held a town hall forum in order to discuss this issue with students, faculty, and staff. It is clear that much work has been done since last spring when the student group ESSA (Emersonians Stopping Sexual Assault) formed, it is equally clear that much work remains to be done.
Part of that work is creating a culture of consent on campus and this means that the importance of this issue needs to be stressed to male Emersonians. I say this because, for too long, preventative measures in regard to sexual assault have solely relied on the responsibility women have to protect themselves from others. For too long, people have smoke-screened this issue by talking about it in terms of shadowy figures in the night when, in reality, the majority of women who are raped or sexually assaulted know their attackers. As a society, we have failed to deal with the root causes of this epidemic or to even have honest, constructive, and instructive discourses around it. For my part as a male ally, I’d like to say that men should have more responsibility placed on them to end this rape culture that we have in large part helped to create.
Crucial to dismantling a rape culture is comprehensively and blatantly disincentiving it from an early age, which very few of our social structures do. Male socialization, for example, does little to nothing in teaching us to respect the bodies or sexual agency of women. This is especially true when it is implemented in college. We are bombarded with images and narratives that tell us that our goal should be to go to parties, get girls drunk, and to have sex with them. It’s what we’re told we’re supposed to want and what we at some point need to be respected in hypermasculine circles. The idea of consent is purposefully given no space in that narrative because the point is to bang the most chicks you can or, as one guy told me, to rack up the highest “body count.”
Living in a society where people who report sexual assault are the targets of more vitriol than those who commit such crimes proves to me that we’re in a rape culture. Moreover, knowing that there are a plethora of colleges that are now have federal complaints against them for allegedly allowing perpetrators to walk around campus scot-free sends a terrible message to everyone involved. It says that those who are sexually assaulted should remain quiet. It says that the people who are victimized and who will need to survive the emotional and physical turmoil that comes from these horrible acts don’t deserve justice because it might infringe upon the pristine reputation of a college or university. It tells me that I don’t need to look at historical examples of legalized rape in the U.S, or advertisements, or slut-shaming, or the fact that there seems to be a small but vocal group of politicians who believe rapes do not lead to pregnancies, to know that the social order does not and has never required me to respect the bodies of women.
But what matters is that I require myself to respect them. Furthermore, I implore all Emersonians to try to do the same.
Now, obviously, men are not the only members of society who commit acts of sexual assault – nor are women (or men for that matter) the only victims. Additionally, part of respecting female agency is knowing that women often want to have sex, too. That being said, we need to make sure that there is room in these narratives for men to understand consent and to respect the bodies of our sexual partners.
When I think about the claims leveled against Emerson, I see the need for institutional reform. I recognize that administrators need to profoundly reevaluate the process through which claims of sexual assault are investigated. Beyond that, though, I see an opportunity to add a fundamental principle to all of our repertoires, one centered on respect and responsibility that encourages men to enlist in the fight to end rape culture. This is necessary if we hope to change the way we deal with this issue on our campus and throughout our larger culture.
Image: Wecb-news.com
Willie Burnley Jr is a feminist, anti-racist, and all around anti-oppressionist who believes that societal progress is almost always made through active effort. He likes politics and anime, though not always in that order. Follow him on Twitter.
In the past month, much has been said about Emerson College’s administrative response to claims of sexual assault. Publications as large as The Huffington Post and The Boston Globe have written about student allegations of mishandled cases in light of the recent federal complaint filed by an unknown number of Emersonians, three of whom are public. In response, President Pelton has provided an open letter to the Emerson community in which he recounts the work done in past months. He also held a town hall forum in order to discuss this issue with students, faculty, and staff. It is clear that much work has been done since last spring when the student group ESSA (Emersonians Stopping Sexual Assault) formed, it is equally clear that much work remains to be done.
Part of that work is creating a culture of consent on campus and this means that the importance of this issue needs to be stressed to male Emersonians. I say this because, for too long, preventative measures in regard to sexual assault have solely relied on the responsibility women have to protect themselves from others. For too long, people have smoke-screened this issue by talking about it in terms of shadowy figures in the night when, in reality, the majority of women who are raped or sexually assaulted know their attackers. As a society, we have failed to deal with the root causes of this epidemic or to even have honest, constructive, and instructive discourses around it. For my part as a male ally, I’d like to say that men should have more responsibility placed on them to end this rape culture that we have in large part helped to create.
Crucial to dismantling a rape culture is comprehensively and blatantly disincentiving it from an early age, which very few of our social structures do. Male socialization, for example, does little to nothing in teaching us to respect the bodies or sexual agency of women. This is especially true when it is implemented in college. We are bombarded with images and narratives that tell us that our goal should be to go to parties, get girls drunk, and to have sex with them. It’s what we’re told we’re supposed to want and what we at some point need to be respected in hypermasculine circles. The idea of consent is purposefully given no space in that narrative because the point is to bang the most chicks you can or, as one guy told me, to rack up the highest “body count.”
Living in a society where people who report sexual assault are the targets of more vitriol than those who commit such crimes proves to me that we’re in a rape culture. Moreover, knowing that there are a plethora of colleges that are now have federal complaints against them for allegedly allowing perpetrators to walk around campus scot-free sends a terrible message to everyone involved. It says that those who are sexually assaulted should remain quiet. It says that the people who are victimized and who will need to survive the emotional and physical turmoil that comes from these horrible acts don’t deserve justice because it might infringe upon the pristine reputation of a college or university. It tells me that I don’t need to look at historical examples of legalized rape in the U.S, or advertisements, or slut-shaming, or the fact that there seems to be a small but vocal group of politicians who believe rapes do not lead to pregnancies, to know that the social order does not and has never required me to respect the bodies of women.
But what matters is that I require myself to respect them. Furthermore, I implore all Emersonians to try to do the same.
Now, obviously, men are not the only members of society who commit acts of sexual assault – nor are women (or men for that matter) the only victims. Additionally, part of respecting female agency is knowing that women often want to have sex, too. That being said, we need to make sure that there is room in these narratives for men to understand consent and to respect the bodies of our sexual partners.
When I think about the claims leveled against Emerson, I see the need for institutional reform. I recognize that administrators need to profoundly reevaluate the process through which claims of sexual assault are investigated. Beyond that, though, I see an opportunity to add a fundamental principle to all of our repertoires, one centered on respect and responsibility that encourages men to enlist in the fight to end rape culture. This is necessary if we hope to change the way we deal with this issue on our campus and throughout our larger culture.
Image: Wecb-news.com
Willie Burnley Jr is a feminist, anti-racist, and all around anti-oppressionist who believes that societal progress is almost always made through active effort. He likes politics and anime, though not always in that order. Follow him on Twitter.