Hyper-masculinity and rape

First, I want to give more clarity to one of the documentaries that I mentioned in class today.  Miss Representation is about the lack women in politics, but they also discuss how women are sexualized in media.  For example, how women  who are running for office are discussed in regards to what they are wearing or how they look rather than the policies that they stand for.  If you're interested in seeing what it's entirely about, check out the trailer here. This trailer is an extended version, so it's a bit longer than usual.

Also, I really recommend watching The Mask You Live In documentary on men (a companion to Miss Representation).  This really addresses what we were discussing in class today with hyper-masculinity.  The idea that men are nurtured into taking control and being aggressive.  For if they don't, they are labeled as not 'manning-up' or being 'masculine'.  I can also see this documentary being a good supplement to our research projects. 

And herein is where I'd like to place my blog today.  This idea of hyper-masculinity (thanks for bringing this up again, Jackson!).  Like I mentioned in class, when I was searching rape cases to research, I was shocked by the amount of prominent and high-profile rape cases that were involving athletes.  And while I've recognized how hyper-masculinity plays into why rape occurs, I didn't realize it's impact until today.  Seeing the list of cases on the white board that involved athletes was overwhelming.  And when considering the culture that surrounds athletics, there was a strong argument for why many rape cases do involve athletes.  Of course, this doesn't mean that every athlete will be a rapist.  On the contrary.  The stat given in class was that approximately 94% of men will not commit a rape.  (I do wonder the accuracy of this stat, since most sexual assaults are not reported).  Yet, there is something to be addressed with the frequency in which rape occurs among athletes.  While I can't quantify this association, as an observer, it is something that is hard to dismiss. 

Is there a sense of entitlement?  After all, athletes--especially college football players--are placed on a pedestal.  They are revered and protected by the university in many cases.  You need only look to FSU or University of Montana in which the poor handling of rape cases in pursuit of protecting the players had detrimental ramifications.

Are sports feeding into the rape culture?  Considering male athletes--and more specifically football players--they are conditioned to be aggressive, to be an initiator.  Does this trait, therefore, flow into other areas of their life?  On the surface, it would be easy to say yes.  But I wonder if there is more to this.

Finally, I want to stress that in no way do I think that rape is confined to football teams.  It is merely illustrative of the ways that hyper-masculinity can manifest itself.  In addition, I know that this discussion dives deeper than what I am brought up here.  I just found that our discussion in class was interesting and stimulating. 

To consider "How do men get to the point that rape is an acceptable choice?"