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U.K. group launches "Real Men Get Raped" PSAs
By Virginia SmithFebruary 11th, 2012, 8:00 pmComments (8)
Advocacy group Survivors UK has launched a new series of PSAs addressing male sexual-assault victims, featuring the slogan "Real men get raped. And talking about it takes real strength." The spots are launching to coincide with the rugby tournament in London, and feature the confusing yet extremely graphic image of a punctured rugby ball, referencing what's arguably the manliest sport in existence.
Not everyone's thrilled about the ads, which some argue might reinforce rather than refute the stereotype that sexual abuse or assault never happen to "real men," who are strong enough to fend it off, or something like that. Arguments have also been made that aggressively tying the issue into rugby, not exactly a sport with disproportionately high reports of male sexual abuse, is superfluous and not much more than a shock-value tactic.
I'd argue that the real issue is the wording of the slogan, which is kind of a confusing usage of the "Real Men [do XYZ]" paradigm, and seems to imply at first glance that being raped is something a "real man" would do. Even so, education about sexual abuse so often targets female victims exclusively, so it seems like an overall positive thing that someone is advocating for men, too.
At the end of the day, sexual abuse doesn't happen to men because they're weak, just like it doesn't happen to women because they're sluts. Maybe Survivors UK didn't pick the most graceful way to get that message out, but at least they have people talking about it.
Commentarium (8 Comments)
Studies show that 1 out of 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys are sexually assaulted. Sad. There needs to be more awareness for men to feel safe to break the silence. This is a good step forward.
Do those numbers include people in jails and prisons? I'd be willing to bet that if you factored in the number of times men are raped behind bars the ratio of male:female victims would skyrocket.
I once heard a stat that 1 in 4 men in prison is raped or sexually assaulted. So the same rate that women experience out of prison. So no the ratio does not "skyrocket"
Well either way, the original post still stands. But what I find ridiculous, is that we don't even consider some things done to men as rape. If a woman jumps on top of a non consenting man and has sex with him (putting his penis in her vagina) it isn't considered rape, but sexual assault. I find it sick that we exclude this from the definition of rape.
You misspelled "awesome."
one in 4 sexually assaulted eh - what exactly does that include and exclude because without that information the statistic is practically meaningless.
"If a woman jumps on top of a non consenting man and has sex with him (putting his penis in her vagina) it isn't considered rape, but sexual assault"
I believe under the revised FBI definition, this would be considered rape. Correct me if I am wrong. Also, sometimes people use sexual assault and rape interchangeably (I have heard some survivors say that using "sexual assault" is easier)
This advert is terrible.
The intentional ambiguity in the phrase "real men get raped" is designed to grab attention by suggesting that actually being raped is a condition of real manhood, as in "real men drink bitter". What kind of twisted mind would want to allow the possibility of such a misinterpretation?
But that aside, who in their right minds could have gone through their lives without knowing that the phenomenon of male rape exists? No one, yet in massive letters we are condescendingly reminded of such a horrific notion supposedly to "raise awareness". Think of young children seeing it on their way to watch the rugby and asking their dads, "what's rape dad?".
The crime of rape should be dealt with using understanding, tact and sensitivity, NOT through a rowdy, confrontational public discourse, such as this crassly symbolic and controversy courting advert is trying to provoke.
Now you say something