Examples of Rape Culture
One place we can find unlimited examples of rape culture is the world of advertisements, especially here in America. Rape culture, as we can see, has got even Pepsi aboard now through this advertisement. The young man in this picture is trading a Pepsi for an unconscious woman’s right to her own body. The worst part about it is that there is a young boy receiving the lifeguard shirt. This is portraying someone who should have total innocence, the young boy, as one who is extremely excited to take advantage of the woman.
This Dolce & Gabbana advertisement is another great example of rape culture. This time there are four men surrounding what appears to be as an innocent woman. The man is holding her down on the table for his own pleasure. The look on her face is not of amusement, nor of anger. She is not fighting back. She is simply submitting to the man’s will as if she is in her rightful place.
Some more examples:
Protest Art
This picture could be described as protest art for violence against women. This happened in Mexico during the summer. All of these high heels were put out to represent the women who had been murdered or disappeared, most of the time from domestic abuse. Violence against women is not a topic that is talked about by politics. However, more people need to become aware of these issues.
Kara Walker’s Art
Kara Walker’s unique style of hard leaves behind conventional thinking about race representation, sexual desire, and discrimination. Most people upon looking at her art for the first time don’t know what to feel – they might feel like they need to laugh, be offended, or just acknowledge the piece for what it is. As far as I’m concerned, her approach to art and history is brilliant.
For example, her use of the silhouette is unlike any other artwork. It evokes a stereotypical response, however, what people are looking at is the truth. I felt uncomfortable the first time I saw what she was creating, but I couldn’t escape it at the same time.
Looking at this image was harder than anything else I had seen of Kara Walker’s artwork, which is the reason I included the piece. A rich young white boy is receiving oral sex from a young black girl. He is up on a hill above her, raising his hands to the rest of the world in a form of total dominance and power. His brain is not even close to be fully developed and he already “knows” his place over black people in this world.
All of these aspects of the picture are terrible. However, we can’t shy away from what is in front of us. Some might say that this makes a racist feel ok about being prejudiced. Some might say that this reinforces stereotypes and leads us in the wrong direction. These are the responses Kara Walker wants to hear. Our first reaction is to critique her work, and only then do we understand the injustices of society in the past and can move forward in the future.
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