Masculinity: Contributor To Police Sexual Violence

Masculinity: Contributor to Police Sexual Violence

Sexual assault is a major epidemic in the United States and all across the world, terrorizing women and men of all ages. According to the RAINN organization, every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted (RAINN). In “Invisible No More,” a book about the “racial profiling, police brutality, and immigration enforcement” inflicted on women of color, written by Angela Davis, she dedicates an entire chapter to police and their acts of sexual violence. In this chapter she delves into the characteristics of those who are assaulted, the issues with policy and enforcement against sexual misconduct, and the profiling of those amongst the LGBTQ community, while providing evidence and countless experiences

Masculinity is idolized by the male sex and is crucial to their survival amongst the rest of their male counterparts. It comes with prestige, power, privilege, and in some cases an egotistical persona. When this masculinity is inflated by the existence of legitimate power, there is room for misuse of power. When looking at law enforcement, their misuse of power can be seen in not only their sexual misconduct, but their policing of sex, gender lines, and the policing of women in general, especially in the terms of women of color: black, native, Asian, etc. Women of all races have always been seen as a target to be sexually objectified and used as a prize to boast about to other men. In an article read in class, entitled “Masculinity as Homophobia: Fear, Shame, and Silence in the Construction of Gender Identity,” it states “Women become a kind of currency that men use to improve their ranking on the masculine social scale” (Kimmel 34). Davis even added the quote by Penny Harrington, where she states “There is this culture in law enforcement . . . you don’t tell you buddies . . . You get so bought into this police culture . . . you don’t see anything wrong with it. It’s like as a badge of honor, how many women in the community you can have sex with, and the younger the better” (Davis 112). Whether or not police are inflicting sexual violence on

When looking at college campuses, there are enormous percentages of women and men that are sexually assaulted every year. Who is inflicting a majority of these acts? Men involved in sports/athletics and fraternities. According to “Fraternities and Rape on Campus,” an article assigned in class, it states “[Fraternities] work hard to create a macho image and context and try to avoid any suggestion of "wimpishness," effeminacy, and homosexuality. Valued members display, or are willing to go along with, a narrow conception of masculinity that stresses competition, athleticism, dominance, winning, conflict, wealth, material possessions, willingness to drink alcohol, and sexual prowess vis-a-vis women” (Hummer, Martin 460). This furthers my point that men seek to advance their masculinity and power, to boast their status to other males. It is a part of their subconscious, a mentality inflicted onto them by a societal norm that is reinforced each and every