Framing the Rape Victim

Carine Mardorossian's book Framing the Rape Victim brought up a point that I had never heard presented (until her visit at Fall Gathering) about sexualized crime involving dominance rooted in masculinity and subordinance and/or victimhood viewed as a feminine position. It's unbelieveable to me how gender roles have permeated our society so deeply that we have attributed them and assigned them to violent crime, and how the victims of these crimes must now tiptoe around that word "victim" because of it's socially feminized and therefore "responsible" or "guilty" misonceived definition. Offenders, especially rapists, have claimed a dominant masculine position by exerting a power over their now feminized "victims." Although we can find a clear definition of the word victim seen here...

vic·tim

 noun \ˈvik-təm\

: a person who has been attacked, injured, robbed, or killed by someone else

: a person who is cheated or fooled by someone else

    : someone or something that is harmed by an unpleasant event (such as an illness or               accident)

...claiming victimhood in these now sexualized crimes is saying that you're guilty in some way or that you've done something wrong. "If you know you're a victim, why didn't you try harder to get out? Why were you wearing that outfit? Didn't you know you shouldn't have been walking alone in that part of town?" 

The idea of labeling theory has also been applied to victims. Labeling theory is the theory of how the self-identity and behavior of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. It is associated with the concepts of self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping. Applying this idea to victims therefore forces them to take responsibility for claiming that label as well. This is problematic because in reality, I don't even believe that victimhood is even truly self-proclaimable. To be a victim is to have something happen to you to make you that way, and nothing more. 

I have begun to see crimes and many other aspects of my life in a gendered way because of this theory, and it is as shocking as it is unnecessary. I hope that in the contunuation of my education and the education of others, there will soon be a more worldy understanding of the way rigid gender roles and masculine dominance are damaging to society. Maybe if we can break this trend. there will be fewer future victims, but that also remaining victims will be able to be separated from being blamed for their victimhood.