Rape Fantasies

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes sexual content, discussions of rape, sexual violence, physical violence, victim-blaming, shame, and fear. 

“I mean, what’s so new about it? So at work they all have to talk about it because no matter what magazine you open, there it is, staring you right between the eyes, and they’re beginning to have it on the television, too.”

Estelle’s remarks on the prevalence of rape-related stories in the media capture the Societal Misunderstandings of Rape. Instead of offering up literature that informs the public and mitigates trends of sexual violence against women, this “coverage” is presented as fun, amusing, and diverting stories in women’s lifestyle magazines and outlets. Because the media represents rape in this manner, Estelle can’t make sense of the topic’s relevance. Her reaction reveals how media saturation can breed numbness rather than clarity, normalizing harm while pretending to “raise awareness.”

“‘I don’t think you should go out alone at night,’ Darlene said, ‘you put yourself in a position,’ and I may have been mistaken but she was looking at me.”

Darlene’s scolding, accusatory remark aligns with the 1970s media messaging that instructed women to stay at home after dark to avoid being victims of sexual violence. Darlene has absorbed this messaging and taken it as truth. She is then disseminating these same victim-blaming notions to her female peers, holding them responsible for their own safety. This moment shows how the culture impacts the Dynamics of Female Discourse. Even among women, language shaped by fear and control becomes a tool of judgment rather than solidarity.