Rape narratives in the United States: Feminism, culture and the construction of rape as a social problem.

Abstract

The meaning of rape in the 20$\sp{\rm th}$ century US has been unstable, shifting dramatically in conjunction with larger changes in the social construction of gender, race and sexual normalcy. The post-1971 changes in rape's definition and social significance are the most dramatic shifts in cultural constructions of sexual assault this century. Largely as a result of the contemporary feminist movement, today we--as a society and often as individuals--no longer think of, respond to or talk about rape as we did prior to the 1970s. Feminism opened the door to rape's meaning and, in doing so, created a narrative space in which the meaning of sexual violence was contested. As a result of dramatic changes in its meaning, rape provides a vivid and sociologically powerful case study in the construction of social problems. This dissertation presents an in-depth analysis of the construction of sexual assault as highly charged social problem. In examining the history of social change in rape's meaning in the United States, this dissertation evidences several key findings. First, the research presented here illustrates the importance of the narrative form to the construction of meaning. Second, this dissertation highlights the centrality of culture to contemporary social change and the particular importance of the mass media to political struggles. Third, this analysis of rape documents to the power of the contemporary anti-rape feminist movement's efforts to redefine rape as a social problem. Moreover, current interpretations of rape in the law, the media and by women in their everyday lives illustrate the extraordinary success of feminist beliefs about rape, rapists and rape victims. Fourth and finally, the research presented in this dissertation gestures to the diversity in women's ideas about rape--although some ideas about rape are embraced by most women, they often define and explain rape in divergent ways. Through exploration of the history of rape's meaning, examination of feminist discourse and politics, narrative analysis of media tales of rape and in-depth original research into women's ideas, this dissertation provides a unique, powerful look at one of the most high-profile social problems in the United States today.