Media and Date Rape

Date Rape and the Media by Jennifer Green
With the rise of feminism in the last few decades, there has been a newfound sexual freedom among both men and women. However, this freedom is costly, forcing those involved in any sexual relationship to have definite boundaries. On occasion, misread signals between two people can result in a situation known as date rape. Date rape, also referred to as acquaintance rape, can be defined as a situation where a person is subjected to unwanted sexual intercourse or oral sex. Camille Paglia's "It's a Jungle Out There" and Susan Jacoby's "Common Decency" have written their opinions on date rape. Though Paglia feels that "Rape is an outrage that cannot be tolerated in civilized society" (Paglia 538); she speaks differently to Jacoby's "Common Decency" that men should understand the word "no." A woman should not rub off a situation as if it never happened, be accused of "sexual games," or believe that feminism is the only way of erasing a date rape situation. I agree with Susan Jacoby's argument because no matter what excuses of mixed signals, a simple "no" can be the thin line between being and not being date raped.
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