NAVIGATING THROUGH A RAPE CULTURE: A REGRESSION GAUGING PERCEIVED NECESSITY FOR BYSTANDER INTERVENTION A Thesis Presented to the faculty of the Department of Sociology California State University, Sacramento Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Sociology by Alicia Eileen Barros Souza SUMMMER 2017 © 2017 Alicia Eileen Barros Souza ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii NAVIGATING THROUGH A RAPE CULTURE: A REGRESSION GAUGING PERCEIVED NECESSITY FOR BYSTANDER INTERVENTION A Thesis by Alicia Eileen Barros Souza Approved by: __________________________________, Committee Chair Ellen Berg __________________________________, Second Reader Todd Migliaccio ____________________________ Date iii Student: Alicia Eileen Barros Souza I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for this thesis. __________________________, Graduate Coordinator ___________________ Manuel Barajas Date Department of Sociology iv Abstract of NAVIGATING THROUGH A RAPE CULTURE: A REGRESSION GAUGING PERCEIVED NECESSITY FOR BYSTANDER INTERVENTION by Alicia Eileen Barros Souza Utilizing secondary data from the study, Rape Prevention through Bystander Education at a Northeastern State University, 2002-2004, the present study examined if rape myth acceptance is a predictor of perceived necessity for bystander intervention controlling for race, religious affiliation, sex, year in school, and income level. Other independent variables examined are previous sexual assault/rape or sexual harassment training and knowing a sexual assault victim. Using RW Connell’s interpretations of the theory of hegemonic masculinity, paired with Foucault’s theory of the Panopticon, this study examines the sociological effects of rape culture and rape myth acceptance on feelings towards victims and perceived necessity for intervention. This study further analyzes the deeper social psychological effects of the internalization of rape culture using Identity theory and Social structure and personality theories. Results indicated that having a higher level of rape myth acceptance led to significantly lower perceived necessity for v intervention. Results also indicated that being male predicted lower perceived necessity for bystander intervention. ______________________, Committee Chair Ellen Berg _______________________ Date vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It is with my deepest gratitude that I extend a most heartfelt thanks to my thesis chair, Professor Ellen Berg of the Department of Sociology at California State University, Sacramento. It is her guidance and support over the past two years that have made this thesis possible. She had confidence in my ability as a writer and a scholar, always offering encouragement, and helpful insight when my thoughts and ideas were difficult to gather. I would also like to acknowledge Professor Todd Migliaccio of the Department of Sociology at California State University, Sacramento as the second reader of this thesis, and I am gratefully indebted to him for his valuable and insightful comments on this thesis. I also express great appreciation for Professor Manuel Barajas, Graduate Coordinator for the Department of Sociology at California State University, Sacramento, whose wisdom and desire to see his students succeed not only helped guide me through my time at Sacramento State but also helped to ensure that I completed this program with whatever resources I needed. I would also like to thank my cohort colleagues, with whom I have had the pleasure of learning and growing with throughout the course of this program. They offered meaningful dialogue and invoked important conversations, improving the overall vii quality of our lectures. Their insight, ideas and experiences have helped shape not only my thesis, but my thoughts moving forward. My genuine appreciation goes out to my husband; his patience and belief in me and all that I am has given me the confidence to make it through this program and push myself along the way. I will forever be grateful for the sacrifices he has made in order to allow me to continue my education. Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my parents, siblings, and friends for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of researching and writing this thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you all. Alicia Eileen Barros Souza viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... vii List of Tables .............................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................1 Purpose ..............................................................................................................3 Socialization and Hegemonic Masculinity ........................................................4 Panopticism and Hegemony: Creating a Rape Culture ....................................10 Internalizing Victim-Blaming and Rape Myths ...............................................13 Current Study ...................................................................................................17 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ................................................................................22 Prevalence of Rape and a Changing Definition ...............................................22 Rape Myths in Society and the Media .............................................................24 Current Research ..............................................................................................29 3. METHODS AND DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................31 Data ..................................................................................................................31 Dependent Variable .........................................................................................33 Independent Variables .....................................................................................33 Control Variables .............................................................................................34 Method of Analysis ..........................................................................................34 ix 4. RESULTS ..............................................................................................................36 Sample..............................................................................................................36 Univariate Statistics .........................................................................................36 Multivariate Statistics ......................................................................................37 5. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................41 Limitations .......................................................................................................44 Future Research Implications ..........................................................................45 Conclusions ......................................................................................................47 Appendix A. Rape Myth Acceptance Index Questions .............................................50 Work Cited ...................................................................................................................52 x LIST OF TABLES Tables Page 1. Univariate Statistics for Rape Myth Acceptance .............................................. 39 2. Univariate Statistics For Likelihood To Intervene............................................ 39 3. Ordinary Least Square Regression Model ........................................................ 40 xi 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Sexual assault has proven to be a pervasive social problem, as 1 in 5 women and 1 in 71 men reported that they had experienced sexual assault at some point in their lifetime, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2013). American culture has trivialized and normalized sexual assault through societal rhetoric, creating what is known as a rape culture, laden with false beliefs, stereotypes, and rape myths. This pervasive and entrenched rhetoric, centered around the hyper-sexualization and objectification of women, leads to victim blaming and research suggests may lead people to turn a blind-eye to instances of sexual assault (Loughnan et al. 2013). Rape culture, as defined by Emilie Buchwald, in Transforming a Rape Culture is: a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and support violence against women. It is a society where violence is seen as sexy and sexuality as violent. In a rape culture, women perceive a continuum of threatened violence that ranges from sexual remarks to sexual touching to rape itself. A rape culture condones physical and emotional terrorism against women as the norm…in a rape culture both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life, inevitable (xi). Rape myths include a variety of different false beliefs and create a culture in which even victims blame themselves for rape and justify male aggression (Buchwald, Fletcher and Roth 2005). Rape culture is present in jokes, TV, music,