University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 9-19-2019 Rape Acknowledgement in the Context of the #MeToo Movement Brandin Glos University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Glos, Brandin, "Rape Acknowledgement in the Context of the #MeToo Movement" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 7809. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/7809 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. Rape Acknowledgement in the Context of the #MeToo Movement By Brandin Glos A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through the Department of Psychology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada 2019 © 2019 Brandin Glos Rape Acknowledgement in the Context of the #MeToo Movement by Brandin Glos APPROVED BY: ______________________________________________ J. Grant School of Social Work ______________________________________________ C. Thomas Department of Psychology ______________________________________________ P. Timmons Fritz, Advisor Department Psychology September 19, 2019 DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been published or submitted for publication. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my Appendix. I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. iii ABSTRACT Sexual violence perpetrated by men against women is a pervasive social issue that affects women around the world. Sexual violence has taken place in what has been termed “rape culture,” or a culture in which sexual violence is normalized, minimized, or tacitly condoned. In October 2017, #MeToo gained global attention when numerous women began sharing experiences of male perpetrated sexual violence via social media. The recent attention given to issues of sexual violence has included little discussion about the issues facing women who have not acknowledged, or women who report male perpetrated coercive experiences that fall within the legal definition of rape, but who do not identify a perpetrator’s actions as “rape” or “sexual assault.” The present study recruited women ages 18 years and older who reported an experience meeting the legal definition of rape or sexual assault but who did not identify with those labels. This study used qualitative methods to explore the impact of #MeToo from the perspective of women who have not acknowledged. Themes derived in the present study suggested that #MeToo raised participants’ awareness that unwanted and/or coercive sexual experiences are “not unique” and that survivors are “not alone,” encouraged openness about survivors’ experiences, and validated that these experiences are problematic. Contradictions were also found across participants’ writing. Overall, #MeToo was described as having a positive emotional impact for women participating in this study without necessarily changing their own ambivalence or the external beliefs of those close to them. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY .......................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. iv LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................... 1 Rape Acknowledgement Research .................................................................................... 4 The #MeToo Movement .................................................................................................... 9 Rape Culture .................................................................................................................... 10 Rape Scripts ..................................................................................................................... 14 Narrative Development and Construction of Meaning .................................................... 17 Current Study .................................................................................................................... 21 CHAPTER 2 METHODS ............................................................................................................ 22 Participants ....................................................................................................................... 22 Recruitment for Part 1 ...................................................................................................... 23 Participant Pool Recruitment ................................................................................ 23 University of Windsor Mass Email Recruitment .................................................. 24 University of Windsor Department Secretary Email Requests ............................ 24 Kjiji Advertisement .............................................................................................. 24 Screening (Part 1) Sample Description ................................................................. 25 Recruitment for Part 2 ...................................................................................................... 25 Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 27 Procedure for Part 1 ............................................................................................. 27 Procedure for Part 2 ............................................................................................. 28 Measures .......................................................................................................................... 29 Demographics Information ................................................................................... 29 Modified Sexual Experiences Survey ................................................................... 30 Mood Neutralizing Items ...................................................................................... 31 Qualitative Questionairre ...................................................................................... 31 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................... 33 CHAPTER 3 RESULTS .............................................................................................................. 35 The #MeToo Movement .................................................................................................. 35 Feeling Less Alone Challenges Stigma ............................................................... 36 Feeling Less Alone Challenges Shame .................................................... 36 Feeling Less Alone Challenges Powerlessness ........................................ 37 Feeling Less Alone Challenges the Fear of Backlash .............................. 39 Validation Combats Silencing ............................................................................. 39 Accountability for Perpetrators ........................................................................... 41 Unwanted and/or Coercive Sexual Experience ................................................................ 41 Men Pressuring Women into unwanted and/or Coerced Sexual Activity ........... 42 Personal Experience Labels ................................................................................. 42