Male Rape - An Invisible Problem

[Tempus]

Specifically, what are some of your particular attitudes toward the issue?

Male rape should carry the same importance as the word 'rape' does for women.

Why, in your opinions, is the idea that men cannot be raped so entrenched in our culture?

I think people mistakenly assume that men can't experience unwanted arousal (get erections they don't want, in other words) which leads them to conclude that the man must've wanted to have sex. Of course it could also be a man raping another man, which would render the arousal of the victim irrelevant. Also, perhaps people think that rape only occurs when the victim is physically overpowered. In my opinion, rape occurs when someone is forced into having sex, so in that sense someone could be shamed / coerced into an unwanted sexual encounter without there being physical force applied or threatened.

Or maybe it's a hangover from the good ol' days where the delicate, fairer, softer, incompetent sex needed to be managed by the competent, rough, sturdy, strong man. Women are expected to be raped because they're weak, passive and helpless. Men are expected to be strong, assertive and able to defend themselves. While it's much more subtle today, I think we still have certain (sexist) expectations of the sexes which do both a disservice. A more subtle example of this might be the expectation of the man to pay during dates.

Lastly, what can be done to make visible the issue?

It ought to be mentioned in sex education, for a start. I don't know what sex ed is like now, but it wasn't mentioned when I was at school.