Abstract
The viral spread of the hashtag #MeToo in late 2017 was prompted by actor Alyssa Milano who asked followers to reveal the extent to which sexual assault, harassment and violence had affected people across the US (and the world); this came after the first accusations of Harvey Weinstein’s sexual harassment and assault on women were made. But the phrase is much older. The first use of “Me Too” dates to 2006, when Tarana Burke began using it to spread “empowerment through empathy” amongst women of colour to support victims of sexual harassment and assault. It was between these two periods, in 2013, that the term “rape culture” moved outside of feminist academic discourse and planted itself firmly into mainstream popular culture. Although no one comprehensive definition exists, as Phillips notes in her text, feminist scholars from the 1970s onwards have used the term to “describe how violence against women has been normalized in our society through a process of linking sexuality to violent aggression” (p. 5). Why 2013 was the year that broader society became aware of the term is the focus of Phillips’ monograph as she explores how sexual assault and violence was mainstreamed, is contested in popular culture, and how this impacts upon policy making and the legal system.
Undertaking an examination of rape culture in the cultural landscape between the years of 2012 and 2016, Phillips touches upon the events and discourse that unveiled how rape and sexual harassment are perceived, articulated and enacted against women and children. The 2012–2016 period provides numerous examples, but Phillips focuses on a number of main cultural points: the news reporting of Jyoti Singh’s rape and murder on a bus in New Delhi; the rape of Jane Doe in Steubenville; Robin Thicke’s pop song “Blurred Lines”; the SlutWalk campaign; the Bill Cosby accusations; Game of Thrones and the use of rape against female characters in television shows to advance narrative; violence against and rape of female characters in video games, as well as the threats made against female video game developers and critics as part of #GamerGate; rape culture in comic books and rape culture on university campuses including Sabrina Erdely’s now-infamous 2014 Rolling Stone article. While some events and actions were unreported in mainstream media and would be of little interest to a large portion of the community (for example, removing the rape of female comic book characters as “character development” from storylines caused debate amongst comic book fans), the zeitgeists Phillips investigates would be familiar to readers in one form or another. As she reveals, the term “rape culture” and its use has been controversial; there has been heated debate about what the term means, how it is applied and what this means for consumers of popular culture and media.
This book not only considers how sexual violence against women and minorities is presented through low-culture but how the meanings of these representations of sexual violence are perceived, consumed and contested by feminists, criminologists, scholars and non-scholars. Phillips moves between discussing high-profile criminal cases to how rape culture feeds into film, television, gaming and music media; and how, regardless of endless survey and report results indicating that violence against women needs addressing, outside of feminist circles, most of this is either ignored or characterised as hysterical overreach. Although rape culture is the central lens through which Phillips interrogates popular culture and facets of the criminal justice system, it is not the reductive argument that popular culture, with its representations of (sexual) aggressions against women, is responsible for the misogyny in society. Rather, Phillips argues that stereotyping of victims of rape and sexual violence is further entrenched by popular culture and discussions around it, making it more difficult for everyone (including feminists) to engage with ideological concepts that may move policy and practice towards a more positive outcome supportive of victims and enlightened preventative action.
Due to the nature of popular culture and especially the social media misogyny that is outlined in this book (especially GamerGate), this is a quick introduction to discussions around rape culture within feminist circles as well as lay consumers of pop culture. The use of news and other online media articles, as well as online interactions between users, helps build a picture of what victims, offenders, producers, consumers, commentators and bystanders think about violence against women, how they define it, interact with the processes around sexual harassment and either defend or resist it. For those inclined, a trip down the rabbit-hole of any of the discussions that Phillips begins to unpack (especially those related to “geek spaces” such as gaming, comic books or movies based on these mediums) will quickly demonstrate how any one of the book's seven chapters could itself be a topic for a book. Therefore, the careful corralling of the discussion towards the final chapter where the author reconciles the moral panic about rape culture (which Phillips dismisses as being a “moral panic” since sexual violence is a real and present danger for many women) with a way forward on policy, is deftly handled. As this book illustrates, there is no consensus on sexual violence, there is no shared agreement about what it is, who it impacts or how, and therefore there is no agreement on how to prevent or police it. Phillips points out that while the discussion about the sexual victimisation of women and men has become more mainstream, there has been no increased call for more punitive criminal justice policies. The scandals about leading Hollywood figures and the #MeToo movement have not directly translated into concrete action within the criminal justice system.
Some minor drawbacks to this book do exist; for instance, some sections within chapters break the flow and rhythm of the discussion. The section on trigger warnings, for example, appears rushed and does not sit well in the chapter on television portrayals of rape victims and victimisation. The book is also almost exclusively focused on US popular culture and movements; yet, no distinction is made about how online discussions of these events may indicate a decidedly non-US viewpoint of commentators. For example, misogynist backlash against female game developers and critics which led to GamerGate were playing out globally online; yet from the book, it would appear that only US internet users were engaged in harassing US-based women. The focus on popular culture also means that the references have been supplanted by new/er material that would perhaps offer better examples than what is being discussed. This is hardly Phillips’ fault but demonstrates how popular media shifts and changes, while the sexual victimisation of women remains a constant. Overall, Phillips’ book is an invaluable addition for scholars and non-scholars alike. It introduces readers to online and media debates about sexual harassment and violence that may fall outside the radar of many, and plots the evolution of rape culture from a topic discussed by feminist academics to a well-known yet contested term amongst the public.