Abstract
Claire Cohen frames male rape as both a by-product of feminism and an issue that could benefit from a feminist analysis. Male Rape is a Feminist Issue utilizes Foucauldian thought to examine how male rape is constructed both in media and by audiences. Male victimization has been largely omitted from discourse on sexual violence, perhaps because male rape is at odds with the feminist rape model and ideal victimhood. Cohen implements Foucauldian triangulation as a methodological technique to trace discursive regularities in the construction of male rape. She examines how male rape intersects with established repertoires that employ feminist thought and the female victim and how rape myths play a part in the construction and feminization of male rape to illustrate its significance within governmentality.
Cohen examines the dissemination of knowledge through informational and entertainment media using Foucauldian triangulation. Media plays a vital role in framing male victimization, often by legitimizing male victimhood using classic rape myths. Cohen conducts a content analysis on newspaper articles, television shows, movies, and music to illustrate governmentality in action. In order to examine how the audience internalizes these frames, Cohen also analyzes fan fiction, an artifact created through audience engagement. Lastly, she turns her attention to how male rape victims are acted upon through policy and advocacy. In sum, Cohen’s data show how media produces a truth about male rape, which is absorbed and recreated by audiences through fan fiction and is reflected in policies and practices around male rape victims.
This book will appeal to both Foucauldian and feminist scholars, as well as any researcher interested in how media and audiences work together to construct knowledge. Further, this account will be useful for any persons researching rape myths and victimhood, as it provides a detailed investigation into an area often absent from victimology: the male rape victim.