Research Proposal

Intro-

Rape and Rape Culture, while widely ignored, are a huge part of the normal everyday society that we are all a part of.  Today in the US many women and men are raped and sexually abused and we hear very little about it.  Very few rapists are tired for these crimes because the victims sometimes are more shamed then the guilty offender. This paper will look at the effects of the acceptance of rape culture and the stereotypes and stigmas surrounding it. What is rape culture and what does that look like in today society? How are the accused and how are the victims treated? How does the media depict and treat the victims?

Review of Literature- 

Mccaughey, Martha, and Neal King. "Rape Education Videos: Presenting Mean Women Instead of Dangerous Men." Teaching Sociology 23.4 (1995): 374. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This paper written by Mccaughey and King, are one example of the use of images to make people aware of Rape. One of the main points the team makes is that women are just a capable of rape and sexual assault  as men are. As well as, that rape education that is normally taught just continues to create a male fantasy of the submissive female.  They state "We argue that these "dangerous men" videos inadvertently perpetrate the very myths that support rape culture because they refuse to offer a fantasy of women's resistance." I will use this source not only to back up my argument of how women can be rapists, but also that media today is a huge example of how we live surrounded by rape culture. 

Carolyn Gage, ", Off Our Backs,  22.1, 1992: When will it end? (January 1992), 6-7, 9. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This small facts article, written by Carolyn Gage, is written to share information about a women's rape museum and the history of women's rape.  The paragraphs are divided in to sections, explaining different displays that would be found there. Gage shares lots of her opinions about rape throughout this article. It is clear that she feels very strongly on this matter and would want to get information out there for the public. I would use this source as a example of how little the average person knows and how many people are fighting for them to know more. As well as a database in itself when looking where she got her information. Mostly looking at statistics.  

Gloria Cowan, Robin R. Campbell, "Rape Causal Attitudes among Adolescents", The Journal of Sex Research,  32.2 (1995): 145-153, JSTOR. Web.  27 January 2015.

This article is a great source of how rape is overlooked or ignored in today's society. Cowan says in her opening sentence "Rape and sexual violence are not rare experiences in the lives of young women; yet little is know about adolescents' beliefs about the causes of rape." She basically opens up her paper saying 'it happens all the time to young girls, but none of them know why'. I will use this artical to help back up one of my arguments in my paper. That rape should be more clearly talked about and people should understand why it is happening and that it is never their fault.

Bennett Capers, "Real Rape Too", California Law Review, 99. 5 (October 2011), 1259-1307, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

In this source the main topic is male to male rape in prisons and outside of prison. The paper talks about the completely unknowable frequency of  prison rape, because of the men not wanting to step forward and admit that it happened to them. These men that don't come forward are afraid of being looked at as weak or homosexual or both. This stereotype revolves around any man who is sexually assaulted and I will use this source in my paper to prove that fact. Men should be able to step forward about their assault as much as women can

Susan Estrich, "Rape", The Yale Law Journal, 95.6 (May, 1986), 1087-1184, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
Estrich writes first hand what her experience with rape was. This is one of the most important articles I have. She wrote honestly about her experience especially after when she went to the police. This article focuses on the stereotypes sounding girls after they have been violated. It will be helpful to me have a first hand perspective of what that's like.Jennie Ruby, "It's Time to Stop Tolerating Rape", Off Our Backs, 32.9/10 (september-october 2002), 37-38, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
This article is a great example of the strong willed person speaking up for people who are taken advantage of. I will use this article to back up my arguments in my paper. To us the facts and words written by Ruby to make my arguments more believable. Michelle J. Anderson, "Diminishing the Legal Impact of Negative Social Attitudes Toward Acquaintance Rape Victims", New Criminal Law Review: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 13.4 (Fall 2010), 644-664, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
In this article I learned about `how people are fight the negative attitudes towards rape victims. Anderson says "Rape law often condemns females who are not chaste and excuses males who act with sexual entitlement." This was very insightful for me because now I know how the system works and how rape victims are treated when being put through the system. I will also use this source to make my argument more reliable. 

David J. Giacopassi, Karen R. Wilkinson, "Rape and the Devalued Victim", Law and Human Behavior, 9.4 (Dec., 1985), 367-383, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
This article is about the effects of the victim after, and how people around them act towards them once they have found out. From this article I will get good insight about my topic and the laws surrounding it. I would also like to look at how those laws have changed the perspective of victims and how often rape occurs the more people notice it.

Sandesh Sivakumaran, "Male/Male Rape and the "Taint" of Homosexuality", Human Rights Quarterly, 27.4 (Nov., 2005), 1274-1306, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This article is important to me because it talks about how men don't want to talk about their rape even to tell the police. This is because of the stereotypes surrounding male-on-male rape, it is thought that the victim would be looked as weak or as gay. This article also brings up the topic of how gay men are then looked at. 

Alyn Pearson, "Rape Culture: It's all around us", Off Our Backs, 30.8 (august/september 2000), 12-14, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This artical is helpful because it examines how rape is really looked at in today's society. Pearson writes "Rape is the common cold of society. Although rape is much more serious then a cold, the symptoms are the same." This will be useful to me because this is extremely close to the main argument i will be supporting through out my paper.

Plan to Gather Information

Most of my really reliable and useful information i have already gathered. This information is mostly gathered from online data bases.  Although I plan to lean more about the laws surrounding rape and sexual harassment. Right now I have multiple sources and a variety of kinds. And continuing to find videos about people talking about this issue relating to news anchors and people of media.  

Project Timeline- 

For this paper I plan to be completed by the due date and following all due dates leading up to that. This coming week I am prepared to really find more articles and information about my topic. Soon after I will start forming my essay briefly. Putting my arguments together so the paper as a whole sounds right. After that I will start revising my paper and the ideas within it. Then I will be in one of the final creating step and completely wright the paper. Then finishing by revising again and again, until it is just the way I want it.

Works Cited-

1. Mccaughey, Martha, and Neal King. "Rape Education Videos: Presenting Mean Women Instead of Dangerous Men." Teaching Sociology 23.4 (1995): 374. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
2. Carolyn Gage, "The Women's Rape MVSVEM", Off Our Backs, 22.1, 1992: When will it end? (january 1992), 6-7, 9 JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015. 
3. Gloria Cowan, Robin R. Campbell, "Rape Causal Attitudes among Adolescents", The Journal of Sex Research, 32.2 (1995), 145-153
4. Bennett Capers, "Real Rape Too", California Law Review, 99.5 (October 2011), 1259-1307,  JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
5. Susan Estrich, "Rape", The Yale Law Journal, 95.6 (May, 1986), 1087-1184, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
6. Jennie Ruby, "It's Time to Stop Tolerating Rape", Off Our Backs, 32.9/10 (september-october 2002), 37-38, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
7. Michelle J. Anderson, "Diminishing the Legal Impact of Negative Social Attitudes Toward Acquaintance Rape Victims", New Criminal Law Review: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 13.4 (Fall 2010), 644-664, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
8. David J. Giacopassi, Karen R. Wilkinson, "Rape and the Devalued Victim", Law and Human Behavior, 9.4 (Dec., 1985), 367-383,  JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
9. Sandesh Sivakumaran "Male/Male Rape and the "Taint" of Homosexuality", Human Rights Quarterly, 27.4 (Nov., 2005), 1274-1306,  JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
10. Alyn Pearson, "Rape Culture: It's all around us", Off Our Backs, 30. 8 (august/september 2000), 12-14,  JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
11. Rachel Hall, ""It Can Happen to You": Rape Prevention in the Age of Risk Management", Hypatia, 19.3 (Summer, 2004), 1-19, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.
12. Barnes, Brooks. "An Unblinking Look at Sexual Assaults on Campus." The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2015. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
13. Rainn, "Statistics Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network." Statistics | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015.
14. "Top 10 Countries With Highest Rape Crime." WondersList. N.p., 02 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
15. "List: States Where Rape Is Most Common - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2015
16.   Cohen, “A world of Rape” Chart http://www.economist.com/node/17900482. Google 2015, Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
17. “Date Rape Stats” Pie Chart. http://imgarcade.com/1/date-rape-statistics/. Google 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
18.  “Rape Stats” Graph. http://almostdiamonds.blogspot.com/2009/06/us-rape-statistics.html. Google 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
19.  “Everything you Need To Know About Rape”. Image. manoferrors.wordpress.com/2013/11/05/everything-you-need-to-know-about-rape/. Google 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.
20.  “97 out of 100 Rapists Receive No Punishment” Graph. rainn.org/news-room/97-of-every-100-rapists-receive-no-punishment. Google 2015. Web. 26 Jan. 2015.

Chapter Twelve - Developing Your Argument

Your argument is one of the most important parts of our paper and knowing how to write and develop a good argument gives your paper a lot of credibility. The Bedford Researcher starts off talking about how you can use your argument to support your thesis statement.  It says to select supporting evidence and think about how to structure that evidence to appeal to your readers. This is important because your evidence is what you will you use to make your argument convincing. Also learning how to phase your argument so it doesn't sound like your yelling or being harsh is important. When writing you want to talk to your reader like you are having a intellectual conversation. After this the book discusses how to assess the integrity of your argument. You can do this be looking for possibly fallacies everywhere. Research and research more. Fill flaws with truth and make sure your argument means something. This chapter was good for me to read because i helped me understand how much could go wrong when developing your argument and how much thought should go in to it.

Chapter Eleven - Developing Your Thesis Statement

Well first off, well developing your thesis statement you want to make sure it carries your main point to your reader as long as really pulls them in to your paper. In the Bedford Researcher it talks about using your sources and your position statement to really complete your thesis. The book says to review your position statement and your notes to find what you are really passionate about there and what will make a strong thesis. You also want to be thinking about your point of writing the paper and what is the one thing you really want to be clear throughout your paper. As well as thinking about who your audience is and what will pull them in and how to go about writing something that, while being powerful is still easy to understand. Then the book talks about learning how to draft your thesis statement. You want to create a lot of options for yourself when drafting because only you will see them and sometimes it makes it easier when you can mix and match different ideas together. Once you have ideas and information put down it is time to narrow your thesis statement in to something that can really clearly explain your paper. This chapter was helpful to me because it opened my eyes to how much should go in to writing a thesis statement.

Annotated Bibliography

Mccaughey, Martha, and Neal King. "Rape Education Videos: Presenting Mean Women Instead of Dangerous Men." Teaching Sociology 23.4 (1995): 374. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This paper written by Mccaughey and King, are one example of the use of images to make people aware of Rape. One of the main points the team makes is that women are just a capable of rape and sexual assault  as men are. As well as, that rape education that is normally taught just continues to create a male fantasy of the submissive female.  They state "We argue that these "dangerous men" videos inadvertently perpetrate the very myths that support rape culture because they refuse to offer a fantasy of women's resistance." I will use this source not only to back up my argument of how women can be rapists, but also that media today is a huge example of how we live surrounded by rape culture. 

Carolyn Gage, "The Women's Rape MVSVEM", Off Our Backs,  22.1, 1992: When will it end? (January 1992), 6-7, 9. JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

This small facts article, written by Carolyn Gage, is written to share information about a women's rape museum and the history of women's rape.  The paragraphs are divided in to sections, explaining different displays that would be found there. Gage shares lots of her opinions about rape throughout this article. It is clear that she feels very strongly on this matter and would want to get information out there for the public. I would use this source as a example of how little the average person knows and how many people are fighting for them to know more. As well as a database in itself when looking where she got her information. Mostly looking at statistics.  

Gloria Cowan, Robin R. Campbell, "Rape Causal Attitudes among Adolescents", The Journal of Sex Research,  32.2 (1995): 145-153, JSTOR. Web.  27 January 2015.

This article is a great source of how rape is overlooked or ignored in today's society. Cowan says in her opening sentence "Rape and sexual violence are not rare experiences in the lives of young women; yet little is know about adolescents' beliefs about the causes of rape." She basically opens up her paper saying 'it happens all the time to young girls, but none of them know why'. I will use this artical to help back up one of my arguments in my paper. That rape should be more clearly talked about and people should understand why it is happening and that it is never their fault.

Bennett Capers, "Real Rape Too", California Law Review, 99. 5 (October 2011), 1259-1307, JSTOR. Web. 27 January 2015.

In this source the main topic is male to male rape in prisons and outside of prison. The paper talks about the completely unknowable frequency of  prison rape, because of the men not wanting to step forward and admit that it happened to them. These men that don't come forward are afraid of being looked at as weak or homosexual or both. This stereotype revolves around any man who is sexually assaulted and I will use this source in my paper to prove that fact. Men should be able to step forward about their assault as much as women can.

Chapter Sixteen - Writing with Style

In this chapter of the Bedford Researcher, we learn all about writing with your own style and flair. You learn how to begin and figure out what your style is. As well as how to polish your style. The book tells us what it means to write concisely, how to use your voice in your writing, adopt a consistent point of view, and how to choose your words carefully. These are all the basics of learning how to start to write with style. After you have those basics down you can start to learn how to polish your style. Your style could be a lot of different things. And it is most likely going to be very different from everyone else. Having a writing style that is different is very unique and makes you stand out to other writers. This chapter was very useful in figuring out what my writing style is.

Chapter 15 - Using Sources Effectively

Throughout Chapter 15, we learn how to use our sources effectively to guide our readers through our paper and  how to make our ideas, contrasting or agreeing with that source, clear. Three main questions are answered in order to make the topic more clear. How can I use sources to accomplish my purposes as a writer? How can I integrate sources into my draft? How should I document my sources? The book goes over the effectiveness of your sources when you fully understand them and your topic relating to them. The book states that "Depending on the point you want to make, some types of evidence might be more effective then others." Making the importance of knowing how to clearing support your sources and, how to build off them to further your paper, very clear. The book also talked about being able to "quote strategically". Meaning that a good quote put in the right place could add a lot to your paper.  This chapter was helpful because it really did show that it is possible to back up your augment with someone else's words. This is a important skill to have when incorporating sources into a paper that needs a little bit more authority.

Chapter Nine - Searching for Information with Print Resources

In chapter nine, "Searching for Information with Print Resources", mainly focuses on library resources, books, maps, etc. The chapter is divided in to three key questions. How can I use library stacks to locate sources? How can I use a library periodicals room to locate sources? How can I use a library reference room to locate sources? All of these questions are extremely helpful and explained very thoroughly throughout each page. The first part of the chapter talks about using library stacks to locate sources. This means browsing their section and what is relevant to you. As well as checking out books and using inter-library loans. You can use library periodicals room to locate sources by using works cited pages to search for key words. The third part of this chapter you learn how to use a library reference room to locate sources. While I already knew most of the information explained in this chapter, the chapter as a whole was very helpful in further explanation of the types of resources. It was interesting to learn about all of the different types of resources found in the library.