Attitudes Toward Rape Myths: The Influence of Social Constructs and Personality on the Acceptance of Rape Myths

Principal Author
Kaitlin Marguerite Brunett
Graduate

Faculty Sponsor
Dr. Krista Howard

Abstract

Background: In light of cultural events such as the #MeToo movement and court cases of Brock Turner and Brett Kavanaugh, there has become increased awareness of society’s suspicions toward rape victims. Rape myths were first defined by Burt in 1980 as prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists. This was expanded on in 1994 by Lonsway and Fitzgerald to include that rape myths were designed to shift blame from perpetrators to the victim. Previous studies conducted on rape myth acceptance (RMA) have analyzed the relationship between RMA and factors such as benevolent sexism, dark triad, empathy, self-esteem, and religion on their own. However, no past study has analyzed all of these factors together or included any research about the relationship between political affiliation and RMA. Aims: The purpose of this study is to to better understand the types of individuals who are more likely to accept rape myths and to develop a general profile of individuals who are more likely to accept rape myths by conducting a comprehensive examination of the personality and social constructs described in this review. Conclusion: The acceptance of rape myths perpetuates a society where rape is deemed acceptable and or allowable. It is important for research to first identify the overall characteristics of individuals who endorse rape myths so that future research may explore the ways to manipulate and ultimately put an end to these behaviors.

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35 thoughts on “Attitudes Toward Rape Myths: The Influence of Social Constructs and Personality on the Acceptance of Rape Myths

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  3. R ape is a very sensitive topic, but I’m glad to see studies being done over heavy topics like this. It’s good to provide data, especially since there are still doubters unfortunately.

  4. This study is imperative in order for us to combat false beliefs that enable and do not discourage such violent actions against others.

  5. This is a very important research, especially considering how hard it is to talk about it and inform people. It will be very helpful in understanding certain behaviors and hopefully better inform people of harmful myths. thank you so much for your work!!

  6. I am so excited that this is a study and people are actually showing the important of it.

  7. Not only is this such a controversial topic to discuss, I can tell you have such a passion for this. These are the kinds of topics that must be talked about, that people must be educated about. And this is definitely the step that we need to dig into that direction. Right when I was the title I had to read your study!

  8. Thank you so much for conducting this study! It is a very hard topic to discuss, but situations like this need to be addressed because this topic is still overlooked. It’s important that we address these situations so we can raise more awareness!

  9. This is such a great study. Most people only have opinions when arguing about this topic so it’ll be interesting to see the results of this study. Hopefully it’s able to help victims.

  10. This is such an interesting thing to look at. Since it one of those sensitive topics to talk about, its interesting to see actual statics that go with it instead of just opinion based arguments.

  11. This topic is super important! Thanks for doing research on a topic that is very hard for many women to talk about.

  12. Thank you for bringing awareness to this situation. This is a very interesting study and I hope to see the end results.

  13. This is very interesting research. I would really like to see the outcome of this research. I think that this is a very important topic to understand more about.

    1. I found this to be a very controversial and confusing study. I’m not sure how the results of this study are going to be similar to past studies about this topic. The project relies completely on finding out if the sexual encounter was consensual but the researchers are not present when that occurs.

  14. This research was very interesting and informational especially on a topic as serious as this one. Thank you for your research on this topic.

  15. This is a very interesting research idea and I would be interested to see the outcome. I do think it might be helpful to define these types of myths somewhere in the introduction. This is a great idea for a study.

  16. This research was very important in the fact that our society must be aware of these characteristics. It is a topic that can create an important change in the way we live in this constantly changing society.

  17. Hi, this topic was incredibly interesting and holds a lot of significance, especially for us women. I know that this research will be helpful to having a better understanding of this situation and hopefully lead to a better future.

  18. This is a very interesting topic and viewpoint; this multifaceted approach lets us view this issue with different variables and bring awareness to end this behavior. I’m glad this was researched and studied because as a women myself, this needs to be talked about more, we need to make sure that the future generation of girls are safe and protected.

  19. Very important topic. I appreciate that you looked at this through multiple factors and it made your findings a lot more credible.

  20. This is such an important topic to cover and it is especially hard for women. Thank you for being brave enough to do the research, it must have been a hard research topic.

  21. This was very interesting. Thank you for doing research on such an important issue happening right now.

  22. It’s very interesting to see these two factors investigated simultaneously, this is a very current issue and this study will give us an interesting insight into this issue.

    1. Thank you so much for your interest! I’m hoping to continue this work past this study so that more awareness can be brought to this issue and hopefully changes will be made.

  23. What an important topic. It is so important to assess such issues from a multifaceted approach.

    1. Thank you so much for your interest! I’m looking forward to a multifaceted approach and hope that it helps dig out the deeper issues surrounding this topic.

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