‘FEMINISM is a Regressive Form of Tribalism’ Dividing Males & Females, Creating an Illusion of a Campus Rape Culture
A college male meets a college female, they get along well, and the male attempts to kiss the female. She pushes him away, saying it is too soon. A few days later they have sex, but his first attempt to kiss the woman would be regarded by some feminist observers as “sexual assault.” Central to the discussion of sexual violence are two issues: incidence of sexual violence on campus, and the “culture” of sexual violence, or “rape culture,” on campus and in the wider society. The facts are highly contested. The incidence of rape and sexual assault on campus is less than one percent, according to the U. S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. These figures are challenged by feminists…Great efforts have been made by feminists to expand the boundaries of the categories of rape and sexual assault. The object is to maximize the appearance of victimization of females by males and there are many ways in which the categories are expanded. “Sexual assault” itself is a catch-all category that includes “the male gaze,” an accidental bump, a touch on a shoulder, an unwanted invitation, an attempted kiss, hugging, groping, and touching of sexual areas. Many feminists have advocated the view that if a female feels regret after having sexual relations with a man, then those sexual relations were rape.
Feminist professors have made “rape culture” and “toxic masculinity” central pillars of their teaching and “research.” Feminist professors explain the alleged high level of sexual assault on “rape culture,” which they believe is a primary ideology of Western societies. Most female students appear to believe that they live in a “rape culture.” Even female anthropologists, who should know what “culture” is, hold the same counterfactual belief. The feminist reasoning appears to be: There are lots of rapes and sexual assaults. But since we do not believe in biology-based behavior, and we believe that all social roles are socially constructed, there must be a rape culture that instructs men to rape and rewards them for doing so. This feminist argument is nonsense, and I am ashamed that female anthropologists advance this theory. In Western society, we do not encourage men to rape; we do not teach men how to rape; we do not reward men who rape; we do not regard rape as a positive act; we have outlawed rape and put into place severe penalties for rape. We do not have a “rape culture.” Third wave feminism faced a decline in support due to success in reaching feminist political, educational, and employment goals. Young women benefiting from access to the wider society and not feeling restricted did not see the need for feminist militancy. Faced with the loss of group solidarity, what could feminists do? The answer is as old as politics: find a threatening enemy to scare members back into the fold.
Feminist encouragement of rape hysteria has led to a flood of rape accusations on campuses, mostly by females against males, both students, and professors. Accusations have been encouraged by universities, which have been led to believe that there are gazillions of unreported rapes, and which have been pressed by government officials to press charges and punish males. In a multitude of cases, lawsuits by male victims of university punishments have led to rebukes by the courts of the universities, and forced settlements have been imposed, while in other cases universities have settled. Feminists say that no rape accusations are false. But false accusations of rape to the police, calculated by one study to be five percent, are five times higher than false allegations about other crimes. Other estimates by law enforcement experts are considerably higher. Cases of false rape accusations, such as here, here, here, here, and here, have been dealt with by police and courts, and some false accusers have been given jail sentences.
The fourth wave feminist attack on men, equality, and judicial principles has been viewed with equanimity by most men. Happily for feminists, they are able to recruit the male tendency to protect females and turn it against other men. Men have not awakened to the costs of the feminist anti-male campaign for themselves and their sons. School teachers trained in radical left feminist faculties of education not surprisingly favor females in their classrooms. Boys are unwelcome and drop out of school at increasing rates. Feminist professors have undermined education and legal processes, and, in so doing, have undermined Western values, democracy, and human rights as specified by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Feminism is an illiberal, regressive form of tribalism that divides all of the people in the world into two categories, celebrating half of the people in the world and vilifying the other half.
mindingthecampus.org By Phillip Carl Salzman
