Media & the Denial of Rape
Hosted by Callie Khouri
How did date rape shift from a "shockingly frequent... outrage," as Newsweek once called it, to a controversy over "crying rape," as New York magazine later labeled it? Susan Faludi, bell hooks, Mary Koss, Katha Pollitt, Neil Malamuth, and others, analyze a classical case study in media "backlash."
By the early 1990s, solid research and overwhelming evidence had prompted a growing awareness of the epidemic nature of date rape, especially on college campuses. But, starting in 1993, the media used the anecdotal comments of one young woman, Katie Roiphe, to undermine efforts to stop this continuing crime against women. How did this happen? Academy Award Winning- screenwriter Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise) hosts a lively discussion by researchers, journalists, and authors.
Sections: Introduction | Conservative Origins | The Creation of a "Controversy" | "Bad Sex?" | The Attack on Mary Koss | The Research Record | The Research on Males | Male Hysteria & the Backlash | The Effects of the Date-Rape Backlash | Branding Feminism as Anti Pleasure | Fighting the Polemic