Essay, Research Paper: Opposing Views On Date Rape

Date rape is rape in which the rapist is known to the victim, as when they are on a date
together. Date rape is also called acquaintance rape. The rate of date rape crimes are
substantially high at colleges and universities throughout the United States. Rape occurs
for several reasons. It can occur due to mixed signals given out from both parties. The
male can be at fault if he is told to stop and does not. The female can also be put to
blame, because some will say that she could have prevented it.
Both authors, Camille Paglia and Susan Jacoby, have opposing views to date rape.
Paglia is an antifeminist who feels that feminists have deceived women by telling them
that they can do anything, go anywhere, say anything, and wear anything. She feels that
women can t do so, because they will always be in sexual danger. She argues that
feminism misleads women by offering them a fantasy of sexual empowerment instead of
warning them of the certainty of male sexual aggression. She feels that feminists
overdramatize the rape situation. Feminists have told young women that before they
become intimate with a man, they must give explicit consent to avoid problems.
According to Paglia, the seriousness of rape does not require such exaggeration.
In It s a Jungle Out There, Paglia says that feminism keeps young women from
seeing life as it is. In a situation where a if a woman decides to attend a fraternity party,
she should be accompanied by others. A girl who allows herself to get drunk at parties is
a fool. Paglia says that a girl who goes upstairs with a fraternity brother is an idiot. In
this situation, feminists call this blaming the victim. Paglia calls this common sense.
The only solution to date rape is female self-awareness and self control.
Susan Jacoby argues that excusing date rape on the grounds of mixed signals
demeans both men and women. Jacoby agrees that people send and receive countless
mixed signals in the course of their sex lives. She says that men somehow decode these
signals without using physical strength to force themselves on their partners. According
to Jacoby, most date rapes occur because a minority of men can t stand to take no for
an answer. It s no surprise to Jacoby that date rape is an issue to college-age women.
In my opinion, I somewhat agree with both authors. I agree with Camille Paglia s
argument that feminists don t allow young women to live life as we are suppose to.
Feminists have in some way deceived women by telling us that we are liberated, and,
therefore, we should do as we wish, say what we want, and dress how we please.
Females in our society are not dumb. We know how to handle ourselves in these
situations. Reasoning tells us that if we decide to attend a party, we know better than to
get drunk. Although, Susan Jacoby makes one point clear that sometimes date rape
occurs because mixed signals have been sent by both parties. When it comes down to
the point of intimacy, there are men who will not take no for an answer.
In conclusion, everyone has opposing and mixed opinions on date rape. In the
works of the two authors, Paglia and Jacoby, each has opposing views on the subject. My
views, however, seem to take the side of both authors for different reasons.