I Never Called It Rape--Updated Edition by Robin Warshaw

Author:Robin Warshaw
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-02-21T16:00:00+00:00

I’ll say this, at a fraternity, I’d be a liar if I didn’t tell you that just the atmosphere of fraternity or any group of guys in general is they promote how many girls can you have sex with, how many different girls can you have sex with. I hear it every day. At Friday morning breakfast (fraternities on his campus have big parties Thursday night), guys all have stories.

I’d say that 90 percent of the guys I live with are probably aggressive… You gotta understand that in a fraternity, all the guys are there for common goals, ideals, aspirations. So you get a group of guys who are all thinking the same. Guys will turn on you in a second if you say one thing (to disagree with the group). After all the things you have to do to get initiated into the house, you better have the same ideals and stuff and same feelings as the other guys. Because I know in our house, especially, guys are pretty tight. Basically, they’re all the same type guys.

Questioner: And one common goal is “scoring”?

Well, yeah, basically. There’s individuals for who it’s not, but, overall, I’d say yeah.

Writing in Ms. magazine in 1985, Andrew Merton, an outspoken critic of college fraternities, said, “For many adolescent males just out of high school, the transition to college represents a first step in a struggle for a kind of ‘manhood’ from which women are viewed as objects of conquest—worthy, but decidedly inferior adversaries. The idea of women as equals is strange and inconvenient at best, terrifying at worst. Unfortunately, most colleges and universities provide refuges ideally suited to reinforce these prejudices: fraternities.”

Antiwomen sentiments are in open evidence at many fraternities. Recruiting posters seen during fraternity “rush” season often feature naked women, women in bondage, or, simply, selected women’s body parts to convey the unwritten message: “Join us and get laid.” Party themes are often sexual, and members seek to gain group approval by publicly convincing women to “go upstairs” with them.

Fraternity rituals, skits, even publications often have obscene, antifemale content. After a gang rape was reported to have happened in their house, members of Alpha Tau Omega at the University of Pennsylvania posted minutes of a house meeting. Under the previous week’s “Highlights” was reported: “Things are looking up for the ATO sisters program. A prospective leader for the group [the rape victim] spent some time interviewing several Taus. . . . Possible names for the little sisters include . . . ‘The ATO Express’ [reference to the “train” which had occurred].” Under “Service” awards, one member had written: “We serviced [the rape victim].” At the University of Florida, the Beta Theta Pi fraternity published a magazine which featured a chart depicting how many beers it took to seduce each of the group’s “little sisters,” as well as other sexist and racist material. The university slapped the group with a one-year suspension after examining the publication.

Fraternity special events are also dangerous times for women.

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