Artist Statement
Rape culture is one of the biggest societal issues today that affects women’s (and men’s) bodies. The normalization and pervasion of rape causes women to change their appearance in order to prevent being sexually assaulted. Instead of teaching people to respect others bodies, women are taught to avoid being sexually assaulted through their choice in clothing, the place they walk and what time they walk there, how much they drink, etc. The T-Shirt graphic is a compilation of words, phrases, and numbers associated with rape culture. The poster depicts a scene of a woman in some kind of trouble, but the men nearby and giving excuses as to why she could ever be assaulted, all of which put the blame on her, the victim, for getting hurt. I wanted to bring this issue to light because we often times forget how prevalent it is in our culture. Rape culture subtly works its way into popular media and culture without proper attention as to what it really is and how we are making the victims of sexual assault feel.
Katie Thielen DIG2131c 