Deck 6: Date Rapes Other Victim

Question 1

How would Roiphe summarize the disagreement between her mother's feminism and "rape-crisis" feminism? If you were a "rape-crisis" feminist, what would you say about Roiphe's summary? Is it fair? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Accurately summarize Roiphe's position, which is that her mother's feminism empowers women whereas "rape-crisis" feminism disempowers them, since the latter involves "the denial of female sexual agency."
Attempt a reply to this charge on behalf of "rape-crisis" feminism-e.g., that these feminists are trying to enhance female sexual agency by placing greater responsibility on men, or that Roiphe is using an overly narrow conception of autonomy.
Defend a position on Roiphe's criticism that demonstrates an understanding both of her view and of a charitably interpreted version of the view that she's rejecting.

Question 2

Roiphe claims that "people [verbally] pressure and manipulate and cajole each other into all sorts of things all of the time"-including sex. However, Roiphe doesn't think that every sexual encounter that results from verbal pressure, manipulation, or cajoling is an instance of rape. Come up with three cases that (a) involve verbal pressure, manipulation, or cajoling but (b) are such that Roiphe wouldn't call them rape. What should we call them? (The answers might be different.) And if they aren't rape, then are they morally okay? (Again, the answers might be different.)

Answer 2

Provide three reasonably detailed cases that satisfy the requirements in the prompt.
Defend plausible answers to the "What should we call them?" and "Are they morally okay?" questions, using sound reasoning, well-chosen examples, insightful analogies, etc.

Question 3

Roiphe objects to "the denial of female sexual agency." What does she mean by "the denial of female sexual agency," and why does she object to it? On her view, what might it look like to affirm female sexual agency?

Answer 3

Accurately explain Roiphe's view about the nature of female sexual agency and the problems with its denial.
Offer a plausible hypothesis about how you might affirm female sexual agency on Roiphe's view, where that hypothesis is demonstrably informed by ideas and examples that Roiphe lays out.

Question 4

Roiphe says that, according to those who take there to be "a rape crisis:"

A) 1 in 2 women have been raped
B) 1 in 4 women have been raped
C) 1 in 6 women have been raped
D) 1 in 8 women have been raped
E) 1 in 10 women have been raped

Question 5

Roiphe argues that measuring rape is not as straightforward as it may seem.

Question 6

Roiphe worries that what will happen if young women buy into rape crisis feminism?

A) They will live in a perpetual state of fear
B) They will stop finding sexual partners
C) They will push back the fight for rights internationally
D) They will increase their chances of being raped
E) All of the above

Question 7

Roiphe objects to images of sexual behavior in which what occurs?

A) It's OK to try to convince someone to have sex with you
B) You can regret a bad sexual encounter
C) Women are sexual agents
D) Men are sexual agents
E) Men exert pressure and women resist

Question 8

What does "active consent" mean?

A) Explicitly describing the kind of sexual encounter you'd like to have
B) Explicitly agreeing to have sex
C) Explicitly agreeing not to press charges against your sexual partner at a later date
D) Explicitly describing what you won't do, sexually
E) All of the above

Question 9

What's Roiphe's problem with the question, "Have you had sexual intercourse when you didn't want to because a man gave you alcohol or drugs?"

A) The question assumes that women are drinking or using drugs when having sex
B) The question assumes that women are having sex that they don't want to have
C) The question assumes that women aren't in control of whether they drink or use drugs
D) The question assumes that men are sober before or during sex
E) The question assumes that women can only get alcohol or drugs from men

Question 10

Roiphe is worried that if we use the word "rape" to refer to everything from emotional pressure to sexual harassment, what will happen?

A) The idea of rape ceases to be powerful
B) There will be an increasing number of legal cases concerning unwanted sexual encounters
C) Men won't know when they're acting immorally
D) Feminists will be marginalized in society
E) All of the above

Question 11

Why does Roiphe think that there would never be a rule, law, pamphlet, or peer counseling group for men who claimed to have been emotionally raped or verbally pressured into sex?

A) Women aren't physically strong enough to follow through on emotional or verbal pressure
B) There's an assumption of men's basic competence, free will and strength of character
C) Women would not support men if they became more emotionally vulnerable
D) Most men are busy exercising their power elsewhere, and would not waste time on such activities
E) We aren't advanced enough to recognize that men can be emotionally raped

Question 12

Even though Roiphe is critical of "rape-crisis" feminism," she argues that we need to be careful not to limit the meaning of "rape" so that it refers only to events involving physical violence or the threat of physical violence.

Question 13

According to Roiphe, the problem with "the denial of female sexual agency" is that what happens?

A) It preserves the inequality that earlier feminists fought against
B) It implies that women are hypersexual
C) It doesn't deny male sexual agency
D) It also denies male sexual agency
E) It ignores how little women care about sex