Male rape in the media: The forgotten victims.
“A police report described him as 5-foot-9 and 140 pounds - or as his cellmate put it, ‘just right’.”
For years male rape has been shown as comedy, in films to TV shows, so much that it’s now a cliché. It even appears in children’s cartoon shows such as SpongeBob SquarePants and Skylanders Academy.
While there are no current studies that capture the true magnitude of this issue, there have been attempts to collate films that include the comedic portrayals of male sexual assault. For example, Pop Culture Detective showcases how this issue spans genres, and though not a complete list, it shows how the theme repeatedly appears in top blockbuster movies (e.g. The Green Mile, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Groundhog Day).
“Word of advice - Don’t drop the soap”
Most of the depictions of male rape in film media relate to prison contexts, many including the cliché ‘don’t drop the soap’. Younger viewers are most likely oblivious to the actual implication of this phrase. Adults who understand the joke might think it is funny rather than horrific, which highlights how desensitised we are to this issue. The unoriginality of these scenes also shows how viewers have been conditioned to see male rape as a problem isolated to prisons and something almost inevitable for new convicts. However, the reality is men can be raped in any setting, and while male rape is a documented issue in prisons, most prisoners are not raped.
“He’s the one who famously said I’d take a bullet for Donald Trump. Well now that he’s looking at prison time we’ll see if he’s willing to take a dick.”
At first glance, these depictions may seem to be just dark humour and not to be thought about too deeply. However the media has the power to influence cultural views and beliefs, so if the media’s portrayal of male rape is as comedy, this trivialises the experience of male rape victims compounding their trauma and feelings of shame.
These harmful depictions also reinforce the unhelpful male rape myths (MRMs) that are endemic in society, including people making legal decisions about cases of male rape. Although this issue is very under-researched, some people are beginning to highlight the MRMs in the media and society.
These myths include the idea that men cannot be raped; only gay men can be raped; women can’t sexually assault men; men who physically respond to rape must have wanted it. These harmful MRMs are also found in UK newspapers, where male rape is portrayed as consensual and a solely homosexual issue. When the media has such influence over societies’ views, normalising harmful stereotypes, it is vital that more research is conducted into MRMs and their impact on male victims.
“And why does a prisoner drop the soap? Cause no one wants to do it alone.”
These harmful depictions of male rape are in stark contrast to depictions of female rape, which are usually – and rightly - portrayed with the utmost seriousness. Why the contrast? One answer is the cognitive distortion called gamma bias, where problems impacting women are magnified but the same problems impacting men are minimised. Thus one of the greatest and most under-researched examples of gamma bias is the media’s sensationalist and humorous portrayal of male rape.
Unlike MRMs, female rape myths (FRMs) have been challenged by feminists since the 1970s. This effort has led to the countering of many harmful FRMs, such as the stereotype that female victims are ‘asking for it’. By countering these portrayals, feminists are successfully creating conversations around the nature of female rape. There is still a long way to go in solving this issue, but the feminist movement is largely responsible for the increase in awareness of female rape in society.
“This doesn’t end with us riding out into the sunset. It ends with me dying of cancer and you winning the icebox award for softest mouth”
While the work in countering FRMs is incredibly important, these efforts have inadvertently contributed to gamma bias, which has left portrayals of MRMs overlooked, and rape seen as a solely female issue. So today, most conversations around rape disregard the experiences of male victims.
Several issues urgently need to be addressed in male rape research, such as the under-reporting of its occurrence and the low percentage of male victims who pursue any type of support. Fortunately, academics have started to recognise some of the key obstacles to pursuing support which range from the shame associated with help-seeking, general distrust in female-centric support services, and concrete barriers like financial constraints. These obstacles become even more complex in forced-to-penetrate cases where male victims suffer from ‘gendered’ aggression strategies such as threats of false rape allegations. There can be little doubt that the harmful MRMs portrayed in the media are part of the problem, reducing help-seeking and contributing to the mental health impact of male rape, such as PTSD, depression, and suicidal thoughts, which may go unreported and undiagnosed for years.
“Check out the new meat. I’m going to slather you up in Gunavian jelly [laughs] Go to town”
Fortunately, there has been a recent advancement in tackling MRMs. This is the development and validation of the first reliable and comprehensive measure of MRM acceptance, the Male Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (MRMAS). It’s hoped that this will provide a reliable method to identify MRM acceptance in important populations, such as the judicial systems and support services. The MRMAS can then be used to develop and validate any training programmes which aim to reduce MRM acceptance. This process might help reduce many of the problems male rape victims face when reporting and getting support.
While this is a great step in the right direction, it is vital we continue to build momentum in the study of male rape to ensure we challenge MRMs. Currently, many men still feel unable to report their rape or seek support due to the MRMs that the media helps perpetuate in our culture. Hopefully, by continuing this effort, we can help bridge the 20-year gap between female and male rape research so that all rape victims get the support they deserve.
To see the secondary source of the quotations above, see Pop Culture Detective here
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Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and is not a substitute for therapy, legal advice, or other professional opinion. Never disregard such advice because of this article or anything else you have read from the Centre for Male Psychology. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of, or are endorsed by, The Centre for Male Psychology, and we cannot be held responsible for these views. Read our full disclaimer here.
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hyper-masculine gender norms are typically embedded within military institutions, and while adherence to these norms can contribute to combat and military success, they conversely make clinical work challenging
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Tom Hulme
Tom Hulme is an MSc Psychology student at Birkbeck, University of London. He has a keen interest in mental health research and the study of male psychology. Alongside his academic work, he also runs the @mindful_tom Instagram page, where he promotes mental health, mindfulness, and self-care techniques to help people take control of their mental wellbeing.