A Critique of Carceral Feminist Arguments on Rape Myths and Sexual Scripts

Abstract

Given the seriousness for both women and men of misunderstanding or miscategorising sexual victimization and coercion, scholarly engagement with this topic must be self-critical and careful about its methods and conclusions. This article seeks to test the plausibility and justifiability of some key claims made within feminist scholarship as regards the implications of the traditional sexual script and the prevalence and impact of the ''real rape'' myth. The criticisms offered below with respect to these claims identify three problems: (a) that evidence that would challenge carceral feminists' framing of the traditional sexual script as essentially a blueprint for rape is either marginalized or excluded from consideration altogether; (b) that within that framing the scripted roles of the coercive male and the passive female who is victimized have been allowed to solidify into immovable and immutable stereotypes; (c) that studies purporting to show that rape myth acceptance is highly prevalent and influential on popular attitudes are flawed in ways hitherto not fully acknowledged or explored.

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“…15 While accepting the definitional fit of NCIID within the sexual violence continuum, and thereby the usefulness of feminist theorizations of sexual violence, I remain interested in analyzing this particular framing and in questioning the related extrapolation that acts of NCIID should be generally understood as a form of sexual assault (See Chapter 2 for a further discussion of this framing and its potential implications). 16 It is worth noting that my approach is also influenced by theorizations of the shortcomings of feminist theory (Halley 2006, Gurnham 2015. Halley (2008) and Gurnham (2015) express concerns regarding the theoretical assumptions and shortcomings that limit the critical and discursive possibilities of some feminist works.…”

“…16 It is worth noting that my approach is also influenced by theorizations of the shortcomings of feminist theory (Halley 2006, Gurnham 2015. Halley (2008) and Gurnham (2015) express concerns regarding the theoretical assumptions and shortcomings that limit the critical and discursive possibilities of some feminist works. For instance, Halley argues for the need to "take a break from feminism" to critique the ways that feminist theory may limit our perspective of harm and constrain our understandings of power (Halley 2008).…”

“…I am not the first scholar to bring together these disparate frameworks to discuss NCIID and related issues (e.g. the the research that are not adequately explained through a feminist frame (Gurnham 2015). I resist relying on any one particular theoretical approach, and rather am interested in critically mapping and analyzing the production and deployment of NCIID as a socio-legal issue.…”

“…There is some overlap between critical feminist legal studies and anti-carceral feminism, as both theories are concerned with the ways certain feminist responses to sexual violence have become intertwined with carceral politics 18 (Bumiller 2008, Bernstein 2012, Gotell 2007, Kim 2018. Anti-carceral feminism critiques the ways some mainstream feminist analysis has engaged in problematic alliances with the criminal justice system and related forms of power/regulation (Bumiller 2008, Bernstein 2012, Gurnham 2015, Gotell 2007. Gurnham describes carceral feminism in the following manner:…”

“…(2014)-in which three 14-year-old boys exchanged photos of their female peers-may represent an instance of how marginalized groups can experience greater stigmatization when they are bought into the criminal justice system (Bumiller 2008, Crenshaw 1991, Sokoloff and DuPont 2005; it is notable that D.L., the sole Indigenous 62 defendant in this case, is the only boy who was reportedly labeled a "sex offender" by others youths-a designation that can be described as "a singularly demonic figure in contemporary culture" (Bernstein 2012, 238, Wacquant 2009. While many legal feminists perceive criminal justice responses to sexual violence as proof that sexual violence is being taken seriously and that law and society are progressing toward gender equality (Gurnham 2015), it is necessary to consider the increased stigmatization that criminalization may cause for those individuals who are already marginalized within society (and, in the case of Indigenous people, are already overrepresented within Canadian prisons) (Gotell 2015, Wodda and Panfil 2018). Beyond the increased risk of social stigmatization, some marginalized groups are more at risk of police mistreatment, disproportionate prison sentences, and social stigmatization when they are brought within the purview of the criminal justice system (Sokoloff and DuPont 2005, 55, Crenshaw 1991, Wodda and Panfil 2018.…”