Psychology

Rape is a common yet seemingly undulated crime.  When I typed in the word RAPE into the Google Search Engine, there are very few specific articles that focus on the definitive word, per se.  What I saw instead are news articles about a certain Filipina named Nicole and her unfortunate fate of being raped by an American soldier by the name of Daniel Smith in Subic, Philippines.  According to the articles, the case dubbed as the Subic Rape case went out for a long period of time, but it has ceased to exist because of rather confusing outcomes Nicole withdrew her case against Daniel for reasons unknown, and the soldier was set free (Rodis, 2009). Rape cases as such are prevalent not only in the Philippines with 3,177 reported rape cases in 1999 (Costo, Almarines, Encarnacion, 2003).  This is a widespread problem that unfortunately is without proper acknowledgment among the authorities. 
There are notions and stereotypes in the incidence of rape.  There are several myths in the incidence of rape, and for this paper, we are going to discuss only two.

Just Myths
We are going to focus on the most common myths for the victim and the rapist.  We go with the victim first.

Rape myths say that victims get raped because they provoke the rapists (Meyer, 2000).  The way they dress, their behaviors, and generally their lifestyle are the main factor why rapists get attracted to them to the point of committing the sexual act.  In a sense, this myth says that if you wear tight-fitting clothes and act flirtatious, you are declaring yourself open for public consumption.  This is not true.
Rapists select their victims without regard to physical appearance or lifestyle unless of course he is a deranged serial rapist that follows a certain physical or behavioral pattern in their victims, as in the case of the Green River Killer (The Seattle Times, 2003).  That is beside the point, however.  The point to be instilled here is that rape is not spontaneous not because you are not wearing provocative clothes doesnt mean someone may not be thinking perverted thoughts about you.  Rape is a partially-planned act of violence that utilizes sex to degrade the victim and satisfy the rapists desire for control and power, or a show in strength and masculinity (Carroll, 2009).  No girl in her right mind would ever want to be emotionally and physically dishonored.  Rape is unsolicited and it targets no specific group, age, or class, of people.

Rapists, on the other hand, are generally regarded as an evil and perverted person whose sexual urges cannot be contained.  Most myths say that they are lonely men who had nothing better to do but fantasize about their neighbors.  They belong to the lower socio-economic classes and to the black community.  They are psychotic men who rapes not only women but men, too these men-rapists are common in prisons.

Rapists, like their victims, do not belong to a single specified classification of the population.  Yes, they are evil, but most rapists know their victims very well they may be relatives, caretakers, even close friends of the victim (Hamlin, 2005).  Id say that the stereotyping of the rapists came from the societys innate racist beliefs.  Most rapists are sane they know what they are doing and why they are doing it.  They do it because they want to gain power every rape victim is like a conquest to them.  They belong to various walks of life, and their educational level or intellectual capacity is not really a factor to their capability to carry out a crime such as rape.

Why Myths Exist and Persist
So why do these misconceptions still persist  Well, we have to partly blame the media for that.  We have television shows and movies showing these stereotypes on the rapists and their victims.  Novels and books, too, unravel a familiar story with the characters showing what the readers wanted to see an old balding man living by himself, a beautiful young girl whos reeking of sexual appeal.

Take the novel-turned-movie The Lovely Bones (2009).  We see the character George Harvey fitting the above description.  However, the movie disrupts another myth regarding the victims Harvey has raped several women of different ages and races, literary and film evidence that no girl is safe from rape.  Not even males, as portrayed in the comedy movie, Big Stan (2007), where Stan was sent to prison, all the while fearing being raped by the inmates.

The media has offered a clear-cut description of what maniacs should look like.  Apparently, no one would believe if the handsome college boy from an Ivy University is a rapist and not his tattooed friend who studies at some loser college in the state.  They have to add an effect that will convince the audience that this man is not to be trusted, that he is devising plans inside his black bald head for his attack on his next prospective victim, combing his mustache and hanging out in his basement.  All these personification, however, cannot be avoided as it is already a part of the industry.

Beliefs and Behavior
The beliefs that we hold are like indelible ink in our minds.  What we saw while we are growing up watching TV or reading books are manifestations of stereotypingcruel, but its true.  We often hear our parents tell their daughters not to wear short skirts and shirts with a deep neckline because it may attract inappropriate behavior from the opposite sex.  More so, girls are advised not to wander alone in the dark for they might encounter someone, nor are they allowed to go on trips that consist mainly of her male friends.  The public, especially these poor girls, are brought up to be afraid of these myths people seem to find a link to rape in one way or another.  But as they say, there is no harm in prevention, as no one is safe from being sexually assaulted (Hamilton, 2004).