Much of the previous research on rape scripts suggests that the “typical” rape script involves a female victim and a male perpetrator. The idea of a male victim, therefore, is missing from this “typical” rape script, despite the fact that sexual assault can be perpetrated by or against members of both sexes. This study compared the scripts individuals hold for rape involving male and female victims by specifically asking participants (72 men and 66 women) to write two scripts based on the sex of the victim. Results indicated that in both types of scripts, a “typical” rape consisted of an event that involved one male assailant, who had some degree of previous interaction with the victim; a victim who had been drinking; the use of physical force by the assailant; and lead to negative psychological consequences for the victim. Some key differences were a greater focus on the role of alcohol and the victim's behavior in the rape scripts involving female victims and an emphasis on the victim not reporting and inclusion of the use of sexual coercion tactics by female perpetrators in the rape scripts involving male victims. Implications are discussed with respect to understanding societal and cultural influences on rape scripts and suggestions for prevention education.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndersonI. (2007). What is a typical rape?. Effects of victim and participant gender in female and male rape perception. Br J Soc Psychol. 46, 225–245.
2.
BartoliAM, ClarkMD. (2006). The dating game: Similarities and differences in dating scripts among college students. Sex Cult. 10, 54–80.
3.
BondurantB. (2001). University women's acknowledgment of rape. Violence Against Women. 7, 294–314.
4.
BurtMR. (1980). Cultural myths and supports for rape. J Pers Soc Psychol. 38, 217–230.
5.
BurtMR, AlbinRS. (1981). Rape myths, rape definitions, and probability of conviction. J Appl Soc Psychol. 11, 212–230.
6.
BrodyLR, HallJA. (2008). Gender and emotion in context. In Handbook of Emotions 3rd ed. M Lewis, JM Haviland-Jones, and LF Barrett, eds. Guilford Press, New York, NY, pp. 395–408.
7.
CampbellR, WascoSM, AhrensCE, et al. (2001). Preventing the “Second rape”. rape survivors' experiences with community service providers. J Interpers Violence. 16, 1239–1259.
8.
CarrollMH, ClarkMD. (2006). Men's acquaintance rape scripts: A comparison between a regional university and a military academy. Sex Roles. 55, 469–480.
9.
CarrollMH, RosensteinJE, FoubertJD, et al. (2016). Rape myth acceptance: A comparison of military service academy and civilian fraternity and sorority students. Mil Psychol. 28, 306–317.
10.
ChapleauKM, OswaldDL, RussellBL. (2007). How ambivalent sexism toward women and men support rape myth acceptance. Sex Roles. 57, 131–136.
11.
ClarkMD, CarrollMH. (2008). Acquaintance rape scripts of women and men: Similarities and differences. Sex Roles. 58, 616–625.
12.
CohenC. (2014). Male Rape is a Feminist Issue: Feminism, Governmentality, and Male Rape. (Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke).
13.
CromeSA, McCabeMP. (2001). Adult rape scripting within a victimological perspective. Aggress Violent Behav. 6, 395–413.
14.
DaviesM, GilstonJ, RogersP. (2012). Examining the relationship between male rape myth acceptance, female rape myth acceptance, victim blame, homophobia, gender roles, and ambivalent sexism. J Interpers Violence. 27, 2807–2823.
15.
DaviesM, McCartneyS. (2003). Effects of gender and sexuality on judgements of victim blame and rape myth acceptance in a depicted male rape. J Community Appl Soc Psychol. 13, 391–398.
16.
DaviesM, WalkerJ, ArcherJ, PollardP. (2013). The scripting of male and female rape. J Aggress Confl Peace Res. 5, 68–76.
17.
Department of Defense. (2016). Department of Defense annual report on sexual assault in the military: Fiscal year 2016. Retrieved from http: sapr.mil/index.php/reports
18.
ElliottDM, MokDS, BriereJ. (2004). Adult sexual assault: Prevalence, symptomatology, and sex differences in the general population. Journal of Traumatic Stress. 17, 203–211.
19.
FreseB, MoyaM, MegíasJL. (2004). Social perception of rape. J Interpers Violence. 19, 143–161.
20.
GagnonJH. (1990). The explicit and implicit use of the scripting perspective in sex research. Annu Rev Sex Res. 1, 1–43.
21.
HickmanSE, MuehlenhardCL. (1997). College women's fears and precautionary behaviors relating to acquaintance rape and stranger rape. Psychol Women Q. 21, 527–547.
22.
KahnAS, MathieVA, TorglerC. (1994). Rape scripts and rape acknowledgment. Psychol Women Q. 18, 53–66.
23.
KahnAS, RodgersKA, MartinC, et al. (2011). Gender versus gender role in attributions of blame for a sexual assault. J Appl Soc Psychol. 41, 239–251.
24.
KrahéB, BieneckS, Scheinberger-OlwigR. (2007). Adolescents' sexual scripts: Schematic representations of consensual and nonconsensual heterosexual interactions. J Sex Res. 44, 316–327.
25.
KurpiusSER, LucartAL. (2000). Military and civilian undergraduates: Attitudes toward women, masculinity, and authoritarianism. Sex Roles. 43, 255–265.
26.
LentonAP, BryanA. (2005). An affair to remember: The role of sexual scripts in perceptions of sexual intent. Pers Relationships. 12, 483–498.
27.
LittletonH. (2011). Rape myths and beyond: A commentary on Edwards and colleagues (2011). Sex Roles. 65, 792–797.
28.
LittletonHL, AxsomD. (2003). Rape and seduction scripts of university students: Implications for rape attributions and unacknowledged rape. Sex Roles. 49, 465–475.
29.
LittletonHL, DoddJC. (2016). Violent attacks and damaged victims: An exploration of the rape scripts of European American and African American U.S. college women. Violence Against Women. 22, 1725–1747.
30.
LittletonH, Grills-TaquechelA, AxsomD. (2009). Impaired and incapacitated rape victims: Assault characteristics and post-assault experiences. Violence Victims. 24, 439–457.
31.
LittletonH, TabernikH, CanalesEJ, BackstromT. (2009). Risky situation or harmless fun?. A qualitative examination of college women's bad hook-up and rape scripts. Sex Roles. 60, 793–804.
32.
LoweM, RogersP. (2017). The scope of male rape: A selective review of research, policy, and practice. Aggress Violent Behav. 35, 38–43.
33.
McMahonS. (2010). Rape myth beliefs and bystander attitudes among incoming college students. J Am College Health. 59, 3–11.
34.
McMahonS, FarmerGL. (2011). An updated measure for assessing subtle rape myths. Soc Work Res. 35, 71–81.
35.
PinoNW, MeierRF. (1999). Gender differences in rape reporting. Sex Roles. 40, 979–990.
36.
NorrisJ, NuriusPS, DimeffLA. (1996). Through her eyes: Factors affecting women's perception and resistance to acquaintance sexual aggression threat. Psychol Women Q. 20, 123–145.
37.
PetersonZD, MuehlenhardCL. (2004). Was it rape?. The function of women's rape myth acceptance and definitions of sex in labeling their own experiences. Sex Roles. 51, 129–144.
38.
PetersonZD, VollerEK, PolusnyMA, MurdochM. (2011). Prevalence and consequences of adult sexual assault of men: Review of empirical findings and state of the literature. Clin Psychol Rev. 31, 1–24.
39.
RohallDE, EnderMG, MatthewsMD. (2006). The effects of military affiliation, gender, and political ideology on attitudes toward the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Armed Forces Soc. 33, 59–77.
40.
RosensteinJE, CarrollMH. (2015). Male rape myths, female rape myths, and intent to intervene as a bystander. Violence Gend. 2, 204–208.
41.
RosensteinJE, De AngelisK, McConeDR, CarrollMH. (2018) Sexual assault and sexual harassment at the U.S. military service academies. Mil Psychol. 30, 206–218.
42.
RyanKM. (1988). Rape and seduction scripts. Psychol Women Q. 12, 237–245.
43.
RyanKM. (2011). The relationship between rape myths and sexual scripts: The social construction of rape. Sex Roles. 65, 774–782. doi: 10.1007/s11199-011-0033-2
44.
SableMR, DanisF, MauzyDL, Gallagher SK. (2006). Barriers to reporting sexual assault for women and men: Perspectives of college students. J Am Coll Health. 55, 157–162.
45.
SchankRC, AbelsonRP. (1977). Scripts, Plans, Goals, and Understanding: An Inquiry into Human Knowledge Structures. (Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ).
46.
SimonW, GagnonJH. (1987). A sexual scripts approach. In Theories of Human Sexuality. JH Geer and WT O'Donohue, eds. (Plenum, New York) pp. 363–383.
47.
SinozichS, LangtonL. (2014). Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, 1995–2013. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, Washington, DC).
48.
StempleL, MeyerIH. (2014). The sexual victimization of men in America: New data challenge old assumptions. Am J Public Health. 104, e19–e26.
49.
TjadenP, ThoennesN. (2000). Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. (National Institute of Justice, Washington, DC).
50.
TurchikJA, EdwardsKM. (2012). Myths about male rape: A literature review. Psychol Men Masc. 13, 211–226.
51.
VogelDL, Heimerdinger-EdwardsSR, HammerJH, HubbardA. (2011). “Boys don't cry”: Examination of the links between endorsement of masculine norms, self-stigma, and help-seeking attitudes for men from diverse backgrounds. J Couns Psychol. 58, 368–382.
52.
VladutiuCJ, MartinSL, MacyRJ. (2011). College-or university-based sexual assault prevention programs: A review of program outcomes, characteristics, and recommendations. Trauma Violence Abuse. 12, 67–86.
53.
WalfieldSM. (2018). “Men cannot be raped”: Correlates of male rape myth acceptance. J Interpers Violence. 1–27. DOI: 10.1177/0886260518817777
54.
WeissKG. (2010). Male sexual victimization: Examining men's experiences of rape and sexual assault. Men Masc. 12, 275–298.
55.
WhiteBH, Robinson KurpiusSE. (2002). Effects of victim sex and sexual orientation on perceptions of rape. Sex Roles. 46, 191–200.
56.
ZinzowHM, ThompsonM. (2011). Barriers to reporting sexual victimization: Prevalence and correlates among undergraduate women. J Aggress Maltreat Trauma. 20, 711–725.
