Abstract
Male rape remains largely obscure in communication discourses; on rare occasions it suffers juxtaposition against its much-publicised counterpart, female rape. Yet victims of male rape too suffer various physical, sexual, emotional and mental health risks, as well as lack of much-needed support systems. In general, social networking sites (SNSs) have provided a democratic space to facilitate discourses about risky problems, enabling polarised discussions and perspectives towards matters, such as male rape, where few such platforms previously existed. This article explores online discourses about male rape. A netnography approach was used to analyse over 122 tweets. The results indicate that male rape is trivialised through the oversimplification of its definition and the downplaying of victims’ experiences. In discourses, prevailing gendered online conversations centred on and amplified female rape, barely acknowledging the trauma and suffering of male rape victims. Of note were some voices calling for more awareness about male rape and calls to stop gendered norms from deterring survivors from sharing experiences. The findings underscore the argument that although conversations highlighting male rape continue to be suppressed in societies, SNSs have the potential to be used as instruments of awareness and support for victims.
Highlights
Failure to acknowledge the reality of occurrences of male rape results in numerous risks to the individual, family, community and society
Tweets referring to the sexual behaviour of men, as being responsible for them being raped, or the perceived lower risk of male rape compare to female rape, contributed to the risk attenuation of victims of male rape
Have, effectively acted as platforms for the amplification of health issues, their success appears to be dependent on the type of issue involved
Summary
Failure to acknowledge the reality of occurrences of male rape results in numerous risks to the individual, family, community and society. Victims’ failure to disclose experiences timeously reduces the possibility of receiving the support and assistance they require. Individuals have disclosed their HIV status online, while organisations have conducted HIV stigma reduction campaigns on social media (Young et al 2019). Risky health issues have gained traction, from SNSs filtering into traditional media, enabling the necessary debates and reducing stigma. The anonymous nature of SNSs allows polarised views about risky issues, such as male rape, to run rampant, which could promote and sustain the dominance of hegemonic perspectives leading to stigmatisation
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