Abstract
Sexual assault on campuses has been identified as a pervasive public health problem. In April 2016, students across South African universities launched the #Endrapeculture campaign to express their frustration against university policies which served to perpetuate a rape culture. The use of hashtag activism during the protest served to spark online public debates and mobilize support for the protests. This article describes the public reactions to the South African #Endrapeculture protests on the Facebook social media platform. Data was collected through natural observations of comment threads on news articles and public posts on the student protests, and subjected to content analysis. The findings suggest that the #nakedprotest was successful in initiating public conversations concerning the issue of rape culture. However, the reactions towards the #nakedprotest were divided with some perpetuating a mainstream public discourse which perpetuates rape culture, and others (re)presenting a counter-public that challenged current dominant views about rape culture. Two related main themes emerged: Victim-blaming and Trivialising Rape Culture. Victim-blaming narratives emerged from the commenters and suggested that the protesters were increasing their chances of being sexually assaulted by marching topless. This discourse seems to perpetuate the notion of the aggressive male sexual desire and places the onus on women to protect themselves. Other commenters criticised the #nakedprotest method through demeaning comments which served to derail the conversation and trivialise the message behind the protest. The public reaction to the #nakedprotest demonstrated that rape culture is pervasive in society and continues to be re(produced) through discourse on social media platforms. However, social media also offers individuals the opportunity to draw from and participate in multiple counter-publics which challenge these mainstream rape culture discourses.
Highlights
Immortalised in Greek Mythology and pop culture alike, Medusa is recognised as a monstrous, snake-headed creature who preys on men of all ages
The current study explored rape culture discourse that emerged from the social media debates regarding the South African #endrapeculture protests
The findings from the current study suggest that the #nakedprotest was successful in introducing the concept of rape culture to the mainstream public and eliciting discussion centred on the topic of rape culture in society
Summary
Immortalised in Greek Mythology and pop culture alike, Medusa is recognised as a monstrous, snake-headed creature who preys on men of all ages. Medusa was once a beautiful woman who caught the attention of the sea god, Poseidon. Following her rejection, Poseidon attacked Medusa in the temple of Athena, where she was seeking refuge. Athena, who was angered at the desecration of her sacred temple, turned Medusa into the famed monster. This centuries-old myth represents themes of a rape culture, which is continuously perpetuated to this day. Rape culture promotes rape by socialising boys and men to be sexual aggressors, and girls and woman to be sexually passive [26]. Society has accepted that relationships involving male sexual aggression are natural and normal [40]
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