Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

Ben,

 

It would be so easy to focus-group a bumper sticker like this, or assess with a small group whether it dispels myth adherence, increases it, or has little measurable effect.  The myth-fact research may be generalize-able, I'm just suggesting the research doesn't show that yet, so why assume it?.  That said, messages like I Believe the Victim, or Believe Victims or I Believe Victims, or Victims Tell the Truth may be more powerful than a negatively framed message.  I also think some myths can be dispelled by focusing only on the facts, whereas some myths need to be stated to give context to the fact.  AND, I've stated this before, but none of the studies focused on how the fact was taught, and that matters.  The studies just stated or listed the fact as contrasted with the myth, and some audience members remembered the myth more (especially if they were older).  How we teach the fact can contribute mightily to its acceptance, and there's lots of marketing research on what makes a message "sticky," so let's see research dispelling sticky myths with sticky facts, and then we'll be able to know what to emphasize to maximize the educational effect.

 

Brett Sokolow

Thanks, Dr. Langford! I appreciate your thoughts on this.

I designed the sticker so that it's very obvious that these are
victim-blaming myths - the words "Stop Blaming the Victim" are written in
huge letters OVER the myths themselves. It's kind of like David Garvin's
wonderful poster, "Know Excuses," with the excuses batterers have made over
the years.

I recall some discussion about "myth-fact" education being problematic, and
people misremembering myths as facts. I also remember some
counter-arguments by Brett Sokolow and maybe some others, questioning these
recent studies. I'm not a researcher, but I came away from the whole
discussion unconvinced that "myth-fact" education should be completely
thrown out.

Anyway, I love your ideas of positive statements like "here's what happened
- he chose to rape her." My friend Joe Farrell suggested "It wasn't a DATE
who raped me, it was a known offender!" Perhaps you can design a sticker of
your own - the folks I'm working with are at www.websticker.com.

Many of you have written me back with other suggestions, some of which I'm
incorporating into the sticker. So far, we have these additional
suggestions:

1. I have to have sex with him - he's my husband.
2. Why didn't you push him off you?
3. How can a guy be raped? Guys love sex!
4. Whores aren't raped - it's more like theft.
5. She's such a slut - no way was she raped.
6. She "cried rape"
7. "Accuser"
8. But they were BOTH drunk!

Other ideas?

Until the violence stops,

Ben Atherton-Zeman: Feminist, actor, husband

Presenting a one-man anti-violence play "Voices of Men." Clips available at
<http://www.voicesofmen.org/> http://www.voicesofmen.org, booking info at
978-897-3619.

Quote of the month, November 2010: "If y ou rape a child who is a stranger
and get caught, you will probably go to jail. If you rape your own child
and get caught, you will probably get custody." - Garland Waller,
<http://www.smalljustice.com/> http://www.smalljustice.com.

See Garland, myself and many others at the Battered Mother's Custody
Conference in Albany this January 7-9,
<http://www.batteredmotherscustodyconference.org/>
http://www.batteredmotherscustodyconference.org/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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