"It's on us: Men need to hold themselves accountable for perpetuating rape culture"

Article here. Excerpt:

'What’s preventing college-aged men from addressing their role in rape culture on campus? Mention rape and alarms set off in many male college students’ minds. We, as males, must cut off the flashing red lights, silence the blaring sirens and recognize the issues that are staring right back at us in the mirror.

This may not come naturally to us because we live in a society that perpetuates rape culture and rape myths. We’ve all heard the statistic that one in five women is sexually assaulted while they attend college, but we’ve failed to make a concerted effort to reduce this rate. Instead, we brush sexual assault cases aside, encourage victim blaming and allow misconceptions surrounding gender-based violence to prevail.

As men, we must accept a great deal of responsibility for the perpetuation of rape myths. One of the most important to debunk is the assumption that rapists are predators hiding in the entrance of dark alleys, waiting for their next victim. In reality, the vast majority of survivors of sexual violence know the perpetrator. Women and men are surrounded by potential perpetrators, whether they realize it or not.

Men are beginning to find a great deal of utility in identifying as feminists in order to dodge the bullet of being labeled misogynists. They feel as though they’re staring down the barrel of “radical feminism,” and their most effective tool is the white flag of the “good guy.” We think that, as gentlemen, we respect women, so there’s no need to target us as the problem.'