Prison rape isn’t funnier than any other kind of rape. And men are not unstoppable rape machines. It’s time we stopped laughing.
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There is one rape joke you can make on television. And that’s a joke about prison rape. The entertainment industry hasn’t gotten the message that rape is rape, whether the victim is a man or a woman. And it’s time they learned it.
“Don’t drop the soap!” Yeah, we get it. Hilarious.
We joke about things that frighten us. But joking about prison rape has other implications. First, it defines men as rapists by default. Men are not unstoppable rape machines. We are not slaves to our hormones at any age, and treating young men as if the “big head” can not control “the little head” teaches them a terrible lesson, that men are ruled by their urges, and we are not accountable for our behavior. That is not true, and it is not the kind of man anyone should be raised to be.
To paraphrase lawyer, writer, and warrior against child abuse Andrew Vachss, “to have thoughts about abusing a child is sick. To act on those thoughts is evil.” This applies to the rape of adults as well, whether it is forcible or coercive. When you know something is wrong and you do it anyway, it is a conscious choice. A choice of evil.
It has become expected, and in fact, accepted by the culture that doing time means you will most likely be raped. Where the old prison stereotype involved a con playing blues harmonica and another rattling a steel cup down the bars, when we think “prison” it now conjures images of walking the line in a scratchy orange jumpsuit while musclebound men covered in jailhouse ink whistle and make dates with our tightening sphincter. You can dream of beating up the big man on the cell block to show how tough you are, but when a crew corners you, even the baddest ass gets taken down.
Joking about and tolerating prison rape erases the possibility of rehabilitation from incarceration. There are individuals who cannot be rehabilitated, and they should be removed from the free population, but they are not to be given free rein to assault other prisoners. All this does is increase the predator population, by reinforcing what many criminal personalities grow up learning: that might makes right, and the strong prey on the weak. Prison is meant to punish by restricting the prisoner’s freedoms, not by allowing them to be victimized. There could be nothing more cruel and unusual.
The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 launched the first comprehensive study into rape within prison walls. The commission estimated conservatively that at least 20% of prisoners are sexually assaulted during their incarceration. The law also mandated that the Department of Justice “make the prevention of prison rape a top priority in each prison system.” Despite this, a corrections officer speaking candidly reported that it remains “relatively common” at his facility. And if you can’t summon empathy for a convicted criminal, be aware that these newly minted predators will be among us soon enough. It’s time to stop “the animal factory,” which is what prisoner-turned-writer Ed Bunker (aka “Mr. Blue” from Reservoir Dogs) called the prison system. Use solitary confinement for the predators, and remove them from the general population. Segregate the violent felon from the nonviolent, whether they are “white collar” or not. And stop joking about who would be your bitch. When it’s eight on one, the big dog loses every time.
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This post is republished on Medium.
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One of the major elements of this whole thing I find so utterly disgusting is the willingness of those in authority to use the threat of being put in situations where rape is a danger to attempt to to control people. From cops threatening suspects to guards threatening inmates. Do this, say that, or you we will make sure you are put in harms way. It is grotesque and it is terrifying. It happened recently to a guy in San Francisco who was arrested for what the cop thought was disrespectful behavior. While in the jail, he was trying to… Read more »
From a woman to all men: I am sorry that my gender is so self-absorbed and focuses so much about a wage gap that I personally haven’t encountered but I’ve been more self-employed than not so I wouldn’t know perhaps? I also apologise for all the old men sending young men to fight for false agendas in wars, I also apologise for every woman who breaks the bond between a father and his child because she has a new man in her life, I apologise for everyone who has ever said: Man up, you wuss. Please know that you are… Read more »
I think this conversation would take on an entirely different tone if everyone has a look at some of the statistics…particularly these around youth: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/svjfry12.pdf
I find that when men are on the receiving end of a rape joke, it only reinforces the ideas among many, that men can handle anything, that rape isn’t rape when done to a man and that men can shrug it off so easily. It takes away a man’s right to say no and trivializes the idea that a man can be a victim/survivor. A dangerous and toxic view
I’m curious, I recall hearing somewhere that a large amount of the prison rape incidents the perpetrator is a corrections officer and not a fellow inmate and that the perpetrators are both male and female corrections officers. (I recall hearing from another source that most inmate-on-inmate sex is relatively consensual.) I can’t verify the truth in these statistics because I don’t remember where I heard them from; can anyone else chime in on that?
Rape in prison has become a “second sentence” so to speak. How often have we heard people openly say that they hope that a suspect (or even accused) in a crime is raped in prison? How many crime dramas use the prison rape as a threat to scare a suspect?
It feeds into the dehumanizing of men (and occasionally women) that are put away from crimes.
As long as prisoners are thought of as less than human its going to be hard to muster the support to confront this.
Exactly what I said earlier, my friend. You are right. It is not a joke, it is a righteous vengeful fantasy.
If you think about it, the implied punishment of prison rape is not just a punishment. Think about the person who commits the rape in prison. It’s also a reward for rapists in prison. If we accept role as a valid punishment, then who do we think takes on the role of the rapist? People who are already in prison for violent crimes. So, it’s actually rewarding violent people who are in prison because of their sexual violence against other people. It’s actually giving a job to rapists to rape people. In that way prison rape is TWO kinds of… Read more »
Yes. By joking about and condoning prison rape we are basically giving prison rapists permission (and maybe even praise?) for raping other prisoners.
Permission, yes. Praise, I would disagree, unless we assume the people who push the buttons at executions deserve praise too. I do not think many people would praise them.
Thomas Pluck, I’m kind of upset with some of the responses you’ve received. The reality is In 2010, Human Rights Watch estimated that at least 140,000 inmates had been raped while incarcerated. And yes, this needs to be talked about. Imagine the mental impact such events have on men. Outside of prison, men are raped and it goes on unreported because many men feel they are less of a man.
We claim to rehabilitate? How the hell are we rehabilitating when these men are released with more then likely NO mental health services provided.
Mr. Brechlin, “We claim to rehabilitate? How the hell are we rehabilitating when these men are released with more then likely NO mental health services provided.” Wow, you are completely making things up. This is current BOP policy: “(3) Inmates with a history of sexual predation while in BOP custody. When, during the intake screening process, staff identify inmates with a history of sexual predation within BOP custody (from self-report or from review of available documents such as Judgment and Commitment Orders, criminal records, pre-sentence investigation reports, Inmate Central File data, etc.), staff must refer the inmate to Psychology Services.… Read more »
Here’s more:
“With a team of over 400 doctoral level psychologists and 650 mental health/substance abuse treatment specialists, the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is one of the largest employers of psychologists in the United States. In most BOP institutions, doctoral-level psychologists function as front-line providers of mental health services to inmates.” (Source: http://www.bop.gov/jobs/hsd/psychology_services.jsp )
Please explain to me how the Bureau of Prisons can be “one of the largest employers of psychologists in the United States” and it be true that inmates “are more likely than not receiving no mental health services” before being released. I rest my case.
William, I understand what you’re saying and will also acknowledge that there are some services available after incarceration. But let’s be realistic. Joe Smith who was repeatedly raped is humiliated. Not only humiliated but also lives in fear that when he’s released, he better damn well not drop a dime on anyone. Obviously he has no obligation to report any inmate but if you look into the mind of one who has been raped, there is an underlying fear of repercussions. I’m not saying that there aren’t attempts to help these guys but you have to be realistic. As ogwriter… Read more »
Tom,
There needs to be a discussion of these issues that is rooted in facts and not unfounded claims. What do you want the BOP to do exactly? What do you want correctional officers to do that they are not already doing, or should I say, SUPPOSED TO DO? Only the most rare of American men are generally comfortable discussing certain things only, and prison culture can’t be expected to do anything but drag behind the general culture. That’s it for me. Good luck sorting through these issues, there are many questions that need to be answered.
William, I honestly didn’t intend this to turn into a pissing match. I acknowledge that the system is making available, services to help these guys who have been raped. So what we’re looking at are a couple of different issues. One being that act of rape that is still occurring in prisons and the other, how do we move these men to a point where they can deal with that which has happen to them. Of course the media is going to grab onto the slightest indication that prison rape is not being dealt with. It’s all encompassing. Strangely enough,… Read more »
Thomas – thank you so much for this article. We need to be talking about this more. Everyday. Rape in prisons for all genders is a human rights crisis.
@Joanna It seems to me that we should be talking about all rape in every corner of society,no matter who the perp is.Can you honestly say that happens on GMP?Can you name one article that condemns rape which occurs in the LGBT community, committed by members of that community? It may have happened and I simply missed it.Even if that is the case,overall,this conversation about rape on GMP has been one dimensional.This,in no small way, contributes to the problems we are discussing now.
So, ogwriter, we have this conversation here, and the response is to take the writer down and explain to him why making light of male on male prison rape in the form of jokes is OK, in a way that would never be OK if the jokes were about women getting raped?
Here in Europe there is a different slant to these kind of jokes. In fact they often are not meant as jokes at all. Compared to the US, our justice systems generally deal out very light sentences. Apart from the total absence of death penalty, even the most violent deeds will get you less than 20 years (unless you are medically insane, in which case you may stay forever in preventive detention in a barred medical facility). Often we read about cases like somebody being sentenced to a mere 5 years for repeated rape of his teenage daughter. Or suspended… Read more »
Mr. Pluck, Le Comedian is right. That we have a prison population bigger than that of China composed largely of people who haven’t hurt anyone and dealing with poverty/abuse/stress as best they could is proof positive to most of them that we don’t give a shit about their well-being. You have this very idealized view of the prison system as this great punisher of evil and righter of wrongs, whereas the side that involves cops collecting overtime and acquiring promotions through gratuitous drug arrests and keeping the poor we don’t care about out of sight escapes you. That’s what most… Read more »
Where did I say that idealize the prison system? I don’t have all the answers. I wanted to start a conversation about how we accept institutionalized brutality. I am well aware of the revolving door system for indigent drug offenders, where they take your driver’s license and give you a bill to pay for your own probation officer, and no one will hire you because you have a record. It’s just a hidden tax on the poor. But that is another subject entirely. I don’t see the drug-prison-complex going away soon because it employs so many government workers, but we… Read more »
Man, I bet you’re fun at parties. The only problem with the “who dropped the soap?” joke is that it’s lame, overused, and unfunny. But me (as a comedian) getting up on stage and making a prison rape joke isn’t going to increase the likelihood of prison related rape just like making a joke about drunk driving isn’t going to increase the likelihood of DUIs. Or if I joke about my wife shopping too much will that perpetuate the stereotype that women are materialistic and superficial? Do you see how your line of thinking can apply to almost anything if… Read more »
As a writer I use humor as well. Just not onstage, and I respect the comedians who can get up there and make us laugh. I know how tough it is to work a crowd at a reading, and keeping the audience laughing for a full set? I couldn’t do it. But it isn’t the comedians that are the problem, and I didn’t mention comedians once in the article, so any offense or attempt at censorship is in your own head. The problem is that it has become an internalized part of the culture. If wanna-be comedians at the water… Read more »
Should you leave the blogging to the bloggers? Why is comedy a sacred profession that no one can criticize? Why is criticism a violation of your right to free speech? Jokes on ANY subject that normalize injustice are bad. A joke about drunk drivers, where you’re making fun of drunk drivers, is not bad. But a joke about drunk drivers that presents drunk driving as something that should just be an accepted as part of being on the road IS bad.
Mr. Pluck, Bex,
Do either of you have any actual experience with the prison population/system?
Do you think viewers of Dexter and Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy might be more likely to take the law into their own hands? Do you feel that violent video games encourage violent behavior?
I do not have personal experience. I know several people who have served time over the past 50 years, and I read the Angola prison convict-run magazine. I don’t think joking about prison rape will make you rape someone in prison, but it makes us tolerate institutionalized brutality.
Maybe those jokes make YOU tolerate brutality, which is something you’ll have to deal with on your own. Someone could get raped where I work and the jokes I’ve heard or made would absolutely no bearing on how I would respond. I rarely hear these jokes, oh wait I heard some last night, but the prisoners I work with and myself are smart enough to understand context. Being gay or trans can get you hurt real bad amongst the male prisoners, not because everyone is homophobic or discriminatory but enough are that you have to watch out, but for whatever… Read more »
Bottom line, when rape happens, you deal with it. Why you think jokes about prison rape have anything whatsoever to do with the notion that men are rape machine I find absolutely humorous. It’s very simple, if you put a bunch of aggressive people with little impulse control and history of hitting, tying up or shooting people in an enclosed space the chance that something bad will happen goes up…. a lot. Why in God’s name would you go from that simple reality to the idea “Oh these jokes imply men are unstoppable rape machines!” Are you serious? No person… Read more »
“Tons of rehabilitation classes” yet even you say “who can say” if they are effective. You telling me a visits from a P.O. stops a predator? Who’s the joker here? If a sex offender is a risk, keep him locked up. Let a nonviolent offender walk instead. You may be an insider, but I don’t see what your point is, except to say you work with prisoners and that makes whatever you say the stone truth. Working to stop rape in prison institutions is bad, how? That’s what I’m talking about here. On the outside, people joke about it, instead… Read more »
“You telling me a visits from a P.O. stops a predator? Who’s the joker here?” Parole officers do not teach classes or do therapy, Mr. Pluck. ” Working to stop rape in prison institutions is bad, how?” You know “working to stop prison rape is bad” not a proposition I would advocate or seriously entertain. You are intentionally asking me a stupid question in a passive-aggressive attempt to get back at me for not enthusiastically receiving the arguments put forward in our article. Tell me what specifically about the BOP’s current practices to deal with these issues you would change:… Read more »
Bex, you are quite correct. Another discussion is the culture’s binary approach to sexuality. I had read an excellent piece on what World War II soldiers called “helping each other out”– which also certainly occurs in prison, as well as straightforward consensual sex–but felt that incorporating it would weaken the message that tolerating rape, even among those we wish to punish is simply intolerable.
However, it is a subject I will gladly discuss here and write about in detail later.
I think the prison rape joke trope has so many negative consequences. Not only does it normalize the idea of men as unstoppable rape machines, and perpetuate the idea that criminals don’t deserve protection from these kinds of assaults, but it completely erases the struggles of trans, gay, bi, or heteroflexible men who have consensual relationships in prison.