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Show - . IMMO .. ,,,,... DIXIESUNNEWS.COM , - NESDAy, 1111, 4 ,,. , , ...,,,,,,,,,, , , ,. ,,,,,,,,.,..-mr,- .., A.. ,13,,13..!,1:. ., 261', Sexual assaulti,- happens to males to - i , ashharrisonnews ,..., . , -- L , , , . -, '.0,, 't ( l f t , not just a ;,i girl thing. ' The other ( day, I was 17 r I sitting in a II ,,t4 '''''' ', " ' !,1 class, and - - . -the topic of sexual assault came up. This is a pertinent issue for college campuses, and I'm always glad to hear frank discussions about it. But I couldn't help but notice , 1 II,,, - Sexual assault is , 01, 6 1 ,..., .... -, , 4 , if, '1 , ' , LTD ': of sexual assault, they victims le rape is chugs, almost always an object of derision against the victim." Story points that would never be acceptable if the victim were a woman are somehow fair game, the only difference being that the victim is male. If the story includes a woman male-on-ma- the driver turns around with a lecherous smile. The villain's scream makes it clear what's whenever anyone mentioned ,1 which categorizes common story elements in the media, the article "Double Standard: Rape, Male on Male," says "It doesn't matter if it's through force, deception, coercion or rifying and is used for drama or backstory Unless the victim is a man; then it's played for laughs. Just look at movies like "The Hot Chick," where the male villain climbs into a car and ends up locked inside as , 11 going to happen, and it's supposed to be funny. According to INTropes.org, were always called "women" or "girls." If We look at our society, the double standard of how sexual assaults on men versus on women are seen is shocking. Just look at our popular culture. Someone being raped in books, movies or the like is usually seen as evil and hor- ASHLEY HARRISON BY sexually assaulting a man, then it's taken even less seriously. , t Look at the film "Wedding Crashers." One of the male characters is tied up by a female character while asleep and has his mouth taped shut when he wakes up. He refers to the incident as a "midnight rape," but he pursues the girl and marries her in the end. This would never, never be permitted if the genders were flipped. But what makes it worse is these attitudes are the same in real life. Because men are viewed as being strong enough to fight off any unwarranted sexual behavior, many people seem to think they can't ever be assaulted or if they are, it only happens in prison. But according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a survey of 5,000 college students at ,, r , . i f men in Ubah , , 9 i f ati r Ir., IS L'Iii . . 9.'9, q.'9"t. log, ..01, 'N. ,s ,ii,,,," on, 9' 'if 11 1411iii 1 sexual violence , ' Check out ,,,, , ', .. ,, i Copy Editor ' , Diana Fossett's '" un 4 6 2more5likelybimes to be victims r . article on how , 0 , , ,. I religion encourages . . , , , , m rape-victi- ,, i Reasons boys and men often don't mporb being a victim: blaming on i , , . c. dixiesunnews,com. I i A 0 4 I F. 1 , . ..',"7', .yi ' ; , .... - Cs'''. I ., , , I thetj fear they won't be believed they are worried about being blamed they feel people would gpestion their they feel ashamed and blame themselves they feel alone and don't know where to find support ,() sexuality 1 ...,, rs. SEXUPiL ASS.AULT - - ,.-' - ..., '..'.t i 1 ,.; I k 4 1 i 1) . ' i.. -; 1. of: It -- fI , . "!' ''''' i '; ' . BY SPENCER RICKS Spencer Ricks TO Fgz,r , THE EDITOR - "Truth , fears no ques- - Send letters to the editor to DixieSundixie.edu. Letters to the editor are accepted and may be published in the newspaper andor dixiesunnews.com. The guidelines for letters are as follows: Submissions should be no longer than 250 words and must be Writers must include name, phone number and email address. Students should also include year in school, hometown and well-writte- n. major. Letters are subject to editing for length, style and grammar. Letters consisting of inaccurate, libelous or highly offensive content will not be published. Letters should be submit- ted to dixiesundixie.edu in the body of the email, not an attachment. Letters become property of Dixie Sun News and may be published in any format. Dixie Sun News encourages a lively discussion on its website among its readers. Dixie Sun News does not edit comments. However, an editor will not post any comments that are libelous or vulgar. 7 41 p ?"fr Truth priority for 1: --;1- t, LETTERS r 4 r,,,:' ,,,', ,,, I ' 0 e' 1 z t a' tions" are the words sprawled above the , , :F- front entrance .- hallway near the of the Jennings Communication Building. That motto, attributed everywhere online as an anonymous quote, was often one of the first things I saw as I arrived at Dixie State University nearly every morning during the past two semesters I served as of the Dixie Sun News. While I'm proud to be a journalist and work with so many reporters on the Dixie Sun News staff, I've witnessed the questioneditor-in-chi- ef ing of journalists in the U.S. become closer to a revolt against the truth. Honest journalists, like the kind the Dixie Sun News generates, aren't the "opposition party" or bringers of "fake news." The truth is our No. 1 full-fledg- priority. We try to leave our personal biases at home, talk with all sides of every story, and do our best to verify all facts thrown at us to ensure our stories are as truthful as possible. Even when the truth is ugly or when it challenges my personal world views, the complete truth is something I have learned to al- ways be seeking as a journalist. In this information-saturate- d DSN BY JALEN deliverer JONES JalenDSN The idea trustworthy. editor-in-chie-f, of the truth. Myths," "Studies...suggestt men who have sexually ab' a boy most often identify as heterosexual and often am involved in adult heterosek relationships at the time oftt abusive interaction." If we look on Dixie State t versity's campus, the Woroe Resource Center offers supp for victims of sexual assault, any gender with their DOvE Center advocacy program But the very name "WomeL'. Resource Center" automatic, takes away the ability for ilk, to find sanctuary there. In addition, there is an underlying assumption that women cannot sexually assa, someone, which is completd untrue. In fact, according to Livia Gerson's article "Wk Women Sexually Assault from Pacific Standard, "i.. roughly 19 to 31 percent of male college stunts experi ence some kind of ,lwanteii sexual contact, and researchz say the vast majority is pep trated by women." If we at DSU are to change the perception of sexual against men, we need to not only set aside the myth that never happens, but we need to give victims a safe place:, go that doesn't immediatel) exclude them. Whether tin! assai happens by creating a new arm of the Women's Resa: Center to focus solely one assault without naming it for women or by creating new advocacy group altogether, male victims need to acknowledged and helped. After all, society has alrea made sure they feel alone enough as it is. , - Value of marriage decreasin world of the internet, I can understand how it can be confusing determining what sources of information and news are Journalists' monopoly on the truth ended with the advent of the social media, smartphones and comment sections. Anyone can post, tweet or snap their version of the truth to the world with zero fact checkers even if that person sits in the Oval Office and commands the world's most powerful military. With the nationwide attack on journalists' credibility, truth has become subjective. Those in government positions or even private citizens are often not as concerned with providing both sides of every issue before they share their version of the truth. They don't check with an editor to make sure what they are saying is accurate, and they don't care if their "truth" is interlaced with opinions that could be confused with facts. While journalists aren't always perfect, the truth described by legitimate journalists is often closer to reality than the alternatives. Next year's Markee Heckenliable, is also committed to this vision of delivering the truth and keeping the Dixie Sun News "the voice of Dixie. Work with her and other Dixie Sun News staff members next semester so they can better serve the DSU community and hold those in power accountable. Journalism is here to stay and will continue to be the unafraid over 130 colleges, one in 25 men said they had experienced sexual assault The organization 1in6 puts the statistic even higher, stating in the article "The 1 in 6 Statistic," "one in six men have experienced abusive sexual experiences before age 18. And this is probably a low estimate..." Sexual assault is often seen as a direct threat to a man's masculinity. If a man is raped, he can never be a "real man." This judgment is even worse if the victim experiences an erection or ejaculates; then he must have wanted it. There is also a myth that males victimized by other males attracted the assault because they are gay; victims often fear being seen as homosexual as though the assault somehow transformed their orientation. If a victim is gay or bisexual, that doesn't mean he's some- how to blame for the abuse. As ' for the perpetrator, according to lin6.org's article "Facts & of holy "; ( . - ! ',1 ' :I represented the peak of romance two people shared for f 1....'...":- - 4 's 1 ,- cif, l'f''' - ; mony once - - if- - 4 "1r '' each other; however, as societal standards have changed so have the traditions that were first established. Marriage means a lot for some people. It's the feeling of commitment reciting those vows and knowing you can look at the person across from you and have no doubt in your mind this person will love you no matter what. Now while that's all wonderful, besides religious reasoning, it doesn't seem as if there's any real purpose behind the idea of marriage in our modem society. As the population of the United States has been growing at an exponential rate, the number of marriages have not The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put out the study "Provisional number of marriages and marriage: United that showStates, 2000-201cases the trends of marriage and divorce in the United States from 2000 until 2014. There's a small decline from the year 2000 (2.3 million marriages) to the year 2015 (2.2 million to 6.9. There are a few reasons why this could be, and a fair amount of them are simply because the times are changing and there are different expectations than there were 40 years ago. Religions of the Christian faith, such as Catholicism where marriage has been cited to be a part of God's plan for a means of reproduction, have declined by 7.8 percent from 2007 to 2014, according to the Pew Research Center. Also, unlike in the past, women don't need to many men anymore in order to make a life for themselves. The workforce has seen a reduction in the gender pay gap from 19 percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 2015. As a result, women are able to be more socially and financially fit hi 1988-199- 2004-20- 12 era, there has lv a drop from approximately percent to 78 percent fora sual sex amongst people spouse or regular partner ever, casual sex for a casual or a pick up has gone up fic: 32 percent to 43.7 percent inc people don't have to be mitted relationships anynol order to get sex then is than likely people won't into committed relationship nio: gol marriage included. This isn't to say marriage' wack, because for some it means a lot, and Pm nobi to take that meaning awa) from them. If a marriago well thought out and the r being wed are compatible one another, then by alio' I wish you the best Bowl the personally feel as if poc independent. Another possible factor could have to do with the rise of casual encounters (or "hookups") and how common it is to have multiple partners. Martin Monto and Anna Carey from the University of Portland created a study called "A New Standard of Sexual Behavior? Are Claims Associated With the "Hookup Culture" Supported co' of marriage is soon to he lete, whether it be at the the millermial's era or that comes after us. - 5" marriages), but an important thing to take note of is the rate of marriages dropping from 8.2 per 1,000 total population by Genet-a- l Social Survey Data?" using data from the General Social Survey to out the relationship statuses between two people who casual sex with each other erat 6 From the (, , ? ,L , 46bo Staff Photographer Jalen Jones doesn't see the signifion behind getting married. However, Jones encourages those,: feel as if marriage is for them to do it no matter what anYc' thinks. |