4 Ways Rape Culture Is Just Like A Grizzly Bear

Around one in five women will be sexually assaulted by the time she graduates from college, which is a truly horrifying statistic. But even worse is the fact that it isn't treated like the emergency that is — as a new College Humor video comparing rape culture to a bear highlights hilariously. After all, if one in five people were attacked by a bear, we would take that seriously — but one in five women is attacked by a fellow person and somehow that's just... OK? That one-in-five statistic has been supported by a variety of different studies, from a 2007 Department of Justice one to one published in the Journal of Adolescent Health this year — how many more studies have to come up with the same answer before the figure is finally taken seriously?

The College Humor video is part of the White House "It's On Us" initiative, which asks people to pledge, among other things, to "recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault" and to "create an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported." In other words, precisely the type of environment our current culture doesn't have.

Although most people would tell you that they think rape is wrong, when it comes down to handling actual instances of sexual assault, that's a very different story. We live in a culture that, as a whole, trivializes sexual assault, makes excuses for rapists, and actively tries to tear down victims. In other words, a rape culture. And since we've all grown up in it, it can be hard to see just how messed up it is.

But what if you put the problem another way? What if, instead of talking about rape culture we were talking about, say, a bear in your house? Because ignoring the problem of there being a bear in your house makes no sense at all. And actually, rape culture has a lot in common with bears. Let's take a look at a few of those commonalities:

1. It Is A Real Problem

Rape culture, much like bears, is a real thing. Sexual assault statistics might be difficult to pin down precisely, but they do exist and they paint a vivid picture — as do the studies that show a disturbing number of men think rape is OK as long as you don't call it rape. And as do the thousands upon thousands of stories from survivors that reveal similar patterns in being disbelieved or re-traumatized in trying to come forward. Rape culture is real. It isn't quite as straightforward as a bear, but it is exists just the same, and it will still hurt you.

2. Ignoring It Won't Make It Go Away

The rate of sexual assault in this country has hardly budged at all in our lifetimes, and what little progress has been made is probably the result of the many people who work tirelessly to combat the issue. Ignoring the problem is about as useful as pretending there isn't a bear in your house.

3. #NotAllBears

Saying that not all bears attack people is an example of something that is technically true, and also completely useless. If people are being attacked by bears, something needs to be done, whether or not all bears are participating.

4. It Is Terrifying

Living in rape culture is terrifying. It forces you to always consider your own safety even in the most mundane situations — in fact especially in the most mundane situations. It forces you to choose between never fully trusting the men in your life or risking becoming one of the millions of women assaulted by someone they know. Knowing you have a one in five chance of being raped is terrifying, just like knowing you have a one in five chance of being attacked by a bear.

Watch the full video below:

Images: CollegeHumor/YouTube (4)