Any Four Black Men Will Do

Abstract

This study examines the impact of false rape charges a former Iowa State University student brought against four Black males. Using textual analysis coupled with Barthes's theory of myth, the authors critically examine how the story took hold and the communicative impact of the falsified claims of rape that affected African American men, rape survivors, and women. Using previous scholarship on rape and race (macrocontext), the authors test the scholarly conclusions on the myth of rape and race in a microcontext case study. Thus, they are interested in how the false accusation revived the myth and how Iowa State University and the local community, the regional media, and the campus police perpetuated the myth. The authors argue that racism and sexism are allowed to continue in this situation because of the preservation of White hegemonic patriarchal power. This preservation of White patriarchal hegemony is echoed in macrocontext-level conclusions.

Post-Sexual Assault Decision Making: Centering Black Women’s Experiences

“…The image of Black men as aggressive sexual beasts who rape White women has been detrimental to the perception of Black women as legitimate victims in that true victimhood incorporates White women as the default (Duru, 2003; Tillman et al, 2010). Black men were historically characterized as untamable insatiable sexual beasts from whom White women needed protection (Duru, 2003; Patton & Snyder-Yuly, 2007). Although the majority of sexual assault crimes are intraracial (Morgan & Truman, 2020) the myth of the bestial Black man who hunts White women is deeply embedded and persistent in American society (Duru, 2003).…”

Backlash against the #MeToo movement: How women's voice causes men to feel victimized

“…White people and people of color do not have the same history with accusations of rape. Whereas White men accused often go unpunished, Black men have historically been falsely accused and convicted of rape (Wyatt, 1992;Patton & Snyder-Yuly, 2007). Therefore, people of color may perceive the #MeToo movement differently than Whites.…”

Nursing work is justice work: Rethinking justice and promoting healing in survivors of gender‐based violence

“…Black communities bear a significant burden of law enforcement's response to GBV, driven by racist media portrayals of Black men victimizing white women. These portrayals have been internalized into the psyches of many, which continue to feed the cycle of marginalization and mass incarceration of Black and Brown men (Patton & Snyder-Yuly, 2007). For example, judges and juries tend to impose harsher penalties for the rape of white women than of Black women (Estrich, 1988;Wriggins, 1995), and Black men who are convicted of raping white women receive the longest and most severe punishments compared to men of other races (Mitchell & MacKenzie, 2004;Wriggins, 1995).…”