Media. Society. Rape. : The Young India

Kartikey Sehgal
(Rated Mature)
A relation between ‘media writing about rape and society reading about rape’.

1. Media Covers Rape

The media knows all about rape. How it happened. When it happened. How many and what they did. If they are connected to someone powerful. What was the girl wearing. The time. If she was alone. Should she be alone. If she shouted. If she was gagged. Her sisters or brothers. The family of the rapist. And much more.

Newspapers give front page preference to many rape stories. News channels cover almost every rape story in detail; they have half hour modules for rape and crime stories.

However, this intensity and inquisitiveness is lost during the ‘non-rape’ times. Politicians and policy makers are not hounded for information on how they plan to prevent rapes.

The media—as it seems—does not even realise that education is a factor in reducing crimes. Education—confidence—self-assurance—dignity—respect for self and others. It is interested only in ensuring punishment for the perpetrators; a step anyway guaranteed by the courts.

It does not disturb the policy makers to open libraries and schools in villages. It does not stand outside their government-sanctioned homes and ask questions on the same.

‘Sir, after the last crime, what have you done to ensure that the youth of the village/city/Delhi does not indulge itself in sex crimes?’ No. This doesn’t happen.

Instead, details of the most sordid aspects of the crime are reported. Lectures on sex crimes are printed in newspapers and news channels add background music to an enactment of the crime.

The media reports a rape. And in its heart it knows that the next one will come soon. It is prepared to ‘cover’ it.

2. Society Reads Rape

The media covers rape because society loves to read about rape. The repressed (even non-repressed) men of cities and villages love the sex part of the rape. They may condemn rape but they want to know about the intercourse. They want to read about the setting; whether it was a lone room or an abandoned building.

This may not be unhealthy; the ‘excitement’ of reading about the rape is simply the body telling you that it wants sex. It does not imply that the reader is wicked and wants to rape.

Excessive fascination with rape related stories could be a sign of boredom and massive repression. No parks or gardens, minimal interaction with the opposite sex, religious tensions—all these could lead to a sense of loneliness and boredom. But this does not mean that the repressed individual would commit crimes. He could, instead, shy away from society and women.

However, certain individuals are not able to distinguish between their body’s demand for sex and the pleasure derived from reading rape stories. They may equate pleasure with rape. They may go out of their way to obtain information on sex crimes.

Such individuals form the primary audience of newspapers and news channels who write explicitly about rape. The media writes about and shows sex-crime stories keeping these individuals in mind. They should push for education (as written above in part one) so as to minimise sexual confusion in such individuals. So that they don’t go on to commit sex crimes.

This doesn’t happen. Media feeds on the rape obsessed individuals who in turn feed on media.

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The Young India

Media. Society. Rape.

on April 20, 2010

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