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Introduction: Feminism, Governmentality and 'Male' Rape 1. Problematization: A Critical Ontology of the Present 2. Investigation: A Foucauldian Triangulation 3. Representations: Knowing Victimhood 4. Biopolitics: Imagining Victimhood 5. Individuation: Acting on Victimhood Concluding Thoughts

Male rape is a feminist issue -- but perhaps not in the way that you might think. This work is an experiment in Foucauldian thought that attempts to satisfy Foucault's imperative to 'think differently'. From this positioning, feminist constructions of 'male rape' can plausibly be claimed to operate as a 'regime of truth', but one must necessarily question whether this is running counter to patriarchy. This book seeks to problematize knowledge and practices regarding 'male rape', examining the social realms of the Academy, popular culture, policy and provision in the constitution of the subject. Discussion is moved beyond notions of fairness or justice. Instead, Cohen seeks to ascertain the discursive regularities in these sites, considers the power-effects of such discourse and thus conceives of 'male rape' as illustrating the success of governmentality.

This paper provides a critical review of the literature surrounding male rape, aimed at exploring how male rape myths shape society's responses and attitudes to male victims of rape and integrates the literature from a theory driven perspective. In doing so, this theoretical paper reveals information relating to the barriers to recognition of male rape. These barriers are male rape myths that prevent male rape victims from coming forward and seeking the support that they merit. There has been a lack of research on male rape myths, although some research has documented such myths to be present in practice. These myths could be harmful because they may influence societies' opinions of male rape victims, so this could affect the treatment and responses toward such victims. To understand and explain such myths so some attempt can be made at eradicating them, this paper will explore common male rape myths that seem to be prevalent in Western society. This paper will examine male rape myths in the areas of media, incarcerated settings, and the wider community, focusing on England and Wales, UK. This is important to do to recognise which myths are harmful and are facilitating the under-reporting of male rape. This paper will help raise awareness of male rape myths and not only attempt to tackle them, but also encourage male rape victims to come forward to report and seek the help that they merit. It will also address the gaps in the literature and areas ripe for research, so further empirical research can be conducted on male rape, highlighting ideas for future research and providing guidance in areas most needed in research on male rape.

This article considers the problem of male/male rape. It explores reasons for the silence of the international community on the issue, principal among which is that it involves sexual activity between two men. Society considers any such contact to be indicative of homosexuality, regardless of any element of coercion. Given the prevalence of homophobia in society, this amounts to a "taint" on the part of the victim of the rape. This article explores the notion and extent of such a "taint" by analyzing the role of language and the stigma as felt by survivors, as intended by perpetrators, and as perpetuated by the state.

Sexual assault generates much attention in social research, but male victims are largely neglected by a predominantly feminist perspective that seeks to highlight the gendered nature of sexual assault as a social phenomenon. As a result there is a relative lack of empirical information on male rape, but it is possible to chart the theoretical development of male rape as a social problem as it emerges in the social research discourse. It is important to examine this development because the current direction of the research on male rape has worrying consequences for how we theorize sexual assault in general. Here I examine how male rape is understood in academic discourse, and I focus specifically on how a credible male victim is constructed with reference to sexual difference, sexuality, and hierarchies of sexual harm. The analysis demonstrates the problems around the concept of 'male rape', and the need for all those researching sexual assault to account adequately for both male and female victims alike.

Focusing on male-on-male rape, this book looks at the common myths surrounding this taboo issue, including the idea that 'men who rape other men must be homosexual' and that 'real men can't be raped'. It also reveals that men are not only raped in prison, as is commonly believed, and that they suffer similar trauma to female survivors of rape