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Introduction xv Within the United States, rape has been intertwined with perceptions about gender and race. Slavery, “our peculiar institution,” as well as permitting 18th-century and 19th-century Americans to rape, beat, and torture their slaves with impunity, left a lasting legacy of racial conflict and myths. From the 16th century onward, many white Americans believed black women (and Native American women) were loose, licentious, and sexually insatiable. Even after slavery was abolished, some white men believed black women were promis- cuous. In addition, the “myth of the black beast” has led to black men being falsely arrested, tortured, or lynched for raping white women. For example, in the notorious Scottsboro Boys case of the 1930s, nine African American teenag- ers were falsely accused of raping two white women on a train near Scottsboro, Alabama. Issues of class and gender, and beliefs about how men and women should behave, have precipitated acts of sexual violence or have complicated how the acts have been perceived. Some men have considered women of any race “fair game” if they lived in particular areas, worked in or frequented bars or tav- erns, or were known to be sexually active. As recent news reports indicate, this belief is still held by both men and women. In numerous cases, witnesses, the accused, and the general public have indicated a belief that a young woman should not dress a certain way, or that she should not go to a party and get drunk. For example, in the 2013 Steubenville rape case, photos and videos of the young woman who was assaulted were posted on social media, some eliciting comments implying that the victim was to blame. Steubenville citizens were divided over the reports, especially after the story began to receive wide media coverage. In a Rolling Stone magazine article, tennis star Serena Wil- liams made comments that blamed the victim her statements received national attention, forcing her to apologize for what she had said. Yet, as Abigail Rine pointed out in a July 2013 article in The Atlantic mag- azine, male victims are also blamed. In a case in Norwood, Colorado, three high-school wrestlers anally raped a 13-year-old boy with a pencil. After the perpetrators were finally arrested, other students in school and on social media blamed and harassed the victim. Some parents even encouraged this vic- tim-blaming. As some studies have shown, many believe men are supposed to remain silent and stoic about such assaults. Moreover, those who believe most strongly in gender stereotypes or ideals are more likely to blame the victim. Both men and women who appear to have violated gender norms are often blamed if they become victims of sexual violence (Rine 2013). Studies of sexual violence with the U.S. military indicate that while more men than women are abused, fewer men than women report the incidents (though sexual assaults on both women and men are under-reported). In addition to being perceived as weak or not “masculine,” some men fear being labeled as