ABSTRACT
Rape is three kinds of fact in one: it is an event, it is a kind of violence, and it is a structural expression of patriarchy and white supremacy. This chapter offers a rereading of the concept of “rape culture” that emphasizes how the fact(s) of rape is/are constructed and suspended within a post-truth frame. Viewed in this way, both rape culture and the predicament of “post-truth politics” take on new complexity and valence. At the core of the post-truth of rape, we propose, are cultural efforts to maintain sexual violence allegations in an intractable state of irresolvability, so that they are rarely (if ever) resiliently established as ‘matters of fact’ in public life. These efforts have a long history, but also new innovations that demand critical attention. Using Virginia Giuffre’s highly mediated public accusation of rape against Prince Andrew as a touchstone example, we discuss how the growing epistemic unease associated with digitally mediated public culture is compounding with (profoundly gendered and racialized) relationships of doubt, distrust, and disbelief in the present conjuncture, giving the post-truth of rape new sources of stability and resilience.
