ABSTRACT
This chapter defines the constructs used in the book. Sexual assault, rape, rape myths, rape culture, and consent are identified with their current and historical meanings. It discussed these terms in connection to masculinity, femininity, traditional sex roles, gender norms, and feminism. The ideas are presented using a symbolic interactionist framework, including two theories of expectation states and situated identities. These theories presume people work in groups using their own identities as well as the perceived social statutes and roles of the others in or perhaps out of the group. Social hierarchies based on statuses are used when making decisions about which attitudes to express and behaviors to demonstrate in these groups. In the university, this connects to sports, fraternities, sororities, and other student organizations as well as descriptions of race, gender, and sex and ideologies of liberal, conservative, and feminism. This chapter brings these ideas together as a foundation to appreciate how and why rape culture and rape myths still infiltrate society and culture.
