Rape Fantasies - Rape Culture and the Persistence of Sexual Violence

In Rape Fantasies, Alisa Kessel makes the case that to prevent sexual violence in the US and elsewhere, we must confront rape as a crime that is not born of natural sexual appetites, simple miscommunication, or ethical breach. In a rape culture, sexual violence is an essential political tactic to preserve--and, oftentimes, to embolden--hierarchies of race, gender, sexuality, and class. Moving beyond a gender-centered account of rape culture, Kessel provides an intersectional reconceptualization that reveals how rape culture evolves and expands to discipline any group that threatens the sociopolitical order.