[This post includes a discussion about allegations of sexual assault and sexual violence more generally]
The original
allegations
On January 1st, Armie Hammer tweeted “2021 is going to kneel down before me and kiss my feet...” Just ten days later he was trending on twitter following serious allegations of abuse and sexual misconduct including rape accusations. The main accuser, known as Effie, released multiple screenshots of alleged conversations with the actor along with her accusations. Within these screenshots were some harrowing conversations including one about cannibalism. One would expect the most popular tweets following these accusations to be those trying to hold him accountable and messages of support for the women. Instead the accusation that Hammer had been emotionally, sexually, and physically abusive got lost behind the comedic response to the disturbing screenshots.
Later allegations and
the response
Injustice, knowledge,
and communication
This disappointing coverage is in part due to
a broader injustice in how we talk about and understand rape. In 2007, Miranda
Fricker coined the term epistemic injustice. Epistemic injustice is when prejudicial
beliefs keep us from seeing people as reliable sources of knowledge. Because an
integral part of being human is the ability to gather and share knowledge,
these actions deny people some part of their humanity.
One subset of this brand of injustice is
called hermeneutical injustice. This occurs when “some significant area
of one’s social experience is obscured from collective understanding.” When this type of
injustice occurs people lack the language to communicate their own experiences
and others lack the concepts and interpretive tools to understand those
experiences. As such, these people's experiences are often minimized,
misunderstood, or erased.
Rape myths as an
example of injustice
The broad acceptance of rape myths is an example of this injustice. The false beliefs about who rapes, what rape looks like, and how someone should respond to rape hinder our ability to understand sexual violence. Rape myths cause people to operate under false conceptions of sexual violence, and people’s real experiences are measured against these faulty concepts. As such when people hear accusations of rape, the pervasiveness of these rape myths causes people to minimize, dismiss, or miscategorize experiences of sexual violence. This has real consequences. In fact, researchers have found that the more accepted rape myths are by jurors, the less likely an accused rapist is to be convicted. These same myths work in a similar way to obscure the understanding around these women's accusations against Hammer.
Myth 1: Rape as a consequence
of promiscuity
The first myth that is causing injustice by
perpetuating misunderstanding is the myth that promiscuity can be equated with consent. This myth suggests that promiscuous women always want
sex, and conversely, only pure women deserve protection. This myth especially
works to obscure Effie’s experience. Effie is open about her sexual
relationships, talks about stripping, and was also involved in a BDSM
relationship with Hammer. Because people have accepted that this type of
promiscuous behavior implies consent, it becomes easy for people to obfuscate
Hammer’s actions instead of taking seriously her claims of abuse.
This can be seen in especially the early
coverage where many articles did not
center Effie’s accusations at all and instead explained
the situation as simply kink on Hammer's part. In fact, multiple
publications have still used kink as an explanation
for the situation. People see her actions as implying consent,
and instead focus on conversations of kink that assume her consent because they are using a faulty conception of
rape, specifically regarding sexual violence perpetrated against promiscuous
women. Because her experience is being misunderstood and diminished based on
faulty collective concepts, this is an example of hermeneutical injustice.
Myth 2: Rape only occurs if
there is violent physical force
Another rape myth that perpetuates this
injustice is the myth that sexual
violence only occurs if there is violent force. This myth is so
pervasive that it used to be codified into law by requiring that victims show
sufficient force on the part of the attacker and also in trying to get away in
order for an experience to legally constitute
rape. The reality is much more nuanced. Manipulation, which is not
always paired with physical force, is an important aspect of the coercion that precipitates
sexual abuse.
Manipulation is present in many of the stories
about Hammer. For example, Courtney
Vucekovich described an experience where Hammer convinced her to participate in “a bondage
ceremony that [she] was not comfortable with” by being “cold and angry.”
Eventually she said that she consented but “really regretted doing so.” Paige Lorenze spoke to a similar
dynamic when she said that “consenting
to something... that you don’t really want to do... can be really
traumatizing.” Both women talked about eventually agreeing to do things they
didn’t really want to do, but because that does not match the faulty conception
of sexual violence always including physical force, the publication goes on to
describe the relationships as “messy” instead of abusive.
Rape
myths continue to provide people with faulty conceptions of rape. These faulty
conceptions are then used as the measuring stick for what counts as rape. As
such, experiences and accusations are taken less seriously because people are
asking the wrong questions. This can be seen in the Hammer situation as people
minimized and discounted these women's accusations.
