Lessons from Rape Culture

In Lessons from Rape Culture, Stephanie R. Larson shows how, rather than transforming the conditions that enable sexual violence, universities often absorb and manage abuse, preserving institutional prestige while postponing justice. Tracing the history of Title IX advocacy, campus controversies, and the everyday labor of faculty who receive student disclosures, Larson shows how universities teach their members what counts as evidence, whose credibility travels, and when dissent becomes “too much.” She begins by uncovering how the rhetorical negotiations required to pass sex discrimination protections through patriarchal legislative structures narrowed what could be named as violence. She then examines defenses of accused “star” professors, student protest movements, and qualitative interviews with humanities faculty across ranks and institutions to uncover the hidden labor borne by those who support survivors. Throughout, she demonstrates how the costs of complaint are redistributed onto those already marginalized in the academy. The book concludes with a set of “soft rules for radical leaders” that propose concrete shifts in institutional policy, pedagogy, and culture. Bridging theory, case study, and practical intervention, Lessons from Rape Culture makes a distinctive contribution to feminist rhetorical studies, critical university studies, and scholarship on campus sexual violence. It challenges readers to confront the rhetoric that shields power and to imagine forms of institutional life that move beyond symbolic progress toward structural accountability.