In reading Marcus’ essay on rape, I found that it reconfirmed a lot of the ideas in Rubin’s article on sex. Rubin makes some really interesting assertions about the evolution of sex as taboo in Western cultures. “This culture always treats sex with suspicion” and sex is considered to be “inherently sinful.” Could this be one of the causes for the cultural association between rape and death? Marcus points out that rape transcends the definition of assault crimes because of its sexual connotations. So if sex is this incredibly holy act reserved for “marriage, reproduction and love,” then of course sexual violence is going to be the closest a person can get to death while still being alive. But what if we began to de-stigmatize sex? Rubin asserts that the harsh judgments placed on the act of sex have justified the criminalization of prostitution and homosexuality. So what if sex weren’t so culturally taboo? What if people began to view sex in a more liberal way, as something we all do in whatever form we choose? Basically, why is sex such a big deal? I couldn’t help but analyze Marcus’ essay in the context of this theory within Rubin’s article. Can the de-stigmatization of sex in any way help the whole rape issue? If sex w I’m not trying to say that if sex weren’t “such a big deal” that women would be able to view rape as a less heinous crime. But what if we were to begin a revolution to subvert the sexual aspect of rape and emphasis the assault/violence aspect of rape in order to make it less traumatic for a victim? If sex were less taboo, then perhaps women could get real about sex, own their sexuality and break away from the stereotype are these sexually passive objects. And if women weren’t stereotyped as sexually passive, then perhaps rapists would not find them such an easy target. It’s a long shot, but what if…