One of the less appreciated aspects of rape culture is how rapists are demonized, literally portrayed as animals, violently and obviously deranged, or otherwise clearly outside the human norm.
Part of this is addressed through push back against the “stranger in the bushes” myth. But even where we have been successful in raising awareness that
- a large amount of rape is perpetrated against children or vulnerable adults who know and are being supervised by their rapists and
- another large chunk of rape is perpetrated against people who first accept a date with someone who eventually rapes them
there is still a lingering myth that these rapists are somehow disguised demons, but demonic nonetheless. There is massive resistance to the idea that there’s a continuum of violation, instead insisting that, for instance, when Rebecca Watson asked repeatedly during a conference – even during her plenary address – not to be propositioned as she wasn’t at the conference for sex, someone ignoring that “no” and propositioning her anyway is completely and utterly different from someone who ignores a “no” to sex.