Rape myth acceptance in the Deep South

Abstract

The current study explores the relationship between rape myth acceptance and masculinity in the Deep South. Rape myth acceptance has been studied in great detail, with many researchers asserting that the greatest predictor for rape myth acceptance is gender. However, no previous research has examined how southern masculinity is related to rape myth acceptance. In this study, I analyzed the relationships between masculinity and rape myth acceptance in the South using the updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (IRMA), which measures belief systems that endorse a culture of sexual violence (Payne, Lonsway, & Fitzgerald, 1999; McMahon & Farmer, 2011) and the Conformity to Masculinity Norms Inventory (CMNI), which measures men’s conformity to masculine norms (Burns & Mahalik, 2008), controlling for all relevant variables. Results from this study do not support a relationship between masculinity, rape myth acceptance, and the Deep South. The current study contends that future research needs to develop a specific and comprehensive measure of southern masculinity that captures what it truly means to be a man from the Deep South.