Asking for It: The Alarming Rise of Rape Culture—and What We Can Do about It

From Congressman Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” gaffe to the high school rapists of Steubenville, Ohio, to the furor at Vanderbilt, sexual violence has been so prominent in recent years that the feminist term “rape culture” has finally entered the mainstream. But what, exactly, is it? And how do we change it?

In Asking for It, Kate Harding answers those questions in the same blunt, no-nonsense voice that has made her a powerhouse feminist blogger. Combining in-depth research with practical knowledge, Asking for It makes the case that twenty-first-century America—where it’s estimated that out of every one hundred rapes only five result in felony convictions—supports rapists more effectively than victims. Harding offers ideas and suggestions for addressing how we as a culture can take rape much more seriously without compromising the rights of the accused.

“[Harding] has an amazing capacity for transforming her outrage into clear, considered arguments.”—Chicago Reader