Mocking Prison Rape for Fun and Profit

Bill Flanigen | June 5, 2009

After four years of taking testimony and doing whatever else it is that they do, the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) will release its final report and recommendations later this month. So now seems like a good time to take a moment to revisit our dismissive national attitude toward jailhouse sex crime.

For Exhibit A, check out the dizzying new heights of un-funny reached by the marketing minds at Fox:

After four successful seasons, the Fox series Prison Break is going off the air, and the publicity team at Fox sent [to The Advocate] a little reminder to tune in—a press release, accompanied by a bar of soap.

How about a rape-themed movie? Or maybe a board game. Ezra Klein reported in the Los Angeles Times on that last little nugget of filth:

How about picking up "Don't Drop the Soap," a board game created by the son of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas. The game "is simply intended for entertainment," said Nicole Corcoran, the governor's spokeswoman. What, after all, could be more entertaining then[sic] trying to "avoid being cornered by the Aryans in the shower room" (one of the goals of the game, according to its promotional material)?

Sadly, many of the people taking prison rape seriously are, well, not doing a very good job of it. See, for instance, reality TV "Judge" Greg Mathis' new video game—which wasn't supposed to be a joke, but obviously is one:

"The main difference between our game and Grand Theft Auto is that players will have to deal with the justice system and consequences for their actions," said Mathis. "When you go to prison, you gain credibility when you come back on the streets. On the other hand, when you go to prison you can also be raped. So take your chances. We may see young people who make the wrong choice and go to prison and are assaulted repeatedly (in this game)."

Apparently, prison rape is now a feature, not a bug. Someone should let the commission know.

If you want a serious take on prison rape from Reason, check out Jesse Walker's August 2003 coverage of the Act that created the NPREC, and then read Cathy Young's May 2007 article, which asks: "How big a problem is prison rape—and what can be done about it?"

Help Reason celebrate its next 40 years. Donate Now!

Try Reason's award-winning print edition today! Your first issue is FREE if you are not completely satisfied.

|6.5.09 @ 1:13PM|#

What do prison guards actually do?

|6.5.09 @ 1:14PM|#

Is There A Rapist-In-Waiting In Every Guy?

Men, by and large, have a rape switch. All men are capable of rape. Most men are enculturated in a way that reduces rape, and in some societies it is probably true that most violent rape is carried out by individuals who are reasonably labeled as pathological. In other societies, this is not so true. In post war societies such as those described in some of these links, or any society in a state of war, rape becomes routine. The rape switch is flipped to the on position as a matter of course. Most men who were in combat in Viet Nam raped. Similar circumstances have been documented for other wars.

On the other hand, when you go to prison you can also be raped. So take your chances. We may see young people who make the wrong choice and go to prison and are assaulted repeatedly (in this game).

Is there a special Wii dildo to heighten the realism?

What do prison guards actually do?

Half participate and the other half watches.

|6.5.09 @ 1:16PM|#

Mocking Prison Rape for Fun and Profit

Posted on June 5, 2009, 1:04pm | Bill Flanigen

Your new intern misspelled Flanagan. Let's raise the bar, eh?

|6.5.09 @ 1:17PM|#

For years, I've felt that prison brutality is the most important unaddressed political issue facing our society.

"See, you don't know what rape is like. For years, I thought it was funny. 'Oh, yeah. Rape's so funny.' Until you've been raped."

|6.5.09 @ 1:19PM|#

Most men who were in combat in Viet Nam raped.

[citation needed.]

So, the odds are that John Kerry was a rapist?

shecky|6.5.09 @ 1:19PM|#

Good post. It's a sad reminder about neglect while being in the care of the state, and some kind of sorry reflection on us all.

phalkor|6.5.09 @ 1:20PM|#

prison rape is now a feature, not a bug

I'm pretty sure it has always been that way. It helps convince me that I really really do not want to go to prison.

|6.5.09 @ 1:20PM|#

What, after all, could be more entertaining then[sic]

All other sins aside, this alone earns the LA Times a place in a particularly fiery circle of hell.

Sug, not to make light of rape in any form of course, but can't you see The Rape Switches opening for The Boner Killers?

|6.5.09 @ 1:23PM|#

To be serious for a moment, if prison rape is as widespread as it is supposed to be, it makes prison "cruel and unusual". The truly despicable thing is how no one, from feminists to the ACLU to most human rights organizations, give a shit. Criminals deserve rape, I guess. Even if they're non-violent drug offenders or wrongly convicted, it seems. And when some prosecutor jokes about pound-me-in-the-ass prison, I pray to the FSM that they get nailed for corruption and end up going there themselves.

|6.5.09 @ 1:29PM|#

What Epi just said. Especially the FSM part.

RAmen.

|6.5.09 @ 1:36PM|#

Most men who were in combat in Viet Nam raped

I don't really have time to go to that link, but I am curious whether anything was furnished to substantiate this assertion.

|6.5.09 @ 1:38PM|#

Sug, not to make light of rape in any form of course, but can't you see The Rape Switches opening for The Boner Killers?

Very incompatible fan bases.

I think the lunatic fringe of feminism plays good lip service to male-on-male prison rape, but ultimately they are more invested in defining rape down. They've managed to go from 1/6 of woman are raped to 1/3 in as little as 5 years. They are headed for 100%, but it will be Xeno's Arrow until they figure out how to seriously assert that the sperm rapes the egg...

Isaac,

When you start with the proposition that all sex is rape, you don't need proof. Just the glorious light of your assumptions.

Sarah Silverman|6.5.09 @ 1:39PM|#

I was raped...by a doctor.

Which is so bittersweet for a Jewish girl.

Something About Free Markets|6.5.09 @ 1:40PM|#

"Mocking Prison Rape for Fun and Profit"

|6.5.09 @ 1:42PM|#

That Jezebel article is...frightening. I never realized I was a rapist, but now I know better.

Mac: You put your balls in my mouth while I was sleeping?

Dennis: Yeah, man. Twice.

Mac: That's rape! That is borderline rape!

seriously assert that the sperm rapes the egg...

Not far to go, dude. I recently learned that even the word "penetration" is now apparently sexist, or something. Conjures up far more violent imagery than our feminine sensibilities can handle.

Ben Dover|6.5.09 @ 1:47PM|#

That's why I buy soap on a rope.

|6.5.09 @ 1:52PM|#

Greg Laden says that the Vietnam assertion comes from Susan Brownmiller's work. Yes, the Brownmiller who says all men are complicit in rape because they benefit from the culture of fear it creates.

She's not saying you are a rapist, but an on-going accessory to rape after the fact.

And those with good Robert Anton Wilson recall will remember that she is the Brownmiller who he used when christening breasts "Brownmillers."

NeonCat|6.5.09 @ 1:54PM|#

I tried looking at that Jezebel article. I tried, but every time I look at (what passes for) Feminist discourse on the web I can feel my blood pressure shooting up. It's like they're saying "Even if you, personally, NeonCat, haven't raped anyone, yet, it would just take the right circumstances to make you do it." I seriously doubt any of those women, or the dude who wrote the quoted article, have ever met me. Indeed, borrowing from RAW, I doubt they have met so much as 1/10% of all the men in the world, and yet they blithely assert that ALL men are just ticking time bombs of rape.

It insults me and infuriates me. And, probably, if I told them that, they would just consider it proof that I would rape them, given the right circumstances.

Allness is an illness.

|6.5.09 @ 1:56PM|#

I like you better when you posted light-hearted fare about topless coffeeshops and slavery, intern.

Now it's like MASH, when shit got all depressing. Bring back the funny.

Fascitis Necrotizante|6.5.09 @ 2:00PM|#

I also have a feeling that very few if any of those women have actually been raped, and people attempting to martyr themselves with the vicarious victimhood of other peoples' tragedies is one of the few things that sincerely offends me.

|6.5.09 @ 2:06PM|#

Most men who were in combat in Viet Nam raped

I don't really have time to go to that link, but I am curious whether anything was furnished to substantiate this assertion.

I can imagine how the interviews for this research project might go:

Interviewer: "So, did you rape any women in Vietnam?"

Vietnam Vet: "Ummm, would the statute of limitations have expired if I had?"

Int: "Nope."

VV: "Is this a legally privileged conversation?"

Int: "Nope."

VV: "No, I didn't rape any women in Vietnam.

Int (brightly): "OK, then!" (Starts leaving the room.)

VV: "Yeah, all them gook bitches wanted it when I did 'em."

|6.5.09 @ 2:08PM|#

Cue reference to Lockyer's desires to see Enron execs get that treatment in prison.

|6.5.09 @ 2:10PM|#

"The truly despicable thing is how no one, from feminists to the ACLU to most human rights organizations, give a shit. Criminals deserve rape, I guess."

No, in their eyes male criminals deserve rape. You better believe if prison rape were more of a problem among women rather than men, they would be more concerned. Poor men who make up the majority of prisoners are just not a group that anyone gives a shit about. Thus, it is okay even in the most PC circles to joke about them being raped in prison.

When you start with the proposition that all sex is rape,...

Ahhh, yes, that sort of occurred to me just as I clicked on "Submit Comment".

And, as is often the case, SugarFree was ther with useful information at 1:52pm. Thanks.

A newspaper editor friend of mine once told me that he frequently has to jump on reporters who trot out the old "2 out of 3 (or whatever) women have been raped" line as though it was an established fact. He says these sort of things are OK as attributed quotes and a context but as a standalone statements of fact he just won't let them through.

|6.5.09 @ 2:12PM|#

"A newspaper editor friend of mine once told me that he frequently has to jump on reporters who trot out the old "2 out of 3 (or whatever) women have been raped" line as though it was an established fact. He says these sort of things are OK as attributed quotes and a context but as a standalone statements of fact he just won't let them through."

He clearly doesn't work for the New York times.

alan|6.5.09 @ 2:21PM|#

What do prison guards actually do?

Masturbate.

|6.5.09 @ 2:28PM|#

"Poor men who make up the majority of prisoners are just not a group that anyone gives a shit about"

Wht would we? They're all rapists.

So do they rape because thay're poor? Or are they poor because they rape?

Warty|6.5.09 @ 2:31PM|#

The Onion covered this. Though it was more depressing than funny...

EJM|6.5.09 @ 2:31PM|#

Not true. The ACLU, Human Rights Watch, the NAACP, Prison Fellowship, and a whole slew of other organizations are involved in lobbying for policies that protect prisoners from sexual abuse. Of course, it's also true that these people are in the minority.

FWIW, here are raw site searches for the ACLU, HRW, and AI USA. Also, just in case, here's an online petition to sign.

¢|6.5.09 @ 2:35PM|#

So do they rape because thay're poor? Or are they poor because they rape?

Being poor is rape.

Mike M.|6.5.09 @ 2:38PM|#

Most men who were in combat in Viet Nam raped.

Just like most Duke lacrosse players!

alan|6.5.09 @ 2:40PM|#

Also, intern Flanigen, I really doubt if the staff of Prison Break (four successful seasons? that's a stretch) approve of prison rape. You don't joke about something because it meets some standard of approval, you do it to point out the twisted, fucked up nature of life on this planet.

By doing so, you take the risk of being boorish, or spot on, you hit, you miss, poppers and duds usually come in even measure for even the best comedians and commentators, but if you don't take the risk, you are just a lame ass.

JB|6.5.09 @ 2:46PM|#

But it isn't 'torture' to send someone to prison where they stand a good chance of being raped for getting high with a drug less dangerous than alcohol.

However, it is 'torture' to send someone to prison where they stand a good chance of being interrogated harshly and maybe even slapped for being a terrorist.

|6.5.09 @ 2:49PM|#

I guess the tattoo of very nice titties I have on my back could turn out to be a bad idea.

Fascitis Necrotizante|6.5.09 @ 2:55PM|#

Interesting set of books: The Russian Criminal Tattoo Encyclopaedia. In addition to lots of voluntary tattoos, there's quite a bit on the tattoos that would be forcibly drawn on punks in Gulags and ordinary prisons. Naked ladies on the back was a big one. Also just the Russian words for RAPE ME I'M A BITCH all over the dude's face, which is too bad.

|6.5.09 @ 3:11PM|#

The untold story here, is now that Reason has broached the issue of prison rape, it has finally earned the right to adreess any issue.

Jon|6.5.09 @ 3:15PM|#

The prison rape problem highlights bigger problems with the way our system works. One of the most interesting books I have read was Michael Santos' INSIDE: LIFE BEHIND BARS IN AMERICA. He (a prisoner in the federal system for more than 20 years) discusses the pervasive rape, prostitution (guards as prostitutes), drug use, gangs, and general bullshit inside. The point: no amount of "correcting" gets done in "correctional facilities" and nobody--especially the Bureau of Prisons--seems to know or care about this. Someone who has either been repeatedly raped or has been repeatedly raping is hardly going to function normally on return to the outside. To wit, conditions are nothing short of crazy and the system is a giant joke and waste of money that needs reform.

MNG|6.5.09 @ 3:16PM|#

It's truly fascinating how a prison rape thread was turned into a two minute hate on feminism. It's almost like this thread was, well, you know...

MNG|6.5.09 @ 3:22PM|#

I'm pretty sure that Brownmiller et al have very little effect on or control of prison operations in this country...

EJM|6.5.09 @ 3:26PM|#

The untold story here, is now that Reason has broached the issue of prison rape, it has finally earned the right to [address] any issue.

What about terminally ill children?

Juanita|6.5.09 @ 3:48PM|#

Rap is an integral component to the prison experience in order to discourage crime.

I meant Rape not Rap.

|6.5.09 @ 3:55PM|#

Juanita wins the RC'z Law award of the week with a big last-minute kick to the finish line!

|6.5.09 @ 4:01PM|#

"Rap is an integral component to the prison experience in order to discourage crime."

Maybe back in the days of "The Message" by Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five. But nowadays? No way.

I, Kahn O\'Clast|6.5.09 @ 4:04PM|#

I have known a number of conservatives who really believe that rape is part of the punishment of prison and are heartened by it. Asking if it makes sense for someone busted for pot possession should have to take it violently up the ass: "shouldn't have committed the crime"

I think is makes more sense that prisoners be chemically castrated for the duration of their stay as part of the punishment to eliminate cases of rape. Perfectly reversible. Heck, they used to dole out saltpeter to sailors to keep them off each other...

Scruffy the janitor|6.5.09 @ 4:36PM|#

Jail's not so bad. You can make sangria in the terlet. 'Course, it's shank or be shanked.

alan|6.5.09 @ 4:37PM|#

When noobie prisoners enter the system they have an unrealistic and overly romanticized idea of what to expect. Riding in on the bus, they picture their cellmate being some husky, semi-feral type of guy, who'll give them intense looks, and when the time finally comes for them to copulate, the cellmate will blindfold them, sit them down, and hand feed them chocolate covered strawberries and hold the cup for them as they sip sangrias before an hour of light petting foreplay which accumulates with the husky cellmate easing it in gently like a scene out of Kiss of the Spider Woman when it is nothing like that at all. So, when it does not conform to their fantasies, they go crying to the prison staff to become yet another rape statistic.

Bags|6.5.09 @ 4:53PM|#

It's truly fascinating how a prison rape thread was turned into a two minute hate on feminism. It's almost like this thread was, well, you know...

Almost as fascinating as watching you turn just about every Moynihan thread into a diatribe about Israel.

Brett Stevens|6.5.09 @ 5:41PM|#

Our "free" society is overflowing with violent criminals, and when we confine them, they become rapists. We probably could fix this problem for $100,000 per year per prisoner.

I think it's time to start thinking about exiling the most violent offenders to someplace with lots of open space.

dudeness|6.5.09 @ 7:17PM|#

With respect to the fox promo for a show I've never watched:
If the soap was on a rope or had the words "don't drop me" written on it, it would be a rape joke.

However, the bar had a key imprint on it showing that the soap represented a tool of prison escape, just like the name of the fucking show.

Even if it had been an offensive joke, does anyone here really give a shit? I thought it was only liberals that were this touchy. Maybe the reason staff can contribute a list of topics off-limits for comedy. Then we will know to frown disapprovingly when we hear an old George Carlin or Norm Macdonald joke that concerns the untouchable.

Alan|6.5.09 @ 11:06PM|#

After recently sitting at dinner where some presumably sane persons (everyone has to pass a psych test to be here) joked about extralegal beatings and even castrations of men they dislike (talking about actual events they recounted, not musings about what they'd like to do), it is patently obvious that most people are assholes and don't give a shit about justice, and will seize on any opportunity to see someone hurt. In short, it is questionable which side of the prison bars most people belong on.

John Markley|6.6.09 @ 3:15AM|#

"It's truly fascinating how a prison rape thread was turned into a two minute hate on feminism."

If we were discussing Western attitudes towards Stalin's crimes during the 1930s, Walter Duranty would probably come up at some point. Given how much many feminists have done and continue to do to deny, minimize, or belittle the issue of violence against men, and especially sexual violence, some hate from people who do actually care about the issue strikes me as entirely appropriate.

|6.6.09 @ 8:47AM|#

The biggest problem in America is false rape accusations, which are promoted by feminist d-bags looking for an excuse to trash men.

tarran|6.6.09 @ 9:08AM|#

While false rape charges are a problem, I doubt that they are the biggest problem.

I would argue that more people are in jail as part of the War on (Some) Drugs than due to false rape accusations. I face more inconvenience in my daily life due to the War On Terrorism (When Not Practiced By U.S. Government Allies) than due to any systematic, false accusations that we men are raping people.

I think the above is true for the vast majority of men in the U.S.

|6.6.09 @ 1:28PM|#

Jail's not so bad. You can make sangria in the terlet. 'Course, it's shank or be shanked.

*Sob*

Of course.

Michael|6.7.09 @ 3:52AM|#

I'm aware of the sadness inherent to commenting on a dead thread, but I didn't notice this post until now.

Last year some friends and I ended up in the clink for a night due to some latent adolescent foolishness involving alcohol. While waiting to be processed I overheard the cops trying to get one of the guys to admit to tossing a lit cigarette into their cruiser (it wasn't him since he doesn't even smoke). One of the cops said something to the tune of, "tell us now or we'll send you to county where you'll get fucked up the ass." This prompted a burst of cackling guffaws from the other cops. This got me thinking about what the general attitude of law enforcement might be toward rape that occurs in a civilian context. It may very well be different and more serious, but hearing that wasn't reassuring even in the least.

|6.7.09 @ 4:41AM|#

I'm aware of the sadness inherent to commenting on a dead thread

Then I must be emo. Good post, though.

Kelso\'s Nuts|6.7.09 @ 5:54AM|#

Don't get me started on fuckin Prison Break. I live in La Ciudad De Panama. The Clinton/Perez-Balladares Treaty of 1999 which American right-wingers hate (and now Obamaphiles, too) permitted Panama, out of CIA and Southern Air Command, to re-write it's constitution and get rid of the death penalty, decriminalize small amounts of drugs for personal use, and make prison for violent felons and NEVER EVER FOR CHILDREN.

My attorney used to be the Chief Prosecutor here and she laughed and thought I was just making fun of gringos when I told her that in the USA 250,000 children as young as 13 were sent away every year for adult time to adult prisons. And that rape was considered part of the "official" sanction.

It's heartening to see that Obama has gotten way tougher on crime and is way more chickenhawkish, sadistic and indifferent with a lovely little "story" about his "journey" to cover up how UN-SOCIALIST and IN-HUMAN he really is.

Kelso\'s Nuts|6.7.09 @ 5:58AM|#

He should do some time even in a federal minimum security prison. I hate his indifferent bullshit Maya Angelou style and his callous disregard for human beings. How can anybody stand to look at his face every day? I never have to see it on Panamanian or Colombian news channels. The media is telling lies about him. He's not beloved in South America. Not by anybody, left right or center.

Reason Magazine

Get Reason E-mail Updates!

Site comments/questions:

Media Inquiries and Reprint Permissions:

Editorial & Production Offices:

advertisements