On fighting rape culture...
Teach Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak or other young adult novels that address rape and its aftermath. (I know there are other novels that would fit the bill, but this is the one I always teach.) And teach these books to high school students.
Anderson’s Speak is a sensitive, thoughtful examination of rape and its aftermath. It also has many moments of dark humor: The book’s protagonist, Melinda Sordino, has an incisive wit. It’s hard to imagine a teenage male (or, really, anyone) reading this book and continuing to think that rape is somehow “OK.” That said, I realize that it’s a lot to expect a single book to change rape culture. So, we should also…