Assuming Rape: The Reproduction of Fear in American Military Female POWs

Abstract

In order to discuss the assumption that United States female military Prisoners of War will be raped once captured or during captivity and the reproduction of this assumption, it is necessary to discuss the construction of the vulnerable woman and the forces that reproduce that image. It is also necessary to discuss what the image of a vulnerable woman means to an American culture dominated by white men and the responsibilities that this vulnerability implies. These responsibilities reflect social norms that require men to protect white women, leaving the only options for white women as victims (Davis, 1983; Day, 2001; Stiehm, 1982).