"Mithu Sanyal sheds light on an irrational subject, and does so in the most well-documented, objective, and plausible way."
—Der Spiegel
"Anyone who wants to say anything about rape should read this ferocious book first."
—Deutschlandfunk
"It's as tough to read as it sounds. And revealing."
—Welt
"A beautifully written book, both entertaining and educational. Its contribution to the debate, the antithesis of hysteria, easily dismantles all the myths surrounding the crime and its perpetrators."
—Deutschlandradio Kultur
"Tracing a path from antiquity to the present day, it demonstrates that violence against women reveals how society conceives of sexuality and gender equality."
—Álvaro Colomer, Yo Dona
"Revealing, insightful, and provocative. A must-read for anyone curious about sex and sexual abuse."
—Joanna Bourke, author of *The Rapists*
“[A book that has] brought to the forefront of social and political debate a topic whose basic convictions, entrenched as agreed-upon truths, the author has sought to dissect. And she does so through a gender lens, striving to dismantle seemingly immutable roles.”
—Ana Carbajosa, El País
New Years Eve 2015/16 in Cologne, Germany. The young woman raped to death in Delhi, India. Jimmy Savile, Roman Polanski, Julian Assange, Dominique Strauss-Kahn – there is no shortage of media coverage and fierce social debate. But why do we speak and think about rape the way we do? Cultural critic Mithu Sanyal has written the first comprehensive analysis of the crime that shapes society’s attitudes towards gender, race and vulnerability.
While working on the book the assaults in Cologne happened. Germany changed its rape law to include No means no, Britain implemented Yes means yes. We are witnessing history in the making and we are part of that change. High time for a new and informed debate about rape, sexual boundaries and consent. What exactly is a rape culture? Why do we expect victims to be irreparably damaged? Why is it so hard to think of men as victims of rape?
The answers lie in the complex and often mind-boggling history of rape. From Aristotle to #YesAllWomen, from The Rape of Lucrece to Jodie Foster in The Accused via Foucault and feminist anti rape activism, insightful, informative and at times even witty, Mithu Sanyal’s book reveals the invisible thought structures, investigates deep-seated beliefs we hold in connection with rape and puts forward up to date strategies for ending it.