Sexual Violence and American Manhood
Sexual violence against women—pervasive in our society—is largely hidden, as in the oppressive presence of date rape on university campuses. Occasionally it does rise to the news headlines, sometimes through an individual’s action, as in the rape charges faced by basketball superstar Kobe Bryant or the battering accusations against popular baseball Hall-of-Famer Kirby Puckett. At other times it is episodic, as in the notorious 1991 “Tailhook” scandal involving U.S. naval officers.