Response to Campbell's Article

Campbell’s article about research on rape was very interesting, particularly when applying Symbolic Interaction, Functionalism, and Conflict Theory.

In this article, we can the Symbolic Interaction perspective with the idea of “good” versus “bad” victims. A good victim is one who is open to discuss and retrace what happened, she’s open to crying and letting emotion out, as well as accepting the help that is offered to her. A bad victim may be a little different. She may feel ashamed or embarrassed, she may be fearful and scared or she may just be in denial. In these cases, a victim is difficult to offer help to because she usually rejects the counseling.

Next is Functionalism. Functionalism is easily visible and understandable in institutional and societal ways. If a victim believes the society/community will blame her, shame her, or even pitty her, she may be less inclined to expose her story. Also, the biases in a community or institution can affect the victim and her response to the process of healing.

Lastly is Conflict Theory, which is a very dominant perspective in Campbell’s article. Campbell found that court cases with rapes of white men and colored women, the court is taken less seriously and are often left unfinished. Whereas for example, if a man of color and a woman of color were in the same scenario, the court may handle the case differently.