BY: ANNA STANSFIELD

SUMMARY:

The lines from this poem were taken from a New York Times article that was published in 1981 and is titled “Rape in Marriage Defined,” by J.C. Barden. The article, in part, described an incident that occured in February, 1981, where a woman called the police trying to get her husband arrested for raping her, but she received no help because marital rape was not considered a crime at that time. When reading this, I was disgusted to know that even in 1981, law enforcement still did not view marital rape to be a crime. Marital rape has been a long standing issue that still occurs in society today, but it is our duty to raise awareness about the issue and to make sure people understand that it is still a serious problem.

I chose to make my project about the topic of marital rape because I don’t think that enough people realize that this is a tragic event that still takes place today and I wanted to create something that could help raise awareness of this serious issue.

To make the poem more visually appealing, I chose to add images around the border of the poem that I felt encapsulated what it might feel like to be a victim of marital rape as well as images I felt went against marital rape using phrases like “no means no” throughout the art. I felt that these images added another element to the poem that may make readers more engaged and responsive to the piece as a whole.

SOURCE:

Barden, J. C. (1981, Apr 19). RAPE IN MARRIAGE DEFINED. New York Times Retrieved from http://login.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login?url=https://www-proquest-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/newspapers/rape-marriage-defined/docview/424083064/se-2?accountid=4485