Rape Culture: Anti-Feminist Backlash against a Feminist Concept

Background: Since 2012, the feminist term rape culture has been broadly used in Canada and the U.S. to explain the cultural and structural supports that reproduce sexual violence, yet in recent years it has come under attack by anti-feminists. Analysis: This article examines opinion columns written by women published between 2012 and 2019 that target feminist frameworks on sexual violence, the terminology of rape culture, and campus feminism. Conclusion and implications: Anti-feminist columnists occupy key media positions from which to spread anti-feminist ideologies, connecting the various players of alt-right networks and right-wing movements and mainstreaming anti-feminism in the pages of Canada's English language legacy press.