For all of those who had respectful, considerate, consensual, and fair platonic / romantic / sexual relationships in secondary school that didn’t result in abuse, assault, or some form of social exclusion, congratulations. I’m not talking about your personal experiences. You’re awesome in spite of high school, not because of it.

What I’m addressing is the social dynamic that permeates the American high school experience.

That general atmosphere is dominated by exclusion and a great desire to erase one’s individuality in order to conform.

I am not saying conforming to norms of civility, understanding, and compassion, and tolerance are bad things. I am saying that social superiors learn how to fake these qualities effectively while looking to dominate and control their more naive peers with less-to-nonexistent social capital.

This is what allows American high school rape culture to flourish. Adolescent shitheads with elevated social capital can outmaneuver adult authorities, if they’re even able to recognize it in the first place.

The social milieu is not dominated by teachers and administrators. It’s usually controlled by those students who are physically skilled, conventionally attractive, and/or socially normative in a pseudo-1950s heterosexist American paradigm.

I’m not saying that nerds, slackers, stoners, skaters, gamers, or whatever other groups that exist in high schools can’t perpetrate rape culture as well. They most certainly can. What I am saying is that the dominant popular social structure sets the stage for other kinds of abusers to work their own angles of social coercion.

Let’s not forget that non-adult teenage abusers have a largely captive audience that won’t snitch on them for fear of greater retaliation. Reference Mentor and Steubenville for the proof in this millennium. I’m not picking on you, Ohio. I’m just noting that you perfectly fit the points that I’m making. I seriously doubt that you’re accidents or anomalies.