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Haley Lienau
Professor Agosta
UWRT 1102-02
29 March 2016
Research Log
Question #1
Citation:

Dunham, Lena. "Why Kesha's Case Is About More Than Kesha." Lenny
Letter. N.p., 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Date Accessed:

3/29/16

Type of Source:

Secondary Source, Online Article

Inquiry Questions
Answered:

How does the outcome of the injunction affect future victims?

Keywords:

Kesha, Dr. Luke, case, allegations

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Summary +
Commentary:

In the first paragraph of Dunhams blog post she talks about how when
she heard the news of Kesha being denied her freedom from Dr. Luke and
Sony, her first thought were all the college-aged girls being affected by
that decision. This was the main idea of the blog that Keshas case is not
just about Kesha but rather the legal system and other people in similar
situations. She proceeds to explain the case for people who may not of
heard about it mentioning how she is trying to get out of a contract with a
man she says abused her in multiple ways and requested an injunction that
was denied by a judge. She explains how the american legal system
continues to hurt woman by failing to protect them from people they
identify as their abusers. She talks about how common this financial
dominance is to woman all over America and how that creates fear and
how the legal system does not protect them or woman who are victims of
domestic violence. Women who come forward for domestic violence,
sexual assault, etc. have a lot to lose no matter their career or standing in
society. Sexual assault will always be a hard topic because there is no
concrete evidence like most crimes committed. She ends her blog
mentioning how much the public outcry about Keshas case has an
impact. This #FreeKesha movement could help lead to even more changes
within feminism.
I found the title of this blog particularly interesting because Keshas case
is about so much more than herself. The outcome of the trial can change
society in either a good or bad way. If everyday people see Kesha getting
reprimanded for coming out to the public without any kind of justice that
could be a step in the wrong direction. Kesha has become a role model for
sexual assault victims that needed someone to look up to and fight for
them. If she ends up not getting freed from her contract for the judge not
believing her it could discourage victims from getting justice for fear of
being called a liar.

Further Questions:

Does sexual assault tie together with the feminist movement? Should
feminist automatically believe every person that comes out about a sexual
assault? Did Lena Dunham being famous and advocating for Kesha have
and affect on how the public viewed the case?

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Question #2

Citation:

Marie, Ann. Re: Why Kesha's Case Is About More Than Kesha." Lenny
Letter. N.p., 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.

Date Accessed:

3/29/16

Type of Source:

Secondary Source, Commentary on a Blog

Inquiry Questions
Answered:

Why will Sony not let go of Dr. Luke after the allegations?

Keywords:

Kesha, Dr. Luke, case, allegations

Summary +
Commentary:

The original question Ann Marie posted was asking why Sony would not
fire Dr. Luke. People commented by saying he cannot be fired based on
allegations and could call for a lawsuit against Sony by Dr. Luke. Ann
Marie commented back saying in any other business a male accused of
sexual assault would have been terminated because regardless of if the
sexual assault allegations are true there is proof of inappropriate behavior
with female employees. She mentions how he is guilty in the court of
public opinion.
I found her quote about being guilty in public opinion interesting. Several
people are supporting Kesha and do think Dr. Luke is guilty making
people lose respect Sony for not supporting Kesha. There is a petition
going around asking Sony to fire Dr. Luke but whatever the outcome is
there will be people that agree with the termination of him and people that
do not.

Further Questions:

Will Sony terminate Dr. Luke if there are enough signatures on the
petition?

Question #3
Citation:

Molly. Free Kesha! Molly the Blogger. N.p., 20 Feb. 2016. Web. 29

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Mar. 2016.
Date Accessed:

3/29/16

Type of Source:

Secondary Source, Online Article

Inquiry Questions
Answered:

If the roles were reversed and a male was in Keshas situation alleging
sexual assault would the public/court opinion be different?

Keywords:

Free Kesha, blog

Summary +
Commentary:

Molly the Blogger gives a run down of what the #FreeKesha is and why
she thinks it is important. She gives 6 bullet point including Kesha losing
her freedom by being forced to work with someone who has abused her,
greed of the industry and proves that inequality is still very much
prevalent. She says she believes that if the roles were reversed and a man
was in Keshas place the situation would have been handled differently.
I think it is interesting that she does believe things would have been
handled differently had the roles been reversed. However, I wish she
would have elaborated a little bit more. I did reply in a comment asking if
she would explain her thoughts a little bit more on that issue so hopefully
she will email me back and I can get a more detailed perspective on the
situation.

Further Questions:

Why would a man being sexually assaulted be looked at differently? Is

sexual assault also an issue of feminism?

Question #4
Citation:

Jones, Dia. Personal Interview. 3 April 2016.

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Date Accessed:

4/3/2016

Type of Source:

Primary Source, Interview

Inquiry Questions
Answered:

1. Do you think the case have been seen in court differently if Kesha was
not as popular?
2. Does the support from other celebrities, such as Taylor Swift and Lady
Gaga, play a role in how the public views the case? If everyday
citizens see one of their idols supporting Kesha are they more likely to
believe her over a producer who does not have the same connections?
3. Would people be more likely to believe the allegations if other women
came forward about Dr. Luke sexually assaulting them or would people
believe they are coming out for the wrong reasons?
4. How do you think the verdict will affect future victims?
5. Do you think people would be more likely to believe someone on their
own campus than Kesha?

Keywords:

Kesha

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Summary +
Commentary:

1. No, I think the courts would see her the same if she was an everyday
person.
2. Yes, because if they see that someone they look up to supporting
someone who is going through something they will be more willing to
support them as well believing their idol has whatever the situations
best interest at heart.
3. I think it would be a split population. Half would believe he did it and
the others would think they did it for money.
4. Future victims will not come out about their future rape cases if the
perpetrators are going free. I also think it will make guys be more
likely to sexually assault females if they know they can get away with
it.
5. I think it would depend on the person. If someone who was known as
getting around may not be likely to believe them. It also depends on
who the alleged rapists is. If they are popular and for example a good
athlete people would not want to believe they would do something like
that.
I found it interesting that she would say the judge would see Keshas case
the same as every other case. It started to make me think that was why she
was not granted her injection because it is seen the same as every other
case. The more research I have done I have found that only 18% of all
rape cases the accused is found guilty. While the actual trial has not
occurred yet this injection can be a preview of what is to come. While the
judge relies on evidence which is not always possible to provide Dr. Luke
may be found not guilty and can affect future victims or victims
contemplating coming out. The outcome of this case, being as public as it
is can have a tremendous outcome on how people view sexual assault
cases.

Further Questions:

Can this source of information reflect the majority of college students?

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Question #5
Citation:

Cantrell, Christopher. "Rape by Default: Guilty until Proven Innocent." A

Voice for Men. N.p., 13 Sept. 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.

Date Accessed:

4/5/2016

Type of Source:

Secondary Source, Online Article

Inquiry Questions
Answered:

Are men less likely to show their support for sexual assault victims?

Keywords:

Sexual assault, men, support

Summary +
Commentary:

Cantrell starts off his article by explaining how he was not a fan of no
means no and how no to him meant playing hard to get. He mentions
how he never asks for permission but instead goes off of signals he thinks
he is receiving. After that he explains a bill that is to be passed and how
that bill would label everything he just said as a rapist. He then talks
about a few feminists and how they were the influence on this bill tat he
does not agree with. He states that men will immediately be thrown in jail
if a woman says the magic words. He says this creates rape culture and
that feminists do not see rape as force that they see sex and rape as the
same. His last paragraph is saying the only way to stop this rape culture is
to have women rule over men and having women being able to through
men in jail without proof is just that.
While I do not believe every man thinks like this I do not know how
many do. Reading this article made me feel very disrespected and I could
not imagine reading it as a victim and being talked down to the way he
did. I find it interesting that he mentions several times that men are
automatically thrown in jail at the mention of a woman being raped. As I
stated in my last log, only 18% of people accused of rape are actually
convicted. That is a disgustingly low number because it is hard to believe
92% of woman claiming rape are lying. I think the biggest problem about
sexual assault is there is no set definition. Whether they change no
means no to yes means yes there will never be an agreement on what
is rape or not and it will always be hard to prove. I think another issue is
men and women do not define rape as the same thing leading to
misunderstandings when things happen to women they do not want to
happen to them. I am not sure why men are not as likely to support
women victims but I think the mentality such as the one provided by
Cantrell can definitely affect mens perspectives.

Further Questions:

If more men were to support movement such as #FreeKesha would a

difference be made in how sexual assault is seen?

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Question #6
Citation:

Gray, Eliza. "Why Don't Campus Rape Victims Go to the Police?" Time.
Time, 23 June 2014. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.

Date Accessed:

4/5/2016

Type of Source:

Secondary Source, Online Article

Inquiry Questions
Answered:

Why do victims of rape not tell people?

Keywords:

Sexual assault, college, police

Summary +
Commentary:

There has been recent attention on how campuses have been handling
sexual assault claims where they have been sliding them under the rug
rather than taking them seriously. Most victims did not feel comfortable
with telling the police for confidentiality reasons or the schools advised
not going to the police. There were 5 common reasons for victims not
going to the police after a sexual assault occurred including not wanting
people to know, not knowing what constitutes as rape, fear police wont
believe them, or fear of not being able to control what happens after they
report. There was a survey done in 2007 showing only 15% of students
sexually assaulted had reported to the police.
It is easy to think before something happens that you would automatically
react in a certain way. It is easy to say that if you got raped you would go
straight to the police but know one knows how you would react in a
situation like that. I understand the fear of not wanting people to know or
fear of being reprimanded for coming out instead and not be taken
seriously. However, I do not agree with school counselors advising not to
go to the police because I am not sure of their reasoning. If it is to sweep
the situation under the rug to make the school look better that is not
helping victims and making them look worse. I believe if someone feels
comfortable going to the police they should be encouraged to get justice.

Further Questions:

Why would schools discourage against police involvement? How are

police and schools dealing with the reasons victims had for not reporting?