The Red Word by Sarah Henstra
Karen is an Ivy League university student. Her boyfriend is part of the notorious GBC (Gang Bang Central – I’m not kidding ) fraternity, she regularly attends parties at the infamously raucous and dangerous frat house. Witnessing fellow female partygoers disappear into the basement and bedrooms she is acutely aware of the threat that beats throughout the house. Feeling somewhat protected from this danger by the status of ‘girlfriend’ to one of their members, Karen turns a blind eye to the known rapists preying on drunk women.
That is until she meets the Raghurt women, a group of infallible feminist radicals that educate her on the brutality of fraternities and their continued violence and rape of women. As her housemates rally against frat culture, Karen continues to straddle both camps. As she spends time with her boyfriend inside the epicentre of rape-culture the Raghurt women see an opportunity to bring down the fraternity from the inside – hello Helen of Troy. However, it's not without consequence or danger.
As a character, Karen raises some uncomfortable truths. Being the girlfriend of a frat boy creates a uniquely privileged position for Karen, she protected from the pack, albeit only in her boyfriend’s presence. This protection is not extended to the women who enter the frat house, and she wilfully ignores them being regularly harassed and assaulted to maintain the status quo and avoid endangering herself. How many people have done the same in other situations to keep themselves safe? By placing her protagonist directly in the lion’s Henstra gives us, the reader, a front row seat of lambs being taken to the slaughter – and the tension is palpable.
A standout element of The Red Word is the Greek mythology and iconography. Expertly woven throughout the book, there are poetic passages, lyrical sentences and most obvious, the chapter titles. It’s an ode to Henstra’s own area of academic expertise and you could argue that the Raghurst women’s favourite professor was created in her image.
The Red Word is a blistering exploration of campus life, exposing rape culture rife across US colleges and wider society. Spotlighting the readily available excuses utilised by perpetrators, it is clear Henstra is no stranger to the insidious evils of the patriarchy – you only need look to the case of The People v. Brock Turner to see the extent to which society will go to defend rapists and blame victims. Spotlighting this epidemic is important and she does it well. There were some parts of the plot that did feel somewhat overdone but tell that to a rape victim and we may stand corrected.
All in all, an engrossing book that may triggering for some but undeniably recognisable for all.
