Lisa Wade PHD, a sociologist from Oxydental College in Los Angeles, is sick of rape culture and the world's constant denial that it exists. She's trying to highlight the prevalence of rape culture through the medium of Pinterest by recording all of the examples that she sees online and putting them all in one place. We spoke to her about the project to find out why she's doing it and what she wants to achieve.

What was your aim in setting up the Pinterest board?

Lisa Wade: Pinterest is a great place to collect and I think collections are really powerful. One example of someone making light of or advocating rape doesn't make much of an impression on someone who is resistant to the idea of rape culture, but 10 or 50 or 100 examples might actually get someone's attention.

Do you think that social media can really help?

Lisa Wade: Absolutely. There's a lot of skepticism about this, for good and obvious reasons, but it's undeniable that it makes a difference. Social justice campaigns, first, must win people's hearts and minds. Only then can they change people's behavior and our social institutions. I think hearts and minds are won on social media. Not all the time, maybe not even often, but it's a numbers game and there's millions of people sharing ideas.

More concretely, we've seen movements like the Arab Spring actively use social media to great success. Social media is a tool, so it can be used in many different ways. If justice campaigners want to use it, it'll be useful. I think hearts and minds are won on social media. Not all the time, maybe not even often, but it's a numbers game and there's millions of people sharing ideas.

Do you think that this will make people realise that rape culture exists?

Lisa Wade: It can't hurt! Maybe it will. A reader of my blog once told me that I turned her conservative husband into a feminist. It may not happen every day, but it happens.

Why is there a trigger warning on it?

Lisa Wade: There's a trigger warning on it because some of the content is vile.

Do you think that rape culture at universities is more prevalent than it was before, or are we just noticing it more?

Lisa Wade: That's a tough question to answer because history doesn't progress in neat, linear ways. I'll say that mostly I think we're just noticing it more. Or, more accurately, some incredibly smart, savvy, and dedicated individuals have worked hard to politicize it, to draw attention to the way it's related to the overall oppression of women.

Rape used to be technically legal in marriage because women "gave" herself to a man when she married him. The last state marital rape exemption was revoked in the 1990s. The behavior condoned by rape culture just used to be normal. Now, we're questioning whether it should be normal. So, that's progress.