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More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Do women have the same rights as men essay
Gender stereotypes still prevalent in today's society
The unrealistic media image of sexuality
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It is mind-blowing how little a woman has ownership over her own body. It is even more remarkable how, even in 2016, women still cannot freely enjoy being sexually active, like men, without shade being thrown at them. Jill Filipovic touches on these issues in her essay, Offensive Feminism: The Conservative Gender Norms that Perpetuates Rape Culture, and How Feminists Fight Back. Ms. Filipovic gives insight into how these perceptions help the rape culture in America stay alive. In this reflection paper, I plan on evaluating how there is a “war over the most basic of values: the humans rights to bodily autonomy and self-determination, the role of women in society, and the construction of the family (Filipovic 14).” Believe it or not, women enjoy …show more content…
However, there are conservative groups, such as Focus on the Family, that disclaim that a woman’s body is her own. With that being said, I would like to mention the purity ball that was briefly cited in Filipovic’s essay and then further recapped in Jessica Valenti’s Purely Rape: The Myth of Sexual Purity and How It Reinforces Rape Culture. I found this practice interesting because it encourages young girls to vow to their fathers that they will remain a virgin until he hands her over to her future husband. This reiterates how a girl does not have autonomy of her own body; rather, it is a secret garden that must be protected and later passed on from father to husband. Somehow this is supposed to benefit girls by teaching them that “sexuality defines how ‘good’ women are, and that women’s moral compasses are inextricable from their bodies...(Valenti 299).” What it comes down to is this: Women cannot be sexual but must possess some sex appeal. When the statistics show that “ninety-seven percent of Americans will have sex before marriage (Filipovic 17),” does this mean that the majority of women should walk around with the word “dirty” stamped on their forehead? This becomes a problem when women are gang-rapped or young girls are molested and they do not speak up about their experience. Would you want to when you know society is going to permanently label you for something you had no control
In her essay “A Feminist Defense of Abortion” Sally Markowitz addresses the Autonomy defense as not being feminist in nature. She comes to this conclusion by recognizing that the right to bodily autonomy is not just a female right but a right that is innate for every person, male or female. Markowitz then asserts that the human right to bodily autonomy in regard to abortion should not be a gender neutral defense. Many feminists have come to the conclusion that the Autonomy Defense works against women in the courts as it shifts the focus away from gender inequality. Feminists have adopted the belief that sometimes gender should be relevant in claiming rights. To fail to claim a right on the basis of gender in the situation of abortion would obscure the relationship between reproductive practices and their oppression.
Susan Griffin’s Rape: The All-American Crime touches on many issues within American society. She begins by recounting how she was taught to be afraid of strange men from such a young age that she had not yet learned what it was she was so afraid of, and then goes into her experience with harassment, an experience shared by every woman at some point in her life. Griffin recounts the belief that all rapists are insane and the proof that they are just normal men and dispels the myth that rape is normal activity that is prohibited by society. However, she goes on to clarify that our culture views rape: “as an illegal, but still understandable, form of behavior” (Griffin 514). It seems that the wrongness of rape is determined by the situation in
Camille Paglia a thrilling humanities professor at Philadelphia University of the Arts. Known for her controversial books and essays wrote a selection for the New York News Day in 1991 titled, Rape: A Bigger Danger Than Feminist Know (578). In this selection Pagila takes a stance on rape and who is really to blame for it. Paglia’s thesis, which states “ Feminism keeps saying the sexes are the same. It keeps telling women they can do anything, go anywhere, say anything, wear anything. No, they cant. Women will always be in danger” (579).
One of the most horrible things that has erupted from the subjugation of women is rape culture. Rape culture is the downplaying of the crime of rape to appease the violator, the accusation that the victim made a choice that led to their rape, or even jokes that suggest rape. According to Jessica Valenti’s, “In Rape Tragedies, the Shame Is Ours,” in today's world many people give in to rape culture by participating in these acts that somehow change our mindsets into believing that, “it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist”. Once ...
From a very young age children have been taught by their parents that girls do one thing while guys do another. The reason for this is because our parents have been taught by their parents who were taught by their parents and so on and so fourth. When talking to most people about gender roles, they will start to see a pattern in the way they responses they receive, which will leave them with a good idea about how our society has formed the ideas and roles of sexes. Rape culture in modern day society is real and the biggest factors that contribute to it are we have been taught that boys need to grow up tough, girls need to be careful of some men, and that women need to be able to take care of a man and his needs. This way is poisonous to the
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights how vulnerable women are compared to men. Sexual assault is publicised and exposed in the media, however is often
Traditional gender roles are the behaviors and practices we adopt from learning and what has been passed on from past generations. We learn these from our fathers, mothers, grandparents, and peers. It’s a set of unwritten laws that each gender operates under. These roles have no exception. This soon becomes a problem in society because it creates sexism based off of traditional principles on what each gender should be doing or how they should be acting. Research suggest that “Sexism is defined as prejudice or discrimination toward people based on their gender” (Marks & Zaikman, 2014, Pg. 334). Sexism correlates with the double standard of women on the aspect of it being acceptable in society for men to promote sexual activity and women being bashed and looked down upon when they promote their sexuality. There has been more prevalent news of women taking the stand on their sexuality and bodies. The double standard that exist in America has more recently raised attentiveness in society with such campaigns as Free-the-Nip. The free the nip campaign is a fight for equal rights amongst women. The main ideology of the campaign is for women to have equal rights when it comes to being bare chested in public, the same rights that men have (Reporter, 2015). The double standard here is society saying that women should not be allowed to be bare chested taking
At the 2016 Academy Awards, Lady Gaga took the stage for her performance of “Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground – a documentary highlighting the nature of rape and sexual assault on college campuses in the United States. This powerful performance featured dozens of sexual assault survivors joined hand-in-hand, and was introduced by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who brought light to his previously launched campaign against sexual assault called It’s On Us. The aforementioned celebrity engagements are only a piece of the larger conversation about rape and sexual assault on college campuses that has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Whereas this discussion has brought significant attention to the issue of these crimes
It was once acceptable for men to have full control over women, declaring when they will marry and when they will have children. However, over the past centuries, women have established a place in society, proving themselves much more than someone's property. This is why the word “rape” today is not taken lightly. According to findlaw.com, “Rape generally refers to non-consensual sexual intercourse that is committed by physical force, threat of injury, or other duress.” When one does not give consent to sex, it is considered a felony, possibly putting the rapist in jail. Contrary to sexual assault, “Sex is reified as penile-vaginal intercourse while an extremely diverse group of pleasurable and sexually stimulating activities are dismissively relegated to the category of foreplay...” (Reinholtz, Muehlenhard, Phelps, & Satterfield, 1995.) Although consented sexual intercourse is much more out in the open and accepted in society, the problem of rape is still very relevant behind the scenes.
“What is rape culture” is the question that has been repeatedly asked since its emergence in the 1970s. From our lecture, we have learned that the thing about Rape Culture is that it doesn’t have just one definition, but the simplest way to define it may be to say that rape culture is the society that accepts and even promotes sexual violence in one form or another. This includes, TV shows that make rape look sexy; you know the kind: guy pushes girl down, throws open her blouse, exposing her breasts, and even though she is saying no, everyone watching is saying yes. Rape culture is when a college student goes to their Dean and tells them they have been raped, and the first question the Dean ask is “what were you wearing?” Rape culture is saying “that exam just raped me” instead of “that exam was hard”. Rape culture is the most popular, catchy songs these days have lyrics like “I know you want it”. Rape culture is the party girl image, the “she was asking for it”, the “boys will be boys”, the slut shaming, the victim blaming, and the most concerning, rape culture is denying the fact that sexual assault is a problem in today’s society. One in six women and one in thirty-three men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. In the United States alone, that
What do you think and feel when you hear the word rape? Do you feel uncomfortable? Maybe even angry? Your certain feelings and emotions towards this word is a result of rape culture. Rape culture, essentially, is how a society as a whole sees and reacts towards rape or instances of rape. In 2013 rape was defined by the FBI as, “Penetration… of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” (Division’s Crime Statistics Management Unit 1). The definition was finally changed after the old definition deemed inappropriate by today’s standards, which beforehand, stated that physical force needed to be used for rape to be considered rape. This is good news for men and women who have been fighting for the definition to be changed, but unfortunately this does not mean that state laws are being changed the same way. Even though the FBI may acknowledge the older inappropriate definition, most states do not. Sexual assault is a commonly unreported crime, where only an average of 36% of sexual abuse is actually reported to the authorities (Planty 7). Some forms of rape can include physical harm, threats, and even death of the victim, and most victims do not want to tell others for fear of criticism, self-blame, or even the fear that their attackers will carry out on their threats. In many cases, victims do have a reason to be afraid. When someone is brave enough to come forward and say they were sexually assaulted, they are putting themselves in the position of being in not only a long legal process, but also having their motives questioned and misunderstood, which is the last thing they want after their experience. The legal system in the United States...
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “it would do some women good to get raped,” from a historical perspective, lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Women are still seen as the property of men, are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men are usually more aggressive, and women are seen as passive. (Vogelman) This socialization process is changing, but slowly.
According to Marshall University, Rape Culture is defined as “an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in media and popular culture.” In American society, it is not hard to find examples of rape culture. In popular movies, music, and current events there is an undeniable notion of victim blaming, and sympathizing with male perpetrators. People have begun to use the term rape as a casual adjective. For example “I just raped him in that game,” could be used to describe two people playing a game and one winning easily against the other. American society uses pop culture and current events to promote and justify the prominent rape culture.
Many of the attitudes, beliefs, and mistaken ideas about rape have been with us for centuries. By looking at myths, such as “women ask for it,” and “women secretly enjoy rape,” from a historical perspective, can lead us for better understanding how they evolved. Much stems back to the idea that women are still seen as the property of men, and are protected as such. Men and women are still taught to occupy very different roles in today’s world. Men a...
Feminist political ideology focuses on understanding and changing political philosophies for the betterment of women. Studying how the philosophies are constructed and what makes them unjust, this field constantly generates new ideas on how these philosophies need to be fundamentally reconstructed. Liberal feminism, for example, was built around promoting economic and political equality for women. By arguing the older concepts of the split between public and private realms as a way to politically protect male domination of women as “natural”, and ideas about a women’s place in the household, came evidence that supported legal cases leading “to the criminalization in the United States of spousal rape” (qtd. in McAfee). Another completely different approach is radical feminism, which advocates a separation from the whole system, perceiving that the sexual relations between male and female as the basis of gender inequality and female subordination (qtd. in McAfee). Democratic femin...