In tracking epistemic violence Kristie Dotson attempts to point out multiple ways in which minority groups of women are oppressed, and silenced. First Dotson precisely defines what epistemic violence and silencing are. Dotson then tells us to get a more precise, and grounded imagination of what silencing, and epistemic violence are as a form of oppression by providing an example of what epistemic violence is. Furthermore Dotson then identifies two different practices of silencing testimonial quieting, and testimonial smothering. Firstly, Dotson provides us with her account of what epistemic violence is; Dotson says it’s a “refusal, intentional, and or unintentional, of an audience to communicatively reciprocate a linguistic exchange owing to pernicious ignorance”. Then Dotson talks about the two testimonial ways in which oppression takes place. First is testimonial quieting Dotson calls testimonial quieting which she says is illustrated in Patricia Hill Collins’s work, particularly her Black Feminist …show more content…
Dotson states testimonial smothering constitutes epistemic violence because “when the testimonial content is unsafe and risky, failing to demonstrate testimonial competence to a speaker in a linguistic exchange owing to pernicious ignorance is equivalent to a failure to communicatively reciprocate in a linguistic exchange owning to pernicious ignorance”. Essentially the activity required for locating epistemic violence is not about the victim, but more about the socio economic, and racial circumstances of the silencing according to Dotson, which doesn’t really make sense to tie those two things together, because initially she claimed it was all about gender, and race, which has nothing to do with socio economic
Facing sexism and mistreatment at the hands of oppressive men is one of the biggest challenges a woman can face in contemporary and traditional societies. All challenges animate life, and we are given purpose when we deem it necessary to overcome said trials. Post-completion, life’s tests let us emerge with maturity and tenacity that we could not find elsewhere. Janie and Hester were dealt unfair hands in life, yet instead of folding and taking the easy way out, they played the game. They played, lost, and played again, and through this incessant perseverance grew exponentially as human beings.
2.) National Research Council. Understanding Violence Against Women, Washington, DC: National Academy of Press. 1996.
As such, Lorde forwards her compelling argument of the merit of communication of anger in the combating racism by constituting a unified audience of educated white and colored women through the appeal to broad and transcendent motifs, explicitly anger and historical context, as well as a pervasive female victimhood narrative to establish multiple tracks of affinity within her audience as to pursue an ultimate common interest in the crusade against racial bigotry.
This oppression and discrimination is experienced through several forms of oppression including violence, racism classism and sexism not only at a personal level but also at the structural level. This high risk population is vulnerable for internalizing the oppression as an accepted norm. Mullaly believes that “people may be given certain rights but still be unable to exercise their rights due to particular social constraints based on class, gender, race and ethnicity.”
It is not a visible mechanism of violence, but it is known there it exists and operates it power upon the members of the society and Zizek suggests that “it has to be taken into account if one is to make a sense of what otherwise seem to be ‘irrational’ explosions of subjective violence” (Zizek 2). So it is the kind of violence that is internal to the social system that surrounds us and that works through the imposition of power relations, “relations of domination and exploitation, including the threat of violence” (Zizek 9). Zizek explains his point with Lacan’s concept of the Master-Signifier which maintains the symbolic system of meanings. This ever existing mechanism of discursive violence imposes the standards of normalcy, according to Zizek. He argues that the imposition of the “presupposed standard of what the ‘normal’ [...] situation is, [is] the highest form of violence” (Zizek64). So this is why language, which is supposed to be “the very medium of non-violence, of mutual recognition, involves unconditional violence”
To start off this essay, it is important to note what is meant when using oppression in the terms and context of a sociologist. Oppression causes certain groups of people to be or advantaged in a political system whereas other groups of people are considered to be subordinate (Glasberg, pg. 1) One of the major groups that has been oppressed Universally are women (there are exceptions, but not many). Women have typically had not had the rights, privileges, or participation as it relates to political
“If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought” (Orwell). George Orwell emphasizes the importance of the language and its effect on the truth. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, “Dulce et Decorum Est” by Wilfred Owen, and Anthem by Ayn Rand all show how words can affect actions and people’s lives. When language is tightly control or even manipulated by a certain group, the people suffer and become oppressed. Language manipulation is the basis of a dystopic society, and modern society must protect itself against this propaganda in order to maintain freedom.
In all societies around the world, women are treated as if they are a minority group, just like any racial or ethnic group that is out of the norm. The justification for considering women as a minority group and the existence of sexism becomes clear through the examination of social indicators, including education, employment, and income.
The definition of a social problem, such as violence, has an impact on the measurements of that problem. Measurement issues are discussed in Damn Lies and Statistics and The Social Reality of Violence. A common and mutually agreed definition must be established and the actions, decision, and interpretations of those who measure the problem can impact the measurem...
Women have suffered as the result of harassment and discrimination for centuries. Today, women are able to directly confront their persecutors through the news media as well as the legal system. Three important literary works illustrate that it has not always been possible for women to strike back. In Raise the Red Lantern, The Handmaid's Tale, and A Doll's House, the main female characters find ways to escape their situations rather than directly confronting the problem.
Patricia Hill Collins outlines the existence of three different dimensions of gender oppression: institutional, symbolic, and individual. The institutional dimension consists of systemic relationship of domination structured through social institutions, such as government, the workplace or education institutions. In other words, this dimension explains “who has the power”. This is completely related to a patriarchal society. Patriarchy is the manifestation and institutionalism of male dominance. This means that men hold power in all institutions, while women are denied the access to this power. The symbolic dimension of oppression is based on widespread socially sanctioned ideologies used to justify relations of domination. It reflects inequality
Rape victims are silenced through the prevalence of rape myths, the fear that their stories will not be believed, concern that victims themselves will be deemed at least partially responsible for the rape due to victim blaming, and by the criminal justice system itself through second victimization. All of these factors are built on the unequal power relationships between men and women, and the normalization of sexual violence in society, which characterizes rape culture. As an aside, male rape victims are also silenced by rape culture. However, while this is an important issue, this essay will focus mainly on the effect of rape culture on silencing women specifically. In this essay, rape culture’s impact on silencing women will be discussed
Violence is one of the serious problems that the whole world has it, not only the United States. Every day in the news we see reports about shootings, wars, thefts, drugs, rapes, and deaths, and that is basically the definition of violence. Violence has many types such as: Physical violence, Sexual violence, Emotional violence, Psychological violence, Spiritual violence, Cultural violence, and Verbal Abuse and each kind of violence has its own definition. Violence has been an issue hundreds years ago. According to the bible, the first act of violence was when Cain struck his brother Abel and killed him. So violence started with the humanity, and the most dangerous problem that our society is facing, violence is increasing and its proved by statistics for instance, 2013 saw a 61% increase in the number of people killed in terrorist attacks, so as we don’t get solution for this problem as it become more dangerous and more harder to solve it. All actions create reactions; many people get killed because of violence, people die or get injuries. The reaction or the action is most of the time illegal or wrong. One of the effects of violence is creating terrorism, which the whole world suffering from right now. ISIS is the result of the violence in religion, and their terrorist actions in Syria and in Paris. Also we can’t forget 9/11 and what Bin laden did. That is all because of violence, it is like a disease if you didn’t get a medicine, it become more worse. Violence has many impacts Insecurity of life and uncertain future of individuals; society and nation lose their strength; peace of mind and joy of life lost, love and harmony between any two individuals (even between mother and her child) replaced by suspicion and hatred. Also it h...
Among the many subjects covered in this book are the three classes of oppression: gender, race and class in addition to the ways in which they intersect. As well as the importance of the movement being all-inclusive, advocating the idea that feminism is in fact for everybody. The author also touches upon education, parenting and violence. She begins her book with her key argument, stating that feminist theory and the movement are mainly led by high class white women who disregarded the circumstances of underprivileged non-white women.
Her approach is capable of identifying and describing the underlying mechanisms that contribute to those disorders in discourse which are embedded in a particular context, at a specific moment, and inevitably affect communication. Wodak’s work on the discourse of anti-Semitism in 1990 led to the development of an approach she termed the Discourse-Historical Method. The term historical occupies a unique place in this approach. It denotes an attempt to systematically integrate all available background information in the analysis and interpretation of the many layers of a written or spoken text. As a result, the study of Wodak and her colleagues’ showed that the context of the discourse had a significant impact on the structure, function, and context of the utterances. This method is based on the belief that language “manifests social processes and interaction” and generates those processes as well (Wodak & Ludwig, 1999, p. 12). This method analyses language from a three-fold perspective: first, the assumption that discourse involves power and ideologies. “No interaction exists where power relations do not prevail and where values and norms do not have a relevant role” (p. 12). Secondly, “discourse … is always historical, that is, it is connected synchronically and diachronically with other communicative events which are happening at the same time or which have happened before” (p. 12). The third feature