Nichols, John. ""Counbtering Censorship: Edgar Dale and the Film appreciation movement (critical essay)."." Cinema Jouranl. Fall 2006.
...ough group and individual models of deviant behaviour. The patriarchal pedagogy and structures that set the stage for permitting sexual assault to occur historically, still continue today, although in more subtle ways. 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 are usually in power positions, especially of an economic nature, and women are seen as passive. Marxist-feminist and differential identification are two theories that can be used to effectively explicate the cycle of sexualized violence in Canadian society today. In order to deal with the occurrence of sexual assault in our society, we must examine its causes more deeply. We must understand the sociology of sexualized violence in order to effectively explicate its groups and individual dynamics.
While several theorists have presented their understanding of the motivations for rape, no one theory has been solely acknowledged as the correct answer. Understanding sexual assault is a complex issue and may be explained by a variety of factors that play parts in the greater whole. It is a collaboration of institutional and socialized norms that discriminate against women and the characteristics they are associated with. As Marilyn Frye (1983) discussed in her book The Politics of Reality, the oppression of women, like the oppression of many other minority groups can be described as a birdcage. It is her assertion that, when one is close to the cage, each wire stands as an individual hindrance and can simply be dodged, but if one is to back away from the wire and see the cage fully, the collection of the wires is the force whi...
Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our individual selves, if we didn’t have the weight of gender expectations. ( Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie )” Taking a step back, it is clear that rape culture is not a part of our society that will change anytime soon. Nonetheless, it is important to recognize the role that we play in institutionalizing rape. We have become blinded by the presence of sex in the media and there is a lack of awareness in terms of rape in our society. This, in turn, has led to a belief that most rape crimes are more or less victimless. As a society it is time to enact change, promote truly equal gender equality, and create an environment where the victims are free from shame and
The feminist movement began in the late 19th century and has continued throughout the years defined explicably by three waves. Although the women’s movement has had profound impact on the lives of women and great strides have been made toward equality, real problems still remain (Shaw 19). The third wave of feminism persists in a time of major gains in women’s economic and professional power but falters to actualize change in our society’s sexism. Students are acculturated in the dominant ideologies and cultural practices of the times before they come to college. Kilmartin views rape and other partner violence as the worst symptom of a larger problem: a continuum of disrespect toward women. This continuum includes men’s display of negative attitudes through misogynist jokes and demeaning pornography. Such an analysis also emphasiz...
Gendered violence is something that is overshadowed, in my opinion, on most college campuses and throughout the population. Alice Sebold encompassed this idea when writing her memoir entitled Lucky: A Memoir. She explained her first-hand experience with rape and the process it takes the victim throughout their lives. My intent with this analysis paper is to delve into these first-hand experiences and connect them with ideas given to us in class.
As the term “rape culture” grows in popularity, it is imperative to break it down to understand what it actually means. According to a report by the Marshall University Women’s Center, “Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture”. Rape culture is supplemented by the objectification of women’s bodies, glamorization of sexual violence, as well as many other saddening realities in society. A sad outcome of rape culture in todays society is that women are often seen as the one at fault in rape. Commonly excuses are immediately made for them men, such as blaming the girl for being too intoxicated, blaming the girl for the way she was dressed, or even blaming the girl for speaking out about it at all. A perfect example of rape culture in the media took place in Steubenville, Ohio. A 16-year-old girl, incapacitated by alcohol, was gang raped by two high school football players who then shared photos of the assault on their social networking sites and with their friends. Immediately, mainstream news and media began to blame the victim saying she should not have chosen to get so intoxicated in the first place. The two boys were given the minimum allowed sentence of 1 and 2 years. This court case caused an uproar and a
Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey. Women in Science: Antiquity through the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge (Mass.): MIT, 1988. Print.
Despite rape culture being clearly relevant in most all forms of media, many people choose to argue against it. Many point to the fact that even if rape is a common crime it is still considered especially heinous. Others complain that rape culture is too much about the female agenda when rape is more about men. Dr. Tara J. Palmatier says, “Meanwhile, no one ever discusses adult male rape victims who, believe it or not, do exist and in far greater numbers than female rape victims.” She also claims that “The reality is that more men are raped every year in jail than women in the general population.”(2a) Dr. Tara believes that men should be in more fear of women than the other way around. According the the Munoz-Rivas, more women engage in psychological aggression and Parity states that women’s use of physical aggression is equal to that of men (2a). Because of the points put forth by Dr. Tara J. Palmatier, many people are under the impression that rape culture doesn't exist in the slightest.
In the male typologies there are separate categories for child molesters and rapists, which is largely due to fact that they offend in very different ways. However, for the female typologies there is no such distinction, because all except one of the typologies have victims who are on average less than 15 years old (Vandiver & Kercher, 2004).The Aggressive Homosexual Offender is the only typology with an adult offender, however the victims are female (Vandiver & Kercher, 2004).The lack of a typology for female offenders with male adult victims could be due to certain factors playing a part in society. In particular, in today’s rape culture there is the belief that women cannot physically rape men. One reason why this belief is held is because society views women as physically weaker than men and are unable to overpower men. The male sex drive discourse also adds to this belief if men can never refuse sex than they essentially can never be raped. This belief has various problems for both men and women. The lack of a typology that includes adult male victims minimizes and ignores real men that were victimized by women. Not including men in the victim analysis sends the message that they are not ‘real’ victims. In contrast to that, since these victims are not seen as ‘real’ victims, the female offenders are not seen as ‘real’ offenders. By
...“A war-maker” “A ruler” From this the reader learns that there has been a distinct split between men and women since the beginning of time. It is interesting that Alette is hearing this information from a headless woman. (Notley 91) The woman being headless symbolizes women being praised for their bodies, sexuality, or feminity not for their brains or education. The headless woman says, “my body” “still danced then-” “but my head” “played audience” “to the achievements” “of males” (Notley 91)
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
He describes their beauty but goes on to refer to them as “broken down little fools...” 5. He also explains that some Frankish women dressed up as men and went into battle, and that they were not discovered to be women until after they had been “stripped of their arms”.6 His statement may have been a compliment to the fighting ability of the women. However, he writes that the women warriors were desperate to “save themselves from the terror of dismay”7 and “stupid and foolish because of the harm they had suffered”. 8 His description shows that he feels the women did not have virtue and that they allowed themselves to be exploited because of it.
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