The Homecoming Sexism

A form of structural violence is sexism, which is a violence built in our social structures to enhance and sustain male superiority and dominance and keep the women in a subordinate position. It can be seen in the play Party Time how sexist men show off their power in terms of might, social status and wealth, by silencing the questions of their wives regarding the “round-up” proceeding off-stage. When Dusty asks the guests in the party about what happened to Jimmy, her brother in the” round-up” proceeding, Gavin, the host of the party, silences her by saying, “Nobody is discussing this. Nobody’s discussing it, sweetie. Do you follow me? Nothing’s happened to Jimmy. And if you’re not a good girl I’ll spank you” (284).Another instance of structural

In the play, Ruth is subjected to violence during the beginning of the play when her father-in-law, Max, abuses her by calling her a ‘whore’. Max’s behaviour towards Ruth is representative of the male-dominated society where many consider women as mere objects of sexual pleasure and reproduction. Even the character of Jessie, Max’s deceased wife, is described by Max through a verbal construct in which the binary opposition “mother/whore” is always present, the only positions allowed for women by that time. Here though Max commits direct, verbal violence, his behaviour stems from the patriarchal society that is structured historically and culturally in a manner in which women are considered as inferior to men and as such it can be said that marginalization of women is a cultural violence which often leads to direct violence as seen in the verbal attack on Ruth by Max in the play. A similar kind of violence can be seen in the play Mountain Language. The young woman in the play, who protests against the prison system for keeping the relatives of the prisoners waiting for long hours to meet their imprisoned loved ones, hasn’t committed a crime, as the Officer points out. Nevertheless as the Sergeant proclaims and the Officer seconds, she is a creature of sin and therefore deserves

No religion preaches anyone to violate the moral code of conduct, or commit sins and unjust acts. In fact what is preached is sinners are always made to pay for their sins by God at the end. But it is a saddening fact that religion has always been used as a tool of dominance by those in power and more often than not fanatics use it to provide moral justification for opposing those who do not subscribe to their religious beliefs. In the play One for the Road, Nicholas says, “God speaks through me. I’m referring to Old Testament God, by the way, although I’m a long way from being Jewish” (225). Here Nicholas’ claim, that he is a messenger of God, puts him in a superior moral position and all his acts are thus considered to be just acts. If Victor is tortured, it is because he does not share the religious faith of Nicholas. Nicholas says to Victor, “You’re not a religious man, I take it?” (227). An important point to be considered here is that for Nicholas religion and national patriotism are fused. He says he confesses to God, that he was never more moved than when the man running the country announced to the country, “We are all patriots, we are as one, we all share a common heritage. Except you, apparently” (232). Here Victor is said to be different from Nicholas and his men as he did not share a common heritage or a set of religious values and thereby his patriotism is put to question and he is tortured brutally along with his