...Rape as a Social Murder Sexual assault is the fastest growing crime in America. Women are the targets of rape, the most underreported violent crime. 60% of rapes go unreported to the police; cases that are reported and end up going to trial have a low rate of punishment for perpetrators (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 2008). Rape is a powerful tool of sexual violence because women are forced to assume the position of powerless victim, one who has no control over what is happening to her body. The ability to silence its victims also erases evidence of the crime, thus leading to a higher incidence of underreporting. Rape is part of a system of male dominance. This system has lead to opinions that the female body, especially the black female body, is available for men at their leisure, thus leading to a society tolerant of prostitution and sexual violence against low-income black women. Race is one of the predicting factors of sexual violence. Although 80% of all victims are white, minorities are more likely to be attacked (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 2008). Since the black female body is hypersexualized, due to negative media images, black women face injustices when trying to pursue justice for an unjust attack on their bodies. Societal male dominance has created an environment where sexual violence is tolerated; this environment combined with the social position of low-income black women in the United States has lead to disproportionate sexual victimization...
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...age of New Feminism, a feminism where a woman’s point of view is being emphasized (Sommers, 1994). Since the New Feminism puts an emphasis on the woman, modern feminists often disregard the standpoint of men, putting to naught the objective of Old Feminism, which is equality. Modern feminists have even reached a point of quarreling with women who don’t share their own viewpoint of feminism. The problem presents itself here because the rise of New Wave feminism is cultivating a culture of counter-productivity due to its sexist, ironic nature and its nature of anti-equality. But this idea of counter-productivity is not shared among these feminists, which is why it is important that we hear their side as well. Modern feminism, or gender feminism, purports a new sex/gender system wherein their perspective of oppression claims that gender struggles are more evident when seen through this lens. New wave feminists claim that all men have a personal and collective vendetta against them and modern feminism has this role to satisfy and protect women against this more radical form of oppression whereas the old wave...
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...Patriarchy is best defined as control by men. The opposite is matriarchy which means women are in charge and the head of families. Obviously, the culture of the United States and most other countries is patriarchal. Men have the power and control the women. If you don't believe that consider the basics of how our society functions. Women constantly must fight for their rights and sometimes they struggle just to survive without the power and domination of men threatening them. Whether an individual woman wants to conquer patriarchy will come from her desire to be independent and defined outside the context of men. Look to most world leaders to see how powerful patriarchy is. Women are certainly as capable as men to be President of the United States, yet they are not and probably won't be any time soon. Men have been in that role for so long that our country probably does not believe it is possible. Consider who is typically at the head of a company or leaders in local governments. While certainly more women are fulfilling these roles, it is a constant struggle for the ones who are able to achieve that success with men having much more power just by their biological nature. Men have not had to fight for their place in society like women have. It has been an expectation that they will become leaders because that is what patriarchy is about. Much of patriarchy also has its roots in Christianity. Religions which believe the Bible or other religious text often follow it faithfully...
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...Gender specific violence is a term used to capture violence that occurs as a result of the traditional role beliefs related to each gender, along with the imbalanced power relationships between the two genders, within the circumstance of a particular society. In America, there are certain crimes that are gender specific. For example, rape is a gender specific crime that is targeted primarily on women. Women are defined based on their relationship to men and their space in male hegemonic structures (Guy-Sheftall). Hegemonic masculinity is the perfectly created male and is class and race bound. Hegemonic masculinity is against femininity. Characteristic of hegemonic masculine...
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...The purpose of this paper is to explain the following terms in detail: radical feminism; socialist feminism; rape; masculinities; violence; sexual harassment; biology is not destiny; and negative feminist stereotypes. I have chosen to discuss the two feminist theories that were previously mentioned due to the fact that they both focus heavily on the oppression of men in society, as well as the evident gender division between the sexes. I have chosen to focus on the six concepts that were previously mentioned because they focus on how women are oppressed, and mistreated in society. Radical Feminism Radical feminism supports the idea that patriarchy is the main form of oppression women face. The goal of radical feminism is the elimination of patriarchy. From a radical feminist perspective, women are oppressed in three main ways or areas: the state, the nuclear family, and through reproduction and mothering. Radical feminism also suggests that the lack of control women have over their own bodies and own reproduction is central to oppression. Radical feminists aim towards eliminating sexual, as well as physical violence against women (Calixte et al., 2009). The significance of radical feminism is that it focuses on what is seen as the major oppressors in our culture. Moreover, radical feminism opens our eyes to male dominance and how it has been highly normalized. It alerts us to how ‘normal’ or common images from pornography reduce women to sexual objects. Moreover, it makes...
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...than the mother. Is it real? The question From the novel connect to the real situation in Bangladesh. By year 2008,the Bangladesh government has pushed ahead with a new National Women’s Development Policy (NWDP).The Bangladesh’s image from the world view was better than the past and it attracted many investor to invest the business in the country. Even through Bangladesh’s government attempt to prove the image of masculine social to Gender equality social in the globalization age, with many evidence such as the statistic of rape, gang rape, murder, torture and acid throwing to the women showed the increase number that the government policies in women’s right are fail. In the deep-seated culture that man is dominating society. It seems not easy for Government to solve the women’s right problem in Bangladesh for few years. However, the discrimination against women in Bangladesh might be able solve if the government solve three main problems: Educated the citizen, Gender equal employment, and Women's rights in politic. The pictures of Sexual Oppression in Bangladesh are common and easy to see in every place in this country. For example,...
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...Feminism is the belief that women should be treated as both potentially intellectual and socially equal to men. It embraces the thought that all people are entitled to freedom and liberty within reason; including equal civil rights and the discrimination that should not be made based on gender, sexual orientation, skin color, ethnicity, religion, or culture. Feminist movements have campaigned and continue to campaign for women's rights, including the right to vote, to hold public office, to work, to earn fair wages, to own property, education, and to have equal rights within marriage. Feminists have also worked to promote bodily independence, integrity, to protect women from rape, sexual harassment, and domestic violence. Feminism underlies five major concepts. First, we have patriarchy which is the authority of men in society and the oppression of women for men’s gain. Second, discrimination that leads to the unequal treatment that women receive. Third, we have gender stereotypes which are negative misconceptions about women. Forth, economic dependency; where women are forced to quit their job in order to take care of their household responsibilities. Fifth, emotional work; where women are predicted to do the majority of emotional care of their family. As feminism started to rise, it encountered three waves. The first wave of feminism took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, where it emerged out of an environment of urban industrialism and...
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...Lord) caused the Brahmana, the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudra to proceed from his mouth, his arms, his thighs, and his feet.” (v. 1.31, p. 4). Therefore, it is very clear that the Brahmins were the highest regarded caste, while the Shudras were equivalent to ‘feet’. However, there is one more group that the Indian caste system does not recognize as a caste – Dalits. Dalits are called many different names: Panchamas ("fifth varna"), and Asprushya ("untouchables"). The distinction between them and the four castes is very well defined: while the first four varnas (castes) can choose their occupation, Dalits in India have been limited to the occupation into which they were born. Even though they often belong to the same religion and culture, Dalits are still ostracized and regarded as outcasts in Indian society. This human rights violation has been the topic of many books, written both domestically and around the world. One...
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...I will be explaining the following: radical feminism; marxist feminism; hegemonic masculinity;gender;homophobia;misogyny; rape culture; and Heterosexism. I have focused on these six terms because they highlight how sexuality and gender are categorized culturally and in our Western Capitalist society, causing women to be oppressed. I have focused on the previously mentioned feminist theories because they focus on a male dominated society that encourages unrealistic gender stereotypes. Also, these theories explain how women experience discrimination and unfair disadvantages. Radical Feminism Radical Feminism relates to the idea that women are being dominated in a male driven patriarchal society. Oppression of women has been engrained into the structure of society is reinforced through areas like motherhood,family, the state. Radical feminism indicates that we live in patriarchal society that sexualizes women and never allows them to be an authority figure. It affects women on a global scale and continues to build a prioritized system that continuously gives men dominant power and control. Women cannot seek help through the system because it is biased and controls women’s sexuality. Social dominance allows privileges to be given out according to gender and basically states women should not be in control of their own bodies and men are connected to power. Women are prone to unjust treatment and every aspect of their lives in shaped around male dominance. Women are put in a...
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...the land of freedom, and the land of equality. On the inside, this is anything but the truth. There are age-old systems of oppression built to keep long outdated beliefs in place today, and for many groups of people, it is inescapable. These systems cause social harm to lower class communities, to women, to non-binary peoples, and the most to individuals who fall into more than one of those classifications. Many writers and artists have sought to bring these issues of inequality into the public eye, having the most success telling their stories or the stories of others through music and film. Class oppression is very tricky subject to bring to light and analyze. While the American economic system is built in a way that allows everyone equal opportunities, there are limits that make it sometimes near impossible for lower and working class individuals to build better lives for themselves, limits that are not obvious to someone living outside of the poverty line. Jason DeParle writes about Kathryn Edin, a social worker who studies mothers in poverty and the struggles they go through providing for their children on but a monthly welfare check. While these mothers have the opportunity to get a job to support their families, they are often better off receiving government benefits; they can stay home and care for the children and take advantage of other social programs that go hand-in-hand with welfare, such as Medicaid. The hidden expenses of having a job -- health care, child care...
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...oppose women’s subordination, there are disagreements among feminist’s theories about its causes and how to overcome them. Liberal feminist are concerned with the human and civil rights and freedoms of the individual, they believe that all human beings should have equal rights. In liberal feminism, the concept of society changing itself to adapt to women does not occur. Liberal feminists insist that all that is needed to change the status of women is to change existing laws that are unfavourable for women and that will open up more opportunities for women to prove themselves as equal to the opposite sex. Oakley (1972) distinguishes between sex and gender. She claims sex differences are seen as fixed and gender differences vary between cultures and over time. Therefore what is considered a proper role for women in one society or at one time may be disapproved of or forbidden in another. Sexist attitudes and stereotypical beliefs about gender are culturally constructed and transmitted through socialisation, meaning in order to achieve gender equality, liberal feminists must change society’s socialisation patterns. Liberal feminism is an optimistic theory, very much in keeping with the Enlightenment project and its faith in progress. They believe that political action to introduce anti-discriminatory laws and policies is...
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...One of the primary concerns of feminism is, and has been for a while, not only gender inequality in social and political terms, but also the way both sexes are viewed by the society. People’s mentality is a source of stereotypes, gender stereotypes in particular. Marge Piercy, a poet and a feminist, considers these stereotypes a serious issue, which is inevitably reflected in her creativity, particularly the four poems under analysis – “Barbie Doll”, “What Are Big Girls Made Of?”, “Rape Poem” and “The Friend”. The poems “Barbie Doll” and “What Are Big Girls Made Of?” concentrate on the topic of sexualization of women and young girls. The issue that worries the author most is the way the society treats females: they are perceived as mere commodities,...
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...elected to the U.S Senate and yet minorities and specific groups continue to be under represented and recognized when it comes to equal political and social rights. Women are one of these groups. Women on average make only 79 cents for every dollar a man makes. That is a 21% wage gap difference. Women are not the only group exploited and over looked - animals are hugely perceived as “economic commodities,” able to be used and taken advantage of, for any conceivable reason that results in economic benefit for the oppressor. Our society has succumbed to the westernized customs of...
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...Rape Culture Views: Attitudes and Practices in our Society that Normalize or Excuse Rape. Brianna Burke Sociology of Women Dr. King June, 20, 2013 Abstract Rape Culture views are based on attitudes and practices in our society that normalize or excuse rape. Society excuses rape because it has come to the belief that sex is an act of male domination and female submission. Although we have laws against rape they do not appear to be a main focus point. Society seems to minimalizes rape to the point of not caring, in some cases making the victims seem to be at fault. Because it seems that the repercussions of the rapist are not as tough as they should be, rapists repeat their actions without fear of severe punishment. The average sentence for convicted rapists was 11.8 years, while the actual time served was 5.4 years. In the US because of our rape culture, rape in the military became a major problem in recent years, even up until this problem was publicized. When first brought into the public’s eye the military didn’t seem to be taking rape seriously. Rape is not just a nightmare for military women but for men as well. Rape seems to be more main stream than some might think. Society more often than not are blaming the victims, the proof is in a recent 12-minute video of young men in Steubenville, Ohio, joking about the brutal, extended gang rape of a 16-year-old girl. According to one study of 16,000 Americans, 17.6% of women report having been victims of rape or...
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...The Hunger Games: Action-film feminism is catching fire Lisa Schwarzbaum Burning up Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen is both strong and vulnerable – a new kind of action heroine who has powered The Hunger Games: Catching fire to a $158m US debut. (Lionsgate) Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss Everdeen is a new type of female action film icon, and moviegoers should be very excited about that, writes Lisa Schwarzbaum. As Catching Fire ignites on movie screens around the world, this is what we know about the 21st Century heroine called Katniss Everdeen: she is strong but also soft. She is brave but she has doubts. She is a phenomenal fictional creation, yet is real enough that moviegoers can draw inspiration from her values, her resourcefulness, and her very human inner conflicts. And she is played by Jennifer Lawrence, who appears not only to be handling her current duties as Hollywood’s finest model of well-adjusted millennial female stardom but doing so with charm. Everdeen and Lawrence: golden girls both. Personified in Lawrence’s lithe movements and cool, focused gaze, Katniss is a brave, resourceful and independent-minded fighter; but she is also a troubled and vulnerably guilt-ridden human being. Nina Jacobson, the producer of the Hunger Games film franchise, puts it this way: “She is a singular heroine in that the burden of survival weighs on her. She has a ton of survivor’s guilt. And she keeps surviving.” Girl on fire It is strange that behaving like a well-adjusted...
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