Response to Class Discussion, 2/3

Today, in class we were able to talk about feminism and how it relates to rape. I feel as though feminism is a misunderstood topic of discussion for many. Many have a negative opinion about feminism and what it represents due to past events. For example, the first thing I did was google the word feminism and see what would pop up. The definition of feminism was the first to appear which stated, “the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” I believe that this definition offers a correct and valid statement of what feminism represents. Another interesting piece of data that I found interesting was that at the bottom of this box, it showed a graph of data about the use of the word feminism.












With this graph, it shows how the work feminism has skyrocketed right around the 1990’s, which makes sense reflecting back on the way society has taken its course.

Another interesting tidbit that I found was after I scrolled down, the first few links that popped up were “Feminist.com,” “Women Against Feminism,” and “Who Needs Feminists.” Wait, what? The amount of stigma that plays part and takes place against feminists is so wrongly portrayed that it’s embarrassing. Where did this stigma come from? Why is it not okay for women to realize that they have rights and deserve the same respect that men do? On a Tumblr site that I ran across while googling “feminism” that was called “Who Needs Feminists,” it caught my eye because the description underneath the link stated, “Identify yourself as a feminist today and many people will immediately assume you are man-hating, bra-burning, whiny liberal.” This little blurb made me snicker. Because that’s exactly what people associate with feminists. The women that are out on the streets, waving signs and not wearing bra’s when they should be are who people picture when they think of these activists. The link below is the link to the Tumblr. It’s actually quite interesting.

whoneedsfeminism.tumblr.com/

Another interesting bit of information that we did not talk about in class, but I talked about with fellow classmates is the recent article concerning the Stanford Swimmer who was caught “mid-rape.” In multiple articles, it stated that Stanford University did a great job handling the situation... However, the most ironic part about the entire situation is that the only thing that Stanford did was not allow Brock Turner back into Stanford and he cannot re-enroll. The real heroes are the guys who rode by on their bikes and tackled him and didn’t let him back up until the police came to get him. The police and the Samaritans who handled the situation are the real winners, not the university. The link that is attached below is an article from the Daily Beast, who takes on a professional bias and a realistic view about rape and how this situation was handled correctly. This article picks out extremely valid points when it comes to viewing how universities all around the nation, do not properly take care of rape cases that occur on college campuses. The writer of the piece, Emily Shire does a fantastic job validly examining the mistakes universities take and what steps should take place when college campus rapes occur. Clearly, at this point in time, any action that takes place is more than what is happening. We need to start somewhere so why not start with one of the biggest contributors to lack of convictions, the lack of university help.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/28/when-police-not-professors-handle-rape-cases-justice-is-swift.html