Today in class, I found the discussion to take a different perspective than it usually takes, which was examining how culture has affected how certain social interactions send underlying messages. For example, Professor Condon’s example of “Hey, can I buy you a drink” at the bar is a great example of how the underlying tone of sexual content thrives. Unfortunately, our culture norms have interpreted that as a pick up line and it is assumed that the guy wants to go home with that girl. Unfortunately, sometimes that may not be the case and the guy may just be interested in who you are. However, another solid point was that men feel as though the women need to get loosened up a bit and everyone needs the bit of liquid confidence, so buying a drink is just an easy way to break the ice. (I feel as though I am interpreting pick up lines) In a cultural such as this, when women feel uneasy or are approached, many put up a defensive wall very quickly, not sure of the guy and who he truly is. Which is why I feel like we hear less rape stories about women and bars than we do frat houses and house parties. The bar is really just an area of controlled meeting and interaction for adults.
Which leads me to an interesting concept to think about: what would it be like if our culture practiced as though house parties and frat houses were a meeting place for older adults, while bars were open to young adults? In a sense, bars are a controlled environment where if an individual appears too drunk, the bartenders will cut you off and the bouncers X you out. At a frat house or a house party, there is no sense of control anywhere. The people responsible for kicking out the obnoxiously too drunk people are drunk themselves, so they really don’t have a good sense of control either. If our culture was like this, would rape still occur? Well, yes unfortunately I think so.
Viewing the culture of rape has lead me to believe that it has so many different lenses, I find it hard to grasp it all at once, which may be another factor as to why this appears as such a taboo topic in the United States. Will rape ever be a crime that no longer exists in this culture? With the amount of social media, lack of communication and honestly lack of understanding of this crime, it is hard to say where this will lead to in later years.
One question I would like to look into more as to why men think that they need alcohol to help ease them into conversation with women? As lame as rejection feels, that cannot be the sole reason to feel like they must feed alcohol into women to break the ice?
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Response to Class Discussion, 3/26
Well to start class off, I really enjoyed the cake so that was great. They can visit any time they would like!
But translating and interpreting the handout that was My Last Duchess by Ferrara was an interesting piece. Without going through it as a class, I would have set that down as soon I began reading. Old English language such as that is not my forte. But, translating it and reading from different perspectives help understand it. But the guy in the story is definitely creepy. And like Professor Condon said, the guy is hiding.
In the culture of rape, I guess I never did think about the assumptions that are usually assumed in most rape cases. The assumption that the girl went home with the guy because she was drunk, then it must be okay. The assumptions and unstated comments that are in the air that are created from our culture is what is going to interfere with the culture of rape. Other assumptions that go along with it is consent and sex. Also, how the girl presents herself. If she is flirtatious, dresses provocatively then "she was asking for it." Our country practices and preaches about individualism and how no one should be judged for what they wear or how they act, yet we are the most hypocritical and stereotypical country out there. If someone isn't conforming or acting the same as every body else, they are judged and it is very wrong.
Other hidden facets that are apart of rape culture is the way assumptions of success. It is assumed that white men have solid jobs, the women are at home in the kitchen and people of color are neither. In the world of business, it is sad to see how people judge and assume instantaneously. The common cliche quote of, "Don't judge a book by its cover"is pathetically inaccurate yet we preach it like it is a moral code. Yet, our moral goods aren't practiced either. And rape should fall under Do Not Harm, and do not do to others what you would not like them to do to you yet this happens multiple times on a day to day basis. The unfortunate matter is hiding behind the assumptions and unstated comments are killing the success of a rape free society.
But translating and interpreting the handout that was My Last Duchess by Ferrara was an interesting piece. Without going through it as a class, I would have set that down as soon I began reading. Old English language such as that is not my forte. But, translating it and reading from different perspectives help understand it. But the guy in the story is definitely creepy. And like Professor Condon said, the guy is hiding.
In the culture of rape, I guess I never did think about the assumptions that are usually assumed in most rape cases. The assumption that the girl went home with the guy because she was drunk, then it must be okay. The assumptions and unstated comments that are in the air that are created from our culture is what is going to interfere with the culture of rape. Other assumptions that go along with it is consent and sex. Also, how the girl presents herself. If she is flirtatious, dresses provocatively then "she was asking for it." Our country practices and preaches about individualism and how no one should be judged for what they wear or how they act, yet we are the most hypocritical and stereotypical country out there. If someone isn't conforming or acting the same as every body else, they are judged and it is very wrong.
Other hidden facets that are apart of rape culture is the way assumptions of success. It is assumed that white men have solid jobs, the women are at home in the kitchen and people of color are neither. In the world of business, it is sad to see how people judge and assume instantaneously. The common cliche quote of, "Don't judge a book by its cover"is pathetically inaccurate yet we preach it like it is a moral code. Yet, our moral goods aren't practiced either. And rape should fall under Do Not Harm, and do not do to others what you would not like them to do to you yet this happens multiple times on a day to day basis. The unfortunate matter is hiding behind the assumptions and unstated comments are killing the success of a rape free society.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Essay #2 - March 24, 2015
Katie Covey
English 460
Essay #2
March 24, 2015
Hyper Masculinity in Our Culture
Hyper masculinity is an issue that is not only becoming immune in our society, but it is helping play into acts of sexual violence and assault. It is seen in every day contemporary society, yet it has become yet another facet of an exempt topic. Hyper masculinity is seen in a variety of cultural ways through entertainment, such as movies, sports, and books to even more of a day to day professional basis, such as the army or even heads of corporations in the business world. Unfortunately, hyper masculinity is also seen through a monetary value. In the business world alike, it is seen far too much that women take a pay cut far more often than men do. With just these examples, the idea of hyper masculinity may be one of the main causes behind aggression and hostility toward women alike, leading to these types of personalities being the perpetrators behind rape.
According to Dr. Sarah Edwards, lead researcher behind the study titled Denying Rape by Endorsing Forceful Intercourse: Exploring Differences Among Responders says that men who have hostile feelings towards women along with negative interactions, tend to be the men who project the personalities that many rapists have. However, men who said they wouldn’t directly state that they would rape during this research fall under the hyper masculine classification. This specific group of men that fell under the classification that they would not rape a woman, said they would force a women into having sexual intercourse. Edwards stated, “In general, they objectify women and feel expected to be ‘sexually dominant’ and display some traits of hyper masculinity.” (Frost) Edwards found that working with hyper masculinity and the males that fall under this category, tend to display very different personalities than that of rapists. “If you’re working with hyper masculinized groups, you think of the usual suspects. Male sports -- it’s very competitive, there’s a big focus on body image and the idea that bodies are power and you’re taught to value physical conquest over others.” (Frost) With these extrinsic proofs and Edwards testimony about the hyper masculine category, behaviors of forceful aggression can lead to rape. And we see still see many cases of rape and athletes all around the nation. Many well known college campus rape stories that hit newsstands do involve athletes, such as Florida State University’s Jameis Winston or the Vanderbilt case, that involved multiple football players who were found guilty of numerous different counts of sexual violence. Hyper masculinity does heavily play into the Vanderbilt case. In this specific case, the victim was gang raped by multiple football players in a dorm room. Competition is a key here, displaying that these hyper masculine males felt the need to compete with one another. Rhoda Jordan, writer for the Huffington Post, perfectly defined hyper masculinity in a recent blog posting. “Simple: It's the delusion that masculinity is king. That aggression, toughness and competition trump compassion, expression and collaboration.” (Jordan) This perfectly describes the hyper masculinity that can be found in our contemporary society today.
Sports do conduct a tenacious view of hyper masculinity, however the army also subsists a very heavy hold on hyper masculinity. Michael T. Crawford, a solider in the U.S. Army, as well as Communications Assistant for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape cannot believe the rates of sexual assault that is taking place. Crawford states, “Rates of sexual assault in the military are staggering. Our service men and women deserve better than this. A culture of hyper masculinity -- strength and stoicism -- breeds the sense of power and entitlement that drives sexual assault.” (Crawford) A man, a solider and a citizen who is speaking out against rape is able to identify the problems of sexual assault within the military and he is also capable of establishing the belief that it is wrong. Hyper masculinity is not only a driving force behind sexual assault, it is a cultural norm that we are too comfortable with. This cultural norm isn’t just included in the way we think and act, it is practice through our discourse and rhetoric. Hyper masculinity is produced through our cultural needs for entertainment. Hollywood takes hyper masculinity and uses it to provide a story line in movies, advertising and even books. When Crawford began to examine and analyze the field of anti-sexual violence, Crawford said that, “Anti sexual violence brings forth a lot of introspection. For me, that has meant coming to terms with learning that my world views were largely manufactured by Hollywood and advertising. ... Everyone is exposed to the same messages, and those messages are rooted in hyper masculinity.” (Crawford)
In Hollywood for example, hyper masculinity is seen a variety of different genres of film and TV shows. Hyper masculinity can often be found in movies that contain law enforcement or war. Just to name a few that easily came to mind, Starsky & Hutch, Fight Club, The Terminator, or even the classics, like James Bond. With these movies, come the existence of gender roles and the objectification of women. As movies are just one facet of Hollywood, music, often seen in Hip-Hop or Country, women are also objectified to look pretty and do what the man wants. The unfortunate case in our society has now used to this discourse and we are now paying for it in the result of sexual assault. Our use of language as well as our practiced norms are setting up our society and younger generations for failure against rape. And unfortunately, it is not just happening in the United States, it is universal phenomenon.
Crawford agrees with such a statement.
“Hyper masculinity is not just unique to the Army, or any branch of service. That’s national. Hell, that’s global. And sadly, to a degree, it’s necessary for a select group of men and women who ultimately have to pull the trigger, so others don’t have to. But instead of being treated as the conditionally necessary evil it is, the world celebrates this kind of "macho" behavior. That kind of behavior is rewarded, and the people who have been force-fed these messages their entire lives wind up in the military.” (Crawford)
The frightening truth behind masculinity is just that. It is a celebrated type of behavior we see in our daily lives. This is practiced in almost all stages of life; from the time we are children and playing with the neighbors to the time we are old sitting in our chair, while my husband and I are drinking tea, that I made for him... The unfortunate matter of the fact detail is, hyper masculinity is an underlying bearing that we will always see in some place in our lives. Hyper masculinity can and does begin at a young age. With a number of diverse reasons that can contribute to the development of hyper masculinity, young men will begin to evolve these habits into unspeakable and terrifying actions, such as rape. Many do contribute hyper masculinity to the patriarchal system that the U.S. has carved out for young boys growing up. Gender roles can be based on this type of system, where male entitlement becomes active in a young man’s life. Other things that contribute to an adolescent's young life is how the control of the family is portrayed and the urgency to compete with others. With so many different factors to consider, hyper masculinity can be seen through a variety of family habits. Patriarchal routine can lead to family violence and be an origin for hyper masculinity. According to Ian Gault, a presenter at the No To Violence Conference, presented his findings and proofs about the Macho Man and how hyper masculinity and adolescent behavior can lead to it. When young males are born into families that have a patriarchal system, they tend to produce hyper masculine behavior.
“Encouragement of violence and sex can lead hyper masculine fathers to be complicit in their sons' sexual violence, for example, by excusing the behavior and minimizing it to police. [Ian says,] "The message is 'You can have your fun and get away with it too'. That's incredibly important, because in patriarchal families, the father is seen as the most important person." (Gault)
With this testimony from Gault, the extrinsic proof is displaying that these types of families are creating and producing young men that may possibly be perpetrators in the future. This type of control and desire for power create men who also rule over the business world and bring hyper masculinity into this area of culture too.
In today’s world, it is more common to see a woman in a commanding position, if not top position in the business world. However, women still struggle receiving the same pay grade that men do on an average income. Based on empirical data from Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women still earn quite a bit less than men do.
“In 2013, female full-time workers made only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 22 percent. Women, on average, earn less than men in virtually every single occupation for which there is sufficient earnings data for both men and women to calculate an earnings ratio.” (About Pay Equity & Discrimination)
Although hyper masculinity cannot be proven to be directly tied with thus data, it is can still be assumed that it plays a role. In a contemporary society, such as this one, it is hard when women begin to compete with men for higher ranking position. For so long, a traditional value was held that women would be there to support the man, that it was unseen that women could also carry out the same responsibilities that men did. Gender roles were set and for many (especially men) that was okay. However, when this began to change and women started taking over, competition emerged, which also brought aggression. The desire and need for power and control also emerged, which are underlying attributes for hyper masculinity. When all of these things begin to merge, acts of sexual violence can begin to form. In 2006, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center gathered information from the Equal Employment Opportunity Council and received 12,025 charges of sexual assault (15.4% filed by males). (What is Workplace Sexual Violence?) And unfortunately, there are many different types of sexual violences that can occur. The NSVCR stated that jokes about rape or women as sex objects was the most frequently used behavior, with language, images, pay inequity, verbal abuse following, then at the top being physical abuse, rape and sexual assault.
With all of this data, it is easy to testify that the culture of rape, sexual violence, hyper masculinity and gender roles are becoming much more of an immune behavior. Among the cultural norms that are produced on a daily basis plus the origins of patriarchal habits and family violence, hyper masculinity is becoming much more common and celebrated in our daily lives. With the perpetual existence of hyper masculinity, hostility and aggression will continue to thrive in our society and from that will branch more occurrences of sexual assault and violence in the work place, on college campuses and in our daily lives. With the hermetic cultural that persists to carry these norms, society will not see change unless we can begin to penetrate the walls of hyper masculinity.
References:
"About Pay Equity & Discrimination." Institute for Women's Policy Research. Institute for Women's Policy Research, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. <http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination>.
Crawford, Michael. "A Culture of Hypermasculinity Is Driving Sexual Assault in the Military." Huffington Post 4 Apr. 2014. Huffington Post. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-t-crawford/a-culture-of-hypermasculi_b_5147191.html>.
Frost, Aja. "Study Examines Rape, Hypermasculinity and Hostility in College Men." USA Today - College 21 Jan. 2015. USA Today. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. <http://college.usatoday.com/2015/01/21/study-examines-rape-hypermasculinity-and-hostility-in-college-men/>.
Gault, Ian. "Macho Man: Hyper - Masculinity and Adolescent Dating Violence." Www.ntvconference.org. No to Violence, 16 Nov. 2012. Web. <http://ntv.org.au/conference/wp-content/uploads/2012-ntv-conference-workshop-3d-macho-man-doc.pdf>.
Jordan, Rhoda. "The Problem With Masculinity." HuffingtonPost.com. Huffington Post, 7 July 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
"What Is Workplace Sexual Violence?" Http://www.nsvrc.org. Http://www.nsvrc.org. Web. <http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/file/SAAM/SAAM_WPSV-Factsheet.pdf>.
English 460
Essay #2
March 24, 2015
Hyper Masculinity in Our Culture
Hyper masculinity is an issue that is not only becoming immune in our society, but it is helping play into acts of sexual violence and assault. It is seen in every day contemporary society, yet it has become yet another facet of an exempt topic. Hyper masculinity is seen in a variety of cultural ways through entertainment, such as movies, sports, and books to even more of a day to day professional basis, such as the army or even heads of corporations in the business world. Unfortunately, hyper masculinity is also seen through a monetary value. In the business world alike, it is seen far too much that women take a pay cut far more often than men do. With just these examples, the idea of hyper masculinity may be one of the main causes behind aggression and hostility toward women alike, leading to these types of personalities being the perpetrators behind rape.
According to Dr. Sarah Edwards, lead researcher behind the study titled Denying Rape by Endorsing Forceful Intercourse: Exploring Differences Among Responders says that men who have hostile feelings towards women along with negative interactions, tend to be the men who project the personalities that many rapists have. However, men who said they wouldn’t directly state that they would rape during this research fall under the hyper masculine classification. This specific group of men that fell under the classification that they would not rape a woman, said they would force a women into having sexual intercourse. Edwards stated, “In general, they objectify women and feel expected to be ‘sexually dominant’ and display some traits of hyper masculinity.” (Frost) Edwards found that working with hyper masculinity and the males that fall under this category, tend to display very different personalities than that of rapists. “If you’re working with hyper masculinized groups, you think of the usual suspects. Male sports -- it’s very competitive, there’s a big focus on body image and the idea that bodies are power and you’re taught to value physical conquest over others.” (Frost) With these extrinsic proofs and Edwards testimony about the hyper masculine category, behaviors of forceful aggression can lead to rape. And we see still see many cases of rape and athletes all around the nation. Many well known college campus rape stories that hit newsstands do involve athletes, such as Florida State University’s Jameis Winston or the Vanderbilt case, that involved multiple football players who were found guilty of numerous different counts of sexual violence. Hyper masculinity does heavily play into the Vanderbilt case. In this specific case, the victim was gang raped by multiple football players in a dorm room. Competition is a key here, displaying that these hyper masculine males felt the need to compete with one another. Rhoda Jordan, writer for the Huffington Post, perfectly defined hyper masculinity in a recent blog posting. “Simple: It's the delusion that masculinity is king. That aggression, toughness and competition trump compassion, expression and collaboration.” (Jordan) This perfectly describes the hyper masculinity that can be found in our contemporary society today.
Sports do conduct a tenacious view of hyper masculinity, however the army also subsists a very heavy hold on hyper masculinity. Michael T. Crawford, a solider in the U.S. Army, as well as Communications Assistant for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape cannot believe the rates of sexual assault that is taking place. Crawford states, “Rates of sexual assault in the military are staggering. Our service men and women deserve better than this. A culture of hyper masculinity -- strength and stoicism -- breeds the sense of power and entitlement that drives sexual assault.” (Crawford) A man, a solider and a citizen who is speaking out against rape is able to identify the problems of sexual assault within the military and he is also capable of establishing the belief that it is wrong. Hyper masculinity is not only a driving force behind sexual assault, it is a cultural norm that we are too comfortable with. This cultural norm isn’t just included in the way we think and act, it is practice through our discourse and rhetoric. Hyper masculinity is produced through our cultural needs for entertainment. Hollywood takes hyper masculinity and uses it to provide a story line in movies, advertising and even books. When Crawford began to examine and analyze the field of anti-sexual violence, Crawford said that, “Anti sexual violence brings forth a lot of introspection. For me, that has meant coming to terms with learning that my world views were largely manufactured by Hollywood and advertising. ... Everyone is exposed to the same messages, and those messages are rooted in hyper masculinity.” (Crawford)
In Hollywood for example, hyper masculinity is seen a variety of different genres of film and TV shows. Hyper masculinity can often be found in movies that contain law enforcement or war. Just to name a few that easily came to mind, Starsky & Hutch, Fight Club, The Terminator, or even the classics, like James Bond. With these movies, come the existence of gender roles and the objectification of women. As movies are just one facet of Hollywood, music, often seen in Hip-Hop or Country, women are also objectified to look pretty and do what the man wants. The unfortunate case in our society has now used to this discourse and we are now paying for it in the result of sexual assault. Our use of language as well as our practiced norms are setting up our society and younger generations for failure against rape. And unfortunately, it is not just happening in the United States, it is universal phenomenon.
Crawford agrees with such a statement.
“Hyper masculinity is not just unique to the Army, or any branch of service. That’s national. Hell, that’s global. And sadly, to a degree, it’s necessary for a select group of men and women who ultimately have to pull the trigger, so others don’t have to. But instead of being treated as the conditionally necessary evil it is, the world celebrates this kind of "macho" behavior. That kind of behavior is rewarded, and the people who have been force-fed these messages their entire lives wind up in the military.” (Crawford)
The frightening truth behind masculinity is just that. It is a celebrated type of behavior we see in our daily lives. This is practiced in almost all stages of life; from the time we are children and playing with the neighbors to the time we are old sitting in our chair, while my husband and I are drinking tea, that I made for him... The unfortunate matter of the fact detail is, hyper masculinity is an underlying bearing that we will always see in some place in our lives. Hyper masculinity can and does begin at a young age. With a number of diverse reasons that can contribute to the development of hyper masculinity, young men will begin to evolve these habits into unspeakable and terrifying actions, such as rape. Many do contribute hyper masculinity to the patriarchal system that the U.S. has carved out for young boys growing up. Gender roles can be based on this type of system, where male entitlement becomes active in a young man’s life. Other things that contribute to an adolescent's young life is how the control of the family is portrayed and the urgency to compete with others. With so many different factors to consider, hyper masculinity can be seen through a variety of family habits. Patriarchal routine can lead to family violence and be an origin for hyper masculinity. According to Ian Gault, a presenter at the No To Violence Conference, presented his findings and proofs about the Macho Man and how hyper masculinity and adolescent behavior can lead to it. When young males are born into families that have a patriarchal system, they tend to produce hyper masculine behavior.
“Encouragement of violence and sex can lead hyper masculine fathers to be complicit in their sons' sexual violence, for example, by excusing the behavior and minimizing it to police. [Ian says,] "The message is 'You can have your fun and get away with it too'. That's incredibly important, because in patriarchal families, the father is seen as the most important person." (Gault)
With this testimony from Gault, the extrinsic proof is displaying that these types of families are creating and producing young men that may possibly be perpetrators in the future. This type of control and desire for power create men who also rule over the business world and bring hyper masculinity into this area of culture too.
In today’s world, it is more common to see a woman in a commanding position, if not top position in the business world. However, women still struggle receiving the same pay grade that men do on an average income. Based on empirical data from Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women still earn quite a bit less than men do.
“In 2013, female full-time workers made only 78 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 22 percent. Women, on average, earn less than men in virtually every single occupation for which there is sufficient earnings data for both men and women to calculate an earnings ratio.” (About Pay Equity & Discrimination)
Although hyper masculinity cannot be proven to be directly tied with thus data, it is can still be assumed that it plays a role. In a contemporary society, such as this one, it is hard when women begin to compete with men for higher ranking position. For so long, a traditional value was held that women would be there to support the man, that it was unseen that women could also carry out the same responsibilities that men did. Gender roles were set and for many (especially men) that was okay. However, when this began to change and women started taking over, competition emerged, which also brought aggression. The desire and need for power and control also emerged, which are underlying attributes for hyper masculinity. When all of these things begin to merge, acts of sexual violence can begin to form. In 2006, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center gathered information from the Equal Employment Opportunity Council and received 12,025 charges of sexual assault (15.4% filed by males). (What is Workplace Sexual Violence?) And unfortunately, there are many different types of sexual violences that can occur. The NSVCR stated that jokes about rape or women as sex objects was the most frequently used behavior, with language, images, pay inequity, verbal abuse following, then at the top being physical abuse, rape and sexual assault.
With all of this data, it is easy to testify that the culture of rape, sexual violence, hyper masculinity and gender roles are becoming much more of an immune behavior. Among the cultural norms that are produced on a daily basis plus the origins of patriarchal habits and family violence, hyper masculinity is becoming much more common and celebrated in our daily lives. With the perpetual existence of hyper masculinity, hostility and aggression will continue to thrive in our society and from that will branch more occurrences of sexual assault and violence in the work place, on college campuses and in our daily lives. With the hermetic cultural that persists to carry these norms, society will not see change unless we can begin to penetrate the walls of hyper masculinity.
References:
"About Pay Equity & Discrimination." Institute for Women's Policy Research. Institute for Women's Policy Research, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. <http://www.iwpr.org/initiatives/pay-equity-and-discrimination>.
Crawford, Michael. "A Culture of Hypermasculinity Is Driving Sexual Assault in the Military." Huffington Post 4 Apr. 2014. Huffington Post. Web. 4 Mar. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-t-crawford/a-culture-of-hypermasculi_b_5147191.html>.
Frost, Aja. "Study Examines Rape, Hypermasculinity and Hostility in College Men." USA Today - College 21 Jan. 2015. USA Today. Web. 5 Mar. 2015. <http://college.usatoday.com/2015/01/21/study-examines-rape-hypermasculinity-and-hostility-in-college-men/>.
Gault, Ian. "Macho Man: Hyper - Masculinity and Adolescent Dating Violence." Www.ntvconference.org. No to Violence, 16 Nov. 2012. Web. <http://ntv.org.au/conference/wp-content/uploads/2012-ntv-conference-workshop-3d-macho-man-doc.pdf>.
Jordan, Rhoda. "The Problem With Masculinity." HuffingtonPost.com. Huffington Post, 7 July 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.
"What Is Workplace Sexual Violence?" Http://www.nsvrc.org. Http://www.nsvrc.org. Web. <http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/file/SAAM/SAAM_WPSV-Factsheet.pdf>.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Response to Class Discussion, 3/10
During today's class discussion, we were able to cover how pathos is portrayed in the rape culture. Pathos is the emotional side of the audience or what the writer is trying to portray throughout the story. One concept that is related to the culture of rape that we discussed was collective compassion and what that truly is. In my opinion, collective compassion is compassion that the entire community can agree on. If we as a culture want to reach collective compassion, there are many things we need to begin to change to achieve that.
One thing that would need to change over time is being proactive versus reactive. When connecting this specific particular to media, media is always going to be reactive to the situation. And by doing so, we in our communities are not getting anywhere further in progressing to making communities safer and decreasing the rate of rape. The difference between being proactive and reactive will, I think, begin to see the differences in collective compassion and rape. Being proactive would be the beginning of changing the cultural norms in our society. Changing the commonplaces that we tend to look at as a normal "college" thing and understand that what we are doing is not being proactive. To be proactive, we should begin to analyze the where these cultural norms are not so normal. Binge drinking and drinking until you are blacked out, is something that should be worry some to the world. We as a culture focus too much on reactive side of rape and not changing the factors that help cause it. We focus on what the victim could have done wrong, we focus on how much everyone involved drank and the location that the crime took place in. However, what about what can we do to create positive proactive traits to help the victims or the people who find themselves in these situations. We need to begin to acknowledge that the taboo of rape is not a bad thing. It sits at the same place that sex does, where it is not a public topic to discuss, but hey guess what? Everyone is doing it. Everyone has sex. How would we keep producing and populating this world without it? By acknowledging rape, we are taking one step closer to reassuring victims of direct and indirect cases of rape that they will be okay and it is okay. By doing so, we can help them take a stand to how they got themselves in that position. Another important proactive detail that we should look at it, is what can we offer to victims to help them share their what they want. By properly educating people in this world, we can begin to help prevent rape around our communities.
If we can begin to be proactive and not reactive, we could see a change in rape numbers in our society. Unfortunately, we as a society must be picky how we to choose to demonstrate and voice our opinions without it coming across as an extreme. Too many times in our society, people cry wolf and then no one takes their opinion, voice and incidents seriously. How can we find the middle ground to properly educating the men and women of this generation without them viewing it as a joke?
One thing that would need to change over time is being proactive versus reactive. When connecting this specific particular to media, media is always going to be reactive to the situation. And by doing so, we in our communities are not getting anywhere further in progressing to making communities safer and decreasing the rate of rape. The difference between being proactive and reactive will, I think, begin to see the differences in collective compassion and rape. Being proactive would be the beginning of changing the cultural norms in our society. Changing the commonplaces that we tend to look at as a normal "college" thing and understand that what we are doing is not being proactive. To be proactive, we should begin to analyze the where these cultural norms are not so normal. Binge drinking and drinking until you are blacked out, is something that should be worry some to the world. We as a culture focus too much on reactive side of rape and not changing the factors that help cause it. We focus on what the victim could have done wrong, we focus on how much everyone involved drank and the location that the crime took place in. However, what about what can we do to create positive proactive traits to help the victims or the people who find themselves in these situations. We need to begin to acknowledge that the taboo of rape is not a bad thing. It sits at the same place that sex does, where it is not a public topic to discuss, but hey guess what? Everyone is doing it. Everyone has sex. How would we keep producing and populating this world without it? By acknowledging rape, we are taking one step closer to reassuring victims of direct and indirect cases of rape that they will be okay and it is okay. By doing so, we can help them take a stand to how they got themselves in that position. Another important proactive detail that we should look at it, is what can we offer to victims to help them share their what they want. By properly educating people in this world, we can begin to help prevent rape around our communities.
If we can begin to be proactive and not reactive, we could see a change in rape numbers in our society. Unfortunately, we as a society must be picky how we to choose to demonstrate and voice our opinions without it coming across as an extreme. Too many times in our society, people cry wolf and then no one takes their opinion, voice and incidents seriously. How can we find the middle ground to properly educating the men and women of this generation without them viewing it as a joke?
Friday, March 6, 2015
Class Discussion, 3/5
After reading the article about AR Wear -- A clothing line offering wearable protection for when things go wrong. You know, it is not a bad idea, but realistically, how many girls will end up purchasing one these? After I read the introduction, I felt sort of inspired by this idea. AR Wear stated,
"Rape is about as wrong as it gets. The only one responsible for a rape is the rapist and AR Wear will not solve the fundamental problem that rape exists in our world. Only by raising awareness and education, as well as bringing rapists to justice, can we all hope to eventually accomplish the goal of eliminating rape as a threat to both women and men,"
was inspiring in itself. The idea behind a garment that only frustrates attackers is a very solid idea, however, I do doubt the success behind it. And I wonder why I am first hearing about this and it hasn't been discussed among popular opinion. Made out of a resistant webbing and cut resistant straps, the product is designed to show tough wear and tear and not allowing an attacker to remove this piece of clothing.
I read the review from Ellen Snortland,
So, in the spirit of "Got Fight?," please don't buy or fund anti-rape panties. Instead, help us get our education out to the many people who could use less medieval attitudes, and more practical resistance tactics.
News flash! Despite entertainment depictions to the contrary, men and boys are simply flesh and blood. A well-placed heel-palm, knee to the groin, or eye-strike works wonders!
Susan B. Anthony had it right."
With this being her conclusion, I agree. Unfortunately, men do have a driving force behind things other than their brain. And until we begin to educate properly and shift our focus on men and not the victims, we may still find ourselves in the same place we are now in today.
I do believe that another challenge will follow with that and we talk about it constantly in class, but the idea of the cultural norm. Unfortunately, just like racism, rape is in the roots of society. I remember reading texts that state rape can go as far back as the Vikings or Mongolians. (Which I am sure it goes back way further than that.) Our society is past the fragile point, we are are trying to change and improve something that is so deeply rooted that we have a lot of digging to do before we begin to see a change. Sure, we can attempt to make rape proof pants or attempt to share the necessary knowledge about rape to the surrounding others, but unfortunately, until we start digging past these points, we may see some change.
"Rape is about as wrong as it gets. The only one responsible for a rape is the rapist and AR Wear will not solve the fundamental problem that rape exists in our world. Only by raising awareness and education, as well as bringing rapists to justice, can we all hope to eventually accomplish the goal of eliminating rape as a threat to both women and men,"
was inspiring in itself. The idea behind a garment that only frustrates attackers is a very solid idea, however, I do doubt the success behind it. And I wonder why I am first hearing about this and it hasn't been discussed among popular opinion. Made out of a resistant webbing and cut resistant straps, the product is designed to show tough wear and tear and not allowing an attacker to remove this piece of clothing.
I read the review from Ellen Snortland,
So, in the spirit of "Got Fight?," please don't buy or fund anti-rape panties. Instead, help us get our education out to the many people who could use less medieval attitudes, and more practical resistance tactics.
News flash! Despite entertainment depictions to the contrary, men and boys are simply flesh and blood. A well-placed heel-palm, knee to the groin, or eye-strike works wonders!
Susan B. Anthony had it right."
With this being her conclusion, I agree. Unfortunately, men do have a driving force behind things other than their brain. And until we begin to educate properly and shift our focus on men and not the victims, we may still find ourselves in the same place we are now in today.
I do believe that another challenge will follow with that and we talk about it constantly in class, but the idea of the cultural norm. Unfortunately, just like racism, rape is in the roots of society. I remember reading texts that state rape can go as far back as the Vikings or Mongolians. (Which I am sure it goes back way further than that.) Our society is past the fragile point, we are are trying to change and improve something that is so deeply rooted that we have a lot of digging to do before we begin to see a change. Sure, we can attempt to make rape proof pants or attempt to share the necessary knowledge about rape to the surrounding others, but unfortunately, until we start digging past these points, we may see some change.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Class Discussion, 3/3
Ugh, I'm sorry I am a little late on this. It has been a very hectic week. I found the class discussion rather amusing which was really nice for a change. Even though 50 Shades of Gray is something of it's own kind, I am happy we were able to pick out the humorous parts of it.
However, now that I have been taking this class, my views and immunity to rape are definitely different than they were at the start of the course. As I mentioned in class, I view a lot things that just come across in my daily life that I begin to see red flags. For example, in 50 Shades of Gray, I never would have viewed that trilogy of something of abusive until I started taking my courses this semester. The manipulative behavior that is so prevalent, as well as the weird sexual acts and the idea of this man "who does not do love" is something that is so normal in our society that it didn't seem like it was bad until I viewed it with a different mindset. But hey, isn't most stuff like that in the world? Another example that I have caught myself doing is viewing things on my social media accounts, such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and an app called The Berry. Within these different accounts, (mostly on Pinterest) I will see these quotes that act as though a girl is a victim of something. Hold on, let me find one...
And about a minute and fifteen seconds later I found this:
With some gibberish below about a girl who felt something.This is just one example of many that shows how immune we are to victim-like behavior. We see things like this and we don't even take a second look because it is second nature to us now. And I believe that girls like that, who post stuff like what is above, are going to be more at risk of being a rape victim versus a girl posting something like this:
(This took me twice as long to find versus the top one. I believe that it may be easier for people to be pessimistic versus optimistic).
Someone who can see the true depth within this quote probably are a little more in tune to the life that is surrounding them. After seeing talking about this, I wonder if there are commonplaces and behavioral traits that rape victims to have? I believe that to a certain degree, girl's can pick up on boys that are creepy. I feel as though if a girl were to allow themselves to get that drunk and black out, that there are definitely other underlying issues. But as I was saying, I believe that society has become to immune to this boy cried wolf tactic, which probably leads people to believe in the assumption that the woman was asking for it? SOOO many cultural norms play into rape and movies such as 50 Shades of Gray that you begin to wonder, where did we go wrong and how long ago did this start? And how do we even begin to fix such an issue?
However, now that I have been taking this class, my views and immunity to rape are definitely different than they were at the start of the course. As I mentioned in class, I view a lot things that just come across in my daily life that I begin to see red flags. For example, in 50 Shades of Gray, I never would have viewed that trilogy of something of abusive until I started taking my courses this semester. The manipulative behavior that is so prevalent, as well as the weird sexual acts and the idea of this man "who does not do love" is something that is so normal in our society that it didn't seem like it was bad until I viewed it with a different mindset. But hey, isn't most stuff like that in the world? Another example that I have caught myself doing is viewing things on my social media accounts, such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and an app called The Berry. Within these different accounts, (mostly on Pinterest) I will see these quotes that act as though a girl is a victim of something. Hold on, let me find one...
And about a minute and fifteen seconds later I found this:
With some gibberish below about a girl who felt something.This is just one example of many that shows how immune we are to victim-like behavior. We see things like this and we don't even take a second look because it is second nature to us now. And I believe that girls like that, who post stuff like what is above, are going to be more at risk of being a rape victim versus a girl posting something like this:
(This took me twice as long to find versus the top one. I believe that it may be easier for people to be pessimistic versus optimistic).
Someone who can see the true depth within this quote probably are a little more in tune to the life that is surrounding them. After seeing talking about this, I wonder if there are commonplaces and behavioral traits that rape victims to have? I believe that to a certain degree, girl's can pick up on boys that are creepy. I feel as though if a girl were to allow themselves to get that drunk and black out, that there are definitely other underlying issues. But as I was saying, I believe that society has become to immune to this boy cried wolf tactic, which probably leads people to believe in the assumption that the woman was asking for it? SOOO many cultural norms play into rape and movies such as 50 Shades of Gray that you begin to wonder, where did we go wrong and how long ago did this start? And how do we even begin to fix such an issue?
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