CRJ #8 - Resisting Violence Against Women

Throughout this course, there has been much emphasis on the products of social construction. This section of material has added another item to the list: sexual violence. In order to understand why there is gendered sexual violence one must look toward understanding gendered thoughts. As children, we are all taught that the female is the emotional sex which is able to exhibit sensitivity and dependency. Boys are told to hide these emotions because they show “weakness”, and therefore males are the empowered sex. Some explain that this relationship actually promotes violence between the sexes. Men are supposed to appear domineering while women are supposed to submit. With this sense of masculinity, a power issue emerges within the male psyche. They now feel like they have the upper-hand in both relationships and within the political/public sector. Some scholars entitle this the rape spectrum. “This means that all sexist behaviors are arranged along a continuum from unexamined feelings of superiority over women, for example, on one end to rape on the other” (pg 560). This continuum connects many aspects of women’s lives that may be very different. As men see women emerge in powerful positions, they begin to become angry or insecure about the new female power. This causes sexual violence because men must now take down women in order to regain their lost power. Women's success is not an attempt by women to overtake men; however, this is how males view it. In addition, males are driven by sex to an extent; over the years, some violence has been portrayed as erotic and therefore becomes sexual. Examples of this were seen in the previous unit with violence against women is in advertising to sexually draw a male’s attention. Finally, it has become an accepted fact that there will be violence in society. Shaw and Lee call this the “normalization of sexual violence” (pg 560). I witnessed this first hand in my interviews, when the participants answered that not much can be done to decrease sexual violence against women. They thought there were always going to be people who thrived on it, so all attempts will simply fail.

Throughout this semester, I have learned how male insecurity is a source of so many problems between the sexes. It denied women’s rights. It forced women to work at home. It rebelled against the idea of homosexuality. Now, I am learning that is also causes sexual violence against women. In all honesty, I think it is somewhat funny that men attempt to appear so confident when insecurity is really a large driving force in their lives. No way would they ever admit it, but there seems to be a lot of evidence to support these notions. I understand, though, that there is a lot of frustration among women about how to eliminate sexual violence. When asking the question in the interview about how to decrease sexual violence, I somewhat agreed with the interviewees. What can be done? But I know something must be done. Sexual violence cannot be eliminated unless the causes of it are known, and one major factor is gendered beliefs.

Activity #8 - Sexual Abuse

Most of the statistics I shared were from the website feminist.com. The statistics can be found at . Some of the most interesting facts I found included:

• 17.6 % of women in the United States have survived a completed or attempted rape. Of these, 21.6% were younger than age 12 when they were first raped, and 32.4% were between the ages of 12 and 17. (Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women, Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey, November, 2000)
• The National College Women Sexual Victimization Study estimated that between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 college women experience completed or attempted rape during their college years (Fisher 2000).
• Every 90 seconds, somewhere in America, someone is sexually assaulted. (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN)). RAINN calculation based on 1999 USDOJ NCVS data.)
• In 2000, nearly 88,000 children in the United States experienced sexual abuse (ACF 2002).
• About 81% of rape victims are white; 18% are black; 1% are of other races. (Violence Against Women, Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Justice, 1994.)

The ones that I emphasized most were that about 1 in 4 college women are almost or completely raped in their college years and that of the 17.6% of women in the US that have survived a rape, more than 50% are less than 18 years old. I was shocked at the percentage of women that are raped in college. I have lived with 7 different females throughout my college experience. This statistic says that out of the 8 of us (7 girls plus I), there is a probability that 2 of us have been raped. Thinking about the girls that I have lived with, I can’t imagine that even one of them has experienced an attempted or complete rape. If any of them has, they have not let on any signs of this horrific ordeal. Also, most women that are raped are white. When there is such a stereotype that black men are more aggressive and violent, I would think that this would mean more black women are raped. This does not explicitly say that since most raped women are white, they have been raped my white men; however, it does seem to be evident that many of them are. This appears to show that although black men have this stereotype, white men clearly show that they have an extremely violent side especially in sexual manners.

I was surprised that most of my interviewees had the same responses to my questions whether they were male or female. Most of them were not surprised by the statistics that I told them; however, the results did sadden or frustrate them. One man explains, “It is sad because a woman being assaulted/raped is something that should not be happening, but I am not surprised because I am aware of recent studies within this field and as a college student I think I am more apt to come into contact with this information. Most of the reasons that the interviewees gave for why sexual violence occurs dealt with men’s control issues, anger, and jealousy. It appeared that most of them thought that it was simply just a behavior that some men could not help. One girl simply answered, “’Cause there are creeps out there.” Another girl mentioned the fact of alcohol abuse among both men and women. She described that most people lose their awareness of environment and become too trustworthy with alcohol. Finally, the men and women had somewhat different views when asked what should be done to eliminate violence against women. The men both thought that there was really no way to eliminate violence against women. One stated, “There are always gonna be people like that.” Both added, though, that increased awareness and education could help. Also, one thought that we should be more encouraging of women to come forward when they are abused. The women were both more optimistic about the question. They both took the thought of education somewhat further. One wanted “education for women about self-defense and about warning signs”. The other wanted education to emphasize how to avoid these situations and to also increase knowledge of self-defense. She also added that there could be harsher punishment for those who commit acts of sexual violence.

I was most shocked that the females were not taken aback by what I thought were some staggering statistics. I’m not sure if it was the fact that they were not really thinking about it, or that they really were not bothered by the results. I could never imagine the men who I talked to could commit an act of sexual violence, so I think this is why they may have just assumed that some guys “are that way”. I definitely agree with the interviewees that sexual violence has a lot to do with anger and jealously. I also believe that I am probably much too trustworthy even in the sober state, so the one girl’s answer made me really think about the people I trust. I think both groups were on point with some ways to reduce or eliminate violence against women. Maybe one day insurance companies will pay for self-defense classes. The first step to achieve these results, though, is to increase awareness.

CRJ #7 - Women’s Health and Reproductive Freedoms

Health is a very important concept in women’s lives. It is a very private issue which a woman should be able to determine and manage on her own. However, it has become an area in which the government, health industry, and many men have tried to invade. They have attempted to do this through several Supreme Court rulings and health procedure administering.

It was a long struggle through which women had to fight to achieve the legalization of abortion. Although some states had already reformed their abortion laws over the years, in January 1973, the Roe vs. Wade case passed which overturned all states’ ban on abortion. This ruling “held that the U.S. Constitution protects a woman’s decision to terminate her pregnancy and allowed first-trimester abortions on demand. It declared that only after the fetus is viable, capable of sustained survival outside the woman’s body with or without artificial aid, may the states control abortion” (pg 327). This ruling determined that a fetus does not have civil rights because it is not a legal person. It also did not decide religious or philosophical decisions about when a fetus actually becomes a person. Ever since the Roe vs. Wade ruling has passed, there has been a general chipping away at women’s rights to access a safe and legal abortion. The Hyde Amendment allowed states the right to deny the use of Medicaid funds for abortion. This amendment limited some women’s rights because they now had to be able to afford an abortion on their own in order to have one. The Beal vs. Doe ruling in 1977 and the Harris vs. McRae ruling in 1980 supported the Hyde Amendment by enabling states to prohibit Medicaid funds to be used for abortions and by allowing Congress to forbid states to use federal funds to pay for abortion services, respectively. Rulings continued to chip away at women’s rights when in 1989 the Webster vs. Reproductive Health Services case said that a state had the right to deny the use of “public facilities or public employees from assisting with abortions, to prevent counseling concerning abortion if public funds were involved, and to allow parental notification rights” (pg 327). There are many more cases which tried to overtake women’s decision making; however, the final one that will be discussed was the “Partial Birth” Abortion Ban.

An intact dilation and extraction (D&X) has been dubbed a “partial birth”. This is because the administration determined that a D&X is an blatant act to “kill a partially delivered fetus” (pg 329). Previously, a similar ban that was attempted to be used in Nebraska had been declared unconstitutional; however, after the declaration of the “Partial Birth” Abortion Ban, 23 states were able to pass laws banning this procedure. It has historically been a very controversial topic. People that supported the ban argued that a D&X is a horrific act and is never necessary to save a woman’s life. Those that supported a D&X said that it is usually only used when a mother’s life or health is in danger or when a baby is in very poor health. They especially expressed the fact that it was also a very infrequently performed procedure. I believe that the D&X may seem a bit frightening, but numerous other medical procedures give the same image. To my understanding, it seems that a D&X is only used in necessary situations, so it should be allowed. I also think that an abortion should solely be a woman’s choice and the government should not be able to intervene with her decision. Therefore, I support all forms of abortion and believe that it is a mother’s issue not a government issue. There are others that agree with my opinion. After the declaration of the ban, three U.S. district courts declared the ban unconstitutional because there is no exception in case of the poor health of a woman. These court rulings were affirmed by three courts of appeals; however, the federal government sill appealed these decisions. In 2006, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Stenberg vs. Carhart case and the Planned Parenthood case. Unfortunately, in 2007 the Supreme Court determined that the ban did not violate the Constitution.

This decision is sad because recent Gallup polls show that about 50% of voters consider themselves pro-choice, who are in favor or women’s choice to decide, while only 36% are pro-life, who are against almost all use of abortion. I can only hope that future court rulings and health procedure decisions will soon move into the hands of a woman. I really do not understand how it is legal to ban abortions under our Constitution.

CRJ #6 - Inscribing Gender on the Body

1. Define disciplinary “beauty” practices and give examples. Discuss the role of the media in the construction of the female body. What are the possible consequences for women of currently popular reality shows in terms of body management? How are these practices related to the development of consumerism and global capitalism?

Disciplinary “beauty” practices are everyday behaviors that we employ in order to maintain our body in line with society’s standards. These practices are usually very trivial and are taken-for-granted behaviors. Some of these practices include shaving our legs, styling our hair, applying makeup, fake tanning, and many more. Disciplinary practices are driven by the production and consumption of products; the use of these products is connected to media advertisement. Therefore the media is really the driving force for women being involved in these routines. The media portrays very unrealistic ideals of what a woman should be, and it is especially harmful in the eyes of young girls. The media constructs an image of the female body that is white, thin, beautiful, and extremely made-up. We are constantly seeing these images throughout the day through different forms of media and it is unrealistic. Currently, many women have been involved in reality shows that send the women away and promise to return them as prettier, better people. This is completed under extreme conditions such as plastic surgery, cosmetics, and other technologies of body management. “Such shows encourage people to pass for a younger age and have normalized cosmetic surgery (especially breast implants) as something ordinary women should seek and want” (pg 241). These shows portray very extreme conditions to recreate a person, and the average woman believes she must go through this process as well. It is unbelievable how much time and money these shows put into these makeovers and they are extremely unnecessary especially in terms of body management for women. Through the development of consumerism and global products, the corporate mind is telling many women that they are “not good enough the way they are but need certain products to improve their looks or their relationship” (pg 141). With these influences and the pressures of society, there has been an enormous boom in the industries with women trying to meet these extreme standards. The fashion, make-up, weight loss, and beauty industries have profited greatly and there numbers are increasing even more with the new technologies that are proven to “help” us become beautiful.

2. What exactly do you think the ideal woman’s and man’s body look like? How are power relations reflected and reinforced in beauty and body norms? How do beauty and body norms affect women and men differently? How do these ideals affect the ways you think about your own body?

When I think of an ideal woman’s or man’s body the number one criteria should be health. This body should be fit (not too skinny, not too muscular). Society has truly influenced my ideals of the ideal body though, because I also believe this person should be tan, tall, have well maintained hair, and essentially be beautiful. Power relations are reflected and reinforced in beauty and body norms because groups with more power set the trends for what the ideal beauty and body should be. They are very visible in the eyes of society and therefore can have a more powerful influence on the standards that we set. The incredible part is that these standards which we hold for ourselves are being set my other people, many times men. “Corporate powers, advertising, and the fashion, cosmetics, and entertainment industries all help create standards for us and reinforce gender relations” (pg 237). Beauty and body norms have a much greater impact on women then men. “There is a double standard of beauty for women and men: Physical appearance is more important in terms of the way women are perceived and treated” (pg 232). When a women ages she is immediately put in the spotlight as unattractive and younger men should not try to make a move on her. When a man ages, he can become sexier and more mature. It takes on a much more positive aspect for men then for women. Therefore, the woman must always fight to be seen differently from the very beginning, whereas men are already ahead. These ideals have a strong influence on how I see my body. As a little girl, I saw society influencing my mom to go to the beauty parlor, diet, and shop for expensive clothing. I use to watch her apply make-up as seen on tv and could not wait to do the same. Then as I grew older and started being immediately affected by these ideals, it became very depressing. It seems like it is always an uphill struggle to try to be beautiful in society and meet the standards. I have had some major body image issues that I can immediately recognize as being influenced by society. It’s hard enough to try to be beautiful, but then you also have to try to ignore society and realize you are ok the way you are. The latter is usually even harder.

3. Does the sexualization of women’s bodies (breasts, buttocks, legs, etc) vary by race or other subculture? Explain. Discuss the different ways that girls who are white and girls who are not white (white is normative, right?) understand “beauty” (beauty aesthetic). What is your experience of the relationship between race/ethnicity and the politics of “beauty”? (Remember white people have a race and ethnicity too).

The sexualization of women’s bodies varies greatly by race and other subcultures. White women attempt to attain the “Barbie doll” look. This woman must be blonde, extremely skinny, but yet have large breasts. It is usually much more acceptable for African American girls to be more curvaceous and to have larger butts. African American girls are more able to look past the beauty ideals and focus more on style. Chinese women idolize women with longer legs. They even have technologies that seem extremely painful that promise to lengthen their legs by a few centimeters. White girls basically understand beauty in the physical aspect. They may say it is what is on the inside that accounts, but in reality they are attempting to perfect their bodies everyday to look as society wants. African American girls define beauty “through attitude, style, personality, and presence rather than through attaining the ‘perfect’ look” (pg 261). Latino girls place much emphasis on grooming. In a way this is a physically related understanding as well because they must have all their clothes ironed perfectly and their hair clean. At times, I am even jealous of the beauty ideals that African American and Latino girls have. I think curves are beautiful and that white men do appreciate them; however, the media only allows these for women of other ethnicities. African American women are also seen as stronger and more confident and white women as a lot weaker. I do not fit this white “mold” and would rather have the African American ideals. Also, with the surge in Latino influence in the media, it seems that the Latino girl is the “sexiest” girl to guys. They also have the curves, the tanned skin, and the free-flowing dark hair. I want that standard. But the typical American standard is far different.

Activity #7 - Killing Us Softly

According to the Jean Kilbourne film, advertising sells a lot more than products. It also sells values, images, and concepts of love, sexuality, romance, success, and normalcy. These messages tell us what should be important to women. The number one thing that should be important to women is how we look. Advertisements are filled with images of beauty and the average person sees nearly 3,000 ads per day. Therefore, we are surrounded by these images and we learn from a very early age that we must spend ample amounts of time, energy and money to try to live up to these beauty standards. We need to care about these gendered messages because advertising is extremely powerful and affects many of us. These messages cause us to be “trapped in rigid roles and in very crippling definitions of femininity and masculinity.” These are basically the teachers of society’s standards, and they are sending very narrow messages. We need to change these attitudes that are found in advertisements because consciously or not they all affect us very deeply. By continuing to allow these sorts of advertisements, we are putting at stake our “ability to have authentic and freely chosen lives.”

The Dove film quickly flashes through pictures of what advertisements show should be our beauty ideal. The qualities include being gorgeous, skinny, scantily clothed, and overly made up. The film is trying to promote the fact that these ideals are unrealistic and children especially need to understand that. That movie ends by stating, “Talk to your daughter before the beauty industry does.” The beauty industry has so much power that we cannot allow it to overwhelm and influence our children. Through our readings, it has been repeated multiple times that culture is composed in very complex manners based on ideals and trends in society. The group that has the most influence on cultural standards is also the most powerful. “Corporate power, advertising, and the fashion, cosmetics, and entertainment industries all help create standards for us and reinforce gender relations” (pg 237). These ideals are not being set by the average woman who is trying to live up to them. Therefore, the images become very distorted and unrealistic. Many times white men are constructing the beauty standards and therefore, women have no control on these issues. We simply continue to try and fit in and attain much distorted images of who we should be.

In a Maxim magazine, I found an ad for Tag Body Spray. It depicts a man sleeping in his bed while three women are bouncing on the bed in bras and underwear having a pillow fight. I suppose the ad is trying to say that wearing body spray will drive women crazy. This ad has many alternative messages. The women bouncing on the bed are all very skinny, quite young, and wearing very little. This is sending a message to young women about what guys want. Young girls may also think that flaunting your body in front of men is sexy. The girls in the ad appear so happy that young girls may try to reenact this. The website for this product is SleepLess-ScoreMore.com. It seems to be saying that women will become very promiscuous just because you change your scent. The ad is completely belittling women and their femininity. Good cologne is always a plus; however, there is no way just this would cause women to rip off their clothes and become so sexually playful. It all comes down to the fact that the ad is using sex to sell their product and disregarding all intelligence and power a women has.

When I was watching the Kilbourne film, I was honestly appalled at some of the clips from advertisements that were shown. Especially, the final ad which stated, “The more you subtract the more you add.” I have always believed that advertisements are very unrealistic and we should not allow them to affect us; however, this final ad is just obscene. With so much censoring that occurs on tv shows and movies, you would think that they would think to replicate these censorship ideas in advertisements. For marketing teams to try to sell their products with such demeaning messages behind them is absolutely wrong. I really enjoyed seeing the Dove film though. It sends a message that is very overlooked by society, but which needs extreme attention. It is good to see that some companies are taking these issues seriously and trying to make a positive impact.

Activity #6 - Tough Guise

Kimmel describes that the value of understanding masculinity as socially constructed and historically shifting can be found in “agency-the capacity to act” (pg 213). Society goes through phases of different cultures, and with these changes the identity of masculinity also changes. It is beneficial because it allows for the defining characteristics to change so that it does not reflect and out-of-date, dejected image. I believe that society has become more accepting of allowing men to show their emotions; therefore, the image of masculinity has somewhat softened. This “softer” image eliminates some of the competitive nature linked to masculinity.

The foundation of masculinity is based upon the competition and scrutiny between men. Many people believe that masculinity is based upon impressing women; however, this is completely the opposite. Kimmel describes that, “Manhood is demonstrated for other men’s approval” (pg 214). The opinion of other men is very important because it is they who evaluate the performance of a man. It is this approval that validates that a man fits within the masculine mold. This idea is linked to the belief that masculinity is a homosocial performance. Kimmel explains that “Homophobia is the fear that other men will unmask us, emasculate us, reveal to us and the world that we do not measure up” (pg 214). This fear is what drives a man to prove his masculinity, so one may claim that homophobia is the driving force of manhood. If one is linked to being a sissy or weak then he is also claimed to be homosexual. This tears a man up, because it is this characterization that disqualifies a man as masculine.

I agree with Kimmel’s discussion pertaining to “the fear of being a sissy.” If you are a woman and call a man a sissy he will probably be very angry; however, if a man calls another man a sissy he will probably become physically violent. I’ve seen many of my friends become extremely embarrassed if they appeared to do a “sissy” thing. They would immediately try and do something categorized as masculine in order to reclaim his manhood. It seems very juvenile, but I believe it is very real.

Katz describes that the “tough guise” is the attempt to show the world only certain parts of oneself that society has defined as manly. To be masculine a man must fit into the narrow box that defines manhood. They have to be strong and tough not wusses or sissies. This keeps boys boxed in and pressures them to conform. Katz also discusses that this tough guise portrayed in the media has constructed violent masculinity as a cultural norm. Men think that manliness can be demonstrated by acting out. In order to change these ideas about masculinity, men need to understand that putting on the “tough guise” is destructive to them. They need to pull the curtain away and share their stories to prove this guise is unnecessary. Girls and women need to validate the elimination of the tough guise by showing that they look for more than bad boys. In particular, women need to show that they actually reject bad boys. We also need to break the monopoly of media systems that are mostly run my rich, white men who dictate the stories of those men around us. The images portrayed in the media are very slanted and need this needs to be addressed. By doing these things, we should be able to change the ideal of this tough guise.

The material, especially that by Kimmel, opened my eyes to a new dimension of masculinity. I always thought that the basis of masculinity was the drive to impress women. I never even thought that it could be the need to impress other men. But, after the readings I believe that it does have much to do with claiming the acceptance of other men. Men should realize the struggle that they are creating for each other and find a way to change this; however, they seem to continue to put up more and more barriers.

The only material that I disliked was Kimmel’s discussion about the feminist definition of masculinity. Kimmel says that “Feminists observe that women, as a group, do not hold power in out society…They feel afraid, vulnerable” (pg 217). It gives the impression that women are weak and fearful of men. This seems to totally disagree with some of the other readings in the semester so far. I know that he is not claiming that this is the position women hold in society; however, I do not think it is a very good definition of feminist’s feelings toward masculinity.

CRJ #5 - Sex, Power and Intimacy

I had a slightly harder time supporting some of the readings in the chapter on Sex, Power, and Intimacy. I enjoy a man who is chivalrous and opens doors for me and some of the issues the chapter discussed seemed to say that we are all equal; men should not have these requirements any longer. I think men also enjoy being chivalrous at times because they know that it shows the girl they really care when they may not be able to put that into words. Also, I like being the emotionally intimate one in the relationship. Maybe it is because I grew up seeing my mom and dad fall into the roles discussed; however, I don’t mind the fact that men don’t open up as much “because of the anxiety associated with being vulnerable and potentially losing personal power’ (pg 177).

Although I did disagree with some aspects of the chapter, there were definitely points that I agreed with and even found very interesting. I have always believed a day such as Sweetest’s Day is a Hallmark holiday, but I did not realize what a history romantic love has with that of the consumer culture. As I watched some television commercials for perfume and make-up in the past few days, I began to realize what a dreamy, fantastical image that they were portraying; it also appeared that they were subtly hinting (sometimes not too subtly) that simply the use of these products would help you find a romantic love partner. This supports Shaw and Lee’s explanation that in the near past “Romance became a commodity that could be purchased, and it made great promises” (pg 174). I never realized how valuable romantic love is to consumer industries such as movie theaters, restaurants, and even the fashion industry. Trying to create “the mood” is what these industries are all about, and I have made ample use of them when going on dates. I do fall in the category of women who “spend enormous emotional energy, time, and money in the pursuit and maintenance of romantic love” (pg 174); however, I now understand that the consumer industries are not creating this atmosphere to help you, but to help themselves.

I was also very interested in the story of Emma Goldman. I did some research on J. Edgar Hoover and I now think I understand more of why he called Emma “one of the most dangerous women in America in the early twentieth century” (pg 171). To give a simple background, after graduating in 1917 and joining the Justice Department, John Edgar Hoover had the responsibility of leading a new section “that had been formed to gather evidence on ‘revolutionary and ultra-revolutionary groups’. Over the next couple of years Hoover had the task of organizing the arrest and deportation of suspected communists in America” (http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAhooverE.htm). He created an enormous card index of people with left-wing political views and advised the attorney general to round up and deport these people. To give him even more drive, on the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution, he had 10,000 of his listed individuals arrested. Most of the Americans were released; however, he decided he was going to make his “big” case on Emma Goldman. At this time, Emma Goldman had come to the United States from Russia and after some harsh experiences here “was drawn to anarchism and became a revolutionary” (pg 171). This made her quite a target for Hoover. She was encouraging people to rise up against government standards, she was from the communistic Russian background, and probably worst case she was a woman. I think Hoover feared the power Goldman was showing prior to the Women’s Movement, and therefore he was trying to have society agree with him my saying she was very dangerous. I thought it was sad that Hoover won and she was eventually deported back to Russia; yet, I was very intrigued that she was then called one of the greatest living women. She stood away from the crowd and spoke for women and supported just causes such as birth control, abortion, contraception availability; “she called for a transformation of values, particularly by women” (pg 171). This is remarkable because I think she really was before her time, and she wasn’t afraid to stand up to the American government that she was not native too. That she could be called a great woman proved that Americans were finally rallying together for the cause, and that Goldman had made a serious impression on society. I had not heard of her prior to this reading; however, I feel like I should be so proud that she was a women fighting for our sexual liberties to the point where she went through deportation. She was one of the reasons this chapter really opened my eyes, and I enjoyed this reading because of that.