Today marks the fortieth anniversary of the US Supreme Courts ruling on the case of Roe v. Wade.
The good news is that a recent poll by NBC/WSJ shows that the majority of Americans think that abortion should remain legal. This Washington Post article discusses the finer points of the poll which contains many interesting findings. One in particular that struck a chord with me was the majority of those under 30 did not know what Roe was about. A disappointing reality for certain but this does show the prevalence of the court case diminishing as time goes on. This could be a positive indication that the time when abortion was not legal is becoming less and less of a reality. Of course I am reminded of that tricky phrase about those not learning from the past being doomed to repeat it.
Another important point is that 74% of those who support overturning Roe v. Wade ranked the issue as critical where as only 31% of Roe supporters called the issue critical. This demonstrates the intensity of anti-choice supporters and how fiercely they feel towards the case of Roe v. Wade even after 40 years.
The work ahead is clearly about keeping abortion not only legal but actually available to women. More and more restrictions are being put in place to prevent those women who seek the procedure from obtaining them without enormous obstacles.
For anyone wanting to learn more about the landmark victory for women in the case of Roe v. Wade, I strongly encourage you to read Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars by Cynthia Gorney. There is no other text that puts forth a truly unbiased occurrence of the years leading up to and immediately following the case of Roe v. Wade.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Thursday, January 17, 2013
A Dangerous Perception (India Gang Rape)
A word of caution on this post. As hard as it may be to write about this incident, I find that the intensity of the situation only furthers its need to be discussed widely and written about critically. I have been thinking about this since it happened in December and I have struggled with it-there is much more to the story than I have been able to convey.
Cara
On December 16th in New Delhi, India, a 23 year old med student named Jyoti Singh Pandey and a male friend boarded what they thought was a public bus to go home after watching a movie with friends. This was not a public bus but an off duty vehicle being driven by a group of friends. The bus contained 6 men (including the driver) who were out joyriding. The five men harassed the two and began attacking Pandey- when her male friend attempted to intervene he was beaten and knocked unconscious. The five passengers then took turns beating and raping this young women while the bus continued to drive. She was savagely beaten with and repeatedly penetrated with a rusty iron rod. After the beating the five men stripped the couple and threw them out of the bus. The driver then attempted to back over Pandey in order to prevent her from identifying them but the male friend was able to pull her out of the way.
When found on the side of the road, she was brought to the hospital where she received emergency medical attention and Doctors found that only 5% of her intestines intact. The rusty iron rod inserted into her vaginally was removed with so much force that the act also brought out her intestines. One of her accused attackers who is reportedly 17 is said to have raped her twice and removed her intestines with his hands.
Jyoti Singh Pandey survived for nearly two-weeks after the attack but eventually succumbed to her injuries and died on Dec.29th. After widespread protests from the people of India, the government promised to expedite the case and in general provide protection for the women of India. The proper handling of rape and sexual assault cases are notoriously lacking in India and the police departments are often accused of corruption and in some cases even rape themselves.
Incredibly troubling, but not surprising was how quickly this terrible vicious crime was made by some to be the victims fault. In a culture where women are still treated as second class citizens the prevalence of sexual assault is ridiculously high. Reported rape cases have surged more than tenfold over the past 40 years- from 2,487 in 1971 to 24,206 in 2011, according to official figures. New Delhi alone reported 572 rapes last year and more than 600 in 2012. Keep in mind that those reported are thought to be a mere 10% of estimated rapes and assaults that happen in India.
Unfortunately, victim blaming is prevalent in every country and in most cases of sexual assault. This vicious, horrible incident is no exception. A prominent religious leader Asaram Bapu, came out openly and said the attack was the victims fault. It is reported that he said “Those who were at fault [of the gang-rape] were drunk." He stated “She should have called them [her rapists] brothers, fallen at their feet and pleaded for mercy. Had she said, ‘I am a weak woman, you are my brothers,’ such brutality would not have happened.”
The lawyers for several of the accused have indicated that same mentality of victim blaming as a defense. For being out in public at night with her boyfriend.
I attempt to be as eloquent as possible in my writing but there are times when I find that I must speak plainly. This is one of those times. Are you fucking kidding me? Really? A women is bludgeoned, raped with a rusty metal rod inserted and removed so violently and so deeply that it ripped out her fucking intestines and this man of so called religion has the audacity to claim her at fault for any of this- and that she could have prevented it if she pleaded for mercy???????
By using the logic behind victim blaming I don't think it's a far stretch to point out that this is not too far off from saying that by the very act of being alive as a women is inviting rape. When women are held responsible for the inhumane torture and violations brought upon them by men it is such obvious societal manipulation that it can only be described as misogyny. There are few better examples than victim blaming than what this man and those attorneys are claiming.
Manohar Lal Sharma, a lawyer representing the bus driver, the bus driver's brother, and another man on the bus said "he has never seen a respectable lady raped in India."
This is the typical attitude held by men in India (and around the world). I am not speaking in absolutes to condemn every male in India or the world- but only to express what is commonly thought of about women who experience sexual abuse in any and all forms. This is what people really think. This is a dangerous perception- perhaps the most dangerous of perceptions.
A complete rewiring of the human mentality may be in order for this all too frequent occurrence to become extinct. The victim is the victim and rape is a horrible crime. In such instances like the situation in India one must ask themselves- why do these things happen? How can we prevent rape?
For one thing, the mentality behind everyone's understanding of unwanted sexual attention needs to be recognized for what it is. Abuse- plain and simple. Rape victims cannot be blamed for being raped. The issue of consent is not confusing as it can be made out to be (she was flirting with me and had on a mini skirt therefore she is partially to blame for me attacking her). As for alcohol involvement- if someone is too drunk to say "yes, I would like to engage in sexual relations with you," then you shouldn't have sex with that person.
I last wrote about Stuebenville, Ohio and the sexual assault of a 16 year old girl who was drunk to the point of being unconscious and then- stripped naked, urinated on and penetrated by two high school football players all while being photographed and videotaped by witnesses and passerby's. The attorney for one of the accused has indicated that the girls "provocative" twitter pictures will be used to show she had a particular pattern of behavior.
I am not comparing the cases of these two gang rapes in any other way than to demonstrate how prevalent victim blaming is. In both cases the victim is blamed for somehow provoking their own attacks.
When can someone who has been raped, tortured and humiliated be treated as a victim of a horrible crime and not a guilty participant? When we take rape seriously enough to stop making excuses for the perpetrators? When we value women as equal and whole human beings rather than second-class citizens and when we stop openly confusing women's sexuality as justification for a deplorable violent act.
The attack in India has the world paying attention to the prevalent despicable act of rape. Hopefully it will stay there and real change can trickle down to prevent the tolerated sexual abuse from continuing to damage the lives of so many women.
I drew from a plethora of resources for this post. Here are the main articles:
CNN-Leeza Mangaldas
Emirates 24/7.
International Business Times.
The New York times.
I did also utilize the Wikipedia article for the New Delhi gang rape case because it contains 130 citations and other references used to compile it.
Cara
On December 16th in New Delhi, India, a 23 year old med student named Jyoti Singh Pandey and a male friend boarded what they thought was a public bus to go home after watching a movie with friends. This was not a public bus but an off duty vehicle being driven by a group of friends. The bus contained 6 men (including the driver) who were out joyriding. The five men harassed the two and began attacking Pandey- when her male friend attempted to intervene he was beaten and knocked unconscious. The five passengers then took turns beating and raping this young women while the bus continued to drive. She was savagely beaten with and repeatedly penetrated with a rusty iron rod. After the beating the five men stripped the couple and threw them out of the bus. The driver then attempted to back over Pandey in order to prevent her from identifying them but the male friend was able to pull her out of the way.
When found on the side of the road, she was brought to the hospital where she received emergency medical attention and Doctors found that only 5% of her intestines intact. The rusty iron rod inserted into her vaginally was removed with so much force that the act also brought out her intestines. One of her accused attackers who is reportedly 17 is said to have raped her twice and removed her intestines with his hands.
Jyoti Singh Pandey survived for nearly two-weeks after the attack but eventually succumbed to her injuries and died on Dec.29th. After widespread protests from the people of India, the government promised to expedite the case and in general provide protection for the women of India. The proper handling of rape and sexual assault cases are notoriously lacking in India and the police departments are often accused of corruption and in some cases even rape themselves.
Incredibly troubling, but not surprising was how quickly this terrible vicious crime was made by some to be the victims fault. In a culture where women are still treated as second class citizens the prevalence of sexual assault is ridiculously high. Reported rape cases have surged more than tenfold over the past 40 years- from 2,487 in 1971 to 24,206 in 2011, according to official figures. New Delhi alone reported 572 rapes last year and more than 600 in 2012. Keep in mind that those reported are thought to be a mere 10% of estimated rapes and assaults that happen in India.
Unfortunately, victim blaming is prevalent in every country and in most cases of sexual assault. This vicious, horrible incident is no exception. A prominent religious leader Asaram Bapu, came out openly and said the attack was the victims fault. It is reported that he said “Those who were at fault [of the gang-rape] were drunk." He stated “She should have called them [her rapists] brothers, fallen at their feet and pleaded for mercy. Had she said, ‘I am a weak woman, you are my brothers,’ such brutality would not have happened.”
The lawyers for several of the accused have indicated that same mentality of victim blaming as a defense. For being out in public at night with her boyfriend.
I attempt to be as eloquent as possible in my writing but there are times when I find that I must speak plainly. This is one of those times. Are you fucking kidding me? Really? A women is bludgeoned, raped with a rusty metal rod inserted and removed so violently and so deeply that it ripped out her fucking intestines and this man of so called religion has the audacity to claim her at fault for any of this- and that she could have prevented it if she pleaded for mercy???????
By using the logic behind victim blaming I don't think it's a far stretch to point out that this is not too far off from saying that by the very act of being alive as a women is inviting rape. When women are held responsible for the inhumane torture and violations brought upon them by men it is such obvious societal manipulation that it can only be described as misogyny. There are few better examples than victim blaming than what this man and those attorneys are claiming.
Manohar Lal Sharma, a lawyer representing the bus driver, the bus driver's brother, and another man on the bus said "he has never seen a respectable lady raped in India."
This is the typical attitude held by men in India (and around the world). I am not speaking in absolutes to condemn every male in India or the world- but only to express what is commonly thought of about women who experience sexual abuse in any and all forms. This is what people really think. This is a dangerous perception- perhaps the most dangerous of perceptions.
A complete rewiring of the human mentality may be in order for this all too frequent occurrence to become extinct. The victim is the victim and rape is a horrible crime. In such instances like the situation in India one must ask themselves- why do these things happen? How can we prevent rape?
For one thing, the mentality behind everyone's understanding of unwanted sexual attention needs to be recognized for what it is. Abuse- plain and simple. Rape victims cannot be blamed for being raped. The issue of consent is not confusing as it can be made out to be (she was flirting with me and had on a mini skirt therefore she is partially to blame for me attacking her). As for alcohol involvement- if someone is too drunk to say "yes, I would like to engage in sexual relations with you," then you shouldn't have sex with that person.
I last wrote about Stuebenville, Ohio and the sexual assault of a 16 year old girl who was drunk to the point of being unconscious and then- stripped naked, urinated on and penetrated by two high school football players all while being photographed and videotaped by witnesses and passerby's. The attorney for one of the accused has indicated that the girls "provocative" twitter pictures will be used to show she had a particular pattern of behavior.
I am not comparing the cases of these two gang rapes in any other way than to demonstrate how prevalent victim blaming is. In both cases the victim is blamed for somehow provoking their own attacks.
When can someone who has been raped, tortured and humiliated be treated as a victim of a horrible crime and not a guilty participant? When we take rape seriously enough to stop making excuses for the perpetrators? When we value women as equal and whole human beings rather than second-class citizens and when we stop openly confusing women's sexuality as justification for a deplorable violent act.
The attack in India has the world paying attention to the prevalent despicable act of rape. Hopefully it will stay there and real change can trickle down to prevent the tolerated sexual abuse from continuing to damage the lives of so many women.
I drew from a plethora of resources for this post. Here are the main articles:
CNN-Leeza Mangaldas
Emirates 24/7.
International Business Times.
The New York times.
I did also utilize the Wikipedia article for the New Delhi gang rape case because it contains 130 citations and other references used to compile it.
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Steubenville Ohio
Over the last several day's I have started no less than 4 posts having to do with the Steubenville, Ohio rape case. Initially I planned to recount the story in its entirety but I have since decided that I am not up to that task and others have already done so at length. If you have somehow managed to remain in the dark about this story I highly encourage you to start with the December 16th New York Times article (click above). After that I encourage you to visit this site.
My first feeling after reading several articles about the case was not anger; I was tremendously and overwhelmingly sad. I don't care that this isn't an especially eloquent way to express this next sentiment but my second feeling was that the world we live in is an incredibly horrible fucked up place that doesn't make any sense at all. Of course I am not so naive to think that terrible people don't exist but what's worse is that people who generally aren't terrible so frequently choose to look away when it matters.
Why this situation has garnered so much attention is always incredibly discouraging. It involves Football. The fact that several teenagers stood by and watched these things happening to this girl and in some cases recorded it and photographed it is disgusting enough but some went even further and put it on social media sites. Then because there was a president of police corruption and an unwillingness of witnesses to come forward, an independent crime blogger had the presence of mind to save screen shots of what was put online before the perpetrators could erase them.
What's plain to me is that this young girl was incapable of making sound decisions, defending herself and by any and all means granting these boys consent to sexually assault and abuse her. How is that not clear to everyone? How can anyone say that this girl "deserved" this? How can defense attorneys use that same bullshit line that the boys behavior was justified because the girl, before that night in August, had posted provocative comments and photographs on her Twitter account???? Like what? I hope to be sexually assaulted while vomiting?
Victim blaming goes deep and it doesn't help when the perpetrators have the much desired skill of being able to throw a football- especially in an economically depressed has been town in Ohio where these boys provide one of the only means of entertainment and town pride.
One of the volunteer assistant coaches of the High School Football team (who is a former player) said this about the victim: “The rape was just an excuse, I think. What else are you going to tell your parents when you come home drunk like that and after a night like that? She had to make up something. Now people are trying to blow up our football program because of it.”
Yes, because your football program is so incredibly sacred that those involved in it should be excused from maintaining any sense of basic human decency.
If you'd like to learn more about the case in Steubenville, as I have merely scratched the surface, I suggest the following articles:
The Daily Beast
Time
CNN
Daily News
My first feeling after reading several articles about the case was not anger; I was tremendously and overwhelmingly sad. I don't care that this isn't an especially eloquent way to express this next sentiment but my second feeling was that the world we live in is an incredibly horrible fucked up place that doesn't make any sense at all. Of course I am not so naive to think that terrible people don't exist but what's worse is that people who generally aren't terrible so frequently choose to look away when it matters.
Why this situation has garnered so much attention is always incredibly discouraging. It involves Football. The fact that several teenagers stood by and watched these things happening to this girl and in some cases recorded it and photographed it is disgusting enough but some went even further and put it on social media sites. Then because there was a president of police corruption and an unwillingness of witnesses to come forward, an independent crime blogger had the presence of mind to save screen shots of what was put online before the perpetrators could erase them.
What's plain to me is that this young girl was incapable of making sound decisions, defending herself and by any and all means granting these boys consent to sexually assault and abuse her. How is that not clear to everyone? How can anyone say that this girl "deserved" this? How can defense attorneys use that same bullshit line that the boys behavior was justified because the girl, before that night in August, had posted provocative comments and photographs on her Twitter account???? Like what? I hope to be sexually assaulted while vomiting?
Victim blaming goes deep and it doesn't help when the perpetrators have the much desired skill of being able to throw a football- especially in an economically depressed has been town in Ohio where these boys provide one of the only means of entertainment and town pride.
One of the volunteer assistant coaches of the High School Football team (who is a former player) said this about the victim: “The rape was just an excuse, I think. What else are you going to tell your parents when you come home drunk like that and after a night like that? She had to make up something. Now people are trying to blow up our football program because of it.”
Yes, because your football program is so incredibly sacred that those involved in it should be excused from maintaining any sense of basic human decency.
If you'd like to learn more about the case in Steubenville, as I have merely scratched the surface, I suggest the following articles:
The Daily Beast
Time
CNN
Daily News
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Do We Still Need Feminism?
I asked friends for some suggestions on blog topics for the new year. One friend sent me an article to peruse entitled "Why We Don't Need Feminism".
In it the author Emily Matters talks about Feminist Scholar Wendy Brown. Brown has a book of essays called Edgework. Matters goes on to describe the collection of essays and how Edgework looks at the so-called normal or "popular" way of thinking about abortion and gay marriage with a critical eye. Her book is subtitled Critical Essays On Knowledge and Politics, and Matter's admits that the book doesn’t offer solutions or definite statements on these topics- it more encourages us to think critically about our own assumptions and go beyond or to "the edge" of our own thinking.
This article is interesting because it can be interpreted in a number of ways. On the whole my reaction was confusion upon my initial read. Matters tells the reader that Brown doesn't make many definite statements but rather suggests that thinking outside of owns usual train of thought can be beneficial (I think). Without having read any of the text I don't know for sure what Matters considers a definitive statement but she goes on to make a bunch of them in her article. She doesn't attempt to mirror the thoughts of Brown but rather calls the collection of essays an inspiration for her own response to the idea that we don't need Feminism.
She states that the wage gap is Feminist propaganda, Men rape because they are inherently violent and aggressive and women choose careers that pay less because of their inherent kindness and patient nature. Also, we need less femininity and more masculinity in order for progress to be made in culture and civilization.
These statements aren't elaborated upon very much and where they are seems to add to the articles general muddled feeling. The writer makes statements as facts- cites a study or New York times op-ed and moves on to the next statement. I want more from her in some areas but not anything from others.
For example: "Throwing a ball like a girl is lame. That’s why most people, male or female, prefer to watch the NBA over the WNBA. Aggression, intensity make sports more interesting and captivating."
I'm not sure how to interpret the latter intellectual statement with the former name calling ("You play ball like a Girl"). I mean, what? I'm sure there is more to the NBA vs. WNBA comparison besides the generalization that men are better at entertaining us in the sports arena. Some elements to consider might be the commercialization of the NBA, money and sponsorship disparities, environmental and societal elements that push boys towards sports and girls towards baking and sewing- just to name a few.
Matters also tells us- "we don’t need to balk at traditionally feminine values in the United States like they do in China. But effeminate nations of love and equality don’t produce companies like Google or Apple." It's interesting to me that Matters doesn't talk about what Feminism is besides that it involves being pro-abortion and supporting gay marriage, which she says is by far the cultural norm now. Google and Apple are what we should strive for in a society and all that girly crap isn't doing anyone any favor
So- why don't we need Feminism? Well, Matters gives us the skimpiest text in this section. Besides her calling Feminism outdated she calls for a new paradigm to move forward with- "One that is not so much a collective movement, but a way of living which respects and integrates men, women, and every beautiful and complex variation in-between."
She thinks women self select lower paying jobs because they don't care about money as much as men do. Men are bad- but that is good for society as a whole because otherwise we'd be like China and since Feminism doesn't stop rape then what's all the fuss about?
There is little here in the way of critical thinking in my opinion. Some controversial thoughts here and there but not much to chew on. Oh, and that collective movement integrating all of these beautiful variations of men and women? Well, that just seems like a cop out to me.
In it the author Emily Matters talks about Feminist Scholar Wendy Brown. Brown has a book of essays called Edgework. Matters goes on to describe the collection of essays and how Edgework looks at the so-called normal or "popular" way of thinking about abortion and gay marriage with a critical eye. Her book is subtitled Critical Essays On Knowledge and Politics, and Matter's admits that the book doesn’t offer solutions or definite statements on these topics- it more encourages us to think critically about our own assumptions and go beyond or to "the edge" of our own thinking.
This article is interesting because it can be interpreted in a number of ways. On the whole my reaction was confusion upon my initial read. Matters tells the reader that Brown doesn't make many definite statements but rather suggests that thinking outside of owns usual train of thought can be beneficial (I think). Without having read any of the text I don't know for sure what Matters considers a definitive statement but she goes on to make a bunch of them in her article. She doesn't attempt to mirror the thoughts of Brown but rather calls the collection of essays an inspiration for her own response to the idea that we don't need Feminism.
She states that the wage gap is Feminist propaganda, Men rape because they are inherently violent and aggressive and women choose careers that pay less because of their inherent kindness and patient nature. Also, we need less femininity and more masculinity in order for progress to be made in culture and civilization.
These statements aren't elaborated upon very much and where they are seems to add to the articles general muddled feeling. The writer makes statements as facts- cites a study or New York times op-ed and moves on to the next statement. I want more from her in some areas but not anything from others.
For example: "Throwing a ball like a girl is lame. That’s why most people, male or female, prefer to watch the NBA over the WNBA. Aggression, intensity make sports more interesting and captivating."
I'm not sure how to interpret the latter intellectual statement with the former name calling ("You play ball like a Girl"). I mean, what? I'm sure there is more to the NBA vs. WNBA comparison besides the generalization that men are better at entertaining us in the sports arena. Some elements to consider might be the commercialization of the NBA, money and sponsorship disparities, environmental and societal elements that push boys towards sports and girls towards baking and sewing- just to name a few.
Matters also tells us- "we don’t need to balk at traditionally feminine values in the United States like they do in China. But effeminate nations of love and equality don’t produce companies like Google or Apple." It's interesting to me that Matters doesn't talk about what Feminism is besides that it involves being pro-abortion and supporting gay marriage, which she says is by far the cultural norm now. Google and Apple are what we should strive for in a society and all that girly crap isn't doing anyone any favor
So- why don't we need Feminism? Well, Matters gives us the skimpiest text in this section. Besides her calling Feminism outdated she calls for a new paradigm to move forward with- "One that is not so much a collective movement, but a way of living which respects and integrates men, women, and every beautiful and complex variation in-between."
She thinks women self select lower paying jobs because they don't care about money as much as men do. Men are bad- but that is good for society as a whole because otherwise we'd be like China and since Feminism doesn't stop rape then what's all the fuss about?
There is little here in the way of critical thinking in my opinion. Some controversial thoughts here and there but not much to chew on. Oh, and that collective movement integrating all of these beautiful variations of men and women? Well, that just seems like a cop out to me.
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