16th
Week 13 “Oprah plans to devote this Thursday’s episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show to dating violence. The show, featuring special guest Tyra Banks is “dedicated to all the Rihannas of the world.”
This week we read three articles, “Ending Violence,” by Hooks, “Word Warrior,” by DiMarco, and “History and the Politics of Violence Against Women,” by Castaiteda.
In “Ending Violence,” Hooks constructs a new term, “patriarchal violence.” According to Hooks, although “domestic violence” is the common term “patriarchal violence” is more useful. It includes everyone, even the children who are hurt by the mere observation of watching violent/abusive behavior. I think that this alone is something we leave out. When we think of domestic violence we think of it as the mother being abused by the father or the “dominant figure,” however we never consider how that also includes the children. From my personal experience I can say that this leads to others being victimized. Although it’s not direct it is an indirect form of abuse/violence. In-class we discussed how it then becomes an on-going cycle. The father abuses the mother, then the mother goes on and becomes abusive to the children, and then the children become abusive toward the family pet. Another example given in class was the Chris Brown and Rihanna case. Chris Brown is a victim of domestic or patriarchal violence, and committed something that could be due to the “on-going cycle.” But how do we deal with this? How do we prosecute if we think of these people as victims? If that were the case then most people that are convicted of crimes now would be also seen as victims. Rapists are usually those were sexually abused as children. How do we deal with this cycle?
In “Word Warrior,” by DiMarco, she tells us her sad and yet powerful childhood experience. DiMarco was able to empower herself through her voice. But she also admits that there were very powerful and role model figures that took part in her life. Her parents were what helped her become empowered. But what about those who do not have the necessary tools to over come such an obstacle? In-class we were asked whether we thought if everyone started breaking the silence on violent acts whether that would help it stop? I think that for those people who were not brought up in a household like DiMarco it is necessary to have others speak up. I do not think it will stop violent acts but it will help women empower themselves. Like DiMarco says, by empowering one can stop hatred.
In “History and the Politics of Violence Against Women,” Castaiteda reminds us of all the historical cases that have occurred over the years that are evidence that violent acts towards women is not something new. She also mentions the assumptions people make when a women gets raped. For example, “Women ask for it because the way they are dressed,” I feel that a woman should be able to dress as she likes whenever she likes without having to deal with this kind of thinking. Our bodies are our own and we do not need society to assume that dressing a certain way means/equals something. Having the fear put upon us as women that we have to be cautious of our surrounding because we are women does strip us of our rights. For example, if I’m on-campus late at night studying, it’s not right that I have to be more cautious than a guy. For many cases it all comes back to the woman, why was she walking alone at night? Why walking alone at 2:00AM knowing the consequences? I refuse to think that she brought it upon herself.
http://jezebel.com/5168837/comic-explains-how-not-to-talk-about-domestic-violence
http://hiphop.popcrunch.com/oprah-domestic-violence-show-march-12-2009/
