Long Post 4/12

Long Post 4/12
The excerpt from Susan Brownmiller’s Against Our Will changed views on rape from being an individual problem to being a systematic form of domination of women. She begins taking a wide perspective and discussing the prevalence of rape as a tool of oppression and war throughout human history. It may be that the very prevalence of rape in our history has precipitated an awareness of rape early in our childhood. From a young age through fairy tales and other venues girls are taught to be victims and boys are taught to be aggressive. There are many justifications for men as to why they should be or have the right to be aggressive towards women. The first of these myths is that “all women want to be raped” in some ways it can be seen as women ultimately playing the role of femininity. Our culture also suggests that if a woman really did not want to be raped she could get away. I find this proposition particularly troubling because men are more than willing to suggest that women are and should be less strong than them. If this is really the case then how can one also be able to suggest that she should be able to fight off a man who is trying to rape her? There are many ways that men try to propose it is the woman’s fault for example because of what she was wearing. This also makes me think of a common excuse that even though it was not mentioned in Brownmiller’s it is relavent and that it that she drank too much. When people say this I always want to tell them that everyone makes mistakes and that it is not fair that women have to pay such a higher price. The fact that so many of these sayings that imply it is a woman’s fault, exist in our society demonstrates the way that rape serves as a systematic form of oppression. Browmiller’s writing is especially powerful because she leaves us with hope for a solution to this problem. She stresses the utmost importance of speaking out about acts of rape therefore transforming them from an act of shame into something we can fight against. In order to make this shift it is necessary that all of society be on board. Support from both men and women can make this world a safer place.
Crenshaw continues Brownmiller’s idea that rape is systematic and not individual, but that this theory applies differently to people on the margins of society. Her goal is to change thinking about difference from a negative light into a positive that can achieve power rather than domination. Right now the current issue is that the discussion of sexual violence ignores intra group differences. Identity politics do play into the likelihood and situation in which a woman will have to deal with sexual violence. Poor women will have different issues confronting sexual violence because they may be economically dependent on their husbands. This complication can become even greater if the woman is an immigrant who depends on her husband to speak the language and inform her of her legal status. There are strong movements to end racism and sexism, but not many that consider the women of color who belong to both groups.
Since these women belong to two different groups on the margins of society rather than having a more powerful voice they are essentially ignored. Crenshaw attempts to uncover the ways that gender and race insect in shaping structural and political aspects of sexual violence. To start the discussion on structural intersectionality she uses the example of battered women’s shelters. These shelters are intended to help battered women, but they often only have the resources to deal with the repercussion of the actual violence. This ignores poor women, who statistically are often minorities, because these women have economic issues that will keep them returning to their husbands. Many shelters also do not have translators and therefore turn away women who do not speak English. This shows the ways in which race and economic standing can add more wires to the birdcage that is already in place due to sexism.
Political intersectionality also perpetuates the further oppression of these women of color. These women are torn between two political groups with two different agendas. Rather than being accepted into both groups they become stuck in a limbo between and therefore their voice loses power in both group. In this way the discussion about racism centers around men of color and the discussion of sexism center around white women, once again leaving women of color ignored. One example that Crenshaw uses is that the LAPD would not release statistics on sexual violence in minority communities because it would perpetuate the image of minority males as violent. While this intention is good it leaves women of color who experience sexual violence stuck in silence. The fact that the violence against these women is not acknowledge it creates an idea that they must wait until racism is completely eradicated in order to live without facing violence. She goes on to show the ways that feminist organizations also ignore women of color. The only way to move foreword is to heal the tension between intragroup factions, which would help to make both the fight against racism and sexism more powerful. The best way to heal the tension is not to ignore the difference, but rather to acknowledge and negotiate the differences.