Gendered Violence

I am still surprised at just how eye opening the readings are and how much they effect me as well as push me to think outside what I thought I knew. This week was no exception. Gendered violence is something our society has continued to be challenged to confront and address. Each article touched on a different aspect of gendered violence. For me the first person accounts were especially meaningful and really touched on many of the issues that need to be addressed in gendered violence. The article by Mark Blackburn entitled, "Know Thyself: An Avowed Abuser Wrestles with His Demons," pinpoints an array of societal issues. Blackburn addresses his violence comes from anger but also has many other facets. He also touches on how it is a matter of power. Blackburn is asserting his power over his partner when he hit her. He also was living up to some sort of societal norm that drives men to exert their power through physical means. The second reading written in first person that had an incredible affect for me was the article by Del Martin, "A Letter From a Battered Wife." This article just made me want to think that this doesn't really happen. This women reaches out and people give excuses for her husband. She reaches for help and is not assisted. She gives victims a voice and everyone else in society an inside look at what it is like to live in this situation. How can a so called modern society allow a power structure that would put one person in such a oppressed position?

The discussion during Wednesday's class about Peggy Sanday's research on cultures where rape doesn't exist. Wednesday we also talked about how normalized gendered violence is in the media, especially in print adds. The combination of these two things led me to think of a number of things. One of the first things I thought of was the print media in Europe. (I realize I talk about Europe in nearly every blog but I am so glad that I have these experiences factor into every part of my life.) Ads are much more explicit in regards to how sex is shown. Images of body and positions that would be extremely controversial in the United States are plastered on the sides of buildings. This has led me to think about other aspects of European society that is like the United States, definitely not a rape-free culture. Before traveling abroad we were told that the gender roles were much more prominent in England. I didn't really realize what all this meant until going out with friends at night. We were always the most conservatively dressed there, literally wearing twice the cloths as other women there. We were always on the lookout for date-rape drugs because there prominence at the bars and clubs were outrageous. This thought led me to think about the gendered roles at other times in England. The men in England are nearly all more "put together" than most American men I know. I recently pictures in my mind a Luther student next to one of the many Nottingham students. Regardless of gender the Nottingham student would be much more dressed up. This is a societal difference and it makes me wonder how it factors into some of the gendered violence in both societies. What does it say about both societies? Specifically, it makes me question the dressing to be "asking for it."

Regardless of societal norms and differences gendered violence is something that nearly all societies must address.