Sex and Violence

This article is about sexual harassment and how it affects and is affected by men and women. Rhode talks about how the victims are generally the ones that are trying to defend themselves in court not the alleged perpetrators. She says that a lot of Americans believe that sexual harassment is over exaggerated and that it really doesn’t happen that much when it actually happens quite frequently. She said that 90% of women under 50 in the military have been sexually harassed even though they claim to have a zero tolerance policy. She also talks about how many people feel that a woman would be much better off to just not even mention the things that happen.

I completely agree with this, which is unfortunate. There are a lot of setting at work where someone will “jokingly” say something inappropriate to a woman and really what other choice does she have than to just laugh it off. If you go and make a formal complaint then you were have many more repercussions to face which might just end your job. Its horrible.
Rhode talks about several very vulgar and humiliating instance that women have been put in by men and when it was taken to court the judge said that they really didn’t have a case. In some ways this shocked me and in other ways it didn’t.
She says that not only do we need to respond to the people that are engaging in these actions but in the institutions that are perpetuating them. I agree with this statement. Unless workplaces are really going to get behind their policies than I wouldn’t expect any significant changes.
She also talks about violence against women. It has been found that judges devalue aggression and domestic violence when it is brought to the courtroom. They say that women “exaggerate.” She says that 90% of domestic assaults and a majority of domestic violence arrests never result in prosecution and less than 10% of those that do result in any jail time.
People feel that if there was really a problem the women would leave the relationship but seriously?? How do they expect these women to leave when someone, bigger and stronger and very threatening, is telling them everyday that if she leaves him he will kill her? The legal system is not taking the time to look at the thought process and the mental state of battered and abused women. Many times they feel that they just cannot get out and I find this information really frustrating.
The topic of rape is covered as well. There is of course the stereotype that good guys don’t rape women and only sluts get raped. Clearly this is false. There is the misconception that rape is about sexual gratification when really it is about power and domination. There are just so many things that people do not understand that leads to the way society views these problems. Most women are raped by men they know, not strangers. Up until not that long ago, isn’t wasn’t even a crime for a wife to be raped by her husband, she was his property and he could do what he pleased with her.
All of this is just crazy I think and I also think it’s a huge problem in our society. I’m sure a good portion of the women in this class have experienced inappropriate comments that can be uncomfortable and even threatening. I think that some men just aren’t able to see this from a woman’s point of view. Most men would love that kind of attention from a women as Rhode mentions in this article but how much of a threat do they see women as? I just don’t think it’s the same when it’s the other way around.
I like the points that were raised in this article. I feel that this is stuff that probably most of us, especially in this field, know by now but its stuff that a lot of people don’t realize.