Comparion of In Seach of Respect by Philippe Bourgous and Shattering Silence by Begona Aretxaga

Piri Thomas’s book Down These Mean Streets takes place in the mid-20th century it incorporates both the harshness of living in an unforgivable environment (Harlem) and the life style that is based on skin pigmentation (that of being a Dark Puerto Rican). Piri is a strong yet brash willed person who finds himself trying to do right but yet finds himself going down a different path. It’s able to break his life in to eatable segments that is easy for not only the reader to comprehend. This is presented in each chapter and sub-chapter enabling us (the reader) to understand the both the theme and the time era.

In the article entitled “The Longest War” from her 2014 book “Men Explain Things to Me”, Rebecca Solnit speaks about the issues surrounding the subject of male violence. She vehemently writes about how the plethora of male violence is being directed solely at women. She explains that a multitude of innocent women around the world are being abused by men. The amount of male violence taking place around the world is staggering; so much of it is happening everywhere. Solnit states the male gender is responsible for the deluge of violence, and that women in all parts of the world emotionally and physically suffer from it.

Philippe Bourgois conducts his research study in a book called “In Search of Respect” and witnesses the many obstacles the people faced when growing up in East Harlem. He focuses on two Puerto Ricans of a drug selling gang who was lead by their boss Ray. They are Primo who manages the Game Room, which is a crackhouse den and Caesar who is one of his lookouts. There was a lot of poverty and East Harlem and Bourgois decided to move their for his research. Throughout the book, he discusses the obstacles that Primo and Caesar had to face of getting a legit job and how the obstacles lead to them becoming drug dealers.

For many decades, women have experienced all forms of oppression and constant violence that threatened their existence in the male-dominated society. Various forms of discrimination and oppression have been directed to women for decades. Violence directed at women such as rape and battery were seen and treated as isolated scenarios. However, as the need to foster gender equality took pace, such oppressive actions are now perceived as elements of a wider system of dominance in the society that that needs to be addressed as a whole rather than in singularity

Throughout history, women have continuously found themselves as the subjects of oppression. Although the treatment of women has drastically changed over time, women are still exposed to much of the violence that exists today. Per the National Organization for Women, “young women, low-income women and some minorities are disproportionately victims of domestic violence and rape” (National Organization for Women, 2016). Women-centered violence is highly prevalent and reoccurring all over the world, even in our local communities. Individuals may be hesitant to consider just how much violence against women affects their communities.

How we dress, talk, and behave can have life or death consequences, with young people particularly at risk. Myself would define it as the ultimate black urban experience. More importantly, I was more engaged to read the book eager to base my own personal experience of my black urban neighborhood to compare to the residents interviews Anderson tackles and the assertion Anderson makes between street" persons from "decent" persons and families, with decent families tending to accept mainstream values, while street values are part of an oppositional culture. In addition, I wanted to see if he is accurate about his assumptions that the constant threat of violence to the circumstances of life among the ghetto stir from poor lack of living-wage jobs, dearth of basic public services, the stigma of race, the fallout from rampant drug trafficking and use, and the ensuing alienation and lack of hope for the future. After just finishing chapter one and two I was amazed and shocked by his knowledge and illustration on the distinction along with the relationships between “street” and “decent”

Another negative effect of gender inequality is the increased fear of violence for women. Women are often portrayed as weak and helpless beings that can easily be taken advantage of. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states that, “Violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families and on society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence –yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned” (Unite to End Violence Againist Women, 2006). Violence against women in the form of rape, spousal abuse, child abuse or spousal killing has become routine behavior over the years, so it rarely even makes the news anymore. “Women aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, motor accidents, war and malaria, according to World Bank data”( Unite to End Violence Againist Women, 2006). Women are often blamed and questioned about their actions if they become the

The role of gender, as it played in the creation of women as social actors, forms the basis for their ability to participate in any form of resistance as well. History of slave rebellion is occupied in a constant project of pacification of enslaved women- a pacification seen as necessary, in the face of danger, to counteract the threat of the black women. History has created a twofold of masculine/active versus feminine/passive, constructing a passivity for women in order to enhance men’s masculinity. Isolating revolt as a masculine

Genocide has long had gendered effects, but those effects have long gone relatively understudied as with many other issues relating to feminism in academic scholarship. By gendering our understanding of power and violence, genocide must be rethought and even perhaps redefined, as the reality of genocide often finds itself in conflict with the genocidal realities women have faced throughout time. Through gendering our understanding of genocide in this analysis, the feminist viewpoint provides important acknowledgements for the effects of these human rights abuses on both men and women. Moreover, we will better understand how the

In “The Longest War,” Rebecca Solnit discusses the vast amount of violence against women and how violence affects women. To begin with, she provides some stark facts: it is statistically proven the male population is more violent than women (522). Additionally, rape takes place more often than the average person knows. This is problematic because violence derives from the need for power and control. Women cannot simply “get out” of violence because of a man’s desire for power over the situation.

Violence against women has existed for centuries and women experience violence in many setting; however, domestic violence is the most prevalent. Abela and Walker (2014) explain that the women’s right movement took place because women were maltreated and oppressed (78). They state that the victimization of women was the reason why the second wave of the feminist movement arose. They also explain that during this time, laws in the Untied States allow men to hit their wives (Abela & Walker 79). Women from different cultures and different economic status have been victims of domestic violence. In this paper, I will focus on domestic violence against women from different cultures. I will present information about the history of domestic violence

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO,2010) a key element to preventing gendered violence is achieving gender equality. Similarly, the Senate report on Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality (Commonwealth of Australia, 2016) recognises that gender inequality in all aspects of life is a main contributor to the prevalence of domestic violence in Australia (p. 3). The United Nations’ (UN) likewise argues that Violence against women is rampant throughout history because of unequal power relations between men and women (UN,

Today, southern states still experience extreme racism towards African Americans simply because they are a ‘minority’. Although ethnic conflict may be inevitable in the modern world, prevention techniques such as understanding other cultures, recognizing warning signs of ethnic violence and developing a plan of action can lead to diplomatic settlements and can help to contain violent outbursts. There is hope to end the racial violence that still exists today. Education for all cultures is now abundant as well as human rights laws that work to prevent the harm of anyone due to their race. Another form of practiced violence in the world is domestic violence. Women seem to always be a target for violence. In ancient Greece, women were practically prisoners in their own homes. They had no rights and they were owned by either their father or their husband. Thus, these men had the right to abuse them. In Medieval times, if a woman got pregnant and decided to attempt an abortion, they were subject to horrible methods of torture and eventual death. Today, the extent of violence slowly diminishes. However, women are generally still targets for abuse in relationships. Domestic violence occurs everywhere in Canada and in the States. Honour killings are still performed to this day in the Middle East. An honour killing is when a woman is suspected of being unfaithful

Barbara Perry’s article “Doing Gender and Doing Gender Inappropriately” addresses violence and gender, and how gender is influenced through the way it is perceived in society. The construction of gender comes in polar extremes, with masculine dominant men and feminine subordinate women. Gendered violence is used to control women as a class. It is a systematic tool used by men to reinforce gender norms and patriarchal ideas of masculine superiority and feminine inferiority. It “terrorizes the collective by victimizing the individual”. Like any dichotomy, it has scripts, and to deviate from these scripts will leave you labeled as ‘unnatural’ and ‘immoral’. These scripts “constrain everything from modes of dress and social roles to ways of expressing emotion and sexual desire”. In Judith Lorber’s “A World Without Gender” we are introduced to the possibility of eliminating gender and how “degendering [would] undercut the patriarchal and oppressive structure of Western Societies”.

Domestic Violence is a human tragedy, and has been a part of life for many individuals. It is not subjective to a particular group, race, or culture. Historically, the feminist movement preserved the theory that domestic violence is a growing matter because of the continuous power differential between the male gender and the female gender. Remarkably, this approach on domestic disputes unveiled the inner workings of barriers men, women, and children would face when in a domestic violence situation. The feminist theory emphasizes on studying “the gendered nature of all relationships…which aims at understanding how gender is related to social inequalities and oppression” (Marsigila & Kulis, 2015, p. 148). Disastrously, an ignorant notion that once dominated our culture was the belief that emotional agony was less painful than physical brutality. However,