Essay about Legacy and Respect: The Usefulness of Feminism

Rebecca Solnit’s article focuses on the ways male violence negatively affects women. Harassment from men directed at women keep women from speaking up, and many women are living in constant fear of male violence. They live in a constant state of fear because they are aware male violence is taking place around them. Women are also afraid of potential male violence because men openly express authoritative behavior. She explains men feel they have the validity to control and abuse women. Specifically, a man will approach a woman with the expectation that the woman will return the man with a sexual favor. For example, “a woman was stabbed after she rebuffed a man’s sexual advances while she walked in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood late Monday night…”

The next issue I am going to talk about is why females become feminists. Anna Quindlen states in her article On Being

This essay will discuss the ways in which gender influences patterns and processes of victimisation, identifying key victimological perspectives and typologies. It will consider key authors in the discipline and offer definitions of terms used. The essay will identify three issues which may impact on gendered victimisation before acknowledging the argument that radical victimology offers a more balanced approach to gendered victimisation than positivist or critical viewpoints.

The introduction of Nils Christie’s ‘Ideal victim’ theory (1986: 18) refers to victims of crime who can attain the status of a legitimate victim in the eyes of the public. Christie outlines a criteria which needs to be followed in order to gain this full status of a ‘legitimate victim’. Christie’s ‘ideal victim’ however is not the same as a legal victim and often real victims of crime deviate far from the concept of the ideal victim (Beck & Janbakhsh 2010). This therefore means that using Christie’s ideal victim theory to give someone the title of a legitimate victim is often detrimental. Male victims of sexual assault often deviate from the ‘ideal victim’ criteria set out by Christie, this means that when they encounter the justice system, their experiences are often marginalised or discounted entirely.

An ‘ideal victim’ is someone who has played no part in their victimisation by an offender who was wholly responsible for the incident. The public can relate to the ‘ideal victims’ ordeal and although they have been through an awful sometimes incomprehensible experience society views the ‘ideal victim’ “as pure, blameless (hence passive) people against whom an evil act was omitted by a depraved individual” (Spalek, B. 2006 p25). Although most people can relate to an ‘ideal victim’ there is a ‘positivist perspective’ in victimology that defines the behaviour and circumstances of people can have a direct contribution to their victimisation. However, the ‘feminist perspective’ would argue that by suggesting a victim had aided in their

What does it mean to be a Feminist? Does it automatically mean you hate men or does it mean you're an activist for women's rights? Contrary to popular belief, feminism is not about establishing a superior gender. It is about fighting for equality and destroying the social, cultural and historical norms set upon women throughout the world. The Twenty-first century has brought change and growth to female empowerment. Although, in many parts of the world women are given the same rights as men, they are still treated and viewed inferior to men. G.I. Jane perfectly illustrates the struggle women have gone through, even when given “identical” opportunities as men.

Mandell argues that regardless of class, race, age, sexual orientation, woman are subject to male violence. Nothing can protect women in a patriarchal society. Violence against women ranges from verbal and physical abuse to sexual abuse, rape, pornography, battering and rape. (Mandell, Fifth Edition) Violence against woman is common and persistent. Thirty years ago, most forms of violence against women were hidden under a cloak of silence or acceptance. SOURCE Although, years later, it became apparent that violence against woman occurs on a massive scale; that no woman is immune. She emphasises that women are targets to be victimized. Men are socialised to objectify woman, legitimate aggression, and blame woman for their own victimization. ‘Where woman dominate, men have to resort to greater use of force to remain dominant’. (Mandell, Fifth Edition) They set the glass just high enough, so women cannot reach to break it, keeping the male in the dominate position.

The term is often related with negative meanings of powerlessness, passivity, and some victims could be even perceived as inferiors. It is also important to note that when the word ‘victim’ is gendered, it is biased towards the female sex. Therefore, assumptions that females are passive and weak also coincide with the assumptions of victims. The alternative term ‘survivor’ is sometimes preferred, particularly by feminists, as it places emphasis on their strength and the severity of the experience with crime. In addition, groups may also be victims; usually involving a type of hate crime such as racism or homophobia.

Furthermore, your last paragraph (para. 3) is, I believe, a significant contribution of the feminist theory. Systematic oppression of female (and other minorities’) voice in history has influenced people’s experiences and responses. The feminist perspective normalizes minority groups’ experiences. At the same time as Muzak (2009) pointed out, it is important that we do not get stuck in the victim’s

At the beginning of the semester when I was asked if I was a feminist, I thought the answer was pretty obvious. I didn’t consider myself a feminist, nor did I ever think I would ever become a feminist, but what I didn’t understand about feminism, was that I didn’t truly understand what it meant to be a feminist. After months of studying gender, I now have a better understanding of what it exactly means to be a feminist. In my opinion, a feminist is someone who wants equal rights for women and men, and what I mean by equal rights, is equality across the board, which includes the political landscape, religious landscape, the free market, the jobs market, ETC. Although that definition is not one that is widely accepted in the academic environment,

For the record, feminism by definition is: ‘the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.’ It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. (Watson 1)

In other studies, women have been found to be more sympathetic toward the victim compared to the men. However, the victim’s gender has been found to play a less important role in influencing the women, as they are more likely to believe the domestic abuse victim and either call the police or recommend that the victim press charges against the perpetrator (Poorman, Seelau, & Seelau, 2002). Therefore, when women and men are involved in a romantically abusive relationship, the gender roles as well as their expectations may dictate the perceived acceptability of the abuse. For instance, the men are traditionally believed to be bigger and stronger, while

It looks as if women are meant to be the prey of any crime. More than often it is seen as a cliche to see women as the victim in crime. Though it is true; “Criminal Victimization: Lifetime Prevalence, Reporting to Police, and Psychological Impact”, is a study on the percentage of women that have been made victims, and the future out out come of the wome. The article is by Dean G. Kilpatrick and colleagues. Researchers that chose to investigate this topic often have to face a barrier of non-reported crimes that may range from assault to robbery. The main reason someone will not report their attack is because the victim will blame the attack on himself or the victim doesn’t want to take the chance of be put to shame.

Before reading, the text “We Should All Be Feminist” my views towards “feminism” was to some extent not part of my knowledge. I have heard of it before from politicians and news story headlines, on how feminist women would go out and protest to the streets for job rights, or to demand a better paid for the female gender. At the end of the day, ¬I had my own definition of what I thought about “feminism” just in case I was to be ask in the future. The definition I came up with was “a woman that hopes for equality to the female gender all over the world.” Personally, I was not sure if that was the “right” definition for the word “feminism,” but that is how I saw it in my own perspective, throughout my short understanding years. From there my only

Also, “Feminist researchers have criticised the above approaches, suggesting that examining victims’ behaviour for its role in the perpetration of a crime may constitute blaming the victim, thereby holding them responsible for their plight.” (Spalek, B 2006). Feminist would also criticize the way in which the positivist approach uses victim perception to address rape victims. They would argue that this leads to victim blaming and lack of trust within the criminal justice system, this could then results in secondary victimisation.