Men Explain Things To Me By Rebecca Solnit

Reading Response to “Looking at Women” written by Scott Russell Sanders is an article about Sanders

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…”

Domestic violence against women is prevalent in almost all the societies in the world. It is an issue which was not even recognised as a crime 40 years ago and is still not recognized as a crime by many societies. Women suffer from violence, including physical, sexual, emotional, and psychological violence by strangers and their partners all over the world (Kaya, 2010). Even though it is a worldwide occurrence, there are some women who face more intense and frequent violence depending on their culture, country, religion,

When I was a child my parents pushed me toward physical activities such as football and other sports, while on the other hand my sister was pushed toward things like music and arts. Whenever I would hurt myself my parents would laugh it off, but they were quick to aid my sister in the event she was hurt. As most people know, women and men are treated differently in how they should act. Men cannot show their emptions, while women are expected to be emotional. Society has strict guidelines on what it means to be a man and a woman, and these guidelines can have negative effects on both genders.

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.

Dating abuse and domestic violence are becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s society. Ten million people per year report to being abused by their partner (CDC, 2010). Due to the majority of the victims being women, however, the media often overlooks men as victims of domestic abuse. According to The National Domestic Hotline, almost 30% of men in the U.S. have experienced some form of domestic violence. Previous research has attempted to examine the different types of abuse as well as the factors that lead less men to report these incidents (James, 2003; Douglas & Hines 2011).

Reflecting upon your inquiries on the first paragraph, the male dominated perspective does not seem to serve men either. You mentioned sexual assault and violence in your post. Associating victims with female gender as well as perceiving female victims as weak does not seems to help understanding how to support male victims of assault and/or violence.

Another demographic group that is abused, is one that many people don’t often think about when they think of domestic violence. “A quarter and a half of all domestic violence victims are men” (Kevan-Graham). Females aren’t the only victims in the world of violence, but as feminist picked up the “anti-abuse”

Jackson Katz made some very strong arguments in his Ted Talk. Katz focused on violence against women and how it is a men’s issue. Katz explained how violence against women are blamed on women instead of men even though they are the one causing the violence. Men are considered the dominant gender which gives them power and privilege, so when they commit violent crimes against women and it goes unnoticed. More simply, when men display violent acts against women they are not confronted or held accountable for their actions.

Every minute twenty four people are victims of abuse in the United States, that’s more than 12 million women a year. People seem to wear a mask until they are behind closed doors. Abuse has affected the victim and suspect both and there are many reasons for everything.

This part of the dissertation will cover the similarities and differences between men and women as victims of domestic violence. The first topic that will be discussed is reporting. It can be difficult to understand or grasp the concept that men can be abused by women and nearly near the rate that women are assaulted and abused by men. In the white paper (Home Office, 2003) domestic violence was mainly described in terms of violence against women, males were largely ignored despite being acknowledged. In the white paper (Home Office 2016) things appeared to be different as male victims were acknowledged which suggests that it is becoming widely known that there is violence against men and it is being viewed as an issue. The Northern Rock Foundation concluded from their research that some males did not report partner abuse because they considered the occurrence too trivial and not worth reporting. Their research also looked into the large differences between the experiences of males and females; it was found that females were the main group to ask for help and also communicate with services. DOJ figures indicated that males are 11 percent less likely than women to report any type of violent crime that they were victims in. Ivankovich suggests that there are a number of explanations why male victims are unwilling to report. Men suffer abuse in silence because they fear that they will not be believed and people may jump to worse conclusions such as he is the perpetrator. Males

Bathhouse, a public place which Shirin Neshat depicted in her film Women without Men, as well as a fantasy of imagination of orientalism, is the name of the exhibition which Veronica Bechtold, Rebecca Gross, Tia Harestad, Lisa O’Connor, Selena Skalisky have curated as their dream feminist exhibition. Inside the space of the Bathhouse, the works of seven artists from all over of the world are chosen as part of the exhibition. All of the art prieces articulate the multiplicity of identity through visual representation across medium, utilizing an array of subjects that ranges from pubic hair to female genitalia, which opens up a conversation on how each artist represent differences by visually engaging the audience.

Societies who failed to acknowledge marital violence to be a violation of women’s human rights, blamed women who are beaten or abused by their intimate partner (Francine Pickup, 2007). Thus making them to feel guilty as they were responsible for choosing the wrong partner (HRSC, 2014). As such they choose to remain silent about their abuse and do not look for legal remedies because they believed it is their fault for being abused (HRSC, 2014). Women may accept to be victimized by men’s violence because they have continuously witnessed their mother, and other female relatives assuming this role. Many women also concealed their abused because they feared stigmatization, rejection and social exile by their families and communities until their

Gender violence is a men's issue. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief (2003), men are accountable for “15 percent of the victims of reported intimate partner violence.” (Men as Victims of Domestic Violence) This is an occurring problem that doesn’t seem to have a solution. The reason why this doesn’t have a solution is that we don’t take the problem seriously and look deeper into this, misogyny. This issue sadly affects everyone all around us, including men.

“Every year in the United States there are over 3 million incidents of domestic violence. That means that every nine seconds a women is beaten by her domestic partner” (Findeley). There are many women that stay silent when being abuse by their partners. The consequences of staying quiet when obtaining abuse can be dangerous and can also lead to death. Many women do not recognize the importance of the fact that there is in speaking out if they are being abuse by their partner. No woman should take domestic abuse by their partners. Every woman deserves a healthy relationship; A healthy relationship involves trust, respect, and consideration for the other person. Domestic abuse has gotten worse during the past years and is still rising up. One can see that domestic abuse can occur everywhere. Domestic abuse is considered a crime and woman should not keep silent when being abuse.