Night And Day Judith Lorber Summary

In this kind of society, men tend to take advantage of women because they know they won’t fight back because the women believe that they cannot fight back. On the topic of rape, Marta is completely ignored when she explains to her family that she was raped. “She

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.

This book review is on the book, Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit, which was published in 2014. Rebecca Solnit writes a book of essays that interprets the silence that women hold towards men in their everyday life. Young women must know the reality that we do not live a fairy tale life where women are treated as royalty by their husband or boyfriend. Women are treated as objects in where men could play with them as if they are dolls, whom they pay attention to whenever they would like to or need something from them. Despite what a woman says to men, all men are always going to have the reason, even if they are not right. The silences that a woman holds towards men are creating an even broader issue towards women in the present and in the future. The author mainly argues that women should not silence themselves and their issues such as abuse, harassment, rape, violence, stalking or any other crimes that are hurting them emotionally and physically. “Violence doesn’t have a race, a class, a religion, or a nationality, but it does have a gender” (Solnit, Men Explain Things to Me, page 21). If women continue not to speak up and take action, men are going to continue to take abuse and control over their power.

Or is rape perpetuated by a small number of men who are at their core, predators? It can also be questioned, is rape a clearly definable crime or are there grey areas? A report from the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network expressed concern that “emphasizing rape culture makes it harder to stop sexual violence, since it removes the focus from the individual at fault, and seemingly mitigates personal responsibility for his or her own actions” (RAINN, 2015). This report was submitted to the White House in order to offer recommendations to the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault policy program; feminist pushed back at this claim pointing out that we live in a patriarchal society, “it shouldn’t be difficult to hold accountable the individuals who commit acts legally defined as rape, while we also discuss how prosecuting rapists is made difficult by those who blame victims and make excuses for men’s violence, all of which is related to the way our culture routinely glorifies other type’s of men’s violence (war, sports, and action movies) and routinely presents objectified female bodies to men for sexual pleasure (pornography, Hollywood movies, and strip clubs)” (Marcotte, 2014). The late feminist Gerda Lerner defined patriarchy as “the manifestation and institutionalization of male dominance over women and children in the family and the extension of male dominance over women in the society in

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”.

Women have been downgraded and mistreated because of their gender. From birth, Women and Men grew up with very different rules to follow. Men were raised to be the head of the house and do work for a living. Growing up as little girls, women were taught to raise their kids and make food for their families. “Strong family structures were necessary because the family was the basis for all other institutions. The government, church, and community all worked through the nuclear family unit.”(“Gender and

Society has conditioned us to believe categorizing genders into “gender boxes” is the norm. We have all heard the classic trite sayings, “Men are the head of the house” or “Women should always cook dinner for their families.” Author, Aaron Devor tackle issues like male and female stereotypes in her article, “Gender Roles Behaviors and Attitudes”; and discusses in depth how gender roles and behaviors are not “natural” and more on the lines of “cultural constructs.” Qualities as such are also identified in Deborah Blum’s article, “The Gender Blur” which reinforces the idea that humans are not born with the stereotypical idea of masculinity and femininity but taught. By highlighting how society has a substantial impact on gender identify, Devor

Throughout our experience, we have encountered so many challenges when it comes to gender in the society. Gender is being used as a basis for stratifying people in the society. In this article, the racial caste system that used to exist in the United State is depicted. In that the black women were denied the access to justice because of their status. They were perceived to be people who do not have any right within the society and no one could believed them when they were raped by the white men because all the court judges were white men according to this article. The women were classified to be from poor background and they should remain at a low class in the society.

Merril Smith’s Encycolpedia of Rape defines the term “rape culture” as “one in which rape and other sexual violence against women . . . [is] both prevalent and considered the norm” (174). Rape is not a new subject in today’s society, its origins reaching far back into history. What causes rape, though? Is it the primal drive of men to exhibit dominance over all women, or do the women share the blame because of the way they dress, act, or do their makeup? Modern American culture would place the blame on the woman who “provoked” the attack; however, a woman should not have to park closer to the building she is entering, nor should she have to carry protection just in case a sexual predator decides that she is his next victim. Men are just as

The term ‘rape culture’ was coined by feminists in the United States in 1970. The term itself was designed to illustrate the ways in which society blamed victims of sexual assault, and how the normalization of male sexual violence was acceptable. Rape culture can stem from the acceptance of rape as a daily occurrence, manifested as a male prerogative. There is a hesitation by the authorities to go against the patriarchal cultural norms, hence linking nonconsensual sex to the cultural disposition of society. The patriarchal perspective of rape culture, embedded with gender inequality and misogyny are passed through generations which ultimately leads to the extensive institutional and social acceptance of rape. Actions which advocate sexist ideals are utilized to justify and validate normative misogynistic perceptions. Rape culture sexualizes violence inflicted upon women, as it serves as a continuum of a society which views a women’s body to be sexually available by default, deriving from the overall domination and objectification of a female. The underlying cause of rape culture is localized as it based upon the social aspects of culture. For example, countries with a prolific ‘war culture’ tend to emphasize violence and masculinity, and therefore rape is viewed as a normal facet of society. I intend to parallel the element of rape culture to the enforcement of social rules and the conditioning of gender roles. I plan on analyzing the notion that within the encompassment of

The definition of masculinity shows young males that in order to be respected, power must be applied upon others and intimidation is the only method of gaining this respect. Through the use of this power and intimidation, females are often oppressed and kept under the control of men. Woman has need of the male in order to gain human dignity, to eat, to enjoy life, to procreate; it is through the service of sex that she gets these benefits; because she is confined to that function, she is wholly an instrumentality of exploitation (De Beauvoir, 360). Males use power over women to reassure their manliness and to portray their masculinity. This violence is not only present in households. It is also present in masculinity versus nature in a capitalist society, where the environment must be altered and destroyed for economic gains. It appears that violence against nature-that is, the impossible and disastrous drive to dominate and conquer the natural world-is integrally connected with domination among humans (Kaufman, 7). Another example of showing this power is through rape and sexual abuse. Through rape, men display their dominance in the most violent and gruesome ways. As Kaufman notes, in the testimonies of rapists on hears over and over again expressions of inferiority, powerlessness, anger (15). By committing this crime, males display their physical strength upon the victim and this is what masculinity is defined as, a display of power and

Social status and structures have definitely shaped the construction and experience of gender inequality. Men and women are constantly analyzed, compared, and grouped together in society. The result of this yields discrepancies in how sexes are viewed by society. Throughout my examination and explanation of gender inequality, I concluded both men and women are victims to gender inequality.

“People dominate animals, men dominate women.” Each is a relation of hierarchy, an inequality, with particularities and variations within and between them. (Cite Orange book pg. 92.) For centuries, women have been viewed and used as a man’s “property”, whether it is being used for sexual satisfaction or for the sake of bearing children and taking care of the home. Men are typically perceived as head of the household and whatever they say goes; anything to satisfy their hunger for power and control. Have women ever had a say about what they want to use their bodies for? Laws against rape may have changed over time, but men’s consistent aggressive behavior unfortunately, has not.

From a young age, we are exposed to gender stereotypes. Television, the Internet, and books define what is “feminine” and “masculine” for a child. Feminine is defined as “having qualities or appearance traditionally associated with women, especially delicacy and prettiness”. Masculine is defined as “having qualities or appearance traditionally associated with men, especially strength and aggressiveness”. Media takes this a step further and dictates exactly what girls and boys can and cannot do. In television and movies, women are mainly portrayed as homemakers and damsels who need a man to reach their full potential. They are often uneducated or seen as less intelligent than their male counterparts. Oppositely, men are portrayed as breadwinners and authoritative figures. They control most aspects of their lives and have more opportunities. According to Common Sense Media, these depictions cause “false assumptions and harmful conclusions”. Little girls learn that are worth less without a man and little boys boys learn that they are above women. The media also feeds into rape culture. Rape culture is the normalization of rape in societies. Rape culture is taught to young girls and boys. Girls are taught tactics to avoid rape and boys are taught that

     Webster’s Dictionary describes rape as the crime of forcing another person to submit to sex acts, especially sexual intercourse. Rape is a crime in which most women cannot defend themselves. The fear of rape plagues every woman at some point or another in her life. The traumatic effects of rape vary from mild to severe, from psychological to physical. This paper will evaluate rape, as well as the effects it has on women, the theory behind male dominance and patriarchy, and differences in demographics.