Blog 5- Natasha Doty

Chapter 10

 1.) The first clip displays the period of time in the shift to the women's liberation movement. At 0:16 the woman says, "Wanna be two girls on a corner soapbox, or do you wanna go to Washington and play with the big lads?"  Another woman then says, "... She thinks Congress is gonna suddenly roll over and give women the vote?"  These quotes both suggest that these women are fighting for women's rights. Additionally, they mention Woodrow Wilson, who was president from 1913-1921, and in 1920 the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. I think there was a racial bias in this video clip, because African American women were working for women's suffrage as well, such as members of Delta Sigma Theta at Howard University in 1913.

Black Sorority Project: www.blacksororityproject.com

(jwhite1906, 2006)

The second clip is focused on the civil rights movement. I think it is less biased than the first clip, however, I still don't think we can say for certain because most of us see this situation from being part of the privileged group. I think women in these times would have been motivated to practice discretion in respect to race to maintain their elite social status. It is necessary to get the subordinate group to agree with you enough that they do not harm your cause; however, they still saw themselves as superior. As stated by bell hooks (2000), "Yet many of these individuals moved from civil rights into women's liberation and spearheaded a feminist movement where they suppressed and denied the awareness of difference they had seen and heard articulated firsthand in civil rights struggle. Just because they participated in anti-racist struggle did not mean that they had divested of white supremacy, of notions that they were superior to black females, more informed, better educated, more suited to "lead"  a movement" (p. 55-56). 

2.) Yes, I do think this "evolution of perspective" is paralleled in our generation. One is example we've already talked about is with sexual orientation and the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell." With fear of being discharged from the military, gay service members would not introduce their sexual orientation. However, with society becoming more open, Don't Ask Don't Tell has been repealed, allowing service members to be open about their sexuality. While gay service members were still subordinated through Don't Ask, Don't tell, society's greater freedom to discuss these issues gave these members more support. I believe this idea of "evolution of perspective" is positive, because it leads to a more unified human race and allows injustices to be called out. This video shows two different perspectives on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, both from military veterans. 

Don't Ask, Don't Tell's potential repeal gets reaction in Tucson

(KOLDNEWS13, 2010)

Chapter 11

First, let me start off by saying that it bothers me that it seems like the violence of women against men is minimized, as well as that there is no mention of the violence of men against men in same-sex relationships. As stated by  bell hooks (2000), "Initially feminist focus on domestic violence highlighted male violence against women, but as the movement progressed evidence showed that there was also domestic violence present in same-sex relations, that women in relationships with women were and are oftentimes the victims of abuse, that children were also victims of adult patriarchal violence enacted by women and men. . . Clearly most women do not use violence to dominate men (even though small numbers of women batter the men in their lives) . . . " (p. 61, 64).  According to the Domestic Violence Resource Center (2012), between 100,000 and 6 million men are the victims of domestic violence every year, depending on the type of survey used. Even if it was only one male experiencing domestic violence, doesn't he also deserve the right to help and resources?

1.) I think the underlying causes of this violence are the culture of male domination, and also from seeing what your parents did growing up. Those who lived in a household of or were abused are more likely to abuse themselves. I think people refuse to link the violence to patriarchal thinking or male domination because males are the dominant group, who therefore shape this history. The victims of this violence also sometimes blame themselves out of shame for their situation, and think that it is their fault. People who this violence happens to are also sometimes seen as having brought it upon themselves by society. This picture from one of my friend's Facebook walls, I think illustrates this point well: 

 2.) Domestic violence between spouses and children are definitely related. First, children can become directly involved in the violence by trying to "save" one of the parents, or by the parents taking their outburst of anger on a child who just happens to be in the way. Additionally, children can become involved emotionally/psychologically by seeing the violence. It can impact their sense of stability, safety, and idea of a healthy relationship as well as set a path to possibly enact this behavior in their future relationships. Most parents would do anything for their kids, but might not always think about how their actions impact their children in the heat of the moment. I think this issue can be brought into a greater light by educating parents on how this violence is impacting their children and the lasting consequences it can have. We can begin to resolve spousal violence by educating current and future generations on healthier ways to resolve relationship problems, so that hopefully these new ideals will become embedded in our society.

Domestic Violence Resource Center. (2012). Domestic violence statistics. Retrieved from: 

     http://www.dvrc-or.org/domestic/violence/resources/C61/#mal

hooks, b. (2000). Feminism is for everybody: Passionate politics.