Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Men, Women, & Rape
When I first started reading Susan Brownmiller’s piece on “Against our Will: Men, Women, and Rape” I thought that this chapter was going to be a very sensitive one that would make me feel uncomfortable but instead it kind of frustrated me. I feel that her points and comments go too far to some extent and she makes the whole male population look like “terrorist guerrillas”. Brownmiller seems to contradict herself because she states that she believes that rape was not a feminist issue but an individual crime. Throughout this chapter we see evidence of her arguing that the threat of rape supports male dominance by keeping women in fear and also reliant on protecting themselves from the opposite sex. The first opening paragraph is very strong and implies that males use their genitalia as a weapon and that ultimately because of the fear of rape all women have this embedded intimidation towards all men. I do not agree with this statement as I am a woman and do not have these feelings towards ALL men as stated. Brownmiller argues that a world without rapists would be a world in which women moved freely without fear of men. What also frustrates me is how many people feel the need to critique and analyze fairy tales or Disney movies and try to convince the general public that there are hidden meanings throughout the story lines. I can see where Brownmiller is coming from when analyzing Little Red Riding Hood, but can’t decide if I agree with if I feel the theme of rape is trying to be portrayed by the original author of the fairy tale.
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I agree with most of Amanda’s response to Brownmiller; I think the author makes some sweeping generalizations that bring us no closer to a better mentality about rape or sexual dynamics in general. However, I don’t think Brownmiller intended to imply that the children’s stories she uses as examples are about rape, as Amanda has read it. Rather, I think she alludes to these stories as a means of showing how deeply rooted this mentality of male aggression and protection/subordination of women is in our society. Using children’s stories also reveals how early in life we are socialized into this perception. So, I agree with Amanda that Brownmiller’s examples are a bit off putting and come off as an unfair generalization.
ReplyDeleteAmanda also touches on Brownmiller’s accusation that men use their genitalia as a weapon to control women. I think this is pretty unfair as well because it could be argued that women use their bodies to control men just as much, it is just in a very different way. But this opens up a whole new can of worms in terms of agency and whether or not women are really choosing to use their bodies in this way or if they are being pressured by men and society to do so.