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Rape: a bigger danger than feminists know
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Cast around as trivial property, banned from the power of knowledge, and forced to conform to a patriarchal society that stripped the fundamental rights of having a voice, to those deemed inferior. Countless instances of female oppression led to feminism movements in waves; undulating and oscillating like the heaving breasts of a tormented soul. Its prevalence still resonates today as subjugation and Feminism are the subject of recurrent themes throughout literature and poetry. Adrienne Rich’s “Rape” explores the physical and violent manifestation of female oppression and male dominance, while Sylvia Plath’s “Mushrooms” ambiguously highlights the stereotypical gender roles and despotism plagued upon women of her time. Although both poets utilize
Is there a crime more heinous than rape? Is there a single word more taboo? Nevertheless, the only actual reference to the physical crime is “the maniac’s sperm still greasing your thighs”. While creating a strong image, Rich methodically does this given that in essence, the poem is not about the act of the crime. It is in regards to how society treats women who have been raped, and further victimizes them. The title has great significance as the purport of rape is not venereal in nature. Its purpose serves the perpetrator autocratic superiority and dominance; one whom the oppressors in “Mushrooms” also share. Despite the fact Plath does not make note of them directly, she references what these mushrooms, or oppressed people, must endure. The line “We are edible,” alludes to how they are consumed and dominated by men, much like a predator and its
Rich, who often teetered the lines of domesticity and prophecy in her literary work (Halpern 54), delivers the poem’s most telling line in the last stanza: “your details sound like a portrait of your confessor”. This allusion is in reference to the Great Persecution and confessors of sin. Under the sovereignty of Constantine the Great, Christians who had had been tortured and victimized, were forced to repent for their “sins” to a confessor in order to be restored in the eyes of society. The cop plays the role of confessor in the poem; the woman, shaken into repentance. Contrarily, Plath’s biblical allusion is undoubtedly less revelatory. She explicitly recounts the third blessing in the Gospel of Matthew, ‘Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth,” (5:5). As weak as women of the time may have been perceived to be, though they faced great adversity, will eventually succeed due to their
Authors can make even the most horrible actions, such as Dustan murdering ten savages in their sleep and justify it; somehow, from both the type of mood/tone set in this piece of literature, along with the powerful word choice he used, Whittier had the ability to actually turn the tables on to the victim (i.e. the ten “savages” who were murdered in their sleep). “A Mother’s Revenge” by John Greenleaf Whittier, is a prime example of how authors can romanticize any situation into how they want to convey their
Let’s imagine you wake up one morning and have been kidnapped by the Society of Music Lovers and they have attached you to a famous unconscious violinist, who has a fatal kidney sickness. Since you are the only one with a similar blood type, the Society of Music Lovers has plugged the violinist’s circulatory system into your own; your kidneys are cleaning the deadly poison from the famous violinist’s blood. It will take him nine months to recover from this illness, but you must remained plugged into him. However, if you desire, you may safely detach yourself from him, but he will die from his illness. Is it morally permissible to unplug yourself from the violinist?
What is it about a woman that defines them, by default, as the weakest gender? Whether it is by a father, boyfriend, or husband, there have been many accounts of women being overshadowed by men in literature and history. In many cases, men feel obligated to protect females, which makes them think they are superior or have power over women. However, men are not aware of the negative effects their "superiority" can have on women: alienation, low self-esteem, incompetence, and even insanity. Two women, from two different short stories, are classic examples of what can happen when women become victims of a patriarchal society. Although these women have their differences, both Emily Grierson, from William Faulkner 's "A Rose for Emily", and the narrator, from Charlotte Perkins Gilman 's "The Yellow Wall-Paper," are related as they are both held back by their dominant patriarchal societies, and in turn are forced into insanity.
The very title of this mock- epic gives the audience a clue, the word "rape" and all its implications bring to mind a heinous crime of violation.
...Sink wrote a very in-depth analysis of the feminist movement in this essay. The general ideas behind feminism helped to organize a basic understanding of how the women’s movement affected Sylvia Plath.
From a very young age children have been taught by their parents that girls do one thing while guys do another. The reason for this is because our parents have been taught by their parents who were taught by their parents and so on and so fourth. When talking to most people about gender roles, they will start to see a pattern in the way they responses they receive, which will leave them with a good idea about how our society has formed the ideas and roles of sexes. Rape culture in modern day society is real and the biggest factors that contribute to it are we have been taught that boys need to grow up tough, girls need to be careful of some men, and that women need to be able to take care of a man and his needs. This way is poisonous to the
Thesis: It is crucial to expose the “poisonous” consequences that are a direct result of a lenient society that allows rape culture to prevail.
At the 2016 Academy Awards, Lady Gaga took the stage for her performance of “Til It Happens to You” from The Hunting Ground – a documentary highlighting the nature of rape and sexual assault on college campuses in the United States. This powerful performance featured dozens of sexual assault survivors joined hand-in-hand, and was introduced by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who brought light to his previously launched campaign against sexual assault called It’s On Us. The aforementioned celebrity engagements are only a piece of the larger conversation about rape and sexual assault on college campuses that has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Whereas this discussion has brought significant attention to the issue of these crimes
Every two minutes, an American is sexually assaulted. According to the U.S. Department of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey, there are an average of 237,868 victims of rape and sexual assault every year. 9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003, and 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of rape in her lifetime. The question people have to ask themselves is why rape is so common. It is time to accept that the rape epidemic is not just about the crimes themselves, but the cultural and political willful ignorance known as rape culture. Rape culture is an environment where rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture has become so common that it is nearly invisible, but it present and strong in everyday life.
While other, less accomplished writers use violence to shock or provoke, Joyce Carol Oates is usually more subtle and inventive. Such is the case in "Naked," the story of a forty-six year old woman whose placid outer identity is ripped away by a brutal assault while out hiking not far from her fashionable, University Heights neighborhood. Like many of Oates' stories—and in this regard she probably owes something to Flannery O'Connor—"Naked" focuses on a woman so entrenched in her rigid self-image that nothing short of violence could make her vulnerable to a humbling, though redemptive, self knowledge.
What is rape culture? Rape culture is something created by society that sexualizes rude and violent behavior as sexy or sexual, inforced mostly be men. Rape is a big problem all around the world, and in some countries, it is accepted by law. It has been stated that 105,000 rapes happen every year in the United States. Most rape happens to female between the ages of 14 and 30. Rape culture is not something that can be ignored, it is a very serious issue that must be addressed. Women are not the only people getting raped however, ⅙ of all men are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. But due to masculinity and the patriarchy, men are afraid to come out and say they were raped. Only 6% of men have committed 5-6 rapes each (Rape Culture).
It is very troubling to hear that 1 in 5 women in University will be victims of sexual assault, and even more so that less than 60% of cases get reported. The purpose of my paper is to put emphasis on how important it is that more people be informed about rape culture, but to also explain how men are just as important in working towards prevention as are women.
McCann, Janet. “Sylvia Plath.” Magill’s Survey of American Literature. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Vol. 5. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 1991. 1626-39. Print.
Last week the White House released a short, celebrity packed, 60-second public service announcement (PSA) on the topic of sexual assault. 1 is 2 Many addressed those who are in control of preventing sexual assault as its intended audience was those who can put a stop to sexual violence: the perpetrators or would-be offenders. Although this one minute announcement completes the task of bringing sexual assault to the forefront of discussion, it fails to encompass central issues of rape culture: societal perceptions, the victim, and the justice system. Sexual assault is a phenomenon that has been around for centuries. The culture of sexual assault is rooted in both legal practices and societal perceptions; in order for its reforms to be effective, they need to target both aspects of rape culture, as one factor by itself is not enough to maintain reforms and foster needed change. The culture of rape—how it is defined, its victims and its offenders (and how they are perceived by society), myths, and its laws—has changed throughout the years, and in particular during the first wave of legal reforms in the 1970’s. Although these legal and social changes are improvements from past conditions, they can be further developed and expanded.
In today’s society marital rape, acquaintance rape, and stranger rape, is a huge crime all around the world. There is a difference between marital rape, acquaintance rape, and stranger rape. Martial rape is when a spouse forces you to have sexual intercourse without ones consent, and it is expected that the wife does her “duty” as a wife to have sex with her husband. An acquaintance rape is with someone that you just met, or dated in the past, or even a fiancé. Stranger rape occurs when someone that you’ve never met forces sexual intercourse upon someone without consent. Because of our patriarchal society, marital rape has become an accepted and overlooked part of society. Whether rape is a crime of sex, sexism or dominance, it is a serious crime and must not be taken lightly. The effects that it has on the individual getting assaulted are not only physical, but mentally damaging.