A Concept of Violence

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Recommended: Introduction to colonization

Shyntia Briones

Women’s Violence and Africa Dispora

Profesor: D. Turner

Fall 2011

A Concept of Violence

Thoughout history acts of violence have been committed against humanity, based on evidence read in this course, the most targetted has been women and even more women of African descent. An act of violence, it’s consider both, to prevent someone other than one self from meeting the basic needs and spectrums represented as a form of crime, in which the actions victimizes somebody; physically, emotinally and mentally. The rise of violence intensified when colonizers conquered a New World, the lack of acceptance of different people, allowed White supremacy mentality to become a tool of subordination that worked in cycles and affected, first indiginous people and then African slaves.

Even thought it was mentioned that violence was mostly targeted to women, in the essay “The Hidden Struggle” by Amina Mama she states that: “The assumption that violence against women is necessarily or intrinsically ‘male’, for example, has been challenged by black women in the West.” (Mama, 00). One of the most horrendous crimes that agravates physically and emotionally at the victims and society in general are itentional homocide, rape, and aggrevated assault, and in the case of men, castration during lynchings by White men. In these incidents the amount of violence used is great, provoking criminal incidence and victimization. The acts of rape during colonialism to maintain White power obdurate for generations, as well as the fact that there was an absence of laws to prohibit or stop these acts against women slave. White man utilize and categorize women african slaves, when regarded them as a property, in the essay Scenes of...

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...er is definately not.

White supremacy and society in general alongside interprets the inability to see racism, classism, homophobia, and imperialism as forms of violence, it is both a reflection of and a mechanism to solidify white women’s privilege. That is, privileged white women cannot stand not being able to claim status as victims of gender oppression as we exposed through this course’s discussions when race, class, sexuality, disability, and nation complicate this status. The Color purple exposes this point magnificent when Sofia is forced to serve the major’s wife and child bear her kids for her. White women enjoy their roles of saviors and will readily cast women of color in order to capture the liberator roles for themselves when they confronted with their roles as oppressors they quickly turned to been victims as well.

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