Saturday, February 14 is not only just Valentine's Day. It is also V-Day, a worldwide movement of people dedicated to raising awareness about violence against women. The campaign was begun by Eve Ensler (author of The Vagina Monolouges) eleven years ago. She travels the world, often with another noted activist, doing speaking tours, concerts, etc in order to raise money and awareness. This year, V-Day is focusing on women and sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Why write about this? First of all, gender based violence is something which lies close to my heart. I volunteer at my local domestic violence shelter, so violence against women is something I think about often (unfortunately). Last night I was reading a book, Family and Friends Guide to Domestic Violence while on my shift, and the author made it very clear that domestic violence is not just a gender issue: it's a human rights issue. That made me pause. Of course it is a human rights issue! To me, it's fairly simple: women are humans too; therefore, violence perpetrated against them in whatever form (beatings, FGM, stonings, etc) is a human rights issue. But do we ever think of domestic violence as a human rights issue? I believe it is framed more as a personal issue due to the private nature of domestic violence. This framing makes outsiders less likely to intervene and more likely for women to feel isolated in her position, not sure which way to turn for help. How is it that we can easily frame the incarceration of prisoners at Guatanamo naval base in Cuba as a human rights issue, but we cannot do the same for a victim of domestic violence who was brutally beaten by her husband, and her son managed to capture the violence on tape? (One would think that the videos were this man's meal ticket to jail: he only was sentenced to nine months) The question with which I am now struggling is how do we change the perception around domestic violence to a human rights issue?
I'm not sure what the answer is. Maybe treating women more like humans is the answer? Again, perhaps the answer lies in a reframing of the issue of domestic violence. Great strides have been made against domestic violence in this country in order to force the issue out of the private sphere and into the public, but more work needs to be done on both the home front and at the international level. In honor of V-Day, reflect on the women around the world who suffer from gender-based violence. Go to the V-Day website and read one article about women in the DRC. Go to the website of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch and read an article about violence against women in any country. Take a stand against the massive human rights violations happening every day across the world. This is not a private issue.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Sexuality
One thing I worry about with this blog is that it will seem discombulated, as if there is no one real theme or thread tying all the posts together. Having never blogged before, I'm not really sure if it's a bad thing if there's discontinutity from one post to the next. My first post focused on equal pay, this post I want to focus on sexuality. What's the theme? Just my passion for thinking about/discussing these issues.
This might come off as more of a venting post. This focuses on many discussions I've had with various friends about how sexuality is perceived in America. The problem? Sexuality is seen as being dichotomous: gay or straight, black or white, with no room in the middle for something else. I believe in sexuality (and gender!) as being a spectrum; less of an either/or type of deal, and more of a fluid concept. Some people are straight-they are only interested in members of the opposite sex, they know that, they embrace it, that's fabulous. Some people are gay, queer, homosexual-only romantically involved with members of the same sex. But what of the middle? Why isn't there more of a discussion of bisexuality in this country?
Is it that people fear bisexuality? That "crossing the line" so easily makes it possible for all people to love whomever? Or maybe it's that bisexuals don't fit the same sorts of stereotypes that gay people do...they move "under the radar," in a sense? However, even in the queer community bisexuals are a minority. Are bisexuals not "gay" enough?
I think much of the problem lies with the fact that being gay is not at all entirely accepted or understood in this country (and that's putting it mildly, in my humble opinion). Any sexuality outside of heterosexuality is seen as the "other." Thus, being gay is wrong, and being bisexual is downright inconceivable. Why not stay on the side of privledge? Why can't this person just chose a side?
I'm not entirely sure what the point of this sort of ranting is all about. I guess it's coming from my experience, as a girl who dated a boy and then finally came to terms with the fact that I'm primarily attracted to women. I've found that people need to know where I fall on the spectrum, and interestingly, whether or not I would date a man again. It comes from my bisexual friends coming to me and talking about how difficult it is to come out to their friends, or talk about their bisexuality with their families, because no one seems to understand their feelings and they're frustrated over the lack of recognition that their sexuality is legitimate. Am I making any sense? Thoughts?
This might come off as more of a venting post. This focuses on many discussions I've had with various friends about how sexuality is perceived in America. The problem? Sexuality is seen as being dichotomous: gay or straight, black or white, with no room in the middle for something else. I believe in sexuality (and gender!) as being a spectrum; less of an either/or type of deal, and more of a fluid concept. Some people are straight-they are only interested in members of the opposite sex, they know that, they embrace it, that's fabulous. Some people are gay, queer, homosexual-only romantically involved with members of the same sex. But what of the middle? Why isn't there more of a discussion of bisexuality in this country?
Is it that people fear bisexuality? That "crossing the line" so easily makes it possible for all people to love whomever? Or maybe it's that bisexuals don't fit the same sorts of stereotypes that gay people do...they move "under the radar," in a sense? However, even in the queer community bisexuals are a minority. Are bisexuals not "gay" enough?
I think much of the problem lies with the fact that being gay is not at all entirely accepted or understood in this country (and that's putting it mildly, in my humble opinion). Any sexuality outside of heterosexuality is seen as the "other." Thus, being gay is wrong, and being bisexual is downright inconceivable. Why not stay on the side of privledge? Why can't this person just chose a side?
I'm not entirely sure what the point of this sort of ranting is all about. I guess it's coming from my experience, as a girl who dated a boy and then finally came to terms with the fact that I'm primarily attracted to women. I've found that people need to know where I fall on the spectrum, and interestingly, whether or not I would date a man again. It comes from my bisexual friends coming to me and talking about how difficult it is to come out to their friends, or talk about their bisexuality with their families, because no one seems to understand their feelings and they're frustrated over the lack of recognition that their sexuality is legitimate. Am I making any sense? Thoughts?
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