LEARNING MODULE NINE
Due Sat. 4/9 by noon
What would you do to end sexual violence at the University of Alabama?
Using your articles for this week, write 1-2 paragraphs demonstrating your understanding of the social systems and social conditions that support male sexual violence against women and other men on college campuses. Then in 1-2 paragraphs, build upon the “Feminist Frat Boys” article and reflect upon some possible forms of action/activism that you and your peers (as well as the larger University system) can take to end sexual violence on the UA campus.
The most important thing about ending sexual violence is simply raising awareness and informing people about the dangers of what is out there. Patriarchy, to me is the one key example of why men feel they are entitled to making sexual aggressions towards women and other men. With this, their sense of power of women not only in the household but also in society as a whole allows men to take out their sexual pleasures on others. By society placing this privilege on men they feel able to get away with horrific acts of violence. On this campus the majority of rapes and other sexual harassments (as said by the class speaker) are normally people known by their victims. This is a scary statistic, especially with the number of people drinking around Alabama. I know that alcohol is a not “the reason” perpetrators attack woman, but it puts the woman in a more vulnerable position. By simply letting women know what is actually happening around this campus could potentially open their eyes and prevent further attacks.
ReplyDeleteThe article the “Seven P’s” by Michael Kauffman, was a good illustration of how men can get involved and spread the word about sexual violence. I feel as though many men feel emasculated by getting involved with feminist movements. However, that is not true at all and many men would be more respected by women for getting the knowledge out there.
My friends and I could help the transition of ending sexual violence, by holding a speaker at our sorority house and informing all of friends. From there the word could be spread, and other people around campus could hear about how to prevent violence against them. Also I would encourage my friends to take WS200 because I have learned so much through this class and sexual violence is just one important example.
Sexual Violence occurs all over the United States every day. Another place that it occurs on a daily basis is on The University of Alabama’s campus. Although it happens all over campus, a main location is at the fraternity houses. I feel that in most fraternities they think of girls as objects and only that. There have been many stories I have heard that lead me to believe that fraternity brothers all influence each other to act a certain way. Many of the readings this week discuss the fraternity house being the main location of sexual violence.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it may be a main location there are other places that this sexual violence against women occurs. I believe that male role models demonstrate this kind of behavior and that is what others believe to be the norm. I would create a walk around the quad in the middle of the day to make people aware of what goes on around this campus like sexual violence. I think that The University of Alabama should allow speakers to go into the fraternity and sorority houses and give speeches about sexual violence that occurs on this campus.
@ally Scofield ally i think your blog today was very good. i definitely agree with having speakers at the fraternity and sorority houses about sexual violence on this campus.
ReplyDelete@Claire Manas-
ReplyDeleteI agree that many (not all) fraternity guys take advantage of girls, and that they do encourage their "brothers" to have sex and be violent. I also hear about them beating each other up for no reason.. and I dont really see the point in that!
The past articles that were assigned all dealt with why men feel the need to treat women poorly through violence and sexual advancements. Basically, our society conditions men to think in a certain way. As a boy grows up he is always told to act like a man, to repress his emotions, and to be tough. Parents teach their young boys this in hopes he will become masculine and not feminine. This is not a great way to teach young boys because they learn that it is wrong to have any type of feelings. In some cases, young boys observe their father treating the mother poorly, and sometime physically abusing her. When the boy grows up he may end up physically or mentally abusing his wife because repressed feelings from his childhood are coming back, therefore he thinks this type of behavior is acceptable.
ReplyDeleteIn other cases, males on campus may feel the urge to take advantage of a woman because he was conditioned to think he was the one with power, or the one in control. A man may see an intoxicated female and feel that it is his right to make sexual advances on her, with or without her permission. People who rape men or women are absolutely sick. I do not understand how the person committing the act does not feel bad or guilty for doing such a thing.
On college campuses, fraternity boys are everywhere. They also throw extravagant parties with lots of free alcohol to girls. Fraternity boys are also taught by their fellow brothers that men are above women and they are sometimes even instructed to “hook up” with a girl. If the guy does not he can sometimes be punished. So when the boys have these parties they sometime put more liquor in the girls drinks or even drug them with date rape drugs. The only actions that can be taken by the University itself is to educate the fraternity boys that this type of behavior is unacceptable and affects the woman much more than they understand. Actions that women themselves can take is to either avoid frat boys, or their parties. If that is not an option they can always bring a girl friend with, and always watch their drinks. Hopefully violence and sexual rape will be ended or at least chances lowered if the boys are educated.
@ Ally Scofield- I completely agree with you when you say that By letting women know what is going on around campus it could prevent attacks. If we actually knew how many attacks happened we may be more careful.
ReplyDeleteTo end sexual violence at the university of Alabama I would try to post meetings and have conferences about sexual violence occurring at the university. There are many events that one can hold to try and get peoples awareness about sexual violence. I think that there could even be a class that is held by the university to try and explain the severity of sexual violence in the university. People constantly bringing it up and that how bad it can effect people who have gone through this terrible event, will eventually get through the people who have committed such crimes and hopefully they will understand what harm they are causing.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that a fraternity house is the most dangerous place for college girls. That is not the issue at hand right now. The question is what can I do to prevent sexual violence at my university. I am currently engaged in an organization through my fraternity called These Hands Don’t Hurt. It focuses on raising money on for women who have sexually assaulted by a partner. We cannot stop every rape that happens on campus but raising awareness is the most a person can do. Hopefully things like that can help girls be more aware of their surroundings when they go to parties and be safer and not get really drunk and not pay attention. I feel terrible for all the women that have been raped and wish that somehow I could reverse the outcome but women know that this a dangerous world and you can trust no one. It is up to all of us to help raise awareness and make a difference.
Ending sexual violence anywhere, not only on our campus, is a serious issue. I think that programs that educate people on what really happens in closed doors at a frat house, party, or any other setting will enlighten them on this sensitive subject. Even though this is the most popular answer, AWARENESS is still the most accepted suggestion. Getting to people by making them feel the pain of a sexually assaulted male or female could encourage them to spread the word and try to strive for a change.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think the idea about fraternities is completely preposterous. If I was to join a frat, I would for reasons like brotherhood, to make friends, and to become more popular. True enough, women are sought at but I WOULDN'T dare do something that would even make women think that I would rape her or even make her feel uncomfortable around me.
Supposedly social systems and environments like fraternities and other male dominated settings can support male sexual violence against women on campus. It may be true that if a male is in a dominant situation, he may react violently but that is solely depending on the individual. Everyone is aware of what is right and what is wrong whether in a fraternity or any other school affiliated groups. It is ultimately their decision on whether or not they would commit such a vicious act.
To end the sexual violence on campus I would educate men and women about dangerous situations so they can avoid them. It would be mandatory to take classes educating you on the severity of the situations. You would also have to speak to rape survivors and get a first hand view point of what it means to be raped or molested. I feel that the problem is that men don’t understand what its like to be objectified the way women are.
ReplyDeleteAs a man I can try and put myself in the position of a woman all day but I’ll never truly understand what it is. The closest I can come is to hear personal accounts of what others have been through. The only way to get through to people is to educate them on what they don’t know. You stop crimes by raising awareness and getting people involved and that is what we would need to do on campus.
One of the big reasons sexual violence occurs is because of the way men are being raised and treated while they are young. If a little boy scrapes his knee, a common response from his dad is "Grow up! Be a man!" and that "Men do not cry!!" This repression of feelings is not healthy. Nobody should be told that it is wrong to express how they are feeling. It would make men as a whole more sensitive and less power-hungry which would lead to less violence and ending sexual violence. Whenever I see or hear something about a woman being attacked, harassed, beaten, or raped, it makes me want to go up to the perpetrator and ask them "What if that was your mom? How would you feel if someone did what you did to your mom?" The patriarchy boys are taught to have over women leads to their feeling of entitlement to use a woman's body however they choose and that the woman's consent or feelings do not matter and are not important in the least. Realizing that women are people and deserve an equal amount of respect as men is an important first step that needs to be taken.
ReplyDeleteI think that a required class on sexual assault and violence for freshmen and new students at the university. I agree with Rod's idea about having speakers who are survivors of sexual assault because I think it would good for people to see the aftermath and the emotional damage that the perpetrators cause in their victims' lives and how it has changed their lives, how they see themselves, as most women seem to develop body image issues with themselves after being attacked. This way of raising awareness would really get to through to kids and make men think twice before raping, taking advantage of, beating, or attacking a young woman on campus.
The best way to prevent any cause or help something that is happening on a campus or elsewhere is to inform the people within that community. Many people do not even realize what is going on in their communities much less on their college campus. If it were up to me and my friends to raise awarness on sexual violence we would gather information and statistics and begin to inform the people on what's going on and what we can do to prevent it from happening in the future. Some of the readings give examples of how society feeds into the ideas and understanding of men vs. women. Society leads men to believe that this is the way they are meant to behave.
ReplyDeleteAnother way to change the path of sexual violence exaulted from frat boys is for the older frat boys to stand up to the younger ones like the one in the article. I feel as if one frat boy speaks up then another may do the same. You never know who feels the same way but is afraid to speak up about it. If frat boys teamed up with feminist or even students of a women's studies class I think that there will be changes being made and that this horrible cycle can be reversed.
Most sexual violence occurs because men want to exert control over women, They want to feel power, and they do so by controlling the women in their life or just any woman walking by. The men that commit these acts feel as if they can do whatever they want, even if it is against a woman's will. This is sad because it is ruining so many women's lives, just so a man can feel big and powerful. So many women are affected by this, and something needs to change.
ReplyDeleteTo stop this we as a society have to stop making men feel that they are born with entitlement. We have to stop making them feel that they are here to dominate women, and we have to stop making them feel that they have a right to treat women however they like. We have to raise awareness to the issue,and change our view of men and women's roles as a society. Men and women have to stand against this together for something to change.
Rape and sexual violence on college campuses is ridiculous. The statistics against college women are shocking. I believe that is because college campuses create the environment for it. There is a lot of partying and drinking. Also, most girls do not think that it will happen to them, so they may not be as cautious as they should be. There has been a lot of reported incidents that happen at fraternities on college campuses. They are said to create the environment for these things to happen, because they make their members feel powerful, and have that sense of entitlement. However, this is not something new that fraternities are doing, it is a problem that society is creating. Many boys get this view of them being in control because society teaches it to them that from a young age. I see though, how fraternities may create that environment, especially with the parties and drinking.
To stop this violence on campus, we need to bring awareness to the issue. If an incident occurs, it does not need to be downplayed, it needs to be made a big deal of. As a campus we need to stand against it, and show that it is something we are not going to tolerate. We need to take on this issue as a whole.
To end sexual violence the University, I would have to make everyone aware of the problem at hand. I could do this many ways, by sending out many crimson e-mails; have a booth in the Ferguson center, posters, speakers, and flyers. I know I cannot end sexual violence by myself, but I can help make an impact in at least two people’s lives, and maybe others that I make aware, they will pass it on through word of mouth and much more people will know. But I can’t do it alone.
ReplyDeleteMany men have committed sexual violence towards a woman, but the most common that most people don’t talk or really think about are fraternity boys. Their main goal for each party is to get a girl. Think about fraternity parties at the University, mostly girls are allowed in unless a guy is on a list or knows someone at the specific fraternity. In my opinion, I don’t think fraternity parties should be the most common, but I can see sexual violence happening, but maybe not being too harsh.
@Claire the walks sounds like a really good idea to get people aware. It could raise money to help people who have already experienced sexual violence, and make others have a better understanding.
ReplyDelete@Rebecca I think the required class idea would be good but at the same time, I don't their would be enough to talk about for a semester. Maybe included in the semester they can organize some type of huge project of awarness.
ReplyDeleteIn order to prevent sexual violence at the University of Alabama, we must raise our awareness to a point where it’s an action being anticipated by people at parties, and can be stopped by anyone who is aware. Something needs to be done to convince students to want to step up against sexual violence. Because we focus on college campuses, the issue of alcohol and sexual assault comes up constantly, and often by guys who are on the defensive.
ReplyDeleteIt’s actually a really confusing idea that we don’t often talk about nearly enough, which is this anger over whether or not drunk sex is rape and the other idea that women who get drunk and have sex that night and scream ‘rape’ afterward because they regret what happened. On the other hand we need to consider opinions about how drunk is too drunk, that makes some guys really scared. Guys who get scared may lead to really hostile defensiveness. Lack of communication is one of the most common reasons for violent outcomes. Women need to be careful and know when they are in a potential dangerous situation with a man.
The bad news is, there isn’t one test to tell when someone is too intoxicated to consent to sex. Except for the possible idea to have breathalyzers commonly used at fraternity parties. A way to prevent sexual violence for yourself if you’re a guy is to establish conversation about open communication with your partner if they’ve been drinking and checking in with them and making sure they are affirmatively consenting to whatever you’re doing together. Clearly people are sometimes going to get drunk and have sex. And the presence of alcohol in someone’s bloodstream does not automatically make it rape.
You need to know if your partner is too intoxicated to be mingling in a frat house with a lot of men looking for a girl to bring home. Instincts are important and you have them for a reason. You’ll have another chance to have sex, but sexual assault is permanent. You wouldn’t want to take a chance just because it sounded like a good idea at the time. That’s why more people need to be aware and men need to be deeply concerned about getting consent from their partner.
@ Ally
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you and your ideas about raising awareness. I believe this is the most important aspect about preventing sexual violence in the general public and in schools.
@ Skye
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you had to say about raising awareness about the issue to change the way how men have a sense of entitlement over women. Without this, girls will feel more safe and controlling at parties.
Sexual violence and harassment is an act that has expanded over the years, and has continued to get worse. It is an issue that happens to a lot of people, but tends to not be publicized and broadcasted as other acts that occur around the world, so most people do not know about what actually goes on especially behind closed doors. The issue needs to end, but that is very unlikely being that the rates have increased over the years, and it remains to still be a problem among society today. In the reading, “The Seven P’s of Men’s Violence” by Michael Kaufman, it explains in detail how men’s conscious level, aggressiveness, and power tends to take over and result in violence other men and women. I feel that a lot of men’s aggressiveness by power and domination has to do with the fact that men were raised to be masculine and tough towards others to become a man. The third “P” analyzes that men are given permission to act violent and aggressive such as in sports and is even displayed while watching movies. In sports, men and women both have to be strong, tough, and aggressive while in competition with others to be able to win, which is rewarding being related to violent actions occurring. The seventh “P” by Kaufman also gives men the insight from past experiences where boys and girls who grow up witnessing violence are going to be far more likely to be violent themselves in the future.
ReplyDeleteI feel that men’s patriarchal power is a major issue that gives men the right to act in violent ways, and because they feel it is the social norm displayed by other men and women. Men feel they are on a hierarchy of levels, and they have to be at the top to be dominant towards others and have power among society. I also think that the sense of entitlement to privilege displayed by Kaufman gives men the insight to act in violent ways whether on a conscious level or unconscious level. Sexual harassment and violent acts are not always linked just towards men, but women as well. Men get blamed for the act because they are the ones that display violent behavior towards others because of their masculine ways and attitudes towards anger they portray among others.
In the “Feminist Frat Boys” article, it said that most of the sexual harassment and violent behaviors happen among fraternity houses or after leaving a fraternity house with alcohol being in the factor. Alcohol has a lot to do with men’s behaviors and how they act towards women in their fraternity house, but it does not give them an excuse to act and portray themselves as being violent towards others. Inhibition happens when men are intoxicated, and they feel they can act in ways they would not normally approach if had not being intoxicated because they are intoxicated, and they know the young woman they are with is intoxicated as well. I think people need to more aware of the violent behaviors that actually do go on among college campuses because sexual harassment occurs more often than people think. A good approach to bring awareness to college campuses would be to let a speaker from women’s resource center come and talk to the boys at all the fraternity houses and fill them in on the behaviors being displayed among women and let them know it will not be tolerated and needs to end. According to statistics, the victims of sexual harassment know their perpetrators, which is related to the fact of these acts happening among fraternity houses. This is not to say that all boys in fraternity houses approach these acts and have violent behaviors, but some of them do act in these violent behaviors whether others would like to admit it or not.
After reading the article of Frats and raped, I thought to myself, “duh”. It wasn’t that obvious to me after I read it. I swear I looked up into a window at a frat party and seen a couple if topless girls sitting on a bed in a room with multiple boys. Anyway, this makes since bc in the article it seems as if fraternities are in a rce to climb to the top. Women, such as their “Little Sisters” are used to gain this reputation for male dominance. They keep up the stereotype of male violence and fight for dominance. I hate that that because I don’t want to see woman getting used, beat on, or raoed anymore that women themselves do.
ReplyDeleteOne way I’d promote ending sexual violence, is to for one, schedule an awareness event through the quad where students have to walk, and somehow have students show up to some type of settings where they can listen to someone recite or paraphrase the “fraternity rapes on campus” article. But one big thing I think needs to be done is what is being done already, but evidently it is failing, which is the demotion of alcohol, partying, etc, The overall demotion of the libertine lifestyle. Teach females to go places in groups, and most f them do a good job at that. People are going to do what they want regardless, so you can never blame them if a rape happens, because they didn’t go to a party looking for a rape, but looking to have a good time. But if your’re going to go out and have a good time, chances of Sexual Violence can be hindered, but I don’t think it can be put to a halt. People are going to do what they want, men are out there looking for easy sex, and women are looking for party. What do you think a good number of guys go to parties for.\?
@Rebecca.. I feel that it is how men are raised as well has something to do with assault. I also feel that encouraging freshmen or new students to attend a sexual assault class would make them more aware about what goes on around campus.
ReplyDelete@Deneara... you are right about how a lot of people do not even realize about the situations taken place around campus and people do need to be more aware about the circumstances for themselves in the future.
ReplyDeleteIn order to end violence on our campus awareness needs to spread. From organizational groups, to attending rallies, or speeches concerning violence and sexual abuse this can help spread the word. After the readings from this week many issues were raised. But perhaps one of the most important ones is that these people’s voices are not always getting heard. That these acts of violence are happening in places where we go for help and there needs to be more justice in these governmental facilities. This is something that we need to start looking at when electing leaders to represent our voices with these certain issues. That is something that every single person can become more active in. Make this a requirement that you look for in any person that we vote for to represent us. This could make leaps and bounds with helping to spread awareness on this campus.
ReplyDeleteThe woman’s resource center is a great supporter of the men and woman who have been abused. Our guest speaker had mentioned that there are classes people can take to spread awareness through performance. I had no idea that even existed. There should be a group there during orientation for freshman and transfer students telling about the ways we can actively get involved. A thing such as this woman’s studies class is something very important to this university. There are not many classes where issues like the ones we have been opened up to, that are surfaced in a diplomatic way for people to understand and discuss. This serves as a great opportunity to raise awareness for people that didn’t even necessarily want to get involved in the first place. It would be insane for me to think that after all of the things we have discussed thus far in this class, that people wouldn’t stand up for something that they particular were moved by.
In the article “Feminist Frat Boys?: Fraternity Men in the (Woman’s Studies) House”, it talks about fraternities being a voice for the violence against woman to end. There is a lot of elections involved within fraternities and if fraternity men have an understanding of certain issues like this, it can be a great thing to look for when electing a leader, or when campaigning yourself. This idea could help spread peer education and understanding against sexual violence not only on our campus, but campus’s throughout the nation.