Nursing School February 28, 2008

Hey, I’m not sure I let you all know that Yes, I did get into nursing school.  I start April 7, 2008.  I went to the orientation and had a lot of my fears laid to rest.  There isn’t much to be afraid of.  It sounds like they hold your hand through it all – at least the clinicals and labs.  The book learning is more independent learning type of stuff.  In otherwords, I will be responsible to read and digest the material and take multiple short tests each week.

I have all but decided to pursue a focus in mental health nursing. 

I can’t wait to start!

So, this term I am taking 13 credit hours, planning a wedding (yes Autumn and I are gettin’ hitched!) and still working and taking care of my family and making it to 2-4 meetings per week, plus service work.  EEK!  It keeps me busy and out of trouble.  It also keeps me out of my own head, which is a dangerous place to be sometimes. 

Well, Love you all and I’ll let you know how the wedding turns out (which I’m sure will be great) and how my first days in nursing school go.

Oppression vs. Privilege February 28, 2008

Watch “A Girl Like Me” http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/gender_women/ 

It is interesting to me how the text talks about the ways in which we experience oppression on many fronts while at the same time benefiting from certain privileges.  In exploring my own identity, I find that I am a white middle-class lesbian female.  I experience oppression as a female and certainly even more as a lesbian, yet I benefit in privileges of being white and middle-class.  The encouragement to explore these privileges can be difficult and uncomfortable.  I think people focus on one or the other, depending on where the most of their experiences lie.  But for people who live in the middle of wide gaps between privilege and oppression, the recognition of this dichotomy may be especially disconcerting. 

Consider Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives for example.  She has the privilege of having money and status, yet still suffers from external and (probably) internalized oppression due to being female.  This idea of internalized oppression is addressed in reading 9, Toward a New Vision by Patricia Hill Collins where she quotes Audre Lorde, “The true focus of revolutionary change is never merely the oppressive situations which we seek to escape, but that piece of the oppressor which is planted deep within each of us” (pg. 76).  So fight must not only be against those situations, people and institutions which act to oppress and victimize us as women (or lesbians, or people of color, or poor…) but to find and fight the oppressive messages we have internalized. 

The documentary “A Girl Like Me” was very interesting.  The internalized oppression that those young children displayed when choosing a white doll as nice and the black doll as bad was blatantly obvious and heartbreakingly sad.

I was raised in a bi-racial family where some of my family members were white and some were black.  I experienced a lot of discrimination and violence as a child from neighbors and society because of this.  I have to realize, however, that the fact that I am white provided me with privileges that my black brother didn’t have access to and that his being male gave him privileges that I didn’t have.  Both women and people of color have suffered in our society.  I think a quote from Beyond the Politics of Inclusion speaks volumes about the position of non-white people in the US.  Andrea Smith says, “the United States is build on a history of genocide, slavery, and racism.  Our ‘home’ has never been a safe place for people of color” (pg 578).

This gives me much to think about.

a response to another’s post re: rape in the military February 28, 2008

You said, that men’s “feelings of machismo suffer to see women right along with them and raping them is a way to gain back some of that superiority.”  Well said!  I have had that thought throughout this discussion, also.  It seems like many of our readings are about how men seem to have these fragile egos that can’t handle any competition, especially from women and have to oppress women in a variety of ways in order to maintain power and control. 

Sexual assault and rape against women happens all around the world as previous readings have shown.  I remember from Chapter 10, Resisting Violence Against Women which says ”the 2005 Population Report indicates that around the world, one in three women are beaten, coerced into sex, and otherwise abused.” (Shaw, Lee pg 555). It also talks about rape being a “weapon of war all over the world.”  (Shaw, Lee pg 556).

Personally, I think that war itself opens a Pandora ’s Box of human ills.  When we normalize killing and violence, people become desensitized to it and are more apt to use these tactics for resolving internal (and interpersonal) conflicts.  You hit on something important when you talked about the military being traditionally a men’s club and how that change may be a challenge to some men’s feelings of superiority over women.  More and more women are being utilized as soldiers.  The Private War of Women Soldiers states that “more than 160,500 American female soldiers have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East since the war began in 2003, which means one in seven soldiers is a woman.” (women in the military website).  With so many women in armed service, you’d think the military as an institution would recognize the benefit of protecting them.  Unfortunately, the military does not consider their soldiers (female or male) to be free and autonomous individuals with the same rights as any other American.  They are seen and used as weapons of war and this attitude trickles down to the ranks (in my view) and humanity is subsequently lost.

the effects of war on women February 28, 2008

Visit: http://humanrightswatch.org/women/conflict.html

also:  http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/03/07/women_in_military/

And watch the very short film:  http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/6/in_transit/

Of course, like everyone else, the topics of this week’s readings are shocking and very disturbing.  It is not, however, something I am unaware of.  I had female friends from the military tell me exactly this sort of stuff.  And being that I watch shows like Dateline and 60 Minutes, I have seem my share of news stories about sex trafficking.

The sex traffic trade is disgusting to me.  I wonder how in the world anyone can think that it is ok to have sex with women or girls (as many of these sex slaves are very young) in these sex operations?  I agree with the notion of targeting the buyers (whom I deem to be sexual predators), however I think the consequences should be much more strict.  They should be charged large fines and shamed in the public eye by large visible billboards and public announcements of their crimes.  The billboards could be of the man’s picture and some strongly worded message indicating that this man was convicted of aiding in the illegal and immoral act of having unconsentual sex with a sex slave.  (A slave cannot consent to something – the nature of slavery is that she is being forced, even if she stops fighting.) Also, they should have their visa’s retracted and have sexual predator stamped on their passport if they are foreign. 

On the other side of the equation, are the females being used and abused.  First of all, there is the physical damage they endure.  The film “In Transit” shows directly how violent rape causes vesico-vaginal fistulas. (www.mediathatmatters.org)  Even though this film was focusing this happening in war, violent rape can be expected to happen to these sex-slaves also, and so I postulate that this is a potential physical problem for these women.  Certainly HIV is a sincere concern for these women and girls, not to mention other STD’s.  Additionally, the psychological damage being done to these poor women and girls is devastating.  As the story about Siri relates, “the pimp uses culture and religion to reinforce his control over Siri”.  This is psychological brainwashing.  Placed in this sort of constant mentally abusive environment and being told that “she must have committed terrible sins in a past life” to have to suffer so terribly in this life will most definitely have the effect of making the girl believe that she must endure her “enslavement and abuse” and cause her to become hopeless and thus easier to control (Leuchtag pg 581).

The accountability that I call for in dealing with sex tourists, I can apply to the problem of men using rape and sexual assault against women in the military. Obviously, this is not an unknown problem, as is shown in our reading which talks about “a 2004 study of veterans from Vietnam and all the wars since, who were seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder, found that 71 percent of the women said they were sexually assaulted or raped while in the military” (women in the military website).  

I have a question, where are the military men who are against rape?  Why are they silent?  Their silence makes them complicit in the abuse.  Also to blame are the ones who lead the troops.  I propose that blame for this problem can be spread far and wide, clear up to the Commander In Chief.  These men, regardless of rank or position, must be held accountable for their actions.  A strict and precise response must be made.  I suggest that any military man who rapes be immediately held as a criminal and be given a dishonorable discharge and be charged with rape.  This is a sexual assault and should be held as one of the worst crimes one can commit.  The added insult of doing this to a fellow military person is cruel and unusual and should be seen as an even greater crime.  I also suggest that anyone who is found to be complicit in a sexual assault be held accountable and given training in the difference between right and wrong and how to stand up against these abuses.

Training, attitude change, accountability, public notice, and criminal prosecution are some of the ways in which these problems can be addressed. 

My post doesn’t really touch on the need to create a more supportive environment for these women to come out and tell the truth about what is happening in the military.   But this is another front that needs to get attention. Throwing a pretty website at the problem is merely lip service and will not protect these women from the predators in their midst.  

paternalism or responsibility? February 28, 2008

Like some of the other women in class have expressed, this was a particularly difficult chapter to read.  I’m glad that it was.  It should be uncomfortable to read about violence, rape and incest.  Not to mention that I claim myself a survivor of several of these categories, so it did bring up some personal feelings for me, too.

 What I’d like to address is the perception of international feminists who are trying to bring women of other countries, such as in Afghanistan and Iraq, out of their prisons of misogyny and violence.  The grave and valid concerns about the lack of human rights for women in these and other countries have become well known around the world.  The book explains that the liberation of women being used as a justification for war “creates complexity for feminist activity in these countries as women and men seeking to address nationalist, patriarchal problems can be interpreted as ‘traitors’; similarly, it causes problems for feminists in North America and Europe whose activism can be interpreted as ethnocentric meddling…” (Shaw, Lee pg 556)  I think that the beating, raping, disfigurement, oppression, and violation of women is abusive and inhumane, regardless of what the woman who is suffering (or the men who are perpetrating the violence) might believe.  While this may be a cultural characteristic, it goes beyond what is acceptable treatment of an entire group of people.  Should we ignore acts of genocide, rationalizing that those are internal cultural affairs and we as an international community have no right to meddle?  I think not.  In this same way are we obligated to take action against the systematic hatred and violence perpetrated against women on an international front.

 Just as in the US, the men in charge in these countries are motivated to maintain the status quo that keeps them in positions of privilege and power.  Women are just one segment of society that must be controlled.  Men have used rape and other fear tactics as a way to control women, probably since time began.  It requires an enormous and continuous upsurge of revolution both from within and from outside forces to change these deeply ingrained systems of power.  The situation in Ciudad Juarez is a classic example of the men in positions of power and privilege doing their utmost to maintain the status quo.  They have done next to nothing to end the rapes and murders happening in their city. It is the women of Ciudad Juarez and other feminists from around the globe who have kept this issue in the spotlight.  They work tirelessly to find an end to this tragedy while building supportive places where victims can find some help.  We must continue to back agencies like Amnesty international who “brought between 5,000 and 7,000 people from Ciudad Juarez and El Paso to march through the streets of Juarez… demanding an end to the murders of women and girls” (Katzarova, pg 588). 

 I believe it is my responsibility to never turn a blind eye to injustice against women, even if others think it is normal or culturally accepted – it is still injustice.

on rape and marriage February 28, 2008

This poor woman in my class is in an oppressive and abusive relationship.  I wrote this in response to a post she wrote where she proclaimed 1) that women who dress provocatively are asking to get raped and 2) that a man has the right to ”expect and insist on” sex from his wife.

Without exception – when a man rapes a woman (or little girl)  it is absolutely unequivocally NOT that woman or girl’s fault – no matter what she did, said, or wore.  Rape is not about sex – it is “a crime of aggression because the focus is on hurting and dominating” (Shaw, Lee pg 562). 

Marriage is not slavery.  Women are not property. This is an outdated notion.  Women have worked for a century or more to achieve the status of person. We get to make up our own minds.  We are socialized to believe that men are in charge and we have to do what they say – even when it comes to marital sex.  But it is not true.  We get to decide for ourselves if and when we want to be sexual with another person.  No one, not even a husband (or partner) has the right to force or coerce or demand sex from us.  Some women don’t believe this and think that because it is her boyfriend or husband they have the right to take sex from them, that doesn’t make it any less of a rape.

In response to another student’s post February 28, 2008

I firmly and unwaveringly do NOT believe that all men are inherently violent.  I have personally experienced many examples of men acting in a calm, considerate, gentle and caring nature.  Unfortunately it does seem that this is not the norm, but rather an exception to men’s apparent aggressive nature.  I think the problem is one of teaching.  Men are socialized at every turn to be aggressive.  We have seen in our readings the earliest socialization of babies and children who are given toys that encourage power-pushing behavior such as swords, guns, and other violence-supporting toys which are typically given to boys and not girls.  We also read about the arena of sports which is so centered around male bravado and physical assault of one another.    As Kimmel talks about in his article, “A Black Woman Took My Job”, men are severely hindered by their socialized roles.  This socialization of being tough and in charge and territorial and untouchable emotionally is what makes men “real men” (pg 465).  But as Kimmel says, “the very things that we thought would make us real men impoverish our relationships with other men and with our children” (pg 466).  The common socialization of men in western society creates byproducts of the entitlement, violence, loss of deep intimate relationships, an greater risk for health problems.  I propose that the solution lies in the socialization process.  We need to start socializing our male children to be more human and less of aggressive fighting machines and our female children to be empowered and not passive people-pleasing drones.  It starts in the earliest institutions of family and early education.  If we challenge and work at affecting some change in the collective conscious of the masses, we will see results move from the bottom to the top. It will become a self-fulfilling prophecy and a true humanist movement which includes women and men from all cultures and races will begin to emerge.  This is my dream.  I think I’ve just hit on my topic for the final assignment. Thanks for listening, Racquel

In response to Sweatshops February 28, 2008

Visit website: http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/maquilapolis/about.html

or:  http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2002/senoritaextraviada/maquiladoras_feature01.html

My response to the reading “Globalization and It’s Discontents” can be summed up in one exclamation – Unbelievable!  I mean this in that it is so contrary to the work of human and civil rights activists in this country and such a horrendous violation of what I hold as sacred human rights that it settles within me as unfathomable.  Unfortunately, many others will exclaim this to be unbelievable in the more literal form of the word – they simply don’t believe these violations exist, or they don’t believe there to be a problem. 

The surmounting evidence reported in many news magazines and newspapers would be enough, I think, for any free-thinking person to be convinced. There is a huge problem here and we in America have got to take a leadership role in correcting it.  We must work at creating more equitable and hospitable environments for people in this country and most importantly in other less wealthy countries to work in.  Our government, in their short-sighted attempts to expand us into a global economy, has made it easy for corporations to deny any wrongdoing.  They (the government) have de-regulated to a point that allows corporations to go hog-wild in their quest for greater and greater profits seemingly to the abandonment of any human rights controls.  I reiterate the question expressed in the text, ”is globalization only about property rights or should it also be concerned about human rights” (Hu-DeHart pg. 476). 

On the website Inside the Maquiladoras, the story “Married to the Maquila” talks about the female maquila workers gathering “together to discuss work”.  They talked about wages and working conditions.  What would happen if large numbers of workers as well as international labor organizing groups began to really pressure the companies running the sweatshops like the maquiladoras, as well as the corporations and governments to increase wages, resolve the horrendous working conditions and provide for some measures of physical safety for the workers? Alma, the woman speaking in this piece, reveals that “by contrast [to the female workers], a male worker wouldn’t stand for it — he’s more aggressive. Men organize themselves, and if they don’t get what they want, they walk off the job” (“Married to the Maquila”).  Because of their extreme poverty and their responsibilities to their children, these women cannot effect much change by themselves.  There needs to be a significant uprising among those of us who are not directly affected.  The human rights violations happening around the world, but is the government which allows the corporations the freedom to disregard these violations.  I challenge you, what can you do to fight this problem?