Human Rights Film Festival

“The Invisible War”

During the Human Rights Film Festival I attended the documentary The Invisible War written and directed by Kirby Dick. After Anu Bhagwati’s visit to our class, and hearing great reviews about the documentary I decided to watch the film. The documentary highlights the controversy surrounding sexual assault within the United States military. I wasn’t able to attend the discussion following the film, however, I was extremely moved by the film’s content. I was shocked by the overall statistics of rape within the military, the amount of cases that go “unreported” and unresolved, and the stories of women who were forced to experience physical and mental abuse, sometimes even from commanders. I was shocked by the irony of the situation. Here, were women [and men] willing to fight and protect our country, however, they received no protection for themselves.
How could such an “admirable” institution have high levels of corruption and dishonesty?  Levels so high that statistics revealed in the documentary state 3,230 women reported assault during the last fiscal year in 2009, and 80% of sexual assault victims do not report. At the time of the documentary they estimated that 16,150 women were sexual assaulted in the military. Statistics continue to rise, and cases continue to go unreported. Although I had already had knowledge of sexual assault within the military from previous readings and Anu’s visit, there was absolutely nothing like seeing the personal detailed stories of the women and male survivors. The stories were heartbreaking. I watched as the lives of women and men were destroyed by the effects of the sexual assault and abuse they experienced while serving in the military.
The movie stated that “40 percent of female homeless veterans have been raped,” and “Women who have been raped in the military have a PTSD rate higher than men who’ve been in combat”. We have all heard the stories of men who experience post traumatic stress disorder after combat, however, I was extremely shocked to hear that statistics prove women who have been raped in the military have an even higher PTSD rate. After I watched the movie I thought about our idea for a rape campaign, simply stating: “DON’T RAPE”. I thought of the rape victim in the film who said “if a woman makes a rape case there always people asking questions, what was she doing there, what was she wearing? Whether or not she had a boyfriend”. I wondered what type of effect our slogan could have. How instead of victim blaming we can teach ways to prevent rape. 

Davies Forum Workshop

The Davies Forum workshop was truly a great experience. From the discussion I acquired new information and heard different perspectives on feminist research. I loved that the workshop allowed us the opportunity to hear from four very different women. I enjoyed hearing about their research and methodologies. I thought the workshop was beneficial, however I do wish we had more time to sit and discuss topics. I can only imagine what knowledge could have come out of a week's worth of conversation with the panelists.

One of the opening exercises that we did during the workshop was to draw three images of violence. I was very surprised at the many different perceptions of violence within my own group. Some of the images included depictions of violent acts, words such as “silenced” and really abstract lines and circles. I was very surprised by my own drawing: a depiction of violence on animals and nature. We had never discussed violence in that way, however, that was one of the things that I thought about so I decided to go with it! 

One of the instances that struck me during the discussion was Caron’s comments on the issues of the books Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight. She stated that women are always depicted as falling in love with their captors. I was intrigued by this statement because surprisingly I had never heard anyone reference either story in that way – I had only heard people reference both stories as “romance novels”. I am completely disgusted with the Fifty Shades of Grey series, and it still surprises me how the series could receive such high levels of popularity. Caron’s comment made me think of the way that both books could influence readers to change their perceptions of “romance”. The books essentially romanticizes violence and promotes physical and psychological partner abuse.

Overall, I thought the workshop was a success and it was nice to interact with our guest speakers, even if the time was limited! 

Cynthia Enloe Visit

I truly enjoyed meeting Cynthia Enloe! Although I wasn’t able to make the class discussion, I refused to miss the opportunity to see her speak after class. I was very surprised that she spoke about the Boston Bombing, and I’m so happy she did. Before the discussion I hadn’t really followed the event closely, only hearing bits and pieces of the story. It was nice hearing her feminist perspective on the Boston bombing. The overall lecture struck me, but what stood out to me the most was when she questioned why the killings weren’t linked to Aurora and Newtown etc., how the method of weapon choice has distinguished the association to a “terrorist narrative” and how regarding the Boston bombing we’ve gone into a terrorist motive as opposed to a criminal motive. She also helped reinforce the idea that we must dig deeper than what’s being presented through the media and authorities, and do our own research to formulate our own opinions.

Cynthia Enloe was such a fascinating woman, and she had such a welcoming spirit. I felt so privileged to engage further with her at dinner! Although I tend to be very shy, I felt so comfortable in her presence! I loved that during dinner she invited everyone into the discussion and was interested in our own lives. I’m so happy that I got the opportunity to read some of her work, and listen to her lecture. The fabulous dinner and delicious dessert at Zazie’s was just the icing on the cake! 

Anu Bhagwati Visit

Anu Bhagwati’s visit to our class was very interesting. Although I had a little knowledge about sexual harassment in the military, I was still extremely shocked to hear some of the stories. Her visit to our class made me decide to attend The Invisible War screening during the Human Rights Film Festival. It was so interesting to hear of her own personal experience in the military. How men and women were treated separately, even down to physical appearance i.e. through uniform choices and haircuts, as well as what women were forced to endure simply for being a woman. I found it quite interesting when she commented that sometimes the judgement from other women exceeded the judgement from male counterparts. I was shocked to hear of the way rape and sexual harassment cases were handled in the military, and how women were forced to go to their commander (who sometimes was the offender). I loved when someone mentioned our “Don’t Rape” campaign previously discussed in our class, and she agreed and said that she has herself thought of how significant it would be to teach the consequences of rape, instead of the prevention. Although, we had already heard the statement during class, I was so disturbed to hear that the statistics of rape in the military was equivalent to the statistics of rape on college campuses!  

Gender and Justice: A Conversation on Domestic and the Common Good

For the Global Women's Rights Forum I attended the lecture informing of the issues pertaining to domestic workers in the United States, mainly California. The panel featured 4 women each with their own background and connection with the domestic issue. The lecture included the stories and issues that many workers experience such as being under compensated for their work, overworked with minimal breaks or sick leave, and abuse from employers. Many of the workers were persuaded to come into the country, with the promise of good jobs and equal opportunities. However, although they suffered abuse and mistreatment the workers were terrified to report the abuse because of the threat of losing jobs or deportation. 

The forum was very informative and provided further analysis to our own discussions in class. I remember one of the speakers saying how the line between domestic work and "love" becomes blurred because of employment being involved in the home. Many of the workers gain a strong connection with the families and especially the children. However, they should not be forced to compromise their rights and be treated in an unjust manner. I love that the speakers also gave us many ways that we can become a "voice" for the movement through simple things such as communicating with our own school president, raising awareness by informing others of the issues, and dedicating our time by offering assistance and showing up to events. 

Kronsell Case Study

Annica Kronsell's "Methods for Studying Silences: Gender Analysis In Institutions

of Hegemonic Masculinity" focuses on studying the "silent” oppression which

helps her to problematize masculinity and highlight instances of male hegemony

that may not be explicitly promoted. Kronsell's case study centers upon the

Swedish Armed Forces, in which she first looks to the "universal conscription"

(2006, p.113). Kronsell comments that the so-called "information problem," in

which the male proportion of the draft dropped, was never a problem when the

female proportion was not presented. She concludes that this reinforces male

hegemony - that men are therefore given a superior status to women as the

appropriate defenders of the nation and the only citizens capable of being

entrusted with knowledge concerning security and defense matters (p.113,

p.115). A second issue Kronsell highlights, is the use of language that maintains

"masculinities and the hegemony of men" (p.110) in the Swedish Armed Forces.

For example, military documents used terms like "officer" or "conscript without

explicit gender associations, but it was known socially that those roles belonged

to men exclusively (p.113). Other documents also never mentioned women,

which indicates that only men were considered "real" citizens (p.115). Another

group excluded fro the army is the "male" LGBT community (p.116).. Overall,

Kronsell found that women’s presence had a positive influence on the Armed

Forces. Among them, in line with Kronsell’s concern about silences, there was a

"shaping up" of language (p. 120): e.g., sexualized language was reduced as

pornographic images were taken down from bunks (p.120).

Kronsell, A. (2006) Methods for Studying Silences: Gender analysis in institutions

of hegemonic masculinity” In B. Ackerly, M. Stern and J. True (Eds.) Feminist

Methodologies for International Relations (pp. 108-128). Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Maria, Kortney, Ienna