Readings to Remember

Though it was several months ago that we read Liz Kelly's (1987) piece "The Continuum of Sexual Violence" and Kelly's/Radford's (1990) piece "Nothing Really Happened," I still find myself relating each of these readings back to my personal life and the lives of other women. As Kelly (1987) argues, the issue of sexualized violence is best understood not as a matter of "yes" or "no" (yes it was indeed sexualized violence or not it was not) but rather as a matter of degree. As she states, "Sexual violence exists in most women's lives, whilst the form it takes, how women define events, and its impact on them at the time and over time varies" (Kelly, 1987, p. 2). As we discussed, this however is not to suggest that those forms of sexualized violence that are less common or less violent are necessarily less important. This challenges the assumption (foolishly made by various political figures who I cannot remember off the top of my head) that sexualized violence, in its "real" form, only occurs when a nameless, psychotic man jumps out from the bushes and rapes a virginal, "innocent" woman. 

For me personally, this concept has many (discomforting) implications - among them realizing that I myself may have had experiences on what is generally considered the less severe side of the continuum. At the time, since I was not aware of the concept of a continuum, I, like many women, kept telling myself "Well, nothing really happened."

Of course, this forms the basis of Kelly and Radford's piece (1990) which examines the ways in which women are encouraged to invalidate, deligitmize, or otherwise gloss over their experiences of sexualized violence. In my reading, both Kelly's concept of the continuum and the response(s) of "Nothing really happened" formed the basis of Lynn Phillips film, Flirting with Danger: Power & Choice in Heterosexual Relationships (2006). I remember leaving the film showing feeling incredibly uncomfortable and even a bit anxious, because I saw myself and my own experiences through the characters in the film, who, like me, were encouraged to invalidate their experiences.

Kelly, Liz (1987) “The Continuum of Sexual Violence” In: Jarna Holmes and Mary Maynard (eds) Women, Violence and Social Control. Macmillan: pp. 46-60.

Kelly, Liz and Jill Radford (1990) “’Nothing Really Happened’: The invalidation of women’s experiences of sexual violence” Critical Social Policy 10 (30): pp. 39-53.

Reflections on the future of feminist security studies

There are several points made by Prof Wibben in the last chapter of her book, Feminist Security Studies, which I believe are critical to the field and academia more generally. I especially agree with her suggestion that scholars must recognize the relationship between identity and narrative. Much too often, studies are considered "real", "valid", and "important" only if they are "objective" (is anything ever really completely objective anyways?). As scholars, feminists, and citizens more generally, I think its critical to "Ask ourselves the hard questions about what we are doing and why we are doing it", as Andrews states (quoted in Wibben 2011: 110). This is a topic which has interested me all semester, and which was widely discussed at the workshop. Whether one uses the term self-reflexivity, subjectivity, or positionality - I think the main point remains the same - the ability to acknowledge that we are all "situated" beings - from a certain class, race, sexual orientation, gender, political affliation, nation, and so on. Secondly, we must recognize how these subject positions inform our research.

Though I generally agree with Prof Wibben's analysis of the 9/11 narrative, and I agree that binary, totalizing rhetoric is both unproductive and inaccurate, I don't believe that the "other" in this case - those responsible for 9/11, should at all be considered political agents, as so doing (I believe) assumes that those responsible have some sort of rational, intelligible motive, which I don't believe is the case. Nonetheless - I agree with the overall point being made - that in the future of FSS and feminism more generally, anytime that an incident like 9/11 takes place, there are always multiple possible narratives, multiple possible meanings, which cannot be reduced to simple binary terms of "us" and "them".


Wibben, A. (2011). Feminist Security Studies: A Narrative Approach. New York: Routledge

Pornography + Feminism

I came across this picture while putting together my powerpoint slides on my paper examining pornography's relationship to feminism. Though I don't know I agree with it, I was very happy to find a picture that so succintly encapsulates the question I am trying to answer in my paper. What are your thougths? Is it a critique of post-feminism? An endorsement? In other words, is it suggesting that we are foolish to think we're finished with feminism, when things such as "cum-shots" are so glorified? Or is it promoting pornography and even "cum-shots" as the new feminism?

Reflection on Anu B. visit

As I mentioned in class, the thing that struck me most about Anu is the fact she identifies as three seemingly contradictory things: academic, veteran, and activist. It's not uncommon that scholars are involved in activism and vice versa, but very rarely (in my experience) do military members associate with academia or the non-profit world. I think that this is because liberal academia and non-governmental organizations are often critical of the military. That said, I like how she maintained respect for the military but not without believing the military (and our government) is incapable of any wrongdoing. She demonstrated (I think) that you can be critical of the U.S. military but can still very much be a patriotic person.

Cynthia Enloe's Visit

Cynthia Enloe had some great points about the process of writing a paper. My favorite was how she mentioned to not gloss over any thought, quotation, reference, or assumption that comes up during writing which causes discomfort. Instead, use this productively. Include it as a footnote. As she said, "It should always feel a little uneasy, because there is no such thing as universal knowledge". Love this. I also appreciated how she encouraged us to view our essays as part of a broader conversation. This gives me more incentive, more initiative, to really take seriously the claims I make in my essay.

During her presentation in Fromm, however, she made some remarks I didn't agree with. I remember her asking "Why was the religion or race of the shooters in the Gabby Giffords or Aurora incidents not considered? Why was it all the focus in the Boston shootings?" I think it's inaccurate to portray all three of these shootings as one in the same, especially given the fact that Dzokhar Tsarnaev himself stated "We did this in the name of religion."

Ann Jones' Davies Forum Lecture at USF

VIDEO HERE: The Longest War: Militarism and the War Against Women
Lecture presented at USF on 2/21/2013

Ann Jones is the author of numerous books on violence against women, including Women Who Kill and Next Time She'll Be Dead which focus on domestic violence in the U.S., as well as, more recently, Kabul in Winter and War is Not Over When It's Over, where she takes her expertise to conflict zones. As part of the Spring 2013 Davies Forum, Women, Violence and War, she lectured on "The Longest War: Militarism and the War Against Women." 

After the lecture, some of us went out to dinner...

Davies Forum Workshop Reflection

I absolutely loved this workshop and I really wish I could have been there all day. It was so inspiring to be able to sit and talk with women who are working hard to incite change and have dedicated their lives to bettering their communities. I thought it was wonderful that these women's goals and focuses were so diverse even though they were all feminist scholars.

For the drawing exercise I was in a group with Lisa and Professor Wibben. It was fascinating how different all of our interpretations of violence and well-being were ranging from very abstract (Prof. Wibben) to extremely precise (Lisa). in our group we discussed the discomfort that doing art exercises brings us. We talked about struggling with the idea that what feminists do--thinking, feeling, talking, and in this case, making art--is not valued in American culture and how that impacts our own feelings about what we do and whether its worthwhile or silly. It was a fascinating and painful conversation, because I do often struggle, as do all feminists, with the way feminist work is perceived. 

After this exercise our guest speakers talked about their projects and methodologies, which was a wonderful learning experience. I loved the different ways that emotion plays into everyone's work, from wanted to bring a positive light to difficult subject matter to really harnessing the pain of truth. 

One of the biggest things I will take away from the experience is Swati Parashar's advice to value anger. I think that one of the biggest problems that feminism faces, especially in America, is complacency. We talked quite a bit about the importance and inherent nature of emotion in feminism, but I think that it was very good for me to be reminded that in this success-oriented, distanced culture, there needs to be room for emotion and anger and pain and all those human things that make us able to better ourselves and others. Rarely do people encourage us to be angry and harness the power of that anger, so I thank Dr. Parashar for making that statement.

Reflections on Davies Forum Workshop Spring 2013

Though there were several noteworthy topics and issues of "feminist curiosity" discussed, there's a few that I think are particularly worthy of mention. As I'm sure was evident from my comments, I am very interested in the politics of authenticity. When I find myself thinking about this topic, there are more questions than there are answers, such as: What qualifies a person or group of persons to speak on behalf of someone else? What disqualifies someone from speaking on behalf to someone else? What role does allyship play in representation, advocacy, and authenticity? This is precisely the questions Linda Alcoff addresses in her piece, http://www.alcoff.com/content/speaothers.html

Secondly, I'm glad that Caron and I bonded on the issue of guilt, and discovered that its possible to use this guilt that we may feel (because of our privileged background, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, etc.) in constructive ways.

Lastly, though I didn't quite know how to respond, upon reflection I am glad that Sarai challenged my remark on "agency" with "you are never without agency!". Though I'm not sure that I agree, I think it's a good thing that the workshop was a "safe place" in which these perspectives could be voiced.

Lisa

Global Women's Rights Forum Reflection

Upon attending the last but not least event of the global women's rights forum at USF, I noticed two key points that all speakers touched on regardless of their respective backgrounds/affiliations. All speakers stressed the importance of a "cultural change" in the way domestic work is viewed in the U.S. For multiple reasons, one of which being where the work is performed (the "private" sphere), domestic work and been devalued and made cheap. Secondly, all speakers believed in the transformative political power of testimony, wherein domestic workers tell their stories and demand their rights.

When asked how this talk relates to our course-I remember one speaker explaining that when domestic workers are abused within the home, a common "explanation" is that the home (and what goes on in it) is a private concern and is thus somehow above the law. I think this is a dangerous and highly problematic way of legitimizing violence.

Revision of Ann Jones' Chapter on Burmese Refugees

Ann Jones' chapter on the Burmese refugees in Thailand  focuses on the processes and struggles of her project the "Global Crescendo Project" which used photography as a means of documenting the daily lives of displaced Burmese minorities in Thailand. Mainly focusing on the Karenni women, who were thought to be shy and self-contained, the GCP brought a voice to many of them, as well as bridged the "gap between women and action" that exists as a result of impunity and patriarchy. Beyond the common difficulties in the camps, such as disease that passes quickly throughout camp refugees, domestic violence is in high frequency but seldom acknowledged, as "women endure violence because they saw no other choice,". As Jones' points out, such violence is incredibly ironic because it was a similar form of GBV, or torture, that the refugees were escaping from in the first place. Most importantly, the GCP began a path to educating and teaching men "how the problem starts and how they can solve it by themselves", learning, and using their knowledge of their history of suffering to promote rights and security writhing the community and the private sphere.

Ann, Jones. "Burmese Refugees in Thailand: Someplace Else." War Is Not Over When It's Over. New York: Metropolitan, 2010. 168-203. 

Burmese Refugees in Thailand

The chapter on the Burmese refugees in Thailand from “War Is Not Over When It's Over” by Ann Jones focuses on the process and some aftermaths, or bringing the Global Crescendo Project to photograph the daily lives of the thousands of displaced Burmese minorities "imprisoned" in these "temporary" homes for 20 years. Mainly focusing on the Karenni women, who were thought to be shy and self-contained, the GCP brought a voice to many of them, as well as an attempt to bridge the "gap between women and action" that exists as a result of a lack of impunity, patriarchy, and the opportunity to put into action the system of governance. Beyond the common difficulties in the camps, such as disease that passes quickly throughout because the houses are so close together, domestic violence is in high frequency but seldom acknowledged, as "women endure violence because they saw no other choice," ironic because it was a similar form of GBV, or torture, that they were escaping from when they were forced to escape Burma.  In the end, the lives of the women who participated were greatly impacted, and changes began to be made, but most importantly, it began a path to educating and teaching men "how the problem starts and how they can solve it by themselves", learning, and using their knowledge of their history of suffering to promote rights and security writhing the community and the private sphere.

Ann, Jones. "Burmese Refugees in Thailand: Someplace Else." War Is Not Over When It's Over. New York: Metropolitan, 2010. 168-203. 

Summary of D'Costa Case Study

Bina D'Costa's case study of women who were subjected to rape and sexual assault during and after the Independence War of Bangladesh accomplishes two main things: (1) Examines the theme of silence as a response or rationalization to these instances of rape and/or sexual assault and (2) Problematizes the governmental response to these instances which included rehabilitation programs, forced abortions, war-baby adoption programs, and a "marry them off" campaign (143). According to D'Costa, the women experienced three types of silence: (1) On the part of the successive government (2) self-imposed silence or "negotiated survival" and (3) Silencing from social workers, activists, and human rights groups. D'Costa reports a variety of personal and/or methodology challenges that informed her study, such as encouraging the women to share their experiences, formatting interview questions, and deciding whether to refer to the women as "survivors" or "victims".

Summary by Lisa, Helen, Valeria, and Jillian