Border Patrol’s Not-So-Secret: the Normalized Abuse of Migrant Women on the U.S.-Mexico Border

I am delighted to announce that a version of Valeria Vera's research paper for the Davies Forum has been published in USF's International Affairs Review (fall 2013).

Abstract:
The aim of the United States Border Patrol is to prevent terrorists, weapons, and illegal immigrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Now heavily militarized, is the Border Patrol out of control?

Read more here.

"Military Sexual Violence: From Frontline to Fenceline" by Annie Isabel Fukushima & Gwen Kirk

"So why does military sexual violence persist? One explanation offered by The Invisible War is that the US military includes a higher percentage of “sexual predators” than civilian society. Also, some military commanders not only tolerate sexual assault, they are also complicit in covering up these incidents, punishing victims, and exonerating perpetrators or, at most, giving them a “boys-will-be-boys” slap on the wrist.
A weakness of the current debate is its narrow focus on US military women. Cynthia Enloe, a leading feminist scholar of international relations, recently noted the importance of looking to “those who are pushed to the margins” in order to learn about the big picture.
To locate the root of the problem means looking beyond the assaults on US military women — appalling as they are — to the routine incidents of military violence against civilians in combat situations and outside the fences surrounding US bases overseas. Given their mission, soldiers are trained to kill. This means seeing “others” as foreign or less-than-human. Gender and masculinity are at play; so too are racism and national chauvinism"

Read more here.

Anu Bhagwati argues for more women in the U.S. military to curb sexualized violence

In a recentl op-ed with the Washington Post, Anu reflects on some of the themes she also talked to us about:

 

She then asks "So why are we surprised that sexual[ized] violence is such a problem in the ranks?"
Read more here.

An Apt Cartoon

Put the blame where it belongs - On the Perp, even it it reflects back onto us

           In “Why Doesn’t She Leave,” an article by Ann Jones (in: Next Time She'll Be Dead. Boston: Beacon Press. 1994), we are reminded of an old adage: history is written by the victor.  In our current American society, where research is conducted mainly by men, trials are overseen by mainly male judges, and policy is made by mainly men, it is absurd to imagine that we would have a concept of domestic violence that is unbiased, fair, or representative of a female perspective.

This becomes particularly clear when we examine the research that has been conducted in the area of domestic violence.  Not only is the language used in this research blatantly biased (See “The Language of Love,” Jones 1994) but the focus of the research itself is inexcusably skewed.

Most research conducted in the United States of America on the topic of domestic violence is centered on the victim (Jones 1994), as if figuring out what unites victims of domestic abuse will give us the key to stopping it.  This is an overt example of a misogynistic scientific research process which has extreme consequences for victims of domestic abuse including rape, torture and death.  What needs to stop is THE ABUSER’S VIOLENCE TOWARDS HIS VICTIM.  Stopping abuse cannot be achieved by changing the behavior of the victim.  This is MISSING THE POINT ENTIRELY and is victim-blaming in the simplest terms. 

The incidence of victim-blaming in current mainstream media can be easily explained by our consistent patterns of misogynistic research practices which place the blame on victims.  It can be seen everywhere, from politicians protesting a regulation that would require physicians to ask about domestic abuse in regular doctor’s visits, to high-profile abusers being given lighter sentences because the public is sympathetic to an athlete’s need to “get out his stress” by beating up his wife. 

It all links back to the fact that we as a culture refuse to place blame on the perpetrator because it leads to a recognition that we all participate in a society which normalizes a male mentality which leads to such violence.  In Kelly’s “Continuum of Sexual Violence” she examines the slew of sexualized violence which, legally and societally, is considered acceptable.  In a society that accepts “goosing” and “cat calls” as “funny,” it is often forgotten that, subconsciously, what women fear when these “commonplace bits of fun” occur is death itself. 

Liz Kelly (1987) uses a quote from Stanko (1985) in her “Continuum of sexualized violence” that emphasizes this point.  “In abstract we easily draw lines between those aberrant (thus harmful), and those typical (thus unharmful) types of male behavior.  We even label the aberrant behavior as potentially criminal behavior…Women who feel violated or intimidated by typical make behavior have no way of specifying how or why typical make behavior feels like aberrant male behavior” (p. 10).  Anu Bhagwati stated it even more simply, saying that instead of creating complex metaphor-based anti-rape ad campaigns, the message could consist of only two words.  DON’T RAPE. 

I’d like to see that ad campaign, and others like it.  No matter how uncomfortable it is for society at large and people in power to accept responsibility for domestic abuse, it certainly can’t be as uncomfortable as the abuse suffered by millions of Americans every day.

Ann Jones'  "Why doesn't she leave?" In: Next Time She'll Be Dead. Boston: Beacon Press. 1994.

Kelly, L. “The Continuum of Sexual Violence.” In: Women, Violence and Social Control, edited by Hanmer, J., and Maynard, M. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities International Press: 46-60. 1987.

Is video game violence real?

I saw an article today about video game sexualized violence and it argued that any violence that happens in this setting is wrong and should be considered a crime. This debate has been going on for awhile and it also includes whether or not violence in video games can have an effect on children's behavior. I'm kind of still debating this myself. Before this class, I thought that it was the parents' job to teach children to differentiate between the real and the virtual world. It seemed pretty logical. But now, I think that they should still teach their children but not responsible or liable if their children can't make that difference. This argument can also apply to pornography. In Law and Order, Special Victims Unit, (one of my favorite shows) there had been cases where males see rapes, torturing, among other things in video games and porn and try to replicate it in their personal lives. But in these types of cases, who is responsible: the guy who commits these crimes or the industries that create the scenarios? It's a fine line because society first creates these criminals and then punishes them for the same behavior it taught them. This is a question I still can't answer. But, by using this example, I think that sexualized violence in video games is real because it programs the users to think that this is ok, in other words, it normalizes violent behavior. It is the same process that is seen in the military. Weird how all of these things are connected...

But please comment with your ideas.

Some would call it rambling

Events like a graduation never seem complete without a few did-he-really-just-say-thats and are-we-actually-having-this-discussions. Mine was witness to a denouncement of feminists, with a bit of a back-tracking defense that although all feminists are crazy, he supports women’s activists. Perhaps that individual should be more attentive to the company he keeps. I err in blind condemnation, however. Once upon a time, I too thought feminists were crazy, even while supporting women’s rights. That’s why my gender studies courses have been so important to me. They have given me the language to articulate those thoughts, feelings, and observations that have long given me discomfort, even if I couldn't quite put a finger on why. Now I have positionality, intersectionality, and hegemonic masculinity (it would be nice if Microsoft Word did too- those red squigglys are so unbecoming to my manifesto).

It’s shameful that that may be my most persuasive self-check is self-identification. I agree with getting angry, I agree with protest, outcry, endurance, and firm-resolve. The comment from that individual did come from at least a sliver (albeit teeny tiny) of reality. Sometimes being a warrior becomes being a crusader. And I think as soon as a mission is given such divine status, it loses focus. Gods, in any case, can justify all. The rare outlier that does fall into man-hating is likely guilty of complicity with privilege. Is that individual white, middle-class, heterosexual, able-bodied, sound of mind, thin but not too thin, youthful (ad infinitum)?  For me to even have such thoughts, at least so clearly formulated in my mind, I owe Kimberle Crenshaw for giving me “intersectionality” and the scholars who built upon her work.

Another particular addition to my vernacular has been especially timely: victim-blaming. News recently has been jointly filled with sexualized violence and its explaining away via excusing the perpetrator. Like the Steubenville case, blame is being routinely shifted to the victim. During the semester, we had the opportunity to read “'Nothing really happened': the invalidation of women's experiences of sexual violence,” in Next Critical Social Policy by Liz Kelly and Jill Radford.  The use of repetition as a persuasive rhetoric tool as well as articulate analysis on domestic and sexualized violence in this chapter really helped elucidate the absurdity of victim-blaming for me. It dovetailed well with our reading of the Continuum of Sexual Violence, which, additionally, maintains connections with Connell’s conceptions of hegemonic masculinity, as both examine the pervasiveness and infiltration of various aspects of privilege in US society and some of the writings by Ann Jones. Concurrently, I’ve lately avoided complete cynicism by rejoicing in the fact that conversation is happening. The fact that it seems to be being debated now seems to suggest that the reliance on “tradition,” or “the way it’s always been” is being challenged. I relish that. And then I hear an esteemed female physician on NPR discussing community- and patient-based health care declare that women are “universally” communicative, chatty, and desirous of discussing such topics as menopause and I waver between excusing her for having been raised in the US’s system of stark and hierarchical gender dichotomies and denouncing her as a betrayer of women.

I feel as though I should end with an acknowledgement of the more international-minded of our class’s readings. In particular, I enjoyed What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq by Nadje al-Ali and Nicola Pratt. Themes of positionality and intersectionality were replayed. The need to feminize security studies was also underlined. As the rhetorical title indicates, claims of women’s liberation for the Iraq War have not been well met in its aftermath. The book did an excellent job of elucidating the specific challenges that some women in Iraq face, the role of the international system and the United States, and the shared global system of patriarchy, consequences in tow. Ultimately, our internationally-focused readings helped to dissolve “us” vs. “them” heuristics by uncovering shared experiences.

Lauren: Another Example of the Invisible War

As I was catching up with the Big Bang Theory episodes after a long day of doing nothing, a preview for the second season of LAUREN came on. I saw that it was about a woman in the military. I found out it was a rape case, just the Invisible War. The preview showed a pretty, White female (Lauren) telling another soldier about her rape. After, there is a shot of a male commanding officer telling Lauren's captain that she needs to make this go away. In another take, we see both women talking about the rape and Lauren is emotional because they tell her that she has no right to do anything. I automatically thought of the Invisible War and Jessica Lynch. It showed a stereotypical White woman being controlled by a big, strong man in an environment where she couldn't do anything. I think that this show became an extension of The Invisible War because it shows the story of another rape case in the military in another form of the media. The series is broadcasted on the WIGS and on Youtube, as well as on TV, which are easier ways to access the series than a documentary. The casting of the actress made me think: Is this really positive for exposure of military rape? I mean, it focuses solely on women, it follows the defenseless female, and it's about her fight against the system. In my personal opinion, any exposure is good exposure, even if it is stereotypical. This series, which I just started watching, gives other people an idea about what is happening in the military and it makes women (and men) think about these issues before enlisting. I had the same issue with the Invisible War. But if it wasn't for the documentary, I wouldn't have known about military rape. So, even if the Invisible War and Lauren mainly focus on women's cases, it is a starting point to raise awareness.

Here is the link to WIGS website in case you are interested in watching the series: 

http://www.watchwigs.com/

Wigs also makes other series about women in different situations that deal with "women problems." If you see or are seeing any of the other series, tell me what you think :)

I will be watching the series throughout the summer and I will post some analysis and personal thoughts on the series. I recommend everyone see it and post comments about the episodes as well.

A Summer of Mis-romance: On Complicity and Intimate Violence (cross-posted from Kaalratri)

Davies Fellow Caron Gentry connects the dots - from representations of women and violence in Black Heart, Fifty Shades of Grey, Wuthering Heights, Medea and the Twilight saga to relationship violence among teens in the UK, sexualized violence in the U.S military, and domestic violence in the U.S. - there is a continuum of violence (cf. Kelly 1987). As Gentry notes, "we are teaching the next generation that gender stereotypes of subaltern feminine submissiveness and passivity and dominant masculine aggression and dominance, whether they are performed by men or women, are valid."
Read more at Kaalratri.

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

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.

Fort Hood soldier, in charge of sexual assault prevention, charged with "abusive sexual contact"

With barely a week in between, another soldier assigned to an assault prevention program in a branch of the U.S. military has himself been charged...

Melissa Harris-Perry, on her show this past weekend, discussed the issue with (among others), Anu Bhagwati.

According to the AP (full story here): 

WASHINGTON — A soldier assigned to coordinate a sexual assault prevention program in Texas is under investigation for "abusive sexual contact" and other alleged misconduct and has been suspended from his duties, the Army announced Tuesday.
Just last week an Air Force officer who headed a sexual assault prevention office was himself arrested on charges of groping a woman in a parking lot.
The Army said a sergeant first class, whose name was not released, is accused of pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates. He is being investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Command. No charges have been filed.
He had been assigned as an equal opportunity adviser and coordinator of a sexual harassment-assault prevention program at the Army's 3rd Corps headquarters at Fort Hood, Texas, when the allegation arose, the Army said.

Japanese politician calls wartime sex slaves 'necessary'

and no.... this is not an onion article....

http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/14/world/asia/japan-hashimoto-comfort-women/

From the domestic to the international ... and back:

As the semester draws to a close, let us once again consider domestic politics & domestic violence. Earlier in the semester, we read Ann Jones'  "Why doesn't she leave?" (in: Next Time She'll Be Dead. Boston: Beacon Press. 1994), and today, this:

Thinking back to her piece - and her visit in February - what do you make of this latest victim blaming in the U.S. mainstream media? Please post entries with your thoughts - drawing on Ann Jones' work or anything else we've read!

Pentagon report finds increase in sexual assaults

A shocking new report by the Pentagon has found that 70 sexual assaults may be taking place within the U.S. military every day. The report estimates there were 26,000 instances of sexualized violence [my edit] committed in 2012, a jump of 37 percent since 2010. Most of the incidents were never reported. The findings were released two days after the head of the Air Force’s sexual assault prevention unit, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski, was arrested for sexual assault. We air highlights from Tuesday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on military sexual assault and speak with Anu Bhagwati, executive director and co-founder of Service Women’s Action Network. "The numbers are outrageous, and I think we’ve reached a tipping point," Bhagwati says. "The American public is furious."

Read on/ watch here.

Anu commenting on latest Air Force Scandal..

... on "All In" (with Chris Hayes) tonight:

See the whole clip here.

Head of U.S. Air Force's anti-sexual assault unit arrested for sexual battery

http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/The-Air-Force-chief-of-sexual-assault-4492622.php
I have no words...... this on the heels of that Air Force general overturning a jury's sexual assault conviction.

Very reminiscent of Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, right here in SF. Be interesting to see if this Airman actually loses his job. Sadly, probably not.

Stop, Look and Listen: Feminist Security Studies and its Bright Future

Though I'm no expert in feminism, I think it's safe to say we've seen strides in reframing the way people think about women's issues. The recent Steubenville rape case brought justice to the victim and persecuted the perpetrator. Women are no longer excluded from combat in the US military. Women's rights came to the forefront of the 2012 elections. Grassroots movements like Slutwalk and student-led sexual assault protests across university college campuses have been sprouting since 2011.

Now I know that each of these examples pose and have posed other consequences that conflict with Feminist Security Studies. Yes, women can now serve all positions in the military, but how is that an answer to mediating hegemonic masculinity and violence in the US military system? Of course, the Steubenville rape case was a win for proving that the absence of "no" is not consent, but what about the sympathetic media portrayal of these sexual offenders? Even though women's rights were at the center of the political process during elections, were they truly being acknowledged or just used as tactical strategies for winning over female voters? And do these student movements correctly and effectively bring forth these women's issues to the political conversation?

The silver lining amidst these flaws and imperfections, I think, is the fact that these issues are more visible than they were even five years ago. Women's issues are featured on TV, print sources like newspapers and magazines, and most definitely the Internet - especially on blogs like this one! We have the great pleasure of accessibility to free publishing via social media and have the power to spread the feminist perspective that early feminists didn't have - and I think this is largely why these issues have risen to the front of politics in recent years. The feminist perspective is more prevalent than it once was. No one can pretend that women's issues don't exist. No one can pretend that Feminist Security Studies isn't a "real thing." The truth is that more feminist narratives are put out there, and - despite the fact that there is indeed tension when someone even tries to mention feminism in conversation - society is growing more comfortable with acknowledging the feminist perspective.

Maybe it's not that more people are willing to stop, look for and listen to the feminist narrative, but it's definitely becoming more visible... and maybe even unavoidable. People are now given a plethora of information to see that the intersectionality of our identities truly affect our experience of the world - all women do not necessarily share the same kinds of oppression (Wibben 2011, p. 107). We already see change domestically in the framework of the United States (hoping that breaking the record of women elected into our legislative branch will soon begin to change things!), so perhaps this is the first stepping stone into looking past our borders and pursuing feminist narratives in International Relations as well. If we continue to progress in the way we already are, it may not be a far reach from getting a hand in IR - but before we do so, society must continue to "develop a willingness to listen and to consider another view of the world" (Wibben 2011, p. 111).

I should acknowledge, however, that this is coming from my perspective - my narrative. I am, after all, in the lovely city of San Francisco, and also a college student in an institute with a largely liberal population. I always wonder if my views are skewed simply because I'm in one of the most liberal parts of the country - but I digress. I still would like to believe that Feminist Security Studies is moving towards a brighter future, and I hope I get to learn more about it and grow with it as the time comes.

Wibben, A.T.R. (2011). Feminist security studies: A narrative approach. London, Routledge.

To Infinite, and Beyond

If I rubbed my crystal ball, seeking to decipher the future of feminist security studies, what would I be met with?

Nothing, probably, not being so inclined with divination. But where soothsaying denies, my mind supplies (or, at the very least, offers biased opinions and a few haphazard guesses). 

Chiefly, one day, I would like feminist security studies not to have that first qualifier. I would like the lives of women to be taken seriously and their experiences of violence, and war, and peace to be considered general experiences of violence, and war, and peace. Not general in that it is widespread, but general in that we don’t need to consider it the concern of a special interest group. Because rape, and sexualized violence, and structural violence, and although those other entities and forms of being which aren’t peace (and lets not getting started on what, exactly, peace is, anyways), concern everybody. And while I don’t advocate that color-blind or race-blind or inserttheroppressedandmarginalizedgroup-blind approaches are the way to go, at moment (because we first have to dismantle centuries of overt and institutionalized oppression, not to mention continuing prejudices and stereotypes, as well as all possible effects derived from these ugly histories--- and who knows long that will take), I hope we get to a place in the future where its not even an intentional choice but the norm.

Personally,  I agree with Professor Wibben on the potential harms of too many “feminisms” (after all, if feminism is inherently political, it has to have an agreed-upon agenda to cultivate a constituency). I also think it would behoove feminism and feminist critical security studies to adopt a wide variety of methods and to explore the bounty of disciplines. To “leave no stone unturned,” as it were. After all, systems of oppression poison all dynamics of our world, so it only makes sense to be equally comprehensive.  I believe there is a place for personal testimonials and a place for empirical observations. For participatory observation and covert reconnaissance. For assertions and for silence. This is, in part, because of my last wish regarding the future direction of feminist security studies. I think our understanding of security needs to be broadened. As nearly all of our reading has elucidated, the current US conception of security is defined by imperialist hegemonic masculinity. Security starts with the self, runs through the home, and colors relationships, cultures, societies, international networks. And as we further conceptualize a colony on Mars, I'll go ahead and assert that it'll define intergalactic life as well.


Cohn, C.(2011) “‘Feminist Security Studies’: Toward a reflexive practice” Politics & Gender 7 (4): pp. 581-586.


Wibben, A.T.R. (2011a) Feminist Security Studies: A narrative approach. Routledge.
(2011b) "Feminist politics in Feminist Security Studies" Politics & Gender 7 (4): pp. 590-595.


-Laur

Bus stories

As some of you know, you see the craziest things on MUNI, and today was no exception. I was heading home when a group of middle school students got on the bus. It was crowded for an evening bus, so we were all smushed inside. A seat was vacated later on and one of the girls sat down. Then one of the boys sat on top of her, and all the other teens started yelling "RAPE!" First of all, the comment was completely inappropriate. It reminded me of the "That's so GAY!" comment. Other passengers stayed quiet and didn't say anything, even though they repeated it several times. The boy sitting on the girl said that it was not rape because she was younger than he was. Throughout this incident, I really wanted to say something about rape and how it isn't something that you can joke around with, but I didn't know how to approach it without it sounding like a lecture. It goes to show that even in San Francisco, people still have uninformed perspectives on rape, as seen in the Steubenville rape case. There is no education on sexual issues, apart from a college setting, even though we live in a sexualized environment. I believe that a movement has to be created to educate the youth about sex and all other issues that relate. Like Swati Parashar said, we have to be uncomfortable and angry at these issues to stimulate change. I wish I would have said something, but the issue is too complicated to explain in a 30-minute bus ride.

Rape: A Lack of Conviction

Click the link to see the visual - out of an estimated 78,000 rapes in the UK each year, only 1,153 are convicted of their crime (data from 2009-2012) via Information is beautiful.