Lecture Notes and Discussion Questions

After Midterm

Date or Acquaintance Rape
l
¡Women’s bodies are complicated and have multiple meanings
lBodies can be a form of sexual expression and agency
lBodies can be a sight of exploitation and inequality
Types of Acquaintance Rape
Party Rape (can include gang rape)
lDate rape (usually takes place in the victims or offenders residence or in a car after the date)
lRape in a non-party and non-date situation (e.g. while studying together)
lRape by a former intimate
lRape by a current intimate
l(U.S. Department of Justice)
College Women and Rape
l
l
lAccording to the U.S. Department of Justice :
¡College women are more at risk for rape and other forms of sexual assault then women the same age but not in college
Assault Characteristics
lRape and sexual assault are not crimes that usually occur in dark alleys or in deserted areas at night.
¡6 out of 10 sexual assaults occur in the home of the victim or the home of a friend, neighbor or relative. (Greenfeld, 1997)
¡43.4% of rapes and sexual assaults occur between the hours of 6PM and midnight Greenfeld, 1997)
¡two thirds occur between the hours of 6 PM and 6 AM (Greenfeld, 1997).
 
Certain schools and certain places are more rape-prone than others
¡Religiously affiliated institutions have lower than average rates.
¡Private colleges and major universities have higher than national average rates
lUnsupervised parties
lAccess to alcohol
lSingle students living on their own
lAvailability of private rooms
¡(U.S. Department of Justice)
Victims
¡Women ages 16 to 24 experience rape at rates 4 times higher than the assault rate of all women.
¡1out of every 5 college women has been the victim of rape or attempted rape
¡1in 2 rape victims is under the age of 18, 1 in 6 under the age of 12
lOver 70% of rapes reported in Iowa law enforcement were committed by someone the victim knew
l80% of sexual assaults reported to rape crisis center were committed by someone the victim knew
l72% of rapes happened at a residence
•Stats: from the U.S. Department of Justice

 

lCollege students are most vulnerable to rape during the first few weeks of the freshman and sophomore years.
lThe first few days of a freshman's year are the riskiest
l(U.S. Department of Justice)
 
l34% of completed rapes and 45% of attempted rapes take place on campus.
l60% of the completed rapes take place on campus occur in the victims residence
l31% occur in another residence
l10% occur in a fraternity
l(U.S. Department of Justice)
lCollege athletes are disproportionately reported to campus judicial officers for acquaintance rape
lNot saying they offend more
¡Reason unknown-
lHigher profile
lSome tend to feel athletes don’t have to follow rules and get away with more
l(U.S. Department of Justice)
lA is proportionate number of gang rapes involve fraternity members. (U.S. Department of Justice)
¡Research from 1980s to 1990s found that 55% of gang rapes were committed by fraternity members
¡Some fraternities are more rape prone than others because of their practices and beliefs about women Stereotypical views of women’s sexual behavior – No really means yes
¡Sexist attitudes and seek for sexual conquest
Rape and Fraternities
lDuring the 1980s and 1990s, a series of rapes in fraternity houses, and subsequent cover-ups by fraternity members, suggested to researchers that certain all-male living arrangements foster unhealthy environments conducive to rape
l(U.S. Department of Justice)
Characteristics of Rapists
¡Some men see alcohol as a tool for sexual conquest (the use of alcohol is not an excuse for rape but having sex with someone who is drunk is rape)
¡Some men receive peer support of sexually abusive behavior – Sexually abusive men are often friends with and loyal to other sexually abusive men, fostering support and legitimization
l(U.S. Department of Justice)
The Rapist
lAt least 45% of rapists were under the influence of alcohol or drugs
lIn 1997, 68.3% were perpetrated by someone who knew the victim. (Bureau of Justice's National Crime Victimization Survey, 1997)
l78% of women raped or physically assaulted since they turned 18 were assaulted by a current or former husband, live-in partner or date.
l 17% were victimized by an acquaintance, 9% by a relative other than a husband and only
l14% were assaulted by a stranger. (National Violence Against Women Survey, 1998)
l
Risk Factors
lFrequently drinking to get drunk
lDinking to the point of being able to resist forceful sexual advances
lUsing drugs and/or drinking
lHaving previously been the victim of sexual assault, before the start of the school year
lEngaging in social activities with sexually predatory men
l(U.S. Department of Justice)
lBeing at an isolated site
lMiscommunication about sex
l(U.S. Department of Justice)
 
Reporting Statistics
lOnly 16% of rapes and sexual assaults are reported to the police (Rape in America: A Report to the Nation. 1992).
lLess than 5% of all college women report rape
l In 1995 there were 97,460 rapes reported to law enforcement officials. At a 16% reporting rate, this means that there were actually closer to 649,733 rapes in the United States. Along the same lines, the number of rapes reported in New York state in 1996 was 20,911. At a 16% reporting rate, this means the actual number of rapes was closer to 139,406. (Computerized Criminal History, Feb. 1998)
l
lThe rate of false reports of rape is approximately 2 - 3% which is no different than that for other crimes. This is different than the 8% of reports which are unfounded. This means that in 8% of the rape cases reported the investigators or prosecutors deemed that the case was not prosecutable for any number of reasons. Only 2 - 3% of the reports however were fabricated stories.
Why don’t women report rape?
lFear of reprisal of the assailant or others
lFear of emotional trauma caused from legal process
lSometimes the victims themselves do not understand they have been raped and blame themselves for the situation
¡Embarrassment, shame, fear, self-blame, mistrust of legal system, fear of family finding out.
Why the police might believe the accusation of rape is unfounded
lThe victim had a prior relation with the offender (including prior intimacy)
lThe victim may have used alcohol or drugs at the time of the assault
lThere was no visible sign of injury
lThe victim delays disclosure and or does not undergo a rape kit (which are sometimes worthless)
lThe victim fails to label her assault as rape and/or blames herself
l(U.S. Department of Justice)
Rape Culture: What is it?
lFeminist researchers have argued that we live in a “rape culture”
¡Rape culture is based on the assumptions that men are aggressive and dominant whereas women are passive and subordinate
¡Peggy Sanday Reeves suggests that rape in some cultures is a right of passage
¡35% of college males said they would commit rape if they though they could get away with it
¡76% of high school boys said forcing sex was acceptable in some circumstance; 56% of girls said the same thing
Junior High school students  views on sex and dating
lSample of 11 to 14 year olds:
¡31% of boys and 32% of girls said forced sex was acceptable, if the woman had sex before.
¡51% of boys and 41% of girls said forced sex was acceptable in the boy had “spent a lot of money” on the girl. 
¡Stats. From the American Medical Association
Facilitation of Rape Culture
lThe importance of gender:
lGender roles identify to the rest of the world our sexual orientation
¡Prescribe romantic relationship scripts/traditional views on sexuality
lWomen do more relationship maintenance/viewed as passive partners
l Men are more motivated by sex and also must initiate sex
lGender stereo types add to rape myths
¡“She really wanted it; she just said no because she didn’t want me to think she was a bad girl”
¡Because men’s sexuality is seen as more normal, acceptable, and uncontrollable then women’s sexuality, many men and women excuse acquaintance rape by affirming that men cannot control their natural urges (Miller and Marshal 1987)
lBrowning et al. found that usual sexual behavior for women is linked to submissiveness
lSuggest that submissiveness is a way of gaining power
lWomen who pose more masculine roles are more likely  to be more aggressive
•Male behavior in young women is correlated with a higher likelihood of using drugs or alcohol with non-steady partners
•I suggest that both of these models are dangerous for women
lWomen’s Bodies
¡Women’s bodies are tied to biological functions
¡Ideal women’s beauty - commodification and objectification of women’s bodies
lWomen are viewed as objects
lConnell argues that this objectification leads to violence against women’s bodies

Conclusions

lAll men do not rape!!!
lAthletic teams and fraternities are not dens of rapists!!!!
lWe do live in a culture that blames the victim and excuses the perpetrator
lWe live in a culture where rape occurs very frequently
lWe also live in culture that women are devalued not only by men but other women
 

Questions for readings on domestic violence

 

1.      According to Ann Jones, "Battering Who's Going to Stop It?" What are some of the effects or statistics regarding injuries to women?

2.      According to Ann Jones, "Battering Who's Going to Stop It?" How can we help women get free of violence?

3.       In the poem "The Club" by Mitsuye Yamada, What does the statue of the Japanese woman represent?

 

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

THE GLOBAL SEX TRADE

Topics for today:

1) military violence against women

-- rape, sexual assault, & murder of

women and children during war

-- sexual enslavement of women in comfort stations

2) the sex trade

-- sex tourism

-- prostitution around US military bases

-- migrant women forced into  prostitution

-- mail-order brides

MILITARY VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

PLATFORM FOR ACTION

(1995 United Nation's 4th World Conference on Women, Beijing):

While entire communities suffer the consequences of armed conflict and terrorism, women and girls are particularly affected because of their status in society and their sex. Parties to conflict often rape women with impunity, sometimes using systematic rape as a tactic of war and terrorism. The impact of violence against women and violation of human rights of women in such situations is experienced by women of all ages, who suffer displacement, loss of home and property, loss or involuntary disappearance of close relatives, poverty and family separation and disintegration, and who are victims of acts of murder, terrorism, torture, involuntary disappearance, sexual slavery, rape, sexual abuse and forced pregnancy in situations of armed conflict, especially as a result of policies of ethnic cleansing and other new and emerging forms of violence. This is compounded by the life-long social, economic and psychologically traumatic consequences of armed conflict and foreign occupation and alien domination.

MILITARY VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Such acts of violence are perpetrated:

1) to humiliate the women themselves

2) to humiliate their men, who are supposed to protect them

3) as attack on national identity (b/c women are the mothers of the nation & guardians of its traditions and morals;

due to their roles as mothers)

4) due to objectification of the other

THE SEX TRADE

DEFINITION:

Sex trafficking includes all acts involved in the recruitment and/or transport of a person within and across national borders to gratify the sexual desires of others.

Further, sex trafficking is accomplished by means of direct or indirect violence or threat of violence, abuse of authority or dominant position, debt-bondage, deception, or other forms of coercion.

(http://www.public.iastate.edu/~wok/Philifactsheet.html)

Much of the trade originates in the U.S.

GI TOWNS

prostitution and US military bases

eg: South Korea

currently 27 GI Towns

A. why become prostitutes?

-- similar to Thai example

-- Korea patrilineal, patriarchal,

--hi value on virginity

--honor and shame

--families reject women who are

survivors of rape, incest or domestic violence

-- many were raped (some by GIs) & couldn’t go home

B. Amerasian children

--mother and children outcasts

-- children have no country, no legal rights, no access to education

-- so end up in prostitution, too

C. GI Towns can=t exist without

support of BOTH the South Korean

and U.S. governments

eg: American Town in Kunsan

eg: GI Town outside gates of

Camp Casey

Sexual servitude can be found here in the U.S., too

eg: migrants from former Soviet Union

Sex Tours to the 3rd World operate out of the U.S.

Promote myth that

Exotic oriental women are thrilled to meet American men, and know how to please and serve them.1

One brochure reads:

Had enough of American bitches who won't give you the time of day, and are only interested in your bank account? In Asia you=ll meet girls who will treat you with respect and appreciation, unlike their American counterparts.2

1(Goodwin, The Ultimate Growth Industry p.538)

2(Goodwin, The Ultimate Growth Industry p.539)

To succeed, sex tourism requires:

1) Third World women to be economically desperate enough to enter prostitution

2) men from affluent societies to objectify & stereotype certain women as more available and submissive than women

in their own countries

3) an alliance between local governments in search of foreign $ and foreign businessmen willing to inves

Common elements in these forms of violence against women:

1) complex inequalities of gender, race, ethnicity, and class as well as inequalities between nations

2) global capitalist system and the central role of the military in the operations of that system

3) patriarchal values promoted by  militarism esp. the social construction of hyper-masculinity

Organizing for Change

A. International legal and policy frameworks

--Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

--1993 UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna

1st time rape declared a war crime

B. Strengthening existing international grassroots movements and building others feminist orgs. in Thailand, South Korea

& Philippines making alliances w/  women in Europe, North America, & Japan

ORGANIZATIONS

Human Rights Watch

Global Survival Network (Washington, D.C.)

Equality Now

Gabriela -- alliance of 105 women=s orgs. in Philippines; represents the Lolas http://www.gabnet.org APWAN (The Asia-Pacific Women=s Action Network) Empower -- a Thai women's org.

Friends of Women -- Thai women's org.

HELP -- a shelter for abused migrant  women workers in Tokyo

 

HOMEWORK FOR NEXT MONDAY:

worth 2 points

2-3 pages, typed

Discuss and analyze Maria’s relationships with the men in her life.

Choose 1 or 2 (individual or groups of) men from Maria’s life to focus on in your discussion.

Eg: Maria’s father

Maria’s husband

Tanaka

the other soldiers

the guerillas

Discussion Questions: Comfort Women

Discussion Questions: Comfort Woman and "War and Remembrance"

How were women's bodies treated as objects in Comfort Women?

What did Maria’s body represent?

What do you think about the relationship between Tanak and Maria?

What do you think about the relationship between Maria and her husband?

What do you think about the way Maria was able to forgive?

Did Maria have any other choice then to forgive?

Why do you think there were differences between Maria’s father’s family and Maria’s mothers family in terms of how they were treated during the war?

What are the differences of how men and women experience war?

What is the most important thing you have learned about violence?

What is still unclear.

Reading Questions for Week 11: Women and Reproduction

Burn—Chapter 3

            Terms and Concepts to focus on:

--reproductive control as a feminist issue

--the personal is political (see for eg. the quote from Peterson and Runyan on p.52

                        --examples of how reproductive control is a symptom of women’s low status

                        --gender-related problems with contraceptive use

                        --other factors affecting contraceptive use

                        --female genital mutilation (FGM)

                        --the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

(CEDAW)

                        --pronatalism; pronatalist policies

                        --antinatalism; coercive antinatalism

                        --abortion

                             --factors affecting women’s abilities to get an abortion

                             --factors affecting the way abortion is viewe

            Reading Questions:

                        --What is reproductive control?

                        --How does women’s lack of reproductive control perpetuate their low status?

                        --Why is reproductive control a major women’s health issue?

                        --How do race and class affect reproductive choice? 

WIR #110: Lopez, “Agency and Constraint”

            Reading Questions:

                        --Compare the experiences of the Puerto Rican women in Lopez’ study in NYC with those of

                                    the Indian women in Monday’s film, Something Like a War.

                        --According to Lopez, what is sterlization abuse?  (see p. 158)

                        -- What does Lopez mean by the “ideology of choice” that exists in American culture?

                                    And how does that “ideology of choice” affect how we view the issue of sterilization?

                                    (see p. 160)

                        -- What factors does Lopez believe contributed to the high rates of sterilization among

                                    Puerto Rican women in New York City?

                        --What are some of the reasons why Puerto Rican women get sterilized?

 

Paula Clarke, “The Myth of Reproductive Freedom” (in course pack)

            Reading Questions

                        --What sort of reproductive freedom is Clarke referring to

                        -- Why is chosen childlessness difficult for women in the U.S.

                        -- Try relating the issues of reproductive freedom and chosen childlessness to topics we

                                    covered earlier in this course

 

ADDITIONAL INFO. RE: RACE & CLASS & REPRODUCTIVE CONTROL

 

Eugenics – targeted poor, immigrant women, and women of color in US throughout

                        20th c.; African American, Puerto Rican, Native American women fought

                        to expose and end sterilization experiments and abuses and to defend their

                        right to have children

 

Yet women of color historically suspicious of mainstream reproductive rights movement

Early birth control mvt led by Margaret Sanger had often embraced racist, anti-immigrant, anti-poor rhetoric

 

W/advent of birth control, motherhood became a choice for white middle-class women, while sterilization was promoted as a “moral obligation” for indigent, disabled, uneducated women and for women of color

 

That discrepancy has continued today

Mainstream mvt’s focus has been on preserving “choice”—ie: to protect women’s right to abortion.  A right that has become increasingly difficult for poor women to access following the passage of the Hyde Amendment in 1977 which abolished federal funding for abortions.

 

Conflation of abortion rights with reproductive rights in the mainstream mvt – reproductive rights doesn’t have the same meaning for women of color

 

Women of color have organized their own women’s health and reproductive health organizations to articulate their own visions of reproductive freedom

 

Reproductive issues facing women of color:

            --continuing eugenics mindset ; ie: that women of color have too many children

                        lingering perception that the fertility of women of color is out of control

                        and that it requires intervention (by govt)

            --programs like CRAK (Children Require a Caring Kommunity) pay drug

                        addicted women to become sterilized

            --lack of self-determination around repro. control a major issue

                        eg: 1970s class action suit brought against LA hospital that served many

                        low income and Latina women; it was discovered a lot of women were

                        sterilized there w/out their knowledge or consent

            --women of color more often targets of long-term birth control methods like

                        Depo Provera (linked to cancer) (#1 contraceptive of women of color

                        now) and Norplant

            --lack of cross-cultural awareness in sex education

                        most prevention programs aimed at Latina and African American women

                        are missionary “scare them straight” curriculum or very technical

                        Don’t deal with cultural factors behind why teens get pregnant

                        Highest teen preg rates are among SEAsian communities like

                        Hmong and Cambodian refugees where huge tradition of early

                        Marriage and pregnancy (former agrarian society)

                        Having children was a way to gain authority and respect

                        Also logical in a community where children helped out and cared for you

                        And where (poor community) people die before they’re 50

 

            --in many urban areas, hospitals merging (HMO stuff) and often being taken over

                        by private Catholic hospitals—there svcs like TL, birth control, and

                        abortion services cut

 

            --problems with insurance

                        Latina women highest percentages of being uninsured

                        35% Latinas; 25% AfAm women; 28% Asian and Pacific Island women

                                    uninsured

                                    (# just reflects citizens—not illegal immigrants)

 

            --pap smeers key svc women of color have trouble accessing

 

Choice means diff things to women of color, b/c term “choice” is also about economic

barriers to women’s access to repro services and cultural and social barriers that are both internalized by these women and promoted by others in their communities.

 

Body Image

READING QUESTIONS FOR WEEK 12: BODY IMAGE

General Thought Questions for the Week

--What are some of the factors that “shape women’s bodies” and affect how we see ourselves?

--What do racism, ageism, patriarchy, and capitalism have to do with women’s bodies and women’s body images?

--How are women’s bodies “objectified”?  (And what do we mean by that?)

--What is beautiful?

--How do you feel about your own body?

--What makes you feel good about your body?  About yourself?  Are they different?

--We’ve discussed before how gender differs from sex in that gender is a cultural construct.  Gender is something that must be constructed and maintained.

What kinds of things do you do to construct your femininity (or masculinity) on a daily basis?  Why?

WIR #26  Anastasia Higginbotham, "How to Get a Guy, Drop 20 Pounds, and Lose Your Self-Esteem”

--What are some of the messages teen magazines convey to girls about their bodies?

Mary Pipher, “Worshiping the Gods of Thinness” (course pack; excerpt from Reviving Ophelia)

-- What is bulimia?  Anorexia nervosa?  Compulsive eating?

--What are some of the common reasons why girls develop eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia, or compulsive eating?  What factors contribute to the occurrence of these disorders?

--What roles do society and culture play in the occurrence of eating disorders?

WIR #32 Nellie Wong, “When I Was Growing Up”

--In what ways did the poet long to be white?

--Why did she long to be white?

WIR #39 Linda Delgado, “Arroz con Pollo vs. Slim Fast”

--How is being thin, delgada or flaca, thought of in Latino culture?

--How is food thought of in Latino culture?

--How does this compare to your own way of thinking about food?

--Relate this reading to the poem by Nellie Wong.  Based on these two readings, what do we mean when we say “beauty is a cultural construct”?

HOMEWORK

2 HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS FOR WEEK 12: BODY IMAGE

1)  DUE WED., NOV. 13th in Discussion Section

worth 1 pt toward discussion section grade

format:  1-2 pp typed or neatly handwritten

You MUST include in your paper references to information on the about-face and/or body icon web site(s).

Choose a magazine ad and discuss and analyze it in terms of:

            1) how does it portray women?

            what messages is it sending about women?

            2)  look for any gender roles or ideologies that are contributing to the ad’s

                        design or the messages it is conveying to the reader (eg: look at how the

women in the ad are dressed, how are they posed, what are they doing,

etc.—why are they presented that way?)

            3)  also analyze the ad in terms of its depiction of gender, race, class, age, and

sexuality

Use the following web sites (listed in your syllabus) to help you with your analysis:

                        http://www.about-face.org

                        http://nm-server.jrn.columbia.edu/projects/masters/bodyimage/toc.html

These are really awesome websites—take the time to have some fun browsing through them!

Bring your homework paper and the ad you analyzed with you to class on Wednesday to share and discuss.  Please also bring a favorite magazine to class on Wednesday.

 2)  DUE FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH  in discussion section

worth ½ pt toward your discussion section grade

format: typed or neatly handwritten

Read the article by Erica Goode, “Study Finds TV Trims Fijian Girls’ Body Image and Eating Habits,” on the following web site:

                        http://hermes.ecn.purdue.edu/Links/fnspec_mg/1063.html

(Note: there’s an underline symbol between fnspec_mg)

(Note: you’ll see what looks like gibberish at first; the article starts further down the page

Answer the following reading questions:

1)  What were the traditional Fijian values prior to exposure to American television?

2)  How have Fijian beliefs, values, and behaviors regarding body image changed since exposure to American television?

3)  What are some of the reasons researchers have given for why the body image of Fijian girls has changed?

READING GUIDE FOR WEEK 13

Burn Ch. 10  * Focus on the section on the Four World Women's Conferences and
the UN's Decade for Women
                 --know where and when the four Conferences were held
                 Question: What are some of the things these conferences and the UN Decade for Women did toward improving the status of women
worldwide?
 Focus on the section on Women's Rights as Human Rights
                 Question: Why is it important to make this connection
between women's rights and human rights? Question: What three challenges face the women's human rights movement  --know the following:
--UN's Draft Declaration on the Elimination of  Violence Against Women (be sure to read Box 10.2)--UN's Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) (Be sure to read Box 10.3 for various  Conventions adopted by the UN the one we really want you to be familiar with, though, is CEDAW)

         * Focus on CEDAW (pp.262-5) and Boxes 10.5 and 10.6

         * Read Conclusion


WIR #137 Shanley "Thoughts on Indian Feminism"

--How does Native American feminism compare to "mainstream" American feminism?
         (how is it similar?  how does it differ?)

--What does "equality" mean for Native American women?


WIR#144 Shah "Presenting the Blue Goddess"

--How does Asian American feminism compare to "mainstream" American feminism?
         What are some of the unique issues facing Asian American women?
         How are their experiences with oppression different from those of
Euro American women?
                 of African American women?

--What have been some of the activities of the Asian American women's
groups Shah mentions?
         (see p.538)


HOMEWORK FOR WEEK 13

worth 1 1/2 toward your discussion section grade
Due: Friday, November 22 in section

Answer the following questions on the week's readings:

based on Burn Ch.10
1.  Why is it important to make a connection between women's rights and
human rights?

based on WIR #137 Shanley
2.  How does Native American feminism compare to "mainstream" American
feminism?   (how is it similar? how does it differ?)based on WIR#144 Shah
3. How does Asian American feminism compare to "mainstream" American feminism?(What are some of the unique issues facing Asian American women?
What did they learn from the "mainstream" American feminist movement? What did they learn from the African American feminist movement?)
 

 

 

STUDY GUIDE FOR WS201 FINAL

date of exam: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 9:45-11:45am

format for exam: Multiple-choice and True or False, with a few fill-in-the-blank and/or short answerFocus on common themes and concepts. There will be less emphasis on definitions.

Note: there will be questions on both the textbook and e-reserve readings, as well asthe Monday lectures and the videos we watched in class (Something Like a War, Killing Us Softly 3, and Beyond Beijing).

The exam mostly focuses on the second half of the course (from the Mid-Term untilthe end), but there will be a few questions related to common themes over the semester.

In addition to the below, use the weekly reading guides and reading questions and

any hand-outs you have received (eg: film guides), notes in your course pack (eg: the

information on rape and domestic violence), as well as homework questions to help

you prepare for the exam.

terms and concepts: (be especially familiar with these and why they are important)

the personal is political GI towns

sex sex trafficking

gender sex tourism

sexuality the global sex trade

heterosexual privilege family planning

the Kinsey scale population control

gender identity antinatalism and coercive antinatalism

gender roles pronatalism

gender ideologies forms of birth control

gender attributes sterilization (vasectomy; tubal ligation)

rape anorexia

acquaintance rape bulimia

date rape binging

myths and facts about date rape CEDAW

domestic violence intersectionality

power and control wheel

comfort women

comfort stations

important treaties, conventions, and conferences, etc.:

1975 International Women=s Year

1975 Mexico City, Mexico

1975-1985 Decade for Women

1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

1980 Copenhagen, Denmark

1985 Nairobi, Kenya

1993 UN World Conference on Human Rights, Vienna

Draft Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women

1995 Beijing, China

Platform of Action

some important questions:

Why do so many women stay in abusive relationships?

What does the UN Platform for Action (developed at the Beijing Conference) say about armed conflict and terrorism?

Why do women become involved in the sex trade and GI towns?

What factors contribute to sex tourism?

Why does military violence against women occur?

Common themes in our sections on violence against women

How does the media objectify women's bodies?

How has American advertising affected women elsewhere in the world?

What is reproductive freedom?

Factors affecting women's fertility and birth control options

Factors affecting women's health

What are some of the gender-related problems associated with the use of birth control?

Why do poor women continue to have so many children even though they can't afford them?

What is the ideology of choice and how does it affect how we view issues like sterilization?

Don=