Power in Gender Violence - Essay Example

Midterm Power in Gender Violence There can be many themes to consider when evaluating gender and violence and how it is portrayed in the media. Many references take different approaches and angles in regards to these themes. When looking at gender and violence, one theme to consider is the role of power. Some works that function as a means to discuss power show men as stronger and more powerful figures while women are more powerless and the weaker gender. This could be true in all types of media ranging from books written in the 1950s to films in theaters today. In a person’s mindset people can consider the stereotypes that are already ingrained and are also continuously conditioned and instilled. Through the various types of mediums available to society, the gender roles of men and women can either be followed such as society has instilled them or they can break that pattern. However, when looking at power, it can be seen from two different perspectives. In roles of prominent office or being the breadwinner of a household, a woman’s power is seen to be a more positive role. This is the role of a non-violent woman who holds power. Nonetheless, power can also be seen from a negative perception. Power in relation to violence can mean that the woman is the more sinister and evil character in a movie or a book. A woman can be the one who is vindictive and dangerous. To discuss the role of power and how it pertains to gender roles, a few sources of literature, popular media and non-fiction literary works will be used to show how the roles of men and women and violence also carry with it a role of who has power in each of the various situations. When people think of violence, the role of a person who initiates or participates in violence is typically one that is assigned to the role of a man. It can be difficult to think of a movie that involves women in a shoot-out. However, a movie with a shoot-out between two opposing sides is often a situation that occurs between men. This is not always true in reality and is becoming increasingly more prevalent in popular media as women as the gender who can carry the gun, play the role of a cop or can hold their own in graphic violent situations. These examples will evaluate those typecast roles further and how they pertain to gender and violence through the use of power. The first example is a current popular television show online. Orange is the New Black is a television series based on a young woman, Pipe Chapman, along with a female romantic partner, committed a crime about a decade prior to facing jail time. While she was in the midst of trying to become a better person 10 years later after her life with her girlfriend, she ended up having to serve time in prison for the crime previously committed which involved transporting money for her girlfriend who was a drug dealer. Since Piper had committed the crime, her exterior had softened and she was less of a risk taker and more of a law-abiding citizen. She had changed into a person who lived in a partnership with a man and her life had become nothing less than normal. However, upon entering the prison, the other women were more hardened and rougher around the edges. They were not strangers to violence. She was in prison among women who had committed all types of violent crimes and to survive in prison, she realized she could not just be nice to everyone but had to figure out who her new peers were and who to avoid, who to befriend and who to never anger. The other women had already set roles in their prison life setting. When using The Color Purple, a literary work by Alice Walker written in 1982, we also see a role of another woman’s power and sometimes the lack thereof. Celie is a 14-year-old African American girl in Georgia who has grown up poor. Her father Alphonso has raped and beat her on numerous occasions, even impregnating her. Celie writes letters to God about her experiences and it seems obvious that she is powerless against her father. Celie’s mother dies and her father remarries while continuing to use Celie to conduct sexual acts and beats her. She is the victim of domestic violence and of the two children she became pregnant with that were her father’s, he stole them both and the first he killed. Celie has a younger sister Nettie. She finds out that a man is wanting to marry Nettie but their father is refusing it. Instead, father Alphonso offers up Celie as the ‘ugly’ bride. Their father has ultimate control using violence and intimidation to control his daughters. Many other characters undergo battles of power and are subject to violence whether it be through verbal abuse, physical abuse or even female circumcision and facial scarring which is a tradition in Africa (an instance she learns from her sister, Nettie). Celie and her husband eventually reconcile as he has become changed. Her father has passed away and she no longer feels a victim of violence and finally at a much older age, she can reclaim the power of her own life and start living it in a more liberating and pleasant way because the violence has stopped. It took her many years of being victimized and finally deciding to no longer give in, speak up and flee from it to finally regain the power she deserved. Men had previously taken that power for her to live a childhood and a happy life. Though it took many years, Celie finally held the key to her own happiness and survived the violence that had weakened her body and spirit. Her power is representative of society in previous decades where the woman is at will to the husband so it would only seem appropriate that she felt that she was to do what she was told, even in violent situations, though it took the power she had over her own body and allowed someone else to take over. The last example is Sex, Power and Consent: Youth Culture and the Unwritten Rules which is a scholarly work by Anastasia Powell from 2010. This book discusses sex and relationships of young people and their own true stories. Many times there are issues in which the girls have been powerless and are victims to sexual abuse. Other times, it may be that the young girls are using their own sexuality as power. Sexuality as power can create a situation where a young woman uses her body to get what she wants whether it to just have sex or for gain such as financial gain. This example is based on current societal roles of gender and violence. Women can be sexual predators and they may sometimes be the ones that promote sexual violence. Even when a woman uses her power and sexuality to get something that she wants, she can become a victim because after a man has had his way with her, she can then be abused and subject to violence and often threatened though she has been consensual. Power as a theme between gender and violence often shifts. A man can leave a young girl a victim due to his heinous incestuous desires. She remains powerless until she can decide that she regain that power through deciding to take control. A woman may have to exchange power among a more even playing field among other women where there is constant violence. Also, in today’s times, young men and women are sexually preyed upon and there are no rules anymore. It can happen to anyone and often the victims can be of either gender. This has been a discussion about those roles of gender and violence and how power plays a role in a few different scenarios that were representative of certain times and cultures and even a real life portrayal of those roles today. References (2013). Orange is the New Black. [Television series]. Netflix. Powell, A. (2010). Sex, power and consent: Youth culture and the unwritten rules. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Walker, A. (1982). The Color Purple. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Read More