Violence and Care- a wrap up

Throughout the semester, violence has been a hot topic. Carter and I have incorporated this important issue of violence into our final papers, as well as into many blog discussions, as it can be exemplified in all areas of life. Women are victims of violence in many different ways. Virginia Held discusses violence in her article titled "The Ethics of Care." I believe that this article was a great way to end a semester where violence was a large amount of discussion. On Page 139 she discusses those who use violence as having morally failed to develop a need to avoid violence. We have discussed violence as happening often, but have failed to address the situation of the ways in which we can avoid it. Held addresses this issue and the example of a mother reacting to a child screaming was discussed in class. Responding back with yelling or violence will only perpetuate the problem, rather than solve it. She touches on the fact that women have the right to counter violence, just as men do, and that the practice of the ethics of care should recognize these rights. I agree with Held's analysis of violence, and the ways in which she understands that care is a valuable practice in everyday society, especially in terms of violence. This discussion of violence, and the ethics of care which are attached to violence, shows the importance of the need to realize the alternative to violence, and the desire for people to use these alternatives, as they express care, rather than being hurtful. 

A personal feminist consciousness

Although I have already responded to Bartky's piece on feminist consciousness, another thought came to my mind. It is more a thought of confusion rather than a direct response. Bartky claims that although her husband would be embarrassed by her actions of not purchasing a gendered Christmas gift for her niece or nephew, I continue to wonder if she is suggesting that all women today continue by doing the same thing. I understand that toy stores, clothing stores, and small specialty shops are very gendered. However, I feel as though she is arguing that one of the only ways in which we can display a feminist consciousness is through a means such as this one. I find it hard to believe that every woman, who strives to achieve a feminist consciousness, will find themselves doing this. Contrary to this, I realize that it is things such as taking a political stand, helping other understand oppression, and expressing knowledge and opinion are other ways of doing so, gendered shopping seems to be the only reasonable way to achieve consciousness. A college student like myself will have a more difficult time taking a political stand and really making a difference, in comparison to a woman who has a lot more power in society. I think that my confusion lies in the question as to whether or not women are able to easily achieve this feminist consciousness today, and if so, what ways are they able to do it? Is it supposed to be something that is easily achieved? I feel as though understanding the need for change is going to be clearly displayed, but is that enough??

Language and Gender

After reading Butler's piece, "On Linguistic Vulnerability,"  some things were stuck in my mind. I found it interesting the ways in which she placed blame on speech, and the particular person who spoke. It is clear that we control our speech, but it is a little less clear the importance of our speech. There are many words and phrases that we do not understand the meaning of, or the negative connotations that go with them. I enjoyed the discussion of name calling. While it is clear that there are many instances of name calling that do hurt people's feelings, etc, it is less clear that "if language can sustain the body, it can also threaten its existence." (Page 5). Many meanings can change over time, and name calling can certainly take a word that once meant nothing negative, and turn it into something that changes what a person thinks of their self. It can give the person speaking a sense of power, as they are placing subordination on the person whom they are directing their speech. 

While much of the speech was interesting to me, it seemed as though it could have been information that was implied from others as well. The most interesting discussion was that of gender. We talked in class about the words "boy" and "girl." In my women's studies class, we discussed gender stereotypes and differences. Within the discussion of Butler's piece, we mentioned that when shopping for baby gifts, the words "boy" and "girl" are of large importance in determining what the gift may be, in terms of gender stereotype. While I had thought about the fact that these stereotypes existed, I never thought about the fact that it was in the meaning of the word, rather than the social meaning. Butler's article allowed me to give more thought to this, and the ways in which other words can change meaning based on the person using it, and the connotation given to it. 

Feminist Consciousness

While I have taken many philosophy courses, and women's studies courses, I have yet to fully understand the meaning of either until reading Bartky's piece about the Feminist Consciousness. Until reading this piece, I would not have been able to define or explain what being a feminist is made up of. This article allowed me to better understand the meaning of feminism, and the ways in which it is necessary to interpret one's own meaning as a woman in American society, through their feminist consciousness. It was important to understand the ways in which feminist consciousness came about in our culture, due to some of the very important historical and social aspects that our society has faced. I think that Bartky was correct in stating that one of the most immediate causes of the emergence of feminist consciousness was the Civil Rights Era. This was an era of striving to achieve equal rights for humans, although it was primarily focused on racial discrimination. This article allowed me to understand the ways in which women were left out of this era, and although it was an issue of human rights as well as civil rights, women, being human, were overlooked. 

I enjoyed the ways in which Bartky wrote her article, although I have a problem with the ways in which it is focused directly at men. I think that it would be wrong to say that ALL men oppress women, although this is the case in many situations, I do not think it encompasses all men in this country. She makes it apparent that it would be very difficult for men to become feminists and develop a feminist consciousness. This would imply that in addition for men not being able to take notice of women's oppression, that the white majority would not be able to take note of the oppression of the minority of human's in our country. While Bartky did make some excellent arguments in her piece, I think that it could have been written towards a more broad audience, to better help let the rest of society understand that they can help in developing a feminist consciousness, and raise awareness for the oppression of women everywhere. 

Against Marriage and Motherhood (Card)

Claudia Card argues against marriage in her article titled "Against Marriage and Motherhood." It is clear that marriage is a three party relationship, including the state (law) as the third party. This makes it extremely difficult for gay and lesbian marriages to exist in our society. Claudia Card argues that there are some things that are inherently wrong with marriage, which with this realization, could lead to one of her suggestions happening. Although I do not completely agree with this suggestion, I think that Card provides some very legitimate reasons for why eliminating the rights of marriage would not be that bad of an idea. She find four problems that are inherently wrong with marriage, the first being the economic benefits that come with a legally married couple. Second, divorce can be hard, and next, legal monogamy. Lastly, the legal rights of access married partners have to one another property, etc. Marriage is clearly an issue that is involved with the state, as exemplified in these four problems. 

Next Card discusses the issue of the family, and the fact that marriage allows the law to decipher who is and who isn't part of a family (ie: marriage, etc.). This is to say that the law is allow to determine who can be married, therefore, determine once children are produced, what parents are actually a part of that family, legally. Parenting is a large part of marriage, and Card argues that parents are not necessarily those that are doing the parenting, rahter babysitters, day care centers, etc. She claims that the so-called access to a mother does not guarantee care taking, therefore the need for parents is not as legitimate. However, I find some things wrong with this situation. I was raised by one nanny my entire childhood. Both of my parents worked, and it was necessary for this to happen. While I was part of a legitimate, legal family, Card would argue that I was not being given love, supervision, etc, from my parents. I would disagree with this, and argue that there are ways to have the best of both worlds. Yes I was raised by someone other than my parents, but that does not go to say that my parents did not raise me as well. It is possible for parents to do all of the above, and maintain a job, and in a society where capitalism prevails all, I think that this is something that is more and more common, and if it has worked for this amount of time, I think that there is nothing, inherently wrong with it, contrary to the beliefs of Card. 

Cultural Phenomenons

After reading Nazneen's article, "Violence in Bangladesh," and Jaggar's article, "Saving Amina," I was shocked to realize the true meaning of cultural phenomenon's. The reality of cultural phenomenon's are actually quite scary, in a sense. Things that would be considered illegal and absolutely ridiculous and morally and ethically wrong in the Western world, are considered culturally traditional in places such as Bangladesh, or other less developed countries. Practices such as FGM, dowry-marriages, and such, are considered normal in these cultures, whereas in America, they would not be accepted. 

Nussbaum does a lot in talking about "fixing" such things, but it is clear that although Westerner's want to help, there is a sense of overstepping boundaries, especially when it comes to the difference of cultures. I believe that it would obviously be beneficial to these cultures to learn more about their practices, and this knowledge would possibly put an end to the harmful cultural phenomenon's. It seems unbelievable that a culture would accept violating women in the ways that they do, especially because women are such an important part of any culture, due to reproduction. However, it has become more and more clear to me how important tradition in ones culture is, and the ways in which it clearly has an impact, even in modern day cultures and societies. 

Medicine and Violence Against Women

Wilkerson's piece "Her own body her own worst enemy: The medicalization of violence against women," left the class discussion in a large amount of debate. I had a lot of trouble wrapping my thoughts around this class discussion and the reading itself. There were a large amount of valid arguments brought up during this class, but I continued to have trouble acknowledging the legitimacy of some of the arguments. We found ourselves arguing mostly in terms of the issue of doctors lack of requirement to report domestic violence. I think that the answer to this should be clear, and I do not think that this was expressed in class as well as it could have been. I believe that in the case of clear domestic violence, it should be the case that the woman is immediately taken to the psych ward, and that the situation should be further investigated. There are obviously going to be cases that are a bit more grey than they straight black or white issues of domestic violence. 

What bothers me about this issue, is that if it were the case of other violence issues, it would be a given answer. In addition, I cannot help but think of other issues of hospital visits. There are many instances where a patient visits the hospital for help, and it involves alcohol. In this case, it is obvious that the hospital will immediately send the patient to get help, in terms of a drinking problem, or a violence problem. In addition, there are times when someone could be injured, and the one who injured them is found out to be drunk. These cases are sent to other levels of authority as well. I believe that cases of domestic violence should be treated just as these cases. While doctors do not necessarily have the knowledge to diagnose someone with an issue such as this, it should be the case that they overreact, just as they often do to a broken arm, or leg. Overreacting could save the future of a person, man or woman, and it could be that extra step that would lead to the end of domestic violence in that particular household, etc.