Activity #8

The connections between gender construction and sexual violence is an interesting topic to look at. We all know what we were raised on about this subject (its the man's fault/doing), and for the most part these same ideas that we were given when we were younger still stand to be truth while some may have been altered during the course of our lives or this class.

Sexual harassment has become an ever increasing issue in the United States and world wide. There are many different ways that this can be done. Some of which are in person, on the job, over the phone, in the car, and even online. These things can have effect on everyone not just women, not just homosexuals but everyone.
Some of the things we have learned throughout our lives are: men can be raped too, most rapes occur with someone the victim knows, don't talk to people you don't know online because they may not be who they say they are (aka don't talk to strangers), and if you or someone you know is involved in an abusive relationship get out or help the person get out of that relationship.
Some of those we are able to follow but you can't follow all those rules at all times.

Cyberstalking and many issues have been raised since communication online has become easy, constant, and effective. It's not a fun thing to have someone stalk you online. I have had some issues with this and then I increased my security settings on my AIM and Facebook and for the most part halted what was going on. Even if someone were to find him/herself in a situation like I did, it's pretty easy to fix. You have to make some changes in the way you communicate with people and a few changes you may not like right away- but in the long run they are the best way to solve this problem on your own. For example, I had issues with people on my AIM and I had to change my settings so if I do not have your screen name on my buddy list, then you can't even see that I am online. This is a hassle because I meet new people everyday (especially now that I"m pledging) and I want it to be easy for them to contact me, but I have to make that sacrifice. Cyberstalking can happen to both men and women, and statistically more men are responsible for cyberstalking than women.

Rape can be defined as "a crime of aggression because the focus is on hurting and dominating" (562). Sexual assault can be defined as "any sexual contact without consent and/or that involves the use of force. Like rape, sexual assault is an act of power, control, and domination" (563). "95% of reported sexual assaults are against females, half of all females raped are under the age of 18... 1 in 3 women will experience sexual assault (including rape) in her lifetime, and 1 in 4 college women experience sexual violence" (563). "Both women and men are raped, and... overwhelmingly is is a problem of men raping women and other men" (562).

So there are some ideas and statistics about sexual assault and so forth. The ongoing trend is that male dominance issues are what seem to drive men to commit sexual assault. With this being a women's studies class and having to debate the gender roles, that would also make me want to say that a female (biological) who associates herself with a male gender role could also be more prone to these male dominating tendencies. So with that said I must play devil's advocate and say that then a male who associates himself with female could be more passive and possibly a victim of assault- kind of similar to what we may see in a prison setting.