Chapter 12: Gendered Power and Violence
Special Note: The material in this chapter is especially sensitive and potentially polarizing of
women and men in the class. In discussing this chapter, it is extremely important to channel
conversation in productive ways. The exercises that follow the summary of chapter content
offer ways to guide constructive discussion of gendered violence.
I. The Social Construction of Gendered Violence
A. The social construction of gendered violence explains the pervasive nature of
violence and why it is disproportionately inflicted on certain groups.
B. Widespread violence reflects socially constructed definitions of masculinity,
femininity, and relationships between women and men.
II. The Many Faces of Gendered Violence
A. Gendered violence includes physical, verbal, emotional, sexual, and visual brutality
that is inflicted disproportionately or exclusively on members of one sex.
B. Gender intimidation happens when members of one sex are treated in ways that
make them feel humiliated, unsafe, or inferior because of their sex.
1. It includes lewd remarks (such as street harassment), the invasion of space,
and forced toleration of unwelcome sexual conduct.
2. Gender intimidation is not just feeling unsafe. When it is happening,
members of one sex feel more vulnerable than members of the other sex.
C. Sexual assault is sexual activity that occurs without the informed consent of at
least one of the persons involved.
1. Rape is one type of sexual assault, experienced by 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33
men. However, the definition of rape varies from state to state. Many states
limit first-degree rape to vaginal intercourse.
2. The definition of sexual assault includes the concept of informed consent.
a. Informed consent is only given by an adult who is of typical mental
3. Sexual assault has been a major problem in the United States Military and on
college and university campuses in the United States.
a. In 2011, a federal class action lawsuit was filed by 24 women and 2
men against current and former Defense Secretaries in the United
States.
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4. Claiming that a woman deserved to be raped because of her behavior or dress
5. In 2008, the United Nations designated rape as a “weapon of war.”
a. Rape has, throughout history, been used as a means of ethnic
cleansing, humiliation, and intimidation. Frequently, rape in these
contexts goes entirely unpunished and is often inflicted on very young
children.
6. Forced prostitution has also been inflicted on women and men throughout the
world.
a. During World War II, Japanese women were forced to act as “comfort
women” for Japanese soldiers, having sex with as many as 30 men a
day.
b. Estimates state that around 1.8 million girls and women are trafficked
into forced prostitution every year. Of those, 50,000 to 100,000 are
trafficked into the United States.
D. Intimate partner violence includes physical, mental, emotional, verbal, or
economic power used by one partner against the other partner in a romantic
relationship.
1. The CDC reports that 1 in 4 U.S. women has been attacked by a husband or
boyfriend and 1 in 7 U.S. men has been attacked by a wife or girlfriend. The
number is on the rise in the dating relationships of younger people, with
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a. There are general differences in the types of violence committed by
men and women.
i. Women tend to verbally abuse, slap, or shove partners.
ii. Men are more likely to use their bodies and weapons to commit
assault.
5. One increasingly common form of intimate partner violence, stalking, is
repeated, intrusive behavior that is uninvited and unwanted, that seems
obsessive, and that makes the target afraid or concerned for her or his safety.
Online services like IM and social networking sites make it easy for a stalker
to track his or her victim’s whereabouts.
E. Sexual harassment is unwanted and unwelcome verbal or nonverbal behavior of
a sexual nature that links academic or professional standing to sexual favors, or
that interferes with work or learning.
1. The term sexual harassment was not used until the 1970s. Giving this
experience a name has allowed victims to fight for institutional and legal
redress. Both women and men can be harassers and victims of harassment.
2. Two types of sexual harassment are recognized today:
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that they ask how a “reasonable person” would act in a given situation
to determine appropriate behavior.
F. Genital surgery (or genital mutilation) is alteration of the genitals.
1. Genital surgery is widely practiced; over 3 million girls per year are
subjected to genital surgery. Boys are also subjected to genital surgery in
some cultures.
3. Genital surgery of females is sometimes practiced without anesthesia and
under unsafe conditions with unsterilized instruments by people with no
medical training.
G. Gender-based murder is selective murder of female fetuses, girls, and women.
1. When both sexes are given proper care, females will generally outnumber
males. However, in many countries today, men outnumber women. The
reason for this is gender-based murder.
2. In some countries, sex-selective abortions are practiced and female babies are
often the victims of infanticide.
3. Femicide is the killing of women and takes the form of adult women who
simply “disappear,” dowry deaths, and bride burnings.
H. Reproductive violence is coerced or discriminatory infringement on
reproductive rights.
1. This includes force or exploitation that prohibits someone from having free
will over the decision to become a parent and parent existing children.
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2. In the United States, this took the form of eugenics in the 20th century,
enacting policies and practices to discourage or prevent “undesirable” people
from reproducing. State funded programs forcibly and involuntarily sterilized
poor, disabled, immigrant, lesbian, and minority women.
3. Racism has long affected reproductive regulation, with programs offering
poor minority women free birth control instead of the social services that
would have helped end their poverty. These types of programs continue today.
4. Commercial surrogacy disproportionately affects poor women. In this
practice, wealthy women who are unable to conceive or carry a child pay poor
women to carry children for them. The power dynamic is problematic here,
with many women making the decision to become surrogates based on their
own poverty and need for money.
III. The Social Foundations of Violence
A. The Normalization of Violence in Media
1. Gendered violence is frequent and varied in the media, ranging from music, to
video games, to viral videos, to trending Twitter hashtags.
2. Violence is customary in numerous media formats. Pornography is defined
as material that favorably shows subordination and degradation of individuals
by presenting sadistic behaviors as pleasurable, pain as enjoyable, and forced
sex as positive. (Erotica, in contrast, is consensual and pleasurable for both
partners.)
IV. Resisting Gendered Violence: Where Do We Go from Here?
A. Personal efforts to reduce gendered violence include refusing to enact or tolerate
violence oneself, using language that accurately depicts violence, supporting others
who are experiencing violence, volunteering in organizations that seek to reduce
violence, and teaching children to respect their own and others’ bodies.
B. Social efforts to reduce gendered violence include supporting educational and social
service institutions, voting for laws that will reduce violence and punish those who
commit it, and working with others to educate communities and create resources for
victims of violence.
Journal Entries
1. Discuss your attitudes toward genital surgery. Do you feel efforts should be made to
intervene in the practices of other cultures? If so, how? If not, why?
2. Do you think violence in media contributes to actual violence in the real world? If so, what,
if anything, do you think should be done about this? If not, how would you respond to
charges that media does contribute?
3. Your text lists several ways of reducing gendered violence. Which, if any, appeal to you?
In your current situation, what can you realistically and specifically do to help reduce
gendered violence? Consider if you would like to focus your efforts among friends or
family, locally on your campus and within your community, nationally, or internationally.
4. Investigate the ways gender-based violence is being addressed in your community. (Your
university likely has an organization devoted to addressing relationship and/or student
violence; similarly, there is likely to be a battered women’s shelter and/or rape crisis center
in your community. You might look up one or more of these organizations online or
otherwise seek out literature from them.) In your journal, reflect on what you learned. Were
you surprised by the information provided? Do you think current efforts to redress gender-
based violence in your community are productive and/or sufficient? Can you think of other
things the community or individuals in your community might do to help lessen gender-
based violence?
InfoTrac Activities
1. Choose the Advanced Search option using InfoTrac College Edition. Select title and type
“Attitudes toward violence against women: a cross-nation study” by Madhabika B. Nayak,
Christina A. Byrne, Mutsumi K. Martin, and Anna George Abraham. According to the
researchers, how are our attitudes influenced by gender and culture? To what extent can
cultural attitudes and practices normalize violent behaviors?
2. Choose the Advanced Search option using InfoTrac College Edition. Select title and type
“The effects of gender and music video imagery on sexual attitudes” by Linda Kalof.
According to the author, how do the media contribute to the epidemic of violence against
women in our culture?
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Suggested Activities
1. Reducing Gendered Violence: Assign students to groups of 5 to 7 members. Ask groups
2. Forum Theatre & Agency: Review Thomson and Woods’ (2001) article “Rewriting
3. Violence-Related Language in Newspapers: In advance of the day you conduct this
exercise, ask students to save copies of 5 daily statewide newspapers (not the campus
4. Dreamworlds 3: The film Dreamworlds 3 underlines the cumulative effect of one form of
media (MTV) in normalizing violence. If you chose not to show it to accompany Chapter
5. Roiphe’s Perspective on Gendered Violence: Assign students to read the opening two
6. Panel: Victim Services Professionals: Plan a panel with representatives from local battered
women’s shelters and rape crisis agencies. You might also include one or two panelists who
7. Sexual Harassment on Campus: Research the sexual harassment policy of your university
or college and/or invite the campus sexual harassment officer to speak to your class. As
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sexual harassment has been named and defined as inappropriate behavior, the issue has
8. Gendered Violence Laws in Your State: In small groups, ask students to research
gendered-violence related laws in their state. For instance, they may want to examine the
age of consent, the definition of rape, and the definition of hate crime. Many students are
8. Victim vs. Survivor: One of the language-related debates about gendered violence centers
on the language used to refer to targets of violence. Write the words “victim” and
10. Learning about Sex Trafficking and Sex Tourism: Sex trafficking (moving people [often
minors], often illegally, in order to use them for prostitution) and sex tourism (vacation
packages that include the opportunity to have sex with prostitutes [often minors] as part of
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documentary called Lives for Sale that can be purchased for under $20. The film is 58
minutes. http://www.livesforsale.com/
11. Cheering for her Rapist: In October 2008, a 16-year-old high school cheer leader,
identified as H.S., accused a fellow student and star athlete, Rakheem Bolton, of rape.
Bolton ultimately pled guilty to misdemeanor assault and was given a suspended sentence.
Bolton was allowed to continue playing on school teams while the case was pending, and
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SAMPLE SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY
POLICY
I. Sexual harassment by any member of the University is a violation of both law and
University policy, and will not be tolerated in the University community.
II. Requests for sexual favors, and other deliberate, unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of
a sexual nature by one in an official University position or by a fellow University
employee constitute sexual harassment when, evaluated according to reasonable
sensibilities—
A. submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition
of an individual’s employment or academic standing, or
B. submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for
employment or academic decisions affecting that individual, or
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Epilogue: Looking Backward, Looking Forward
I. The cultural conversation regarding gender is dynamic and ongoing and everyone can
choose how she or he engages in this conversation.
A. The current views of gender are not the only possibilities and we have the right to
decide how we will view and enact gender.
B. Individuals consent to or resist cultural views as they enact and express gender roles
and beliefs that define norms.
C. Class members have inherited opportunities and definitions of gender that were
crafted historically. They shape the future by deciding how to respond to social
practices, policies, and laws that produce differences in the quality of life and
opportunities available to various groups.
II. Creating the future includes defining masculinity and femininity, responding to
differences, and taking a voice.
A. Defining masculinity and femininity
1. Men should think about how satisfied they are with views of masculinity that are
emphasized today and how they would like to define it for themselves.
2. Women need to think about how to define femininity for themselves.
3. Through their actions and expectations, class members can affect what society
expects of and admires in women and men.
B. Responding to differences is one of the most urgent challenges for this generation.
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Journal Entries
1. Identify and discuss what you see as the single most pressing priority involving
communication, gender, and culture during the next decade.
2. Examine the three forms of power: direct power, gate keeping or agenda setting, and voice.
How can you exercise one or more of these forms of power now? How do you envision
yourself enacting them in the future?
3. The textbook closes by discussing metaphors for the United States that might replace the
melting-pot metaphor. Do you like any of the alternatives suggested here: a family quilt, a
salad bowl, or a collage? If so, why? Can you create a metaphor that you think best
represents both diversity and commonality among members of a society?
4. Reflect on what you have learned as a result of reading this textbook and taking this course.
Have your views on gender changed since the start of the term? Has taking the course and
reading the book made you think differently about yourself, your relationships, and/or your
future? Have you become more aware of the diversity of genders as well as the prevalence
of gender-based discrimination? Before you respond to these prompts, it may be helpful to
review your entries journal to this point.
Suggested Activity: The Gender Time Capsule
The Gender Time Capsule is an enjoyable and informative way to summarize the entire
term. Distribute the following handout to students several days before you will conduct the
activity to allow time to reflect on what should be placed in the time capsule. When the students
arrive in class on the day of the activity, divide them into two sections. Subdivide the section
THE GENDER TIME CAPSULE
As part of an overall mission to preserve knowledge of all spheres of life—public, private,
technological, spiritual, and social—we have been asked by the Intergalactic Council on
Knowledge (ICK) to put together a Gender Time Capsule. The capsule will be hermetically
sealed and put in the Vaults of Knowledge for the Future Archives. It will be opened in the year
2025. The mission statement transported to us from ICK reads as follows:
Select no fewer than ten and no more than twenty symbols to represent North American
attitudes, beliefs, and actions associated with gender in 2013. The symbols should give as full as
possible an understanding of contemporary norms, attitudes, and issues about gender in this age.
It should give future people a human, personal understanding of contemporary thoughts, feelings,