Genderstudies

We live in a world where violence against women is a day to day occurrence. We need to move beyond thinking about major social and personal issues solely from our own viewpoints or from dominant group perspectives.
Robbing half the population in the society their sense of wellbeing and confidence to perform their best in societal affairs and exposing them perennially to violence makes society poorer.   This from a very basic standpoint in life makes no sense to me! We should leave the next generation with a solid foundation. Not with the fears of our own.
Some societies seem to encourage and condone rather than discourage gender violence. In some cultures wife beating is acceptable as one of the ways of disciplining a women. Some ethnic groups seem to abhor violence by men directed to women who they are supposed to protect. The belief also that men are superior to women also encourages gender based violence. Women are believed to be a lesser species that can be abused without dire consequences. Violence against women is therefore a function of belief fostered in all cultures that men are superior and that the women they live with are their possessions (WVFV: Chapter 10: “Resisting Violence”).
Gender socialization and accepted social norms about adolescent development contribute to the varied experiences of males and females during these years. These experiences are harmful to adolescent girls and ripen conditions for victimization through violence. I feel it is very difficult for an adolescent to overcome this in addition to becoming an adult and be a contributing part of society. From a very young age they are getting a negative message for the adults who are supposed to be setting the example to model after. Or at the very least show right from wrong. An example is when a boy sexually harasses a girl. Chances are he is doing this because of a similar behavior he has repeatedly experienced in his own home. We tend to say “boys will be boys” but girls are...