Violence against women is a real problem in the world today and although in many ways it is the same it occurs in different ways. For example the piece called “War Crimes” shows how rape and violence against women is often used as a tool to elicit fear and control during times of war. The rapes and violence not only exhibits social control over women but disrupts other factors in society as well. I think one quote that shows just how destructive this is to society is that “the stigma of rape causes some men to abandon their wives. “ ( War Crimes 613) This shows me how disruptive the violence against women is for the whole society and why it makes for a horrendous yet effective tool for war. Violence as social control is apparent in the other two pieces as well I think particularly in the piece about intersectionality. I think this piece showed a very good point about how women of color or a different race may be further socially constrained. The women who would not be accepted into the shelter because she could not speak English very well I thought were a very scary situation. Because this women was a victim of domestic violence but could not speak English she had to factors that were controlling her and even keeping her from getting the help that she desperately needed.

One main difference that I saw in the three pieces was who was actually committing the violent acts against the women. In the book Two or Three Things I Know For Sure the abuser was a step father, in “War Crimes” the abusers were soldiers, and in “Mapping the Margins” the abusers were partners. I do not think it matters who the abuser is in terms of the act being a terrible thing and a crime that should but punished but I think it is important to look at the differences in all the cases so that we may be able to come up with a solution because they are all done for different reasons. One positive thing that I read that would help in reducing violence against women was the law that was changed so that immigrant women did not have to fear their husbands in hopes that they would not be deported. Changing the law to allow the women to apply for a hardship so that they could not worry about leaving their husband in fear of deportation I thought was a good step for the many women who are in this situation. Although this is a good start there needs to be more done because solutions are not always as simple as they seem although this seem like it would be easy to do “ Many immigrant women are wholly dependent on their husbands as a link to the world outside their homes.” ( IWS 202 ) Connecting to an outside resources to get help is very difficult for all women who are faced with these difficult situations and even more so for these immigrants who are in a new place where they know no one and may not even speak the native language.

The three pieces are written by authors that society would classify as “different”. Two of the authors are of a mixed cultural background and one has cerebral palsy. Each of the authors discuss what it feels like to be labeled by a society that looks oddly at those that it may decide is not normal or different. They each face difficulties because they come from such different mixed backgrounds that the people they meet in their everyday lives are unable to label them which gives both the authors and labelers a feeling of “uncertainty “, I feel is the best way to put it. I think that the people that are talked about in the readings are so used to being able to categorize people that they are uncertain of how to react when they come into contact with the authors of these pieces. Since we are socialized how we should expect a person from one background to be we are uncertain how to react when we meet someone who is as unique as the authors of these readings, therefore I think these pieces really opened my eyes as to how I may judge someone based only on their appearance like the people were in these articles.
I feel the main hope in these pieces is that they can be just like everyone else. They do not want to change who they are to fit into the constraints of society but they want for society to see who they are and accept them as a person, not to place them into a useless category or the label them as part of a group. I think that it is part of human nature to have a desire to be accepted by others and to be loved for who we are. We should not have to change or hide who or what we are, or from what background we come to accomplish this.
I think the main issue in all of these pieces is the way that each of the people was judged or classified. People can often be very harsh without realizing it and we have to remember that we must be sensitive to others because small things we do or say just like those who gawked in the one story little things can be very hurtful. Also we must try to not stereotype and to see people as individuals and for who they are as a person because that is what actually matters most. I think that the one biggest thing that all of the authors of these pieces want was exactly that to been seen as an individual and not to be placed into a category as we are socialized to do.

3 Things About Me

1) I am a Senior at Eastern Kentucky University
2) I am a member of Kappa Alpha Order
3) I work for MetroParks of Butler County