I would like to comment on the chapter 10 reading from Shaw and Lee: Resisting Violence Against Women. I would like to start by commenting on the statement that “Men are likely to suffer physical violence at the hands of other men. In childhood and adolescence, males are especially at risk for suffering physical abuse by female and male caretakers and sexual abuse by other males.” I find this information especially surprising, who would have thought. I would also like to comment on the pornography involvement with violence against women. I agree with the book when they view pornography as eroticizing unequal power relations between men and women. Pornography is usually associated with the male population and it starts at a young age, and can install this image in their head that women are inferior to men in regards to sex, which can lead one to sexual violence against women. Regardless if it is hard-core or soft, pornography puts a negative label on all women. Yes people argue it is entertainment, which it is, however if it is going to stay within our culture (I do not see it ever fadingL) it could be portrayed with less controversy: explicit sex without violence that is neither degrading nor dehumanizing. Overall I cannot fathom the statistics involving violence against women, and the most shocking of it all is that it is underreported! The book states, “Although women are less likely than men to be victims of violent crimes overall, women are 5 to 8 times more likely to be victimized by an intimate partner.” To me this is ridiculous. Intimate is a word that describes closeness, warmth, friendliness, familiarity, and one that you can cherish, so why on earth would someone want to victimize someone who is to resemble those things?
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