“And the problem is that you think it's out
there: and it's not out there. It's in you.”
-
Andrea Dworkin para. 14
Both Dworkin and MacKinnon explore the
implications of embodied power relations and social norms on rape. For Dworkin,
the power men have over women, and the perceived right to exercise that power results
in rape. Further, equality is impossible between two people if they are
situated in an environment that actively considers them unequal. MacKinnon
challenges the ability of women to give meaningful consent within conditions
shaped by embodied gender dynamics. These forces and dynamics, as they are
presented, seem overwhelmingly pervasive, and particularly in MacKinnon’s work,
overlook the capacity and agency of women. However, the concept that embodied social and cultural
institutions promote rape provides significant contributions to an evolving understanding
of sexual assault.
Rape as an expression of embodied power
relations and social forces contributes to an understanding of sexual assault
as a social phenomenon defined by sexual hierarchy, rather than a series of
isolated cases of violence unrelated to gender. In this context, rape is not successfully
combated by a series of well thought out “safety rules” women are responsible
for adhering to. Instead, meaningful
change is achieved through the elimination of gender inequality in all areas of
society. Further, MacKinnon and Dworkin help to articulate ‘rape culture’ and
its role in perpetuating sexual assault and further oppressing victims. Finally,
the fact that all women and men embody power dynamics to varying degrees helps
to reveal the complex environment rape is situated in. This helps to acknowledge
a broader range of victims’ experiences by validating embodied tools for
control, such as coercion.
Although people are not entirely products
of their environment and are able to exercise agency to transcend social norms,
thinking about rape as an expression of embodied institutions contributes to a
more complex understanding of rape culture and sexual assault.
I like that you talked about rape as being related so closely to power relations and societal forces, and furthermore about rape culture. What this made me think of was when Dworkin said that, “equality is a practice. It is an action. It is a way of life. It is a social practice. It is an economic practice. It is a sexual practice. It can't exist in a vacuum” (Dworkin, 1983). What I like so much about this quote and what you said here about rape being a social phenomenon, is the idea that individual men taking part in the feminist movement at home or with their wives, mothers, daughters, etc., is great, but it lacks the power to start real social change.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you on the fact that this change will not happen without eliminating social inequality in all aspects of our society, not just within the safety of our homes.