Contemporary and Individualized Considerations of Mackinnon

 While we encounter several places in which Mackinnon's paper fails to apply to a contemporary setting, several of her main points continue to resonate. Today in our class discussions, one of the things we discussed was how Mackinnon's analysis applies to our lives on an individual level. The question of agency, specifically, was addressed, in terms of how we are able to reconcile our own choices with an understanding of structural powerlessness. This seems to be an ongoing challenge for feminists, in that we have to recognize the systems of socialization and marginalization which are inherent in all aspects of our lives, while continuing to exist in our current social-political landscape. In considering “Rape: On Coercion and Consent,” this becomes relevant to our sexual relationships. If rape is differentiable from normalized heterosexual sex, how are we able to mitigate this within our own lives? Is equality in sex ever possible?

However, I think it is important to engage in an analysis of social structures and the ramifications they have on our every day actions. Additionally, thinking about things in an uncompromising way can be a profound strategy to radicalize cultural narratives. In this case, drawing attention to the eroticization and romanticization of systems of sexual dominance and submission, for the purposes of questioning and rethinking these. This complicates things on an individual level, in that it frames women as perpetually and inescapably victimized subjects. However perhaps this is necessary in order to begin to recontextualize our gendered relationships, and by proxy, our perceptions of rape and sexual assault.

Of the parts of Mackinnon's paper which no longer resonate in our contemporary time, I think one of the most crucial is in her analysis of powerlessness. In framing women as being without power, it simplifies the complex dynamics that exist within the essentialist category of women. It ignores the intersecting marginalizations of race, class, ability, etc. which are incredibly relevant to considerations of sexualization, power dynamics and structural inequality. Especially, when this comes to issues of violence, such simplifications are entirely insufficient in contending with cultural perceptions of sexual assault. A contemporary analysis of Mackinnon's rape theory demands the inclusion of such bodies and experiences, which I think is enriching to such examinations of the intersections of sexual assault and power.