By Megan Coleman
Student Projects Assistant
Office of the Dean of Student Life
Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
Portland State University
What is a Matriarch? Merriam-Webster defines it as “A woman who rules or dominates a family, group, or state,” but society seems to have some preconceived notions on what types of women fit that category.
For those of you who are sci-fi buffs like me you will be familiar with AMC’s “The Walking Dead”. For those of you who are not obsessed with the impending zombie-apocalypse this show portrays just that. The show follows a small group of people as they struggle to survive the aftermath of some sort of viral outbreak that reanimates the dead. On the surface the show appears to be just another zombie story full of gore and fighting but if you dig just a little deeper there are some larger themes being examined. The show has tackled a few controversial issues such as the idea of suicide, murder, theft, as well as gender roles.
In the episode “18 miles out” we see two of the main characters in a heated debate about what a woman’s role should be. Lori is a mother, she was a homemaker before the outbreak and she was married to the sheriff who has assumed the leader position of their group. On the outside she looks like the a-typical matriarch of the group but there is another vying for her position. Andrea was an environmental lawyer before the outbreak; she lost all of her family and is now fending for herself. She struggles to fit in with the group at first but has befriended the men and has learned how to shoot and defend the camp and is portrayed as a very strong determined character.
Lori is unhappy with Andrea and insists that by going off with the men she is shirking her responsibilities onto the rest of the women. Lori tells Andrea she is being stupid and wasting everyone’s time and that she needs to come back and help the rest of the women with the cooking and cleaning. Andrea is livid, she doesn’t understand how that helps anyone when they are being constantly attacked by flesh eating dead people and that if they didn’t learn how to defend themselves they would be left vulnerable. The two never really come to an understanding and mostly agree to disagree but it raises some good questions.
My personal opinion is that gender roles are silly. I say do whatever makes you happy to the best of your ability (I suppose using discretion... if eating people makes you happy I may not be all that supportive…). Be a house dad, house mom, business tycoon, lawyer, professor, kindergarten teacher… I don’t think that gender should be an issue but would this change if the world was over? If all social conventions were thrown out the window would your idea of gender roles be swayed? I would like to think mine wouldn’t, I would want to be out learning how to defend myself from the hoards of the undead as well but the idea that its also women enforcing the stereotype was an interesting concept to me. With the exception of an episode from the first season where a husband tells his wife she would be doing more housework (and then dies soon after) there hasn’t been any overt gender bias by the men.
When it comes down to it, I think that Andrea and Lori are both matriarchs of their community. They are very strong women that others look up to and model their behavior after. Just because Lori is a more traditional person and prefers to stay at home doesn’t mean she is wrong. She is doing what makes her feel good and so is Andrea. Andrea seems to be portraying a more “modern” idea of what women “should be” trying to achieve. I think they both are doing important work that needs to be done and that the portrayal of the constant battle of what a woman’s role “should be” on national television offers a great learning opportunity as our generation is trying to sort out where we all fit. Hopefully the show can serve as a catalyst for people to explore their own ideas about gender roles and enable discussions about what preconceived notions people have.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Inquisitions of a Modern Day America
By Danielle Huxley
Chair of the Women of Color Action Team
Guessing one’s ethnicity has become passé. “Why take the time to go down the list? There are so many varieties”, ponders the inquisitor. A reconfiguration occurs; a scrambling of sentences to give the façade of freshness to generalizations of cultural masses. I can see the strain of the thought process go over my inquisitor's face. I am amused slightly because I am already well aware of the answer to the question that they seek. Should I help this person out? Nope. Why should I be the one to concede?
Oh, here come the compliments. “You have an exotic look. It’s unique.” I smile as a way of saying thank you for the faux compliment. “Where are you from?” This inquisitor has a fast transitional speed; right into the cross examination phase. I respond coyly but honestly, “All over.” This is actually true. Growing up I have never lived any place more than 18 months. “Oh, okay. But where are you from originally; your birthplace?” I answer. “I meant to ask about where your parents were born, originally”, frustration building for the interviewer. I am sure you can tell where this is going.
In the past I was more naïve and believed that it was my duty as an individual with a mixed ethnicity to identify first with that background. Through the years and the endless inquiring I had an epiphany. I decided to turn the tables and see how the inquisitor responded to an interrogation of them. The reactions I received on more than one occasion were of perplexity and in some cases irritation. Most were confused as to why I did not realize that they were “just white”. I pressed further with my questions about where their parents were born, originally of course. If it was within the states I asked about grandparents and so on. I was astounded that many did not know their ancestral tree like I did. So, why was I expected to know the answers to these questions? Why is it anyone’s business what my cultural upbringing was? The answer in short is it is not. Would knowing it change how they interact with me? For some yes, my cultural heritage was essential to form a bond.
America has a plethora of people from various other places. Sometimes they traveled from across the world to make this place their new home. In order to have some commonality with them why do we need to first know why they look like they don’t belong? I feel for those that are either new to this indoctrinated process or still have yet to find a way to deal with it.
I was on the MAX blue line the other day and there were two gentlemen that were at the initial stage of conversation. One had a very thick accent the other did not. The accented man asked a very general question about the other man’s day. The response that he received was not an answer, but rather a new question of, “So, where are you from?” The man responded, “Portland.” The other man raised his tone, “No, no way. I am from Portland and you don’t look or sound like me.” The other man having realized the true nature of the conversation gave in and stated his country of origin, although I cannot recall but it does not matter. “That’s more like it. One of my good buddies from college is from around there”, he stated with a satisfied tone. It turns out though through their curt dialogue that both men arrived to Portland within a few years of each other. The only difference was one came from another country and the other from a different state within the United States. The man with the accent never asked which state the questioner came from. It was not of concern to him. All he expected to have with his friendliness was a lighter toned conversation. The interrogated man got up to get off at the next stop and wished the other a good day. The inquisitor sat with a smug look on his face. My internal reaction was sadness and irritation. It distressed me to see another go through that and left me with wondering if the inquisitor ever knows how the ones they come in contact with are affected. My assumption is that they do not.
Chair of the Women of Color Action Team
Guessing one’s ethnicity has become passé. “Why take the time to go down the list? There are so many varieties”, ponders the inquisitor. A reconfiguration occurs; a scrambling of sentences to give the façade of freshness to generalizations of cultural masses. I can see the strain of the thought process go over my inquisitor's face. I am amused slightly because I am already well aware of the answer to the question that they seek. Should I help this person out? Nope. Why should I be the one to concede?
Oh, here come the compliments. “You have an exotic look. It’s unique.” I smile as a way of saying thank you for the faux compliment. “Where are you from?” This inquisitor has a fast transitional speed; right into the cross examination phase. I respond coyly but honestly, “All over.” This is actually true. Growing up I have never lived any place more than 18 months. “Oh, okay. But where are you from originally; your birthplace?” I answer. “I meant to ask about where your parents were born, originally”, frustration building for the interviewer. I am sure you can tell where this is going.
In the past I was more naïve and believed that it was my duty as an individual with a mixed ethnicity to identify first with that background. Through the years and the endless inquiring I had an epiphany. I decided to turn the tables and see how the inquisitor responded to an interrogation of them. The reactions I received on more than one occasion were of perplexity and in some cases irritation. Most were confused as to why I did not realize that they were “just white”. I pressed further with my questions about where their parents were born, originally of course. If it was within the states I asked about grandparents and so on. I was astounded that many did not know their ancestral tree like I did. So, why was I expected to know the answers to these questions? Why is it anyone’s business what my cultural upbringing was? The answer in short is it is not. Would knowing it change how they interact with me? For some yes, my cultural heritage was essential to form a bond.
America has a plethora of people from various other places. Sometimes they traveled from across the world to make this place their new home. In order to have some commonality with them why do we need to first know why they look like they don’t belong? I feel for those that are either new to this indoctrinated process or still have yet to find a way to deal with it.
I was on the MAX blue line the other day and there were two gentlemen that were at the initial stage of conversation. One had a very thick accent the other did not. The accented man asked a very general question about the other man’s day. The response that he received was not an answer, but rather a new question of, “So, where are you from?” The man responded, “Portland.” The other man raised his tone, “No, no way. I am from Portland and you don’t look or sound like me.” The other man having realized the true nature of the conversation gave in and stated his country of origin, although I cannot recall but it does not matter. “That’s more like it. One of my good buddies from college is from around there”, he stated with a satisfied tone. It turns out though through their curt dialogue that both men arrived to Portland within a few years of each other. The only difference was one came from another country and the other from a different state within the United States. The man with the accent never asked which state the questioner came from. It was not of concern to him. All he expected to have with his friendliness was a lighter toned conversation. The interrogated man got up to get off at the next stop and wished the other a good day. The inquisitor sat with a smug look on his face. My internal reaction was sadness and irritation. It distressed me to see another go through that and left me with wondering if the inquisitor ever knows how the ones they come in contact with are affected. My assumption is that they do not.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
COME ON SKINNY LOVE
Written by Kemea Smith
Thinspiration blogs are on the rise even as National Eating Disorder Awareness Week ends.
Type in thinspiration on the popular Tumblr blog site and you’re most likely to see pictures of thin girls with tiny shorts, tight bikini tops and striking hipbones. The photos provide the backdrop for phrases such as “it’s ok to starve” and “the skinnier the better.” Usernames like “thin-is-me” and “iwanttobemodelthin” hint at each blogger’s intention to achieve this.
Thinspiration blogs (also known as thinspo) have been a part of the internet since 2001, and have grown more prevalent on major blog sites such as Tumblr and BlogSpot in the recent year. Essentially these pro ana (pro anorexic) blogs showcase the thoughts and emotions of young women who are dying to be thin. Women as young as fourteen from California to Australia create these blogs, ultimately building an online community.
Bridge D’Urso, the director of the Women’s Resource Center at Portland State University, says “media, media, media” is the reason why young adults feel the need to be thin. “I think we receive a massive bombardment of messages about what beauty looks like [with a] very narrow depiction of an acceptable woman’s body,” says D’Urso. According to The Renfrew Foundation for Eating Disorders, the body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females. D’Urso adds that “the norm has gotten even thinner,” compared to her days of idolizing Madonna and Olivia Newton John. Victoria Secret model Karlie Kloss and other thin models are seen in thinspo blogs. Bloggers applaud and compliment their figures with a hint of jealousy.
Scrolling down further into the depths of thinspo reveals a string of advice on dieting. One of the recommended diets is the “abc diet,” also known as anorexic boot camp. The diet entails eating less than the average 2,000 calorie intake, with periodic fasting. One blogger writes, “I want to rip out my stomach and throw it as far away as I can,” after eating a bag of chips. Some girls fight through their stomach’s grumblings and come out of the abc diet 25 pounds lighter, yet with lower self-esteem.
Caroline Brown, a freshman at Portland State University, shares that a former friend of hers “ate so little…and lost a lot of weight.” Brown continues, saying “I think she got so obsessed with being a picture of athleticism.”
“I’ve never seen anything mentioned about eating disorders, like in any of the health stuff we’ve gotten” says Alice Knowles, another freshman at Portland State University. Knowles believes that Portland State University should offer more information, especially for students who have to eat at the dorm’s dining hall. One blogger mentions that she gained all the weight she had lost for her prom, once she came to college: “I’m disgusting. College has gotten the worst of me.” According to the National Institute of Mental Health, as many as one in ten college women suffer from a clinical or nearly clinical eating disorder.
“I do think that there is room for more explicit wellness campaigns,” says D’Urso, adding that the Women’s Resource Center has created a Love Your Body Action Team. The Team developed because so many students wanted to be involved in activism around the issue of body image. D’Urso believes “it is such a complex issue and so relevant to our life.”
*To learn more about and participate in the Love Your Body Action team at Portland State University, visit the Women’s Resource Center at 1802 SW 10th & Montgomery.
*If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorders helpline at 1-800-931-2237.
Sources
Bridge D’Urso - gorrow@pdx.edu
Caroline Brown- 503-400-1364
Alice Knowles- 240-357-8384
Thinspiration blogs are on the rise even as National Eating Disorder Awareness Week ends.
Type in thinspiration on the popular Tumblr blog site and you’re most likely to see pictures of thin girls with tiny shorts, tight bikini tops and striking hipbones. The photos provide the backdrop for phrases such as “it’s ok to starve” and “the skinnier the better.” Usernames like “thin-is-me” and “iwanttobemodelthin” hint at each blogger’s intention to achieve this.
Thinspiration blogs (also known as thinspo) have been a part of the internet since 2001, and have grown more prevalent on major blog sites such as Tumblr and BlogSpot in the recent year. Essentially these pro ana (pro anorexic) blogs showcase the thoughts and emotions of young women who are dying to be thin. Women as young as fourteen from California to Australia create these blogs, ultimately building an online community.
Bridge D’Urso, the director of the Women’s Resource Center at Portland State University, says “media, media, media” is the reason why young adults feel the need to be thin. “I think we receive a massive bombardment of messages about what beauty looks like [with a] very narrow depiction of an acceptable woman’s body,” says D’Urso. According to The Renfrew Foundation for Eating Disorders, the body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5% of American females. D’Urso adds that “the norm has gotten even thinner,” compared to her days of idolizing Madonna and Olivia Newton John. Victoria Secret model Karlie Kloss and other thin models are seen in thinspo blogs. Bloggers applaud and compliment their figures with a hint of jealousy.
Scrolling down further into the depths of thinspo reveals a string of advice on dieting. One of the recommended diets is the “abc diet,” also known as anorexic boot camp. The diet entails eating less than the average 2,000 calorie intake, with periodic fasting. One blogger writes, “I want to rip out my stomach and throw it as far away as I can,” after eating a bag of chips. Some girls fight through their stomach’s grumblings and come out of the abc diet 25 pounds lighter, yet with lower self-esteem.
Caroline Brown, a freshman at Portland State University, shares that a former friend of hers “ate so little…and lost a lot of weight.” Brown continues, saying “I think she got so obsessed with being a picture of athleticism.”
“I’ve never seen anything mentioned about eating disorders, like in any of the health stuff we’ve gotten” says Alice Knowles, another freshman at Portland State University. Knowles believes that Portland State University should offer more information, especially for students who have to eat at the dorm’s dining hall. One blogger mentions that she gained all the weight she had lost for her prom, once she came to college: “I’m disgusting. College has gotten the worst of me.” According to the National Institute of Mental Health, as many as one in ten college women suffer from a clinical or nearly clinical eating disorder.
“I do think that there is room for more explicit wellness campaigns,” says D’Urso, adding that the Women’s Resource Center has created a Love Your Body Action Team. The Team developed because so many students wanted to be involved in activism around the issue of body image. D’Urso believes “it is such a complex issue and so relevant to our life.”
*To learn more about and participate in the Love Your Body Action team at Portland State University, visit the Women’s Resource Center at 1802 SW 10th & Montgomery.
*If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, call the National Eating Disorders helpline at 1-800-931-2237.
Sources
Bridge D’Urso - gorrow@pdx.edu
Caroline Brown- 503-400-1364
Alice Knowles- 240-357-8384
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Understanding LGBTQ Domestic Violence: An Interview with Advocate Adrienne Graf
The WRC's Interpersonal Violence Advocate, Adrienne Graf is featured in an article on www.pqmonthly.com posted Thursday, February 23rd, 2012 by Erin Rook:
Understanding LGBTQ Domestic Violence: An Interview with Advocate Adrienne Graf
Read Article
Understanding LGBTQ Domestic Violence: An Interview with Advocate Adrienne Graf
Read Article
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Women Veterans
Just yesterday I began writing an article in an attempt to shed some light for you, the reader, on the life of female veterans. Today I scrapped that article. I was struggling in my attempt to qualify and group us because we can’t be grouped. There is no such thing as a stereotypical female veteran, just as there is no such thing as a stereotypical person. We may hold idealized images of this group but those ideas are not universally applicable; that is to say, our stereotypes have no footing in reality (they rarely do in fact). My struggle to classify an unclassifiable group of women is justified; in my attempt to bring our small group to you I initially resorted to describing statistical analyses. There are hundreds, thousands, maybe even a million numbers available to describe women who serve. For instance, did you know that the military as a whole consists of 14.3% women? Some branches of the military contain as few as 4% female personnel (Source: http://explore.data.gov/Population/Personnel-Trends-by-Gender-Race/zqae-ad8k). The likelihood that a woman will be the sole member of her sex represented at a duty location is high, creating unique dynamics for women who serve and a unique situation when they return from service.
My article rambled on and on about numbers and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
military sexual trauma (MST), women’s health, and more. Eventually I was just spouting numbers, and that isn’t useful to anyone. It might be enlightening, but does it realistically bring the issue down to earth in a way that is easy to comprehend? Not unless you are statistician. Not only are these raw numbers not informative, but it paints women vets as helpless victims of abuse, as outcasts. This is not the case! Women veterans are empowered. They are beyond strong, they are a force in their own right.
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs is beginning to hear our collective voices after years of notoriously poor recognition of women’s health issues. The VA recently started a (belated) campaign called She Wore These to increase women’s health services at VA hospitals. You can read the PSA here http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2181 and watch the commercial here http://youtu.be/BOP5DCgjxPE. If you’re interested in getting involved with
the Women Veteran Outreach Action Team, contact the chairperson Angie Hartlove at angie.hartlove@gmail.com or the outreach coordinator Britni Mimms at bmimms@pdx.edu.
My article rambled on and on about numbers and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
military sexual trauma (MST), women’s health, and more. Eventually I was just spouting numbers, and that isn’t useful to anyone. It might be enlightening, but does it realistically bring the issue down to earth in a way that is easy to comprehend? Not unless you are statistician. Not only are these raw numbers not informative, but it paints women vets as helpless victims of abuse, as outcasts. This is not the case! Women veterans are empowered. They are beyond strong, they are a force in their own right.
The Department of Veteran’s Affairs is beginning to hear our collective voices after years of notoriously poor recognition of women’s health issues. The VA recently started a (belated) campaign called She Wore These to increase women’s health services at VA hospitals. You can read the PSA here http://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2181 and watch the commercial here http://youtu.be/BOP5DCgjxPE. If you’re interested in getting involved with
the Women Veteran Outreach Action Team, contact the chairperson Angie Hartlove at angie.hartlove@gmail.com or the outreach coordinator Britni Mimms at bmimms@pdx.edu.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Feminist Blog
Support the Center for Women at Emory University by checking out their blog!
Conversations about Women and Gender at Emory University
Conversations about Women and Gender at Emory University
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
The "Good" Victim
Recently, the now-former head of the International Monetary Fund has been in the headlines regarding the current sex scandal surrounding him. However, this incidence carries with it much more gravity than Schwarzenegger’s secret love-child. In the case of Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, he is facing charges of attempted rape and unlawful imprisonment after a housekeeper at the New York hotel he was staying at a few weeks ago went to the police, saying she had almost been forced to have sex with Strauss-Kahn and resisted his attempts, at which point he forced her to perform oral sex upon him. Now under house arrest after bail was made by his wife, Strauss-Kahn’s future as a major global player is under duress. Since his arrest he has resigned from his position as chief of the IMF and his candidacy for President of France is uncertain at best. Where once he had been a likely contender, this recent scandal has taken a hit on his public image.
All the while, the media has been poised to hear about the outcome of this case, and details as they emerge. For the most part, media coverage surrounding the impending trial, in accordance with journalistic integrity, has remained unbiased on the case. News has been coming out about the state of Strauss-Kahn, who had previously been on suicide watch, the women coming forward from his past with similar sexual harassment and assault stories, and the anonymous sources reporting that DNA evidence has been obtained in the case. And despite all of this, media outlets are still quick to point out that no judgment has been passed down as of yet, and due to the nature of the case being solely anecdotal, with the housekeeper saying that force was used and Strauss-Kahn’s camp saying anything that happened between the two was purely consensual.
However, some still like to speculate on the case, and give their two cent’s regarding their perceptions as to Strauss-Kahn’s innocence or guilt.
Ben Stein, celebrity figure and economist, published an article in The American Spectator offering his reasoning as to why Strauss-Kahn is probably innocent. He gives the slightest bit of leeway at the beginning in case it turns out the former IMF Chief is indeed guilty by saying at the very beginning, “…it’s possible indeed, maybe even likely that he is guilty as the prosecutors charge…” and then continues on for the duration of the essay to explain why we should not be so quick to believe the allegations against Strauss-Kahn. To summarize:
1. If Strauss-Kahn’s such a womanizer and so violent, why hasn’t he been charged before with any crimes?
2. People who commit crimes are criminals, and people who are experts in the economy are economists—these paths do not cross.
3. Strauss-Kahn is a short fat old man, and since he was unarmed there was no possible way he could force a woman into any sexual interaction.
4. He should not be considered a flight risk just because he was leaving on a flight when he was arrested, since the flight was booked months in advance.
5. Just because he has been arrested for a serious crime does not mean he should be treated like a criminal. Shouldn’t an important man be treated better?
6. Those some maids are good people, some maids steal and act like lunatics. How do we know which kind of person Strauss-Kahn’s accuser is?
7. There has yet to be a conviction, and without a conviction we cannot be certain he is a criminal –“Innocent until proven guilty”
8. Strauss-Kahn’s case is one of poor people being jealous of rich people.
Please read Stein’s article, and you will quickly see that my summary is not an exaggeration of his points.
Many have taken to the internet to point out the flaws inherent in the argument Stein makes, as well as similar talking points made by Strauss-Kahn’s friend and fellow Frenchman Bernard-Henri Levy .
James Urbaniak posted a list of results from a quick google search of economists accused of sexual assault and abuse in response to Stein’s question, “Can anyone tell me any economists who have been convicted of violent sex crimes?”. The Gothamist makes a counter to Stein’s query, “If {Stein is] such a womanizer and violent guy with women, why didn’t he get charged until now?” with the story of Tristane Banon, a journalist who had to forcibly fend off sexual advances in 2002 and afterwards was pressured into not pursuing legal recourse. The Huffington Post points out not only the tautological, roundabout reasoning behind the statement “people who commit crimes tend to be criminals”, but focuses the core of their article to the idea of “good victim” and a “good victimizer”, and what it takes to be considered as such.
What could draw Stein and Levy to come to the defense of Strauss-Kahn, a notable lothario? No one denies that he has a history of illicit affairs. However, it seems that his rank and status grants him greater privileges than the rest of society, at least according to his defenders. He should be given the benefit of the doubt; he shouldn’t be barred from returning to his country; he shouldn’t be placed into jail like a man accused of a crime, despite the fact that he has been accused of a crime, and a serious one at that. As for the maid who stands as his accuser? Are we not to trust her, as Stein implies? She is a working-class member of society, and given Stein’s anecdotal evidence against maids, we are supposed to devalue her claims. Not only that, but Levy taunts Banon as well, saying that, “…this one French, who pretends to have been the victim of the same kind of attempted rape, who has shut up for eight years but, sensing the golden opportunity, whips out her old dossier and comes to flog it on television..” and as such does not deserve to be taken seriously either. Barring videotaped evidence or admission of guilt from Strauss-Kahn himself, these men seem set on making the automatic assumption that the women claiming to be victims are the ones not to be trusted.
This kind of behavior, this passing of judgment against women whom these men have never even bothered to speak to, simply reinforces an already existing sense within the community of sexual assault victims that it is not even worth your time to try and report sexual assault, especially against someone in a position of authority over you, because there with undoubtedly be people who question you and undermine your assertions. Regardless of the outcome of this case against Strauss-Kahn, whether he is proven innocent or found guilty, it is unsettling to see such examples of persons in positions of power, coming to the defense of their fellow power holders, while quickly denouncing the weak, those who need defending the most, in order to make their voices heard.
All the while, the media has been poised to hear about the outcome of this case, and details as they emerge. For the most part, media coverage surrounding the impending trial, in accordance with journalistic integrity, has remained unbiased on the case. News has been coming out about the state of Strauss-Kahn, who had previously been on suicide watch, the women coming forward from his past with similar sexual harassment and assault stories, and the anonymous sources reporting that DNA evidence has been obtained in the case. And despite all of this, media outlets are still quick to point out that no judgment has been passed down as of yet, and due to the nature of the case being solely anecdotal, with the housekeeper saying that force was used and Strauss-Kahn’s camp saying anything that happened between the two was purely consensual.
However, some still like to speculate on the case, and give their two cent’s regarding their perceptions as to Strauss-Kahn’s innocence or guilt.
Ben Stein, celebrity figure and economist, published an article in The American Spectator offering his reasoning as to why Strauss-Kahn is probably innocent. He gives the slightest bit of leeway at the beginning in case it turns out the former IMF Chief is indeed guilty by saying at the very beginning, “…it’s possible indeed, maybe even likely that he is guilty as the prosecutors charge…” and then continues on for the duration of the essay to explain why we should not be so quick to believe the allegations against Strauss-Kahn. To summarize:
1. If Strauss-Kahn’s such a womanizer and so violent, why hasn’t he been charged before with any crimes?
2. People who commit crimes are criminals, and people who are experts in the economy are economists—these paths do not cross.
3. Strauss-Kahn is a short fat old man, and since he was unarmed there was no possible way he could force a woman into any sexual interaction.
4. He should not be considered a flight risk just because he was leaving on a flight when he was arrested, since the flight was booked months in advance.
5. Just because he has been arrested for a serious crime does not mean he should be treated like a criminal. Shouldn’t an important man be treated better?
6. Those some maids are good people, some maids steal and act like lunatics. How do we know which kind of person Strauss-Kahn’s accuser is?
7. There has yet to be a conviction, and without a conviction we cannot be certain he is a criminal –“Innocent until proven guilty”
8. Strauss-Kahn’s case is one of poor people being jealous of rich people.
Please read Stein’s article, and you will quickly see that my summary is not an exaggeration of his points.
Many have taken to the internet to point out the flaws inherent in the argument Stein makes, as well as similar talking points made by Strauss-Kahn’s friend and fellow Frenchman Bernard-Henri Levy .
James Urbaniak posted a list of results from a quick google search of economists accused of sexual assault and abuse in response to Stein’s question, “Can anyone tell me any economists who have been convicted of violent sex crimes?”. The Gothamist makes a counter to Stein’s query, “If {Stein is] such a womanizer and violent guy with women, why didn’t he get charged until now?” with the story of Tristane Banon, a journalist who had to forcibly fend off sexual advances in 2002 and afterwards was pressured into not pursuing legal recourse. The Huffington Post points out not only the tautological, roundabout reasoning behind the statement “people who commit crimes tend to be criminals”, but focuses the core of their article to the idea of “good victim” and a “good victimizer”, and what it takes to be considered as such.
What could draw Stein and Levy to come to the defense of Strauss-Kahn, a notable lothario? No one denies that he has a history of illicit affairs. However, it seems that his rank and status grants him greater privileges than the rest of society, at least according to his defenders. He should be given the benefit of the doubt; he shouldn’t be barred from returning to his country; he shouldn’t be placed into jail like a man accused of a crime, despite the fact that he has been accused of a crime, and a serious one at that. As for the maid who stands as his accuser? Are we not to trust her, as Stein implies? She is a working-class member of society, and given Stein’s anecdotal evidence against maids, we are supposed to devalue her claims. Not only that, but Levy taunts Banon as well, saying that, “…this one French, who pretends to have been the victim of the same kind of attempted rape, who has shut up for eight years but, sensing the golden opportunity, whips out her old dossier and comes to flog it on television..” and as such does not deserve to be taken seriously either. Barring videotaped evidence or admission of guilt from Strauss-Kahn himself, these men seem set on making the automatic assumption that the women claiming to be victims are the ones not to be trusted.
This kind of behavior, this passing of judgment against women whom these men have never even bothered to speak to, simply reinforces an already existing sense within the community of sexual assault victims that it is not even worth your time to try and report sexual assault, especially against someone in a position of authority over you, because there with undoubtedly be people who question you and undermine your assertions. Regardless of the outcome of this case against Strauss-Kahn, whether he is proven innocent or found guilty, it is unsettling to see such examples of persons in positions of power, coming to the defense of their fellow power holders, while quickly denouncing the weak, those who need defending the most, in order to make their voices heard.
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