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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Excellent read especially in light of the finally broken silence on sexual harassment happening these days. Men sometimes ask me, why now? But why were women quiet for so long? Is this real? If they REALLY want to know the answers to questions, provided with serious context and consideration, this is a nice, thin little piece that packs a punch. The first two essays in the collection especially.
interesting learnings for my own notes:
- the whole 'fight or flight' narrative that has come to define human nature is more man-based than human-based, studies of women participants found another pattern: 'tend and befriend', gathering for solidarity, support, and advice. "Lately this has evolved into a process using social media to create collective tribunals, mass testimony, and mutual support" around sexual harassment and abuse.
- Abuse is often looked at in terms of what the abuser has done to a woman but often that is less important than, 'what their partners have prevented them from doing for themselves by appropriating their resources; undermining their social support, subverting their rights to privacy, self-respect, autonomy; and depriving them of substantial equality... Coercive control is a liberty crime rather than a crime of assault.' - quoting Evan Stark
- "Thus does coercive control happen at a societal level as it does in the home. Women are instructed, by they was victims are treated and by the widespread tolerance of an epidemic of violence, that their value is ow, that speaking up may result in more punishment, that silence may be a better survival strategy" - RAPE CULTURE
- "The plethora of men attacking women and anyone who stands up for women in order to prove that women are not under attack and feminism has no basis in reality are apparently unaware that they're handily proving the opposite."
- Talking about denying women abortions, accusing women for the unwanted pregnancies, and the worship of the pregnant body: 'I wish all this ... was a manifestation of a country that loves babies so much it's all over [contaminated water, carcinogenic pesticides, sugar food causing juvenile diabetes, and universal heath care and daycare]. You know it's not. It's just about hating on women. Hating on women requires narratives that make men vanish and make women magicians, producing babies out of thin air and dissolute habits."
In face of 'false rape accusations' situation, keep this handy:
- this point of consideration is a convenient way to change the focus from widespread female victims to exceedingly rare male victims.
- rape is so common in our culture it's fair to call it an epidemic
- the most reliable stats suggest that 2% of rape reports are false, meaning 98% are real
- even of that set of reported rapes, most rapes are not even reported so that total amount of false reports among all actual occurrences is EVEN LOWER.
- of those reported even, most are not prosecuted
- of those that ARE prosecuted, most fail to achieve convictions
- so.... bringing a false rape charge is not only terribly stressful and reputation ruining for the reporter, it also isn't effective/successful in hurting the accused, and could bring about penalties for false crime reports...
- "In other words, reporting a rape is not likely to get someone jailed, an though perhaps 2% of rape charges are false, only slightly more than 2% of all charges result in convictions."
- So that means there are a lot of unpunished, lying rapists out there, so "maybe the lies that abound are by men who have raped, not women who have not been raped."
BRILLIANT!
interesting learnings for my own notes:
- the whole 'fight or flight' narrative that has come to define human nature is more man-based than human-based, studies of women participants found another pattern: 'tend and befriend', gathering for solidarity, support, and advice. "Lately this has evolved into a process using social media to create collective tribunals, mass testimony, and mutual support" around sexual harassment and abuse.
- Abuse is often looked at in terms of what the abuser has done to a woman but often that is less important than, 'what their partners have prevented them from doing for themselves by appropriating their resources; undermining their social support, subverting their rights to privacy, self-respect, autonomy; and depriving them of substantial equality... Coercive control is a liberty crime rather than a crime of assault.' - quoting Evan Stark
- "Thus does coercive control happen at a societal level as it does in the home. Women are instructed, by they was victims are treated and by the widespread tolerance of an epidemic of violence, that their value is ow, that speaking up may result in more punishment, that silence may be a better survival strategy" - RAPE CULTURE
- "The plethora of men attacking women and anyone who stands up for women in order to prove that women are not under attack and feminism has no basis in reality are apparently unaware that they're handily proving the opposite."
- Talking about denying women abortions, accusing women for the unwanted pregnancies, and the worship of the pregnant body: 'I wish all this ... was a manifestation of a country that loves babies so much it's all over [contaminated water, carcinogenic pesticides, sugar food causing juvenile diabetes, and universal heath care and daycare]. You know it's not. It's just about hating on women. Hating on women requires narratives that make men vanish and make women magicians, producing babies out of thin air and dissolute habits."
In face of 'false rape accusations' situation, keep this handy:
- this point of consideration is a convenient way to change the focus from widespread female victims to exceedingly rare male victims.
- rape is so common in our culture it's fair to call it an epidemic
- the most reliable stats suggest that 2% of rape reports are false, meaning 98% are real
- even of that set of reported rapes, most rapes are not even reported so that total amount of false reports among all actual occurrences is EVEN LOWER.
- of those reported even, most are not prosecuted
- of those that ARE prosecuted, most fail to achieve convictions
- so.... bringing a false rape charge is not only terribly stressful and reputation ruining for the reporter, it also isn't effective/successful in hurting the accused, and could bring about penalties for false crime reports...
- "In other words, reporting a rape is not likely to get someone jailed, an though perhaps 2% of rape charges are false, only slightly more than 2% of all charges result in convictions."
- So that means there are a lot of unpunished, lying rapists out there, so "maybe the lies that abound are by men who have raped, not women who have not been raped."
BRILLIANT!
I had trouble differentiating between this one and Men Explain Things to Me, this was just as good, only a bit repetitive.
A small collection, but incredibly harrowing (though important) collection of feminist essays. I really enjoy the tone and rigour Solnit applies to each one (even though I often feel her arguments are always weakest in her closing lines).
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Many a well articulated thought in these pages- as in anything Solnit writes. There are some examples that give me pause - like her bizarre praise for something Modi once said - but perhaps it’s limited knowledge on some aspects that shows once in a while.
Barely three stars.
More coming later, but I found this repetitive and it could be organized better. I enjoyed the essay on authors the most. She has a lot of interesting points, but I haven't found anything new in her writing.
I love her updates on her FB page and will continue with her work.
More coming later, but I found this repetitive and it could be organized better. I enjoyed the essay on authors the most. She has a lot of interesting points, but I haven't found anything new in her writing.
I love her updates on her FB page and will continue with her work.
The final collection in her Essay Trilogy, The Mother of All Questions is required reading for the modern feminist. Solnit looks at cultural shifts and stories from the past four years, from rape jokes to the reframing of gender, with necessary edits and updates. Between each essay are lovely and engaging charcoal drawings by artist Paz de la Calzada. Even though this book came out last year, with the recent #metoo and #timesup movement, I'm sure an updated and further annotated edition will be released soon.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
one of my favourite pieces of fiction to date. so incredibly well structured and thought provoking.
Kolejna świetna pozycja od Solnit. Skala opisywanych zdarzeń jest przerażająca i autorka dobitnie nam to pokazuje.
Zwróciłam uwagę na drobne powtórzenia, które można by pominąć.
Myślę że warto zapoznać się z tą książką bo na pewno nie będzie to stracony czas
Zwróciłam uwagę na drobne powtórzenia, które można by pominąć.
Myślę że warto zapoznać się z tą książką bo na pewno nie będzie to stracony czas