Final Concept Analysis Post

For me, the most important topic that we covered in class this year was sexual objectification. I had no idea that so many different aspects and parts of society played such roles in how boys define girls, and vice versa. Sexual objectification’s meaning is different for everyone, especially men.

In the text, we learned that some men are afraid of looking homosexual, and therefore objectify woman. Certainly, most men would not agree with this statement. However, the way that society has been over the past few decades has certainly shaped this mentality without men realizing its impact. We red many interviews of men and learned that there is wide variety of sexual preferences, especially during intercourse that men prefer. Although not homosexual, men can have some strange preferences based on their desires.

In learning about sexual objectification, we also learned about sexual assault and rape. I think that sexual assault (in particular rape), and sexual objectification have a lot in common. To me, women who are raped are not viewed as wholesome to the offender, as he/she views him or herself.. They degrade the victim, and dehumanize them in the act of seeking sexual or mental pleasure. The pleasure involved in rape cases is something that is an ongoing, very serious problem. Rapists are all trying to fill some sort of void, and fill it by pushing their problems to someone else in one of the worst ways possible.

Learning about people living wholesome lives after experiencing sexual assault was very interesting to me. It brought joy to me knowing that some people experience such sadness, and though the darkness, they can see light at the end of the tunnel. I really enjoyed visiting the museum and photo collection held here at Vanderbilt. All of the pictures were very eye opening. Although no one in the class has undergone exactly what the woman photographed went through, I think that it all brought a deeper understanding to the long-term effects of domestic violence, sexual assault, and sexual objectification.

When we talked more about sexual objectification and rape, more windows opened when we learned about programs on campus, and were required to do an on campus group project. This way, all of the students were able to learn about different ways to stay safe on campus, and learn about the resources that we are offered. I think that this was helpful, but it also made me realize which programs seemed effective meanwhile others seemed to be put in place but didn’t make an impact.

Overall, I feel this class was extremely helpful in making conversations about sex and the many impacts it has on society today. I think that the class made this topic a lot easier to talk about. It made talking about very important and sensitive topics such as sexual assault something that I could talk about comfortably with my friends, in a way that made us all learn. Being able to learn about the sensitive and dark sides of being apart of the LGBTQIA community was incredibly eye opening, and made it easier to look at things with more background and understanding.

Project Safe

Final Reflection: A Post on Society & Sex

Upon being asked the question of what the most important and influential concept to understanding the relationship between sex and society covered in this semester, I began to think about all the different concepts talked and read about in class. When thinking about everything, I began to see connections between different terms that came up throughout the semester that were discussed that I had never seen before. The concepts are all fairly different, yet are all still related in some ways because of the manner that society has been formed over the years. Agents of socialization, sex education, social constructions, and heteronormativity have all become interconnected, creating an environment of hostility towards people who do not identify as heterosexual.

The agents of socialization people are exposed to impact their views on everything in life. However, their views on sex are affected more so than some other aspects of life are. The socialization of sex and sex education has a more prevalent impact on how a person forms their ideas and views on sex. The environment a person was raised in, their religion, schooling experience, family, friends, and the media all heavily influence the formation of what sex means and should mean to a person. But, this can be dangerous- with the amount of societal constructions (such as what “good” or “normal” sex is, gender, etc.)  that exist today, it is easy for the manner in which a person was socialized to negatively affect their views on sex or gender. For example, many religions do not condone homosexuality, so if someone is raised in that environment, it is likely they would judge and discriminate anyone who is homosexual.

SInce gender is a social construction, it easy to stereotype and discriminate against those who do not fit into the gender binaries that exist today (boy and girl). So, those who appear as  lesbian, gay, queer, bisexual, or transgender are easily stereotypes and judged. The heteronormative ideals that are held by the majority of the people in this country also lead to stigmas and discrimination. When people who have other sexual orientations other than heterosexual, they are often mistreated by society and can even be susceptible to violence, sexual violence in particular (as seen in the video of the transgender man who used the bathroom of a New York McDonald and was beat for it by the manager, yet was charged for a misdemeanor when in actuality he was the victim ).

Over the years, this problem has perpetuated. It has become easier for discrimination and violence to occur without any repercussion on the perpetrator. The connections between these terms and these societal constructions and manifestations all lend to why society is as it is today and why people discriminate, act violently toward, and outcast nonheterosexual people. Having a good understanding of all these terms allows for a person too see the interconnectedness and understand why these horrible things occur. It allows for people to be aware of  the problem and not lend to it or be an enabler.

Project Safe for a safer campus

On November 17th this semester, our class welcomed a presentation from two guest speakers from Project Safe. I found this presentation to be one of the most influential presentations that we have witnessed thus far. The two women were extremely knowledgeable and dedicated to their roles in Project Safe and were extremely passionate, which provided for an enticing and engaging presentation. Project Safe, as defined by the guest speakers, is a center for sexual misconduct prevention and response. The mission of the center is to “provide information, support, referrals, and education about power-based personal violence (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking), as well as consent, healthy relationships, and healthy sexuality to the Vanderbilt University community.”  Vanderbilt has been affected by many reported incidents of sexual assault and personal violence and so this presentation was extremely relevant to this campus and at this time. The guest speakers explained how the center serves as a resource for victims that can assist in finding he or she proper support through resources such as counseling and/or legal matters. The women described the issue of sexual assault on the campus by providing statistics regarding the number of personal violence incidents that have occurred on campus while respecting the confidentiality of the victims. The guest speakers provided insight on how crucial this center is to the campus in giving an idea of just how many victims they are approached by and how their jobs require availability for long hours of attending to and providing emotional support of the victim. A beneficial aspect of this presentation was the energy of the two women that spoke. Their dedication and passion that they have for Project Safe was obvious and inspiring. The women were also extremely helpful in answering questions that our class had for them at the end of the presentation. Our class asked questions such as about the rape scandal that occurred within our Vanderbilt Football team and the prevalence of the emails that we receive reporting sexual assaults on campus. I was especially curious about the emails that we receive about reported sexual assaults, as I wrote my op-ed piece on this topic. These emails are alarming in quantity and I wondered how many of the reported sexual assaults are represented in these emails and the criteria that an incident fits into in order for it to be sent out in an email to the campus student body. A limitation of this presentation might be that the two women could have provided an example of an incidence of sexual assault that had occurred on campus that might have been especially heinous in order to express the immensity of the problem that personal violence signifies in general. Although it is not necessary for the presentation, it might have added strength to the power of the audience reaction.

A connection that I made from this presentation was to many of the previous content we have covered involving sexual misconduct and sexual violence. This presentation reminded me of the exhibition, “I am Unbeatable” photographed by Donna Ferrato that we viewed in October in the Fine Arts Gallery. Seeing the images that portrayed acts of abuse from that exhibition left me with an unsettling feeling and an obvious disgust for this type of abuse. Project Safe aims to prevent acts of violence such as the ones exhibited by Donna Ferrato and provides a resource for victims of personal violence. With both the raised awareness by Donna Ferrato’s photograph and creation of this exhibition and the Project Safe center becoming more well-known and utilized, our nation can attempt to eliminate violence like this and emphasis the disgust that characterizes sexual and power-based personal violence.

An example that I felt related to this presentation of Project Safe is this image that I came across on the Internet.

This image is very informative and covers a wide range of statistics that are related to sexual violence and assault specifically at the University of Texas in Austin. As mentioned during the presentation and during many classes, one in five woman are sexually assaulted while in college. Many of these statistics are alarming and shocking. Eighty to ninety percent of assaults on college campuses involve victims that know their assailants. This relates to the question that the guest speakers addressed about the emails from VUPD that the student body receives informing us on sexual assaults on campus. Both women notified us that many people do not pay close enough attention to the wording and content in the email and should be aware that many emails specify whether or not the assault was considered an acquaintance or not. This might influence the perception of sexual assault on campus and may alleviate some fear that might stem from the fear of being assaulted by an unknown person wandering on campus. It also might promote wariness about those around us and to not trust all of our acquaintances and to be more alert on campus in general.  A key statistic in this image was that less than five percent of survivors report their crime. This statistic is one that is consistent with the guest speaker’s presentation and implies that the emails that the student body receives only accounts for reported assaults. With such a small percentage of assaults being reported, one can assume that sexual assault occurs quite a bit more frequently than we would infer from those emails.

 

Do you feel safe on this college campus?

Why do you think such a small percentage of survivors of sexual assault are actually reported?

Do you feel as if Project Safe would be a resource you would utilize if this situation arose for you?

Project Safe and Power-Based Personal Violence

Project Safe is a program on Vanderbilt University’s campus that provides help, support, and information for students, in regards to sexual assault. A few weeks ago, two of Projects Safe’s leading staff members: Cara Tuttle Bell and Wanda Swan came into class to further explain to us what they do at Project Safe, how they do it, and why they do it. Cara is the Director of Programs for Project Safe and Wanda is a Prevention Educator and Victim Specialist. The whole point of this program is to further spread information about power based personal violence (which includes sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking) to the Vanderbilt community and act as a safe space for students (who are experiencing any of these things or know someone experiencing them) to go to. Project Safe also supplies information about what defines consent, healthy relationships, and how to maintain a healthy sexuality—to Vanderbilt students. Project Safe works specifically with people who have been affected by some sort of power based personal violence and helps them through their experience by reaching out to other Vanderbilt resources. These resources include the Psychological and Counseling Center, Student Health, the Equal Employment, Affirmative Action and Disability Services Department, and the Vanderbilt University Police Department. Cara and Wanda work with these victims of power based personal violence and outside recourses to come together and create a safer place for students to feel comfortable in and more protected.

In their class presentation, Cara and Wanda explained how they have recently written a twenty-three paged paper defining what sexual assault really is. The document is called the 2014-2015 Vanderbilt University Sexual Misconduct and Power-Based Personal Violence Policy. It outlines Vanderbilt University’s “principles of equal opportunity” and it “seeks to establish and maintain a safe and healthy environment for all members of the University community.” It provides information on steps that students should take for prevention, education, and training—all in relation to power based personal violence. The lengthy paper works to provide an elaborate definition of what power based sexual assault is and all of the aspects that go along with it. The document touches upon where to seek immediate assistance and ongoing assistance, all the different types of offenses (within power based personal violence), how to report an incident, how investigations (of sexual assault) work, and additional information for students, faculty members, and staff members.

While this document specifically touches upon multiple different aspects of sexual assault and is very descriptive—realistically… not many people are going to read it (especially students). I see this as a pretty big problem. Young people, specifically students, need an accessible definiteion of power based personal violence in order to fully understand what it is. While working on my final project, it became clear to me that very few students on Vanderbilt’s campus are actually aware of and could explain what power-based personal violence is—and what it involves (after reading survey responses and listening to interviews from students). Most students were either unaware of the rape culture Vanderbilt has, could not definite what rape culture or sexual assault is, they had no idea what any of the bystander programs are or do, and just in general—knew very little about the topic overall. Students have an unclear definition of sexual assault and many just do not even know what it is or what qualifies as sexual assault. Obviously somebody needs to inform Vanderbilt’s student body of the issues our campus is facing and about the issues themselves. Students need to be knowledgeable about sexual assault, power-based personal violence, and the resources available to them (such as Green Dot and other bystander programs). If we can somehow reach the younger generation in an accessible way (unlike a twenty three page long document) there could potentially be a lot of positive outcomes. If students actually understood what power based personal violence is and how to protect themselves and combat the issue, Vanderbilt’s community could grow to be a much safer place. Once students become truly education on the topic of sexual assault, only then can we see improvements in community life and perhaps a decrease in sexual assault on campus. It is very important students gain awareness on the matter in order to be able to keep themselves and their peers protected. Along with this, all victims of any form of power based personal violence should feel safe enough to come out and tell people what happened. No student should ever feel ashamed or embarrassed. Victims should be informed enough about power based personal violence and all of the bystander programs available around campus. That way, if a student is affected by sexual assault they know about the resources they can go to for any type of help they may need. Overall, Vanderbilt University needs to work towards finding a way to easily, but affectively, inform students on Vanderbilt’s campus in order to generate a safer and all around better campus environment. There may not be an easy solution, but it will be worthwhile (and save young people) in the end.

 

Do you think project safe does a good job of living out its mission statement? How do you think it could be more affective in helping Vanderbilt students? Do you think the Vanderbilt Community is aware of and uses Project Safe as a resource for those who have experienced sexual assault? How do you think we can help Vanderbilt students to better understand the definition of sexual assault and what it really entails?

 

 

 

What does sex got to do with… my final thoughts?

Personally, the day the class attended Vanderbilt’s Fine Arts Gallery in Cohen Memorial Hall to discuss Donna Ferrato’s “I am Unbeatable” was extremely influential. This day we opened up conversation about power based violence and how there is a need for awareness on the subject to prevent the violence from continually happening.  Statistics show that over 4 million women are victims of power based violence.

What’s Sex Got To Do With… The NFL?

If you haven’t been living under a rock, you most probably have heard about the assault charges that have been brought against NFL player Ray Rice.  Almost a year ago, Rice was caught on camera knocking his now wife, then fiancé, unconscious on an elevator and then carelessly dragging her lifeless body out the elevator.

Are SD/SB relationships the same as prostitution?

Today many young girls are attracted to money, despite the circumstances. The typical Sugar Daddy and Sugar Baby relationship seems to have taken over the whole world. Literally. From traveling worldwide, and spending cash, to hiring models, and flying private jets to Dubai, the SD/SB relationship requires a steady flow of money and a wild mindset. But when we take a step back, what does the whole concept align with? Prostitution. Today, in the United States, although it is considered illegal, prostitution still does happen.

According to Forbes.com, “A sample of 1,024 street prostitutes conducted between 1990 and 1991 found that streetwalkers made $23,845 per year, while female service workers made $17,192 per year.” While this study was done in over twenty years ago, it shows the economical benefits of not having to pay for marriage costs.

However, according to an interview with Elizabeth Bernstein in “Introducing New Sexuality Studies”, she stated that “sociologist Pierre Bourdieu cautions that when researches attempt to understand social others through a provisional and deliberate engagement with their with their worlds, the result is like to be perceptions of these worlds which still derive from the researchers own habits.” To be able to contradict what Bourdieu said, Bernstein, in her study of prostitution went undercover in order to achieve the most accurate results.

When researching the wages that prostitutes earn each year, I found many different answers from different studies. I think that Pierre Burdieu’s theory comes into play largely when different researches claim wages. According to Lina Eroh, on erohisms.com, sex workers make roughly $15 dollars a night when hooking up with a western guy. In contrast, businessinsider.com states prices at a brothel in Nevada: $200.00 for 40 minutes

$300.00 for one hour

$500.00 for two hours

$700.00 for an hour of a couple’s party (one hour minimum)

$2,000.00 for overnight stays

These prices starkly contrast the prices states on Eroh’s blog. Therefore, there is no set income, but I think we can conclude that location comes into play when dealing with money.

I feel that Sugar Babies are pretty similar to prostitutes, although some may disagree. Some Sugar Baby/Sugar Daddy (SB/SD) relationships are based on different expectations than others. Having known someone who considered themselves a ‘sugar baby’, I feel that I can compare and contrast the lifestyle pretty somewhat accurate. There are different expectations from different Sugar Daddies. This aligns to prostitution where men pick and choose who they want. SD/SB relationships are often set up online, unlike prostitution, which is commonly done in person, through a business/brothel or on the street. Prostitution and being a ‘sugar baby’ require the same/similar emotional work. According to Bernstein’s interview, there are many different kinds of work that involve emotional labor, such as childcare, working at a nail salon, and being a hostess at a bar. Bernstein claims that work that requires such emotion means reinvesting emotions from one relationship, and using it through labor. Prostitution and SD/SB relationships both ‘draw on source of self’. Sugar Babies and Prostitutes alike most likely do not want to engage in the acts that they do, but they do it for the rewards at the end. The rewards may be money for both prostitutes and sugar babies, or may be gifts, travel or experiences for solely sugar babies.

Prostitutes receive business from all types of men. According to livescience.com, in 1948, “up to 69 percent of American men had paid for sex at some point in their lives.” But in 2010, a study was made that concluded 14% had previously paid for sex. Prostitute’s customers are considered mostly ‘hobbyists’ and livescience.com also said that most are white, earn over $120,000 a year, and are married. These men also claimed that they may think about sex more than other do.

The amount of commitment from a prostitute versus a Sugar Baby are pretty astounding. At first glance, you might think that prostitution requires more effort. However styleite.com does not agree. The writer claims that being a sugar baby requires far more effort. Her argument makes sense. Being a sugar baby requires a full time commitment, and companionship, meanwhile prostitution is a one and done kind of commitment. Some may not agree with this argument, but it is up to debate. However, sugar babies may be treated to nicer environment. The situation might be less sketchy as well. Prostitutes also have to put more time into getting hired, such as standing in the street, meanwhile Sugar babies more than likely have long time clients, and can easily apply for sugar daddies online.

In conclusion, I find that prostitution and sugar daddy/sugar baby relationships are pretty similar. Both involve high risk and commitment. Although the clientele might be different, the emotional and physical states while on job are pretty similar. I feel that both of the lifestyles are not talked about enough, and should be brought to light.

Do you think that prostitution and Sugar Daddy/Sugar Baby relationships are similar?

Do you feel that being a Sugar Baby should be illegal?

Do you think that there are any at this school?

What kind of men do you think engage in this activity, and how do you think it differentiates between someone who hires a prostitute over a sugar baby?

Do you think prostitution should be legalized so that it can be regulated, because it does happen?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kUoAiDuryU

How to Portray Rape on Television

Rape is a crime that has become increasingly prevalent on TV shows. There’s even an entire show dedicated to it’s litigation, Law and Order: SVU. While it is not inherently bad for such crimes to be used in television, it is important that a character’s rape be an important moment in their history. For the victims of sexual violence in SVU, their stories very rarely last more than 45 minutes. One tragic story is substituted for the next creating a seemingly endless conveyor belt of sex crime after sex crime. I would argue that viewers almost become desensitized to the crimes, after potentially watching all sixteen seasons of the show. I believe Law and Order: SVU is a poor representation of portraying rape on screen. There is one show, however, that uses a horrific gang rape to permanently change the characterization of one of its lead characters. That show is Sons of Anarchy.

Racial Hierarchies in Relation to Immigrant Women

 

Many women that are associated into a Diaspora culture are, more often than not, discriminated against, and seemingly forgotten about. Informal power unfairly shapes the sexualities and employment statuses of immigrant women. These women constantly find themselves in situations that they have no control over. Basic human rights, social justice, and fundamental equality are all nonexistent in the lives of undocumented female farm workers. People of considerably higher power take advantage of these undocumented workers, give them zero respect, and take away their dignity. With a strong sense of fear of deportation and no longer being able to provide for the families, female immigrant workers remain silent and accept sexual abuse. Racial hierarchies confine immigrant women to a status of diminished personhood where their rights, culture, and sexual agency are all reduced to nothing.

Undocumented laborers that come to America have very limited options for work. Jobs in the field are really the only available choice that illegal immigrants have. In the NPR documentary, “Rape in the Fields,” the hidden truth about what really happens to female farm workers, in the fields, is portrayed. This film exposed me to a horrible secret that most people throughout the United States still are oblivious to. Undocumented laborers, but very specifically—women, are raped and abused by their superiors. It is very easy for their powerful male superiors to get away with these horrendous acts, in the land hidden within the fields. These illegal immigrant women feel that they cannot speak up or else their supervisors will rat them out and they will have to leave America. This sad, yet real fear of deportation is the only reason male supervisors are getting away with this sexual violence. Many of these women have families and children to support—so they accept this violence and remain silent. No person should ever feel like this. Female undocumented laborers are truly being torn down to nothing. They have no voice, no say in anything, no protection, and absolutely no rights.

Although racial hierarchy plays a major role in the discrimination against immigrants—male hierarchy plays a bigger role. Female immigrants are easily taken advantage of and forgotten about. I do think there is a strong sense of racial hierarchies, but women are being dominated by men—regardless of what race their superior is. These men feel that they own the women and can make them do whatever they desire. Because the undocumented women are in the United States illegally, the men know that these women will basically do anything to stay. This is just disgusting and unacceptable. The males in charge use their mechanisms of power to reduce women to plain nothingness. Along with the awful nature of this situation, nothing has been followed up by our society to put it to an end. This abuse and rape is most definitely still occurring in the fields and women are still being silenced and stripped of their personhood, along with their rights.

The undocumented female field workers who speak in “Rape in the Fields” risked a vast amount by speaking out publically. Their lives consist of days spent fearing deportation. Along with this fear of losing jobs and being forced to leave America, these undocumented workers also carry heavy loads of shame with them. No woman should ever be ashamed of being a victim of sexual assault and violence. Which is why California has created a new bill as an attempt to prevent and put an end to sexual violence towards female workers in the fields. The Bill is called “Bill to Protect Female Workers From Sex Abuse.” This Bill was originally brought up after the documentary “Rape in the Fields.” The law has made sexual harassment training mandatory for labor contractors and supervisors—and all other employees. Interestingly enough, before this Bill came into law—agricultural supervisors with 50 or more workers had to go through sexual harassment training every other year. Now all supervisors and employees, regardless of the number of workers employed, have to go through training. Along with these minor improvements to our justice system (California’s at least) the state can take away the license of a supervisor who has harassed an employee. This Bill gives me hope (and I am sure it gives female field laborers hope as well) that our country, and maybe even global society, is opening their eyes to the reality of sexual assault. While sexual assault and violence in the field has not been put to an end quite yet, the California Bill is helping us to get there.

We live in a society that is advanced enough to be able to comprehend how offensive, horrifying, and disgusting these men are to immigrant women. It was appalling to me too see the NPR documentary. Undocumented women are still receiving the same abuse and neglect. While steps are being taken towards helping the female field workers, undocumented laborers will still always have a fear of speaking up—even if it will get their abuser fired. Female farm workers should feel safe while working and protected from sexual abuse. The undocumented female laborers are being stripped of their basic human rights and are receiving no social justice. Women are constantly being sexually violated, abused, and exploited. As a society, we have to work to put this to an end and give all these women their rights and dignity back.

 

Do you think sexual assault and violence in the field can be stopped? What do you think should be done to help end it? What can be done to help these female immigrant workers?