In “The Cry of Tamar”, author Pamela Cooper-White seeks to break the silence about violence against women and address the social structure of patriarchy not only in the Church, but in society as well. In Cooper-White’s introduction she states that “The Cry of Tamar” was written in the spirit of advocacy and education. It is a work written by someone who can speak with authority and credibility as an Episcopal priest with what she calls a “Christian/Episcopal-Anglican voice”; but above all she writes it as a woman. Cooper-White uses the story of Tamar as a historic example of sexist attitudes from the church and the violence directed towards women over the years.
“The Cry of Tamar” effectively breaks down how society has become desensitized to the treatment and objectifying of women. It was shocking to learn that 39% of all women have experienced some level of abuse or sexual assault during their lifetime (Cooper-White, 2012). When it comes to the church’s past response to violence against women, they have failed miserably to address the issue and have even contributed to the oppression by denying the woman her voice. Cooper-White discussed the efforts for gender justice and explains some of the common women stereotypes. Some of the “stereotype-bearing myths” about women
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Cooper-White challenges society to see violence against women for what it is. She provides education and strategies to empower women and guidelines for those in pastoral care and other leadership to encourage gender justice. Using Tamar’s story she also calls the church to vindicate her memory and to vindicate all victims of violence and oppression. It is women that experience the most violence, but it’s clear that girls, men, and boys can also be victimized. In order to combat the violence that has been ingrained in our society, it’s crucial that we counterattack using the education, accountability, and justice that
Clark argues that the sisters in the Ursuline convent broke traditional roles that had once been attributed to a male position. Clark’s argument is upheld well throughout the entirety of her book, and brings forth new ideas about women’s role in the church throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth century in society. Her bibliography contains a variety of sources which support her thesis, and displays the wide selection she chose from to create
Gender constructs are virtually everywhere. No matter what society, time period, or seemingly progressiveness of a people, gender continues to shape and limit ideologies. In Louise Erdrich’s novel The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, the main character experiences the limitations of gender constructs firsthand as she finds herself transformed to a male to achieve her goals of becoming a priest. It is after this transformation takes place that Father Damien is able have control over his life which he did not previously have living as Agnes.
In Danielle McGuire’s book, At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance, the author argues that sexual violence was a way for whites to intimidate and control African Americans during the movement. McGuire points out that because of the sexual violence African American women went through, it allowed them to fight back against the oppression and shape the Civil Rights Movement. The author introduces the readers to the violence that African American women were facing, “The stories of black women who fought for bodily integrity and personal dignity hold profound truths about the sexualized violence that marked racial politics and African American lives during the modern civil rights movement.” (pg xx). This quote gives readers a broader understanding of African American women's challenges.
Community accountability and community based approaches challenge us to seriously address violence and intimate harms without reproducing the technologies of individualization, pathology, penality, protection under the authority of heteropatriarchy and white supremacy, and criminalisation, all of which continually deny and subvert our notions of safety and justice. We are asked to consider recover and build the potential of community while recognizing and disengaging from strategies that undermine the possibility of community formation. Community accountability is any strategy to address violence, abuse, or harm that creates safety, justice, reparations, and healing without relying on police, prisons, child protection services, or any other state
“Women are 51 percent of humankind. Empowering them will change everything” said Isabel Allende during her presentation, “Tales of Passion”, at a TEDTALK conference. Allende, an author, uses storytelling to depict stories of women across the world being abused and suppressed by men; in order, to educate her audience on how women are less empowered. As a speaker, she effectively grabbed the audience attention by asking one question: “What is truer than truth?”. In a split second before she reveals her answer: “Answer:
For many years, there has been a lot of controversy centering on the rate at which crime and violence is happening in society. Steven Pinker, the author of “Violence Vanquished” states, “We believe our world is riddled with terror and war, but we may be living in the most peaceable era in the human existence.” This quote from the article proves to many people that our world isn’t as bad as it is made out to be. In the article “Violence Vanquished” Pinker uses Logos, and an argument of fact to support the article 's central message which stands to prove violence is at an all-time low in today’s society.
More than six hundred years later the same issues of inequality and misogyny are still present in our society. The movement to fight against anti-feminism is not new. Thus, it only proves that the discrimination of women is more than centuries old. Written in 1405, The City Of Ladies is an allegorical story in response to the attack of men against women. Christine De Pizan highlights how a women are capable of good and moral character despite to the contrary of what male philosopher claimed to believe.
As a response to the systemic, widespread and massive rape campaign carried out against Bosnian Muslims and Croat women and girls during the 1992 to 1995 Bosnian War, the 1993 United Nations Security Council Resolution 827 (UN Security Council, 1993), as a preamble to the establishment of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), contains the first ever documented UN reference to rape committed during armed conflict or rape as a violation of international humanitarian law (Schott, 2011, p. 5). The United Nations has identified four types of war rape. These four types include opportunistic rape, which is random; political rape, which defines the woman as property and frequently incorporates public rapes as a means
It was all a reflection of newly found joy in her tradition. However, as she got older, Joanna started to struggle with some tenets of her religion, like where the Church stood when it came to women's rights and homosexuality. Joanna’s adolescent and early adulthood faith was not challenged by a calculated act of revelation of trickery, but rather by a sudden shift in her awareness and priority coming into clash with an inflexible system. It is her ideal dream school of BYU that Brooks sees punishing her favorite professor, Cecilia Konchar Farr, for the feminist views that had started to open new possibilities for Brooks. When the Church excluded a group of feminists because they spoke out about a church controversy, it brought up emotions in Brooks that made her question her own stance.
Ameena Matthews, Ricardo “Cobe” Williams, and Eddie Bocanegra display the courage to express agape love for their communities. People living in these distressed communities on the Southside of Chicago have the mentality that when they have a grievance with someone, that grievance justifies the violence they commit against another individual. During the documentary, someone mentioned that violence is an infectious disease that consumes people; the behavior is bad, not the people. Also, violence is seen as the only way to reclaim credibility; they rather face death instead of dishonor. However, violence interrupters encourage those who seek vengeance to find it in their hearts to forgive and empower them to have the courage to love.
During this week, we have covered numerous topics, none more prominent than the oppression of women. Everyone had different opinions, allowing me to take into account different views on the issue. In one of the texts we examined, “Oppression”, Marilyn Frye, a philosopher, debates the subjugation of women. She states the cultural customs that causes oppression of women. I do agree with her view that women are oppressed, but I do not agree that it is just women.
In what ways are women abused and discriminated against inside literature and throughout history? In many patriarchal societies, men have held authority over women due to gender. This power imbalance between men and women sometimes led to unjust treatment of women; men exert their authority over many women in the play, The Crucible. In The Crucible¸ male characters intimidate women to achieve specific outcomes and mark their superiority. Elizabeth Proctor, the protagonist’s wife, shows the standard for Salem women as she is submissive and does not defy her husband or the traditional role as a housekeeper.
The overarching theme of abuse towards women regarding their comparable experiences is what makes these women’s stories unique in both the bible and Song of Solomon (SparkNotes
How does this all relate to modern day issues? While the aforementioned essay within her book was not necessarily written all too long ago, feminism has changed and adapted to fit in with younger generations. As of right now feminism is currently quite the hot topic throughout the media in both western regions as well as more conservative regions. Oppression continues to remain hidden within “chivalrous” behaviors and ideals as presented by male dominated institutions that attempt to make decisions on behalf of women. Take for example, the war on Planned Parenthood and female healthcare.
Atwood’s dystopian novel is a warning about the consequences of misogynistic, authoritarian governments. Her message seems to be universal since the subjugation of women by religious extremists, remains a concern in the present