Sept. 17, 2012

I was reading an article by Marilyn Frye called Oppression Matters. In the article, she was talking about a birdcage and how some people only see the bars, not the whole birdcage. I thought that it was a very good analogy for microscopic, individualistic explanations for behavior, and the macroscopic, “zooming-out” that one could do by looking at societal influence. 

I thought that it was a good metaphor for explaining things by either..A) attributing it just to an individual’s background or motivations or personal deficits (seeing only one bar of the cage at a time) or...B) by zooming out and seeing how the society people live in greatly affects them on a day-to-day basis (seeing the birdcage). It made me think of how some things could only be fully explained if one zoomed out and looked at how society influenced people, instead of just relying on the individualistic explanations that is so characteristic of American culture. 

Society influences people in so many subtle but pervasive ways. Take rape for example. A lot of people like to believe that rape is the victim's fault. The victim should have “known better” or they must have dressed provocatively or they must have “wanted it.” People like to blame the victim and move on. But what about the perpetrator? More importantly, what about the society we live in where rape is “allowed” to happen? Why DOES rape happen? 

A large part of the answer can be found in two words: gender inequality. In cultures where gender inequality exists (aka, the vast majority of cultures), societal forces combine with individual choices to make rape seem like it is “okay.” That somehow, the victim really wanted it or that the victim’s feelings and privacy and dignity is irrelevant, because the rapist just cares about what THEY want. And most of the time, it's a woman who's being raped. And it's a woman who is being oppressed. 

I live in a culture where women and their work (and hence their worth) are devalued, where they are made to do to menial, unpaid housework and childcare, where they are continually oppressed and males are exalted in practically every dimension of social and private life. In a culture like that, then yes, rape is going to occur. Conversely, in a society where gender equality exists--where women’s work is just as valued as men’s work or where their work is seen as a complement to men’s work--sexual assault and rape are unheard of. Why would you rape someone you see as your equal? Why would you rape anyone at all? 

About halfway through college, I reached a conclusion about why rape happens: A lot of the time, rape isn’t about sex, rape is about power. And that, my friend, is seeing the birdcage.