Serene Lau Professor Fairchild SOCSC 350: Intro to Women’s Studies 5th May 2015 Final Essay Exam Violence Against Women 1. In Women’s Studies, it is important to understand that violence against women as gender-based violence because it is a global issue that affects woman around the world and it is being understood as a human rights issue. Gender-based violence is the normative expectation that men have control over women within the context of society. It is the imbalance of power between men and women, specifically towards men and women who are seen as gender differentiated. Examples of gender-based violence are street harassment, rape and domestic violence. Street harassment is unwanted comments, actions or gestured that is directed at …show more content…
Gender is socially constructed through childhood socialization, everyday experiences, media, and education. The way we act by conforming to society’s expectation of a specific gender is how we are “doing gender”. An example would be for girls who at a young age it is expected for her room to be filled with pink and sparkles. She will have a princess theme room filled with Barbie’s, dollhouses, and kitchen playsets. However, for boys their rooms are filled with practical elements such as a science theme room with star constellations, star lit rooms, and a solar system model hanging from the ceiling. Our genders and sexuality differences are grounded on biological determination and social construction. Sexuality is our physical or biological nature based on our anatomy. Gender is who we know we are based on our psychological mind state, our performativity, and our personal or social …show more content…
The Matthew Shepard story is about a 21 year old gay student from the University of Wyoming. He was lured outside of a bar where he was taken and tortured. He was tied up to a fence where he was left to die until a cyclist found him. This brought on worldwide media attention that propelled activist to organize in political, social and artistic ways. This was an act of hate crime that was not yet passed as a law. Only was it after 11 years later was the Matthew Shepard & James Boyd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (2009) was signed by President Obama. This was such a worldwide topic that I was surprised that I didn’t know anything about it until I heard about his story in class. His story teaches us how people who are not seen as “normal” are treated in extreme ways. The world is changing and society is finally able to adapt and accept the people who are different. The social activism under his name made a big step in the progress of creating a law to provide justice form actions of hate crimes. He died a horrible death but his legacy is what will change and impact the world today on issues of compulsory heterosexuality, homophobia and social