War Between Sexes
Acquaintance rape or date rape is a sexual assault against a woman, which is committed by someone she knows. The rapist could be a boss, a date, a classmate, or a coworker. It is a criminal offense, and rape convictions in date rape cases have increased in recent years. Whether a man uses physical force or emotional coercion to force sex, sex without consent is still considered rape in our society. In "Rape and Modern Sex War" and "Winking at Abusive Sexual Behavior Isn't the answer" Camille Paglia and Helen Cordes clearly state that rape in any form, and specifically date rape, cannot be tolerated in any civilized society in their articles. Paglia explains the weaknesses of the feminist groups, and Cordes suggests a communicative solution.
According to Camille Paglia, rape is not new. She says " It has been a horrible problem for women for all of recorded history" (Paglia 406). She relates her Italian heritage to the old traditional punishments of the rapists. Since there is still social injustice between sexes and the biological difference between the genders, she conflicts with feminist arguments such as equality of men and women, sexual freedom, and ability of both sexes going any place any time. Academic Feminism is lost in the mist of social constructionism and we are not the products of the environment. Furthermore, according to Paglia men and women are in a war in which men are masculine, fighting for their identity. Women are trying to explain to men that they are different; they are women.
The author delivers her message regarding date rape, commonly occurring in college campuses, by saying " A girl who lets herself get dead drunk at a fraternity party is a fool. A girl who goes upstairs alone with a brother at a fraternity party is an idiot"(407). Furthermore, she argues that the feminists do not understand the fundamental reasons of the rape. She explains that the men are biologically programmed to "hunt, pursue and capture mode" (407). Since the boys in fraternity houses usually come from good families and don't look like rapists, date rape can easily occur at a party because the young women are not educated enough. Women cannot defend themselves if they are not educated enough. Society is not to blame for sex crimes as feminists claimed; however, society can provide shelter for women. Feminists fail to understand the real elements of rape.
Date rape controversy is another example of the failure of feminism today according to the author. She compares the generations and explains that the same issues exist in every generation without much change even though women have gained more freedom in recent decades. The comic movie, "Where The Boys Are," is used by Paglia to demonstrate the behavior of men and women in Fifties. The message she tries to give is that since then, fundamentally nothing is really changed and this movie tells the truth. Today's women really do not know what they want, and feminism sounRAB like a happy avenue. In contrast, feminism fails to answer the fundamental questions. Feminists do not look at the history of rape, thus they are themselves confused. In mythology, it has been claimed that man has sexual anxiety and fear of women's dominance. Furthermore, the roots of sexual violence are the men's sense of psychological weakness toward women.
Paglia suggests how to behave and confront the historical problem. The first step is to be strong and respond strongly when someone makes a sexual remark or joke, which is not acceptable to women. Women who have an in-charge attitude get less harassed. Camille Paglia finRAB some positive aspects of the aggressive and corabustible masculine power. She states that this is one the most creative forces in history and feels that if women would become more aggressive, they would acquire the strength of this some creative force. When this force is used against women it could be destructive.
The author suggests that "The only solution to date rape is female self-awareness and self-control" (408). She thinks women should expect support from academia and institutions in the form of a solution.
Helen Cordes rejects Camille Paglia's concept of "Men really cannot control their urges. Rape for men is just doin' what comes naturally"(Cordes 410). In her article, "Winking at Abusive Sexual Behavior Isn't the Answer," she claims first that most of the defenders of these arguments are men rather than women. Surprisingly, some American magazine editors are increasingly interested in publishing such editorial articles. She warns us by saying two extreme ideas: "men have insistent urges" and "all men will rape if they can" -are dangerous (410).
Cordes argues that believing Paglia's view of "biological programming." (Cordes410) She also claims that men like to believe that masculinity, unstable, corabustible power is the excuse for men's self indulgent behavior and this is wrong. However, she does not say anything about cultural creative part of this power. Cordes supports Paglia's view that men should be educated, refined and ethically persuaded away from their tendencies toward anarchy and brutishness.
Even though Cordes agrees with the concept that men fear women's domination and therefore men are violent towarRAB women, she does not agree with Paglia's sex war concept being so simple. Cordes thinks that the truth about sex and the conflict between men and women are much more complicated than Paglia's view of "blue balls" theory. Cordes however, does not offer another theory or concept to explain the conflict. She
believes that men and women use sex as a bargaining chip for attention and affection.
Cordes claims that for the last 25 years, women and men are more in harmony than ever before. She supports her claim with examples such as working women becoming a norm and men are no longer wage salves. Police treat rape victims better than they previously did. She also suggests that women should let men know when their behavior is offensive. She thinks individual rape offenses usually do not have much meaning without social institution awareness. She agrees with Paglia's suggestions of the dangers of fraternity parties. Additionally, Cordes also says that women can be the victims of crime in any place and anytime. The ultimate solution according to Helen Cordes is that men and women have to communicate and work together.
Although Paglia and Cordes seem to agree on some issues such what to do in fraternity house or women response to inappropriate remarks by men, Cordes disagrees with Paglia vision of men biological difference and reason aggressive behavior of men. Paglio states that men are different than women and supports her argument by biological reasons. However, Cordes argues that men are women are equal based on sociological reasons without much support. She additionally claims that women are getting more rights than they used to in our social structure in last fifteens years.
WORK CITED
Cordes, Helen. "Winking at Abusive Sexual Behavior Isn't the Answer." Making Choices. Ed. Michael Cooley. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. 410-411.
Paglia, Camille. "Rape and Modern Sex War." Making Choices. Ed. Michael Cooley. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. 406-409.
http://www.austin.cc.tx.us/smelcher/
http://exodus.lcsc.edu/fptutor/du4s1p4.htm
http://www.teleport.com/~polettij/Paglia/
http://kbs.cs.tu-berlin.de/~jutta/cpc/index.html
http://www.salonmagazine.com/columnists/paglia.html
http://www.utne.com/btl/staff.html
http://www.ptgirlscouts.org/lw_advis.htm
Acquaintance rape or date rape is a sexual assault against a woman, which is committed by someone she knows. The rapist could be a boss, a date, a classmate, or a coworker. It is a criminal offense, and rape convictions in date rape cases have increased in recent years. Whether a man uses physical force or emotional coercion to force sex, sex without consent is still considered rape in our society. In "Rape and Modern Sex War" and "Winking at Abusive Sexual Behavior Isn't the answer" Camille Paglia and Helen Cordes clearly state that rape in any form, and specifically date rape, cannot be tolerated in any civilized society in their articles. Paglia explains the weaknesses of the feminist groups, and Cordes suggests a communicative solution.
According to Camille Paglia, rape is not new. She says " It has been a horrible problem for women for all of recorded history" (Paglia 406). She relates her Italian heritage to the old traditional punishments of the rapists. Since there is still social injustice between sexes and the biological difference between the genders, she conflicts with feminist arguments such as equality of men and women, sexual freedom, and ability of both sexes going any place any time. Academic Feminism is lost in the mist of social constructionism and we are not the products of the environment. Furthermore, according to Paglia men and women are in a war in which men are masculine, fighting for their identity. Women are trying to explain to men that they are different; they are women.
The author delivers her message regarding date rape, commonly occurring in college campuses, by saying " A girl who lets herself get dead drunk at a fraternity party is a fool. A girl who goes upstairs alone with a brother at a fraternity party is an idiot"(407). Furthermore, she argues that the feminists do not understand the fundamental reasons of the rape. She explains that the men are biologically programmed to "hunt, pursue and capture mode" (407). Since the boys in fraternity houses usually come from good families and don't look like rapists, date rape can easily occur at a party because the young women are not educated enough. Women cannot defend themselves if they are not educated enough. Society is not to blame for sex crimes as feminists claimed; however, society can provide shelter for women. Feminists fail to understand the real elements of rape.
Date rape controversy is another example of the failure of feminism today according to the author. She compares the generations and explains that the same issues exist in every generation without much change even though women have gained more freedom in recent decades. The comic movie, "Where The Boys Are," is used by Paglia to demonstrate the behavior of men and women in Fifties. The message she tries to give is that since then, fundamentally nothing is really changed and this movie tells the truth. Today's women really do not know what they want, and feminism sounRAB like a happy avenue. In contrast, feminism fails to answer the fundamental questions. Feminists do not look at the history of rape, thus they are themselves confused. In mythology, it has been claimed that man has sexual anxiety and fear of women's dominance. Furthermore, the roots of sexual violence are the men's sense of psychological weakness toward women.
Paglia suggests how to behave and confront the historical problem. The first step is to be strong and respond strongly when someone makes a sexual remark or joke, which is not acceptable to women. Women who have an in-charge attitude get less harassed. Camille Paglia finRAB some positive aspects of the aggressive and corabustible masculine power. She states that this is one the most creative forces in history and feels that if women would become more aggressive, they would acquire the strength of this some creative force. When this force is used against women it could be destructive.
The author suggests that "The only solution to date rape is female self-awareness and self-control" (408). She thinks women should expect support from academia and institutions in the form of a solution.
Helen Cordes rejects Camille Paglia's concept of "Men really cannot control their urges. Rape for men is just doin' what comes naturally"(Cordes 410). In her article, "Winking at Abusive Sexual Behavior Isn't the Answer," she claims first that most of the defenders of these arguments are men rather than women. Surprisingly, some American magazine editors are increasingly interested in publishing such editorial articles. She warns us by saying two extreme ideas: "men have insistent urges" and "all men will rape if they can" -are dangerous (410).
Cordes argues that believing Paglia's view of "biological programming." (Cordes410) She also claims that men like to believe that masculinity, unstable, corabustible power is the excuse for men's self indulgent behavior and this is wrong. However, she does not say anything about cultural creative part of this power. Cordes supports Paglia's view that men should be educated, refined and ethically persuaded away from their tendencies toward anarchy and brutishness.
Even though Cordes agrees with the concept that men fear women's domination and therefore men are violent towarRAB women, she does not agree with Paglia's sex war concept being so simple. Cordes thinks that the truth about sex and the conflict between men and women are much more complicated than Paglia's view of "blue balls" theory. Cordes however, does not offer another theory or concept to explain the conflict. She
believes that men and women use sex as a bargaining chip for attention and affection.
Cordes claims that for the last 25 years, women and men are more in harmony than ever before. She supports her claim with examples such as working women becoming a norm and men are no longer wage salves. Police treat rape victims better than they previously did. She also suggests that women should let men know when their behavior is offensive. She thinks individual rape offenses usually do not have much meaning without social institution awareness. She agrees with Paglia's suggestions of the dangers of fraternity parties. Additionally, Cordes also says that women can be the victims of crime in any place and anytime. The ultimate solution according to Helen Cordes is that men and women have to communicate and work together.
Although Paglia and Cordes seem to agree on some issues such what to do in fraternity house or women response to inappropriate remarks by men, Cordes disagrees with Paglia vision of men biological difference and reason aggressive behavior of men. Paglio states that men are different than women and supports her argument by biological reasons. However, Cordes argues that men are women are equal based on sociological reasons without much support. She additionally claims that women are getting more rights than they used to in our social structure in last fifteens years.
WORK CITED
Cordes, Helen. "Winking at Abusive Sexual Behavior Isn't the Answer." Making Choices. Ed. Michael Cooley. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. 410-411.
Paglia, Camille. "Rape and Modern Sex War." Making Choices. Ed. Michael Cooley. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997. 406-409.
http://www.austin.cc.tx.us/smelcher/
http://exodus.lcsc.edu/fptutor/du4s1p4.htm
http://www.teleport.com/~polettij/Paglia/
http://kbs.cs.tu-berlin.de/~jutta/cpc/index.html
http://www.salonmagazine.com/columnists/paglia.html
http://www.utne.com/btl/staff.html
http://www.ptgirlscouts.org/lw_advis.htm