Friday, October 17, 1997
Historical abuse shouldn’t be ignored
By Nicole Presley
Fact: The American Medical Association reported in 1990 that
half of all female homicide victims were killed by a husband or
boyfriend.
Fact: In 1992, the surgeon general ranked abuse by husbands and
partners as the leading cause of injuries to women between 15 and
44.
Fact: Nearly a third of women visiting hospital emergency rooms
are there because they have been injured in a domestic-violence
incident.
I could go on and on with the startling statistics. Violence
against women in this country seems to be a national pastime. Worse
than that, Americans seem to be more apathetic than ever. Even
though you can’t go anywhere and find someone that does not
recognize the name Nicole Brown Simpson, people still seem to be
more concerned with what O.J. had for breakfast than the real issue
of violence. Nicole became a media frenzy. Her murder was its own
movie, complete with live pictures of the crime scene and two
mutilated bodies.
Nightly newscasts regularly document the latest gang killings
and rapes, yet cut to three minutes of vulgar, tasteless ads for
beer, the next episode of "Baywatch" and the latest suspense-horror
flick. It is no wonder that, despite numerous reports and
information published by local law enforcement agencies, hospital
emergency rooms and the FBI, rampant violence still continues. The
media glamorizes it and government officials capitalize on it.
Violence, in general, is not taken seriously as a social issue and
violence against women, in particular, is even more fictional and
consequently, reinforced as a permissible action. As women, we have
to ask ourselves why.
I have come to the conclusion that a lot of it has to do with
the American cultural amnesia and the pervasive hypocrisy that
plagues this country.
This country was founded on violence. Christopher Columbus
"discovered" America, raped it and almost obliterated an entire
race of people in the process. The American Revolution, the Civil
War … the list goes on and on. Usually, this is talked about with
respect to the unfair colonization and racial injustices that have
occurred in this country. However, it isn’t really mentioned with
regard to the historical, social, political and psychological war
waged against women.
Women were often used as weapons throughout history. The rape
and capture of women has traditionally been a popular war tactic.
It was never seen as a personal crime committed against that woman.
Now that tradition continues. Rape has only recently been
recognized as a crime against women. African American women are a
group particularly affected by this history of violence. Black
women have been sexually assaulted and mutilated by men in this
country since the time of slavery. The worst part is that the
evidence of this rape and abuse is marked every day by the more
than 20 different pigments possessed by the African people that
walk this land.
We can not turn back the hands of time and erase all of this
injustice and I am not suggesting that we should try. However, I am
suggesting that America acts like none of this ever went on.
History books fail to mention it. Lawmakers and government
officials fail to seriously acknowledge it. President Clinton
formally apologized for slavery, but has yet to attempt to
apologize to the women of all races for the hateful crimes
committed against them. I believe that domestic violence is such an
enormous problem today because it has never been dealt with as a
historical issue. It has been swept under the rug. And as the
saying goes, those who do not acknowledge their history are doomed
to repeat it. It is being repeated and obviously with a
vengeance.
I think one of the keys to ending domestic violence is
acknowledging its existence throughout history. We need to be
honest about the fact that violence in America is not a new
phenomenon and sexual assault against women falls along this
continuum that plagues our country.
Essentially, it is one of the principles upon which this nation
was founded. The wounds inflicted on women are deep and we cannot
simply place a Band-Aid on them. We need to reach the core of the
problem which began hundreds of years ago. Once America
acknowledges its wrongdoing and flushes out the wound – only then
can the healing begin and the beatings end.
We must also acknowledge the fact that we are a hypocritical
nation. We as Americans are told that violence is wrong. Men are
told never to hit girls, to treat women as precious people in their
lives. Yet there are very few movies out there that do not glorify
violence in this country. Films such as "Scream" and, most
recently, "Kiss the Girls" are marketed as "the most captivating
thrill rides of our lives." However, they are two hours of
murderous entertainment against women. When we aren’t being
murdered we are shown as simply "objects of beauty" ("Baywatch" and
"Melrose Place": Let’s not even go there.)
Furthermore, almost every ad for men (beer, sports, cologne) is
sold with a woman in a bikini holding the product (when we are
shown as whole people), the subliminal message being "get the beer
and you get the girl." The role of women of color is even worse; we
are shown as exotic beauties – again, the object of any man’s
fantasy. And as slaveholders have taught us, objectifying someone
is a very easy way to justify violence against them. Basically,
women are seen and sold as merchandise; any 30-second commercial
can confirm that. But men are supposed to respect women and know
the difference between fact and fiction, right? They might be able
to do that if the violence weren’t historically so real.
We need to start dealing with this. Advertisers need to take
responsibility for their selling tactics. As women, we must begin
to open up about the mental and physical mistreatment that has
historically plagued us throughout history. We must think about how
this affects our current mentality about abuse. Furthermore, we
must address our portrayal on television and critically think about
how much these representations impact our lives. Women in abusive
relationships need to seek counseling, analyze their self-esteem,
and be critical about the role which society forces them into.
Men must also be aware of and challenge the historical
mistreatment of women and how it affects their current views
towards women. Men also need to take notice of how they are
portrayed in the media. Most are shown as idiots that can not
control themselves where women are concerned. (Just watch Jerry
Springer for a week). This is insulting to both men and women. They
need to stand up and prove that, contrary to popular opinion, their
minds are not in their pants.
Men in this country need stand up and be more supportive. Many
men in this country are truly concerned about the needs of the
women in their lives. Many are the boyfriends, brothers and friends
of battered women. We as women need to be more receptive and help
them get the information they need to help the significant women in
their lives.
Basically, the key to beginning the healing and stopping the
beatings in this country is first acknowledging its existence. Next
we need to deal with emotional scars that have festered for
hundreds of years. Dialogue between men and women must change. More
than that, dialogue between the media and America must change.
In order for any effective change to take place, America, as a
society, needs to address the problem and stop hiding from it and
Americans, as individuals, need to create a dialogue that includes
the history and hypocrisy that plagues this country.