PHIL 3000 Lecture Notes - Lecture 18: Heterosexuality
19 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Issy Asianah
PHIL 3000-R23
April 16th, 2018
Sex and Violence; MacKinnon- PRP 18
Throughout history, MacKinnon notes that these issues have been regarded only as violence
because identifying them as issues against sex and the sexuality of women would be indicating
that women indeed have a sexuality other than that which is separate from a man’s or that other
sexualities exist outside of heterosexuality. Women in particular avoid referring to these issues as
violence against sex to avoid the narrative that we are against sex or that we are lesbians, which
has been described as being anti-male or having a sexuality outside of heterosexuality. These
gender-neutral terms avoid the idea that sexual activities and eroticism can be and is violent to
women. In doing this, women protect themselves from a legal system that continues to stigmatize
and victimize them. This legal system constantly makes women prove how much force is enough
to deem their situation as harassment or what level of penetration is considered as rape. They are
trying to avoid a system that was created by men and meant to protect men. This male gaze will
never understand the perspective of women and for this reason women avoid involving the courts
on issues of sexual harassment and assault. Society, as a whole, loses its sense of the
individuality of women. They fail to understand that women can exist on their own without the
power or dominance of a man. They do not understand that these violence of sex explicitly hurts
women and that society needs to take more steps towards understanding the perspective of a
woman. By using gender-neutral terms, we are enforcing certain power hierarchies and
maintaining certain power structures. We also coddle the feelings of men in the society and we
do not challenge the current mindset of society. We are trying to preserve the feelings of men but
fight for our personhood but this may never exist without tension. When people realize this and
are ready to work through this discomfort, we can properly address these issues.
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Document Summary
These gender-neutral terms avoid the idea that sexual activities and eroticism can be and is violent to women. In doing this, women protect themselves from a legal system that continues to stigmatize and victimize them. This legal system constantly makes women prove how much force is enough to deem their situation as harassment or what level of penetration is considered as rape. They are trying to avoid a system that was created by men and meant to protect men. This male gaze will never understand the perspective of women and for this reason women avoid involving the courts on issues of sexual harassment and assault. Society, as a whole, loses its sense of the individuality of women. They fail to understand that women can exist on their own without the power or dominance of a man.
