WOMS240 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Susan Brownmiller, Against Our Will, Rape Myth
6 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Historically women were essentially the property of men first the father, then the husband. For centuries men had the right to punish or discipline his wife with physical force. He had legal, religious, and cultural right to beat his wife and children. 1910 us supreme court ruled in domestic assault case that wife could not charge her husband with assault and battery. Punishment often reflected class or race bias and carried depending on social status of the victim: ex: lynching black men would be lynched for raping white women; rape of. African american women white men could get away with raping black women without any punishment. Only recently has focus shifted away from damage to male property to discussion of power politics in gender relations. Late 60s and 70s feminist movement addressed issues including rape and sexual assault. Not just because men can"t control their impulses . One of the most important tools language is key.
