Chapter 12 Gendered Lives

Wood begins this chapter with the definition and explanation of gendered violence. She defines it as "physical,emotional, sexual and visual brutality." I agree with this definition because it covers every facet of gendered violence. It does not have to be just physical or sexual but emotional and visual as well. Ways that gendered violence is enacted is through gender intimidation, sexual assault, sexual harassment, genital mutilation, and the normalization of violence in the media.

Gender intimidation is the when members of one sex are treated in ways that make them feel vulnerable, unsafe, or humiliated because of their sex. This can occur in public spaces or in private homes. I've seen many movies on television that have perpetuated this form of gender violence through male characters harassing and asserting their dominance over characters of the opposite sex.


Sexual assault is any sexual activity that happens without the consent of either member involved. This includes rape. One in six women and one in thirty three men will be raped in their lifetimes! This statistic is incredible because I could not fathom that at any given time hundreds of millions of people walking among us have been raped. This vicious cycle will only stop once more people are made aware of what is actually happening.

Another section that I found very interesting was the myth or fact section. Some of the facts seemed to be obvious but some of the myths are common misconceptions which I find to be egregious! The one fact that stood out the most was the fact that more than 75% of rapes are committed by a person known to the victim! When most people think of a person being raped people think of a person at a club being drugged or at a party and being taken away by some person unbeknownst to the victim and being taken advantage of. I have had a friend that had taken advantage of a woman and I was disgusted. I have not seen or heard from him since but knowing that you can never know who your friends really are does hit home the fact that most rape victims know who the perpetrator is.


For more rape statistics visit https://www.rainn.org/statistics


Sexual harassment is something that has been joked and made fun about in all forms of media for a long time. This form of gendered violence is unwelcome verbal or non verbal behavior of a sexual nature that is linked to academic or professional standing. Most episodes from the beloved show " The Office" contains these sorts of occurances in almost episodes. Is this okay? Should we laugh at it? I have fallen victim having laughed at multiple instances where Michael Scott sexually harassed Pam Beasley. But after being exposed to this I understand that it is never okay to joke about.

Chapter 10 Gendered Organizational Communication

During this chapter Woods summarizes the different stereotypes that both men and women face. Usually one does not realize that they are using stereotypes to refer to or interpret others. Some typical stereotypes women face are being viewed as a sex object, mother, child, or iron maiden. All of these are demeaning and generalize women into these specific groups. On a daily basis everybody comes in contact with some form of gender stereotypes whether it is through the media or through a conversation. This embeds in us some form of feeling towards the stereotype and we tend to associate this with the group of people the stereotype was aimed towards.

 Personally, I have tried to refrain from the use of stereotypes but it is very hard to do so in a society that you are submersed in. Having strong relationships with women has opened my eyes to the types of stereotyping they face. My girlfriend often points out different advertisements in which females are being portrayed as sexual figures and I have since gotten into the habit of doing the same. Being aware of the issue is a large part of the problem.

Males also are generalized through stereotypes as well; some include: sturdy oak, fighter and breadwinner. These stereotypes are less common but nonetheless have similar effects. Stereotypes cause people to feel an added pressure to be a certain way and can potentially lead to issues with self-confidence and self-worth. The most common stereotype of them all is the breadwinner. Most people expect males to earn more and support the family but this stereotype devalues the efforts made by women and their contributions in the household.

In the affirmative action section I found the comments by the students to be very upsetting.

The “Johnson” character stated that “I've never done anything to discriminate against members of other races, so I don’t think I should have to step aside so they can have special advantages now. I don’t owe them anything, and I earned everything I've got.”  First this student must not be aware of something called “white privilege”.

White privilege is the privilege of not having to think about race while reaping benefits and being advantaged over other races due to the color of one’s skin. This person does not understand that he is in the position that he is in because of his race. He has the opportunity to have everything he has because of his race. Being a part of the in-group, one must have a moral obligation to ensure that those who are marginalized should receive the same kind of treatment regardless of the fact that direct discrimination did not take place by them. Because this person did not take place in racist acts does not change the fact that he is still benefiting from this societal structure that places a higher value and importance on white men.


 So to say that he owes members of oppressed groups nothing is incorrect and insensitive due to the fact that he is reaping the benefits of years of racism and the only way to remedy the situation would be to revoke the benefits and privileges bestowed upon him. A small way of doing so would be to support actions that attempt to bridge the gap of privilege.

I urge you all to check out this link for more examples of white privilege http://www.buzzfeed.com/michaelblackmon/17-harrowing-examples-of-white-privilege-9hu9#.hgyKwYpDX

Discussion Questions

How do you feel Affirmative Action to be bridging the gap between the marginalized and the ingroup?

How can Affirmative Action be changed to ensure that it is run properly and with more success?

How does it make you feel to hear stereotypes being applied to family members? Friends of the opposite sex? Friends?

Should the Quota system be changed? If so in which ways?