Response to Steinem and Radical Articles

I found both of the readings for class very interesting, especially because both suggest that the solutions to our problems (or at least the two problems mentioned in the articles) can be found right in front of us, if we simply choose to look properly.  In the news article from Wesleyan University, the author advocates that if students simply accept the facts about rape on campus and take a positive approach, it would be very possible to “stop rape and sexual assault on campus without any intervention by the university at all.”  The author goes on to outline ten points that would significantly reduce the number of sexual assaults on their campus.  Although I’d argue that one of them does not necessarily apply as much to our school, the others are all very pertinent and are things we should all be doing here, as well.  Most revolve around things we should be advising people to do or not do, and the results of those things would have large impacts.  For example, by not ever making jokes about sexual assault, the act of sexual assault never is desensitized like it would be if there were constant jokes.  As long as it remains a large issue, it will make it a lot harder for someone to rationalize their way into approving of actions that either cause or ignore sexual assault.  

From the second article, the main point surrounds the idea that many serial killers come from the same group of society, and that those people have the ideas that they do due to patriarchal and sexual norms present within our society.  I did not previously know the statistics surrounding serial killers, but if this article is right, it presents a serious case for the reasoning behind many of the murders and sexual assaults present in our society.  As it concludes, it seems likely that the majority of these things can only be fixed if we recognize “the extent to which the patriarchal code of honor and shame generates and obligates male violence.”