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Men Can Stop Rape is an organization dedicated toward mobilizing the male youth to speak out against violence against women. The website advocates males to come together and work alongside women in order to promote healthy relationships and gender equality. Men Can Stop Rape provides a variety of solutions for men and ways to become involved such as through attending events, trainings, and presentations.

This is a great website because its main focus is to educate men and prevent violence against women. I found the "Strength campaign" to be very interesting because it is a campaign that can be implemented within many organizations. As I was reading through their campaign adds I noticed how they used the phrase, "Our Strength is Not for Hurting" which is used to show men that strength those not mean violence.

I'm an absolute advocate for men to speak out against violence towards women. I believe it is critical that men become allies for this cause because essentially men can influence male culture more than women can. If men begin to condemn violence towards women than the passive notion amongst men can change to one of proactive means. Men are also influential for younger males and may often be mimicked by these younger males, so if you practice what you preach it can really make a difference.

This article/campaign is really interesting and actually quite funny. I have mixed perspectives on the effectiveness of having a man walk a mile in women's high heels. The point of the campaign is to end domestic violence and raise awareness of the issue. It accurately demonstrates how ridiculous it is that women are expected to wear heals but at the same time, I don't know how much it can rally change a man's behavior. I think this campaign is more effective in the gender roles women and men face and in addressing verbal/social abuse, but not so much in physical abuse.

I found this campaign to be hilarious! What a great fun way for men to get involved. We've talked so much about how crucial it is for men to recognize violence against women as an issue for it to ever cease and here is an opportunity. The pictures were of firemen and business men who seemed to be having fun with the event which would most likely encourage other men to get involved. The pain of wearing high heels is only a fraction of the pain that women face as a result of domestic violence, but maybe it starts to get the point across to men!

I thought this was a really great idea. It is definitely important to get men involved, and this offers a fun and creative way to do it. I wasn't quite sure that wearing heels will offer that much awareness to violence, but more towards the oppression that women face, which can lead to domestic violence. It definitely demonstrates gender roles, ideals, and possibly will help men to realize the pain that it takes to be the 'ideal woman'. But I don't know how effective it would be in actually making men take action outside of the walk.

This website is created by men to get information and discuss male victims of domestic violence. It's not an official website by any means, but it is kind of interesting to read, if only to spark interesting discussions.

Lancaster, Roger M. 1992 Life is Hard: Machismo, Danger, and the Intimacy of Power in Nicaragua. Berkeley: University of California Press "Life is Hard: Machismo, Danger, and the Intimacy of Power in Nicaragua" by Roger N. Lancaster discusses domestic abuse in Managua, Nicaragua. Lancaster discusses the unequal power structures that exist between genders and enforced gender norms. The machismo culture in Managua produces men who show their masculinity through violence, power, and dominance over the women in their lives. Women also have fixed gender roles of tending to their domestic chores and obeying their husbands. When women act outside of their gender roles, such as drinking, not listening to their husband, or telling their husband what to do, this is when their husband hits them in order to show that they are the men and thus they have the power. This book is important to my paper because it explains how domestic violence is culturally situated in Latin America and what cultural circumstances cause domestic violence, which in this case are gender norms including women's inequality and men's power over women.

The page preceding this states that one in three women in the military will be sexually assaulted during their tour of duty. This number is amazing to me and it makes me wonder what life is really like for women in the military. In such a male dominated institution, the women of the military have been silenced. NOW president Kim Gandy is calling for president Barack Obama to address this issue and see that it stops.

This is a great example of our society being male dominated. How are we supposed to make change when the majority of government, law, and policy makers are men? Those involved with public service are typically those in control of delegating positions and reforming laws. It is important for the few women who are involved to raise their voices and for us, the citizens, to elect more women into office.

Before joining this class, I had knowledge of such happenings within our military, but I never had any idea the numbers were so high. I am able to acknowledge that yes these things happen, but it is hard to accept how often they occur. Posttraumatic stress disorder is an issue that is raised all the time, of men coming back from war and being so traumatized that they cannot continue on with their daily lives. In a number of movies and TV shows I have watched, soldiers coming back from war have been depicted as abusing their wives, but what about their fellow female soldiers? This is an issue that surely needs to be address now not only by the media to the public but within the government. Morgan brings up a good, but scary point of how are we suppose to change anything when those in power are men and men supporting the actions in the military by not speaking out. I do not know what the answer to this problem is, but I know that acknowledging and addressing the issue is the first step.

Malamuth, Neil., Briere, John. 1986. "Sexual Violence in the Media: Indirect Effects on Aggression Against Women." Journal of Social Issues 42(3):75-92 * Research done by Malamuth and Briere has shown links between violent and sexual images of women in mass media and the development of thought patterns of aggression and antisocial behavior. Within their research they tested men exposed to violent or sexual images of women in the media, as well as pornography. On such experiment was to test images in pornography men were shown three situations a rape with positive effects for the woman, a rape with negative effects for the woman, and consensual sex. The responses of the men were recorded. I find this study particularly interesting because it doesn't just show that erotic-aggressive images in pornography can cause aggression, but that it can actually alter thought patterns. This research provides a lot of information on how a culture can be formed thinking a certain way because of what they are exposed to.

The Accused, 1988, Jonathan Kaplan, dir. I am using this film to illustrate the use of rape and its consequences as depicted in film. This film is unique as it shows rape in a non-normative light, differing from how rape is typically depicted within film. Rather than from the perspective majorly of men, this film shows rape through the eyes of the victim and the defender, both women. However, ultimately (as Projansky predicts), it is a man who (in all honesty unrealistically) "saves the day," and the honor of the victim (played by Jodi Foster). While this film is innovative in its brutal truth about rape and all that it entails (physical harm, emotional/mental harm, economic harm, and the difficulty of court trials), it is also in a sense, a fairy tale for raped women - certain aspects of the film, such as the conclusion, depict a more optimistic world. Still, this film has many positive qualities in exhibiting topics in relation to rape, such as the instilled patriarchic views within court and government systems, and among fraternities of men. I would not say that this film desensitizes rape, but rather that it magnifies the horrors of rape; however, this perception could differ between men and women. These are some of the topics I will explore of rape and its consequences as portrayed through this film and its relation to viewers and what they do with such images and information.

This is about a recent victory in South Africa regarding hate speech and rape. It is important to our course because rape is a major problem in violence against women. By taking action against offenders, in a country where rape is very big problem, the South African government is taking a stand and helping to change the future of violence against women.

This article draws a parallel to the questions/ workshop based on femicide in class. When discussing effective ways to raise awareness and stop the violence, the government seemed a major resource in doing so. I found it very interesting and surprising that the South African government is taking hate speech and rape seriously and being proactive in making sure this violence stops and perpetrators are punished. By getting the government involved in gender equality and violence, can allow change within society among men and women. In particular men can be educated in how to support women's rights and gender equalities, and also create new standards or systems of gender roles to advance gender equality.

I chose to bookmark this page to supplement my other bookmarked page from deviantART. It is my understanding that the anti-violence against women poster was created in support of this new law. I found it interesting and important to note because of the date in which this law was had passed and is hopefully now being implemented. This law establishes that women and children are to be given the same human rights as men. It also claims to ensure that women and children receive appropriate aid from the state when necessary. I do not know if this new law, which should have been created many more years ago, is currently being upheld to its fullest description.

Creel, Liz 2001 Domestic Violence: An Ongoing Threat to Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Population Reference Bureau. http://www.prb.org/Articles/2001/DomesticViolenceAnOngoingThreattoWomeninLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean.aspx, accessed April 2010. This article explains how many Latin American countries do not seriously address domestic violence. Men may receive a misdemeanor instead of a felony based on the kind of injuries that a woman has, for example, if she only has bruises or does not have to stay in the hospital for a long time, than her abuser is charged with less. On top of this, police do not always follow through or even respond to reports of domestic abuse and courts and judges do not ensure adequate protective services for victims. This article is very crucial to my paper. I am looking at why domestic violence is not constructed as an issue in Latin America. This article shows that not only is domestic violence not handled as a serious issue by officials, it also demonstrates that these apathetic attitudes towards domestic abuse only increase the problem of it not being handled as a important issue and allowing for victims to believe that it is a not a worthy enough problem that they should report.

This article discusses the actions and motives of solder-rapists. It discusses who should be held accountable and what war time rape means for political structure and gender inequality. This article allows me to further investigate the psychology of soldiers who are commanded to rape and better understand the concept of male domination. It also allows me to draw conclusions about what women suffer through the in-depth stories some of the men in this article have described.

Donnerstein, Edward. 1980. "Aggressive Erotica and Violence Against Women." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39(2): 269-277 * This article was written to describe a study conducted by Edward Donnerstein on whether or not aggressive-erotic stimuli would make males more aggressive towards females. In this study males were shown either neutral, erotic, or aggressive erotic stimuli and then given an opportunity to deliver electric shock to a female confederate. Out of the 120 males subjects who participated in the study it was shown than even non-angered males showed an increase in aggression towards the female after viewing the aggressive-erotic film. I think that this article will be extremely useful in my research as it provides evidence of the effect of aggressive-erotic films on men, even when those men had in no other way been angered.

This article is very important to our class because it is directly related to the reading we did on the Bosnia rapes. The article explains how almost 20 years later, the women who were raped are still struggling with everyday life. Additionally, justice has still not been found for many of the women and men who were raped. Taking steps in this direction would be a good response to violence against women.

I have bookmarked a specific event that takes place every year under The United Nations Population Fund. As an international development agency, UNFPA works across countries to spread awareness and to work towards equal rights and opportunities for all people. Working with the government of a specific country, the agency works on sustainable development taking into account the needs of the population now and for the future. This event specifically, the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women is done every year and speaks out across the world on issues of gender violence. Apart from the set aside 16 days, this page lays out 16 ways the UNFPA is working to end this violence. As well, the website lists various other events they are hosting as well as sites to visit that show social and multi-media space on a variety of issues that one can use to network and learn more on such issues.

This is a great website, and I love that it happens every year. By not only providing websites and other resources for people to look at, just their presentation, as a worldwide event, makes it very effective in getting the idea of how bad violence against women really is. One thing that I thought was most effective about it is that it is not just the US, and not just a country that we hear about often with regards to their violence against women, but global. This globalness is very important because if someone who knew little about violence against women were to see this, then they could possibly become aware that violence against women is not just in the US, and not just in the rest of the world, something that is very important to ending violence against women.

I'm glad that you came across this website because people want to get involved and sometimes do not k now were to start. I feel like I can send some of my friends to this website to get started. I like that the ideas also involve men; it's something that everyone can do and feel good about. One of the 16 ways that jumped out at me was "Publicizing the issue of acid burning and other unusual forms of gender violence" because it is something that it is not spoken about and given a lot of attention to.

This website lays out a description of and a schedule for the "Cuentos de Hadas (Fairy Tales) Art Exhibtion at Avenue 50 Studio, Inc. in California. It is the intent of the artists' collections to display the discrepancy between the assumed and enforced male and female gender roles within fairy tales. The physical appearance, control of emotions, and psychological mind-set of the leading heroin and hero roles are pre-destined and the same stereotypes in most fairy tales. This exhibition asks the viewer to acknowledge this fact and address the underlying issues and implications within it. Furthermore, the weekend of the Art display is a march where participants will march in the name of a prayer for Juarez, Mexico where Femicide is both an immediate and devastating reality.

I LOVE this idea! Since I seem to be in connection mode... this really made me consider the fairy tales and new renditions of fairy tales and short stories I read over the past month for my English class, "Romancing the Novel." Typical tales do seem to subjugate women, and set them up for interactions of violence towards and against them, while the Angela Carter renditions of past fairy tales set up new heroines much like this artwork is attempting to do. Also, I think it is great that the institution and artist are relating these works to the Femicide in Juarez. Rather than make art for arts sake, they are trying to force more impact and meaning within the work, and this really appeals to me. It is scary to think that most young girls are read or watch the more traditional versions of fairy tales... perhaps this sets us/them up for ignorance of violence against women???

This is a link to "Man Up" , a group dedicated to helping youth end violence against women and girls, it's slogan being that violence against women is everyone's issue, not just a women's issue. They give out grants to youth activists to start programs against domestic violence in their communities, and work through a number of mediums including sports, music, technology, and art.

While I fully support any non-profit organization's attempt at gaining awareness and participation by female and male youth alike, I would also argue that I have seen better-designed and more informed websites to encourage participation for the cause to stop violence against women. The section with the definition of different types of violence was rather informative, but I wish the "Get Involved" section would have been more in depth and easy to navigate to links of promoted involvement.

This might seem an odd choice but I decided to post this because I found it to be incredibly moving and emotional. Although it does not explicitly deal with violence against women, it is about war in the Ukraine and violence against all people (men, women, and children). Women do play a key role in the sand art though: mothers being abandoned by their soldier husbands, left to fend for themselves and their children, women growing old without knowledge of family and lovers who died, etc. This violence towards women seems to be more symbolic and emotional, rather than strictly physical. Relates to past readings like Bourdieu, Das, and perhaps Enloe.

I am really glad that you chose to bookmark this video. I remembered you showing it to me a while ago and liking it, but watching again just now from a different angle, I feel as though I can see much more. This woman is obviously harboring some intense grief, whether it be just hers or that of her country as well. I love the way she used this form of artistic expression, coupled with emotion provoking music, because it told her history from a couple sitting comfortably on a street bench to a mother and child alienated from perhaps the same male figure on the other side of a window. This production obviously made a impact on the audience who most likely share her history of war, destruction, tears, violence, alienation, hopelessness, etc. Thank you for finding this.

I would like to preface this by saying that I love James Brown and respect him as the Godfather of Soul and appreciate his work not only for it in itself, but for all of the artists whose work he influenced. I am glad that Christina Aguilera took the effort to honor him at the 2007 Grammy's, but am not sure why she picked "Its a Mans World" as the song to sing in his remembrance. I can admit that I like the song, but not the lyrics. I feel that this song is pertinent to our class because it shows that patriarchy is still the driving force behind our society. James Brown has produced so much work worthy of remembering, but this particular song makes me uncomfortable. It shouldn't be just a man's world, but everyone's world. I'm glad that he decided "it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl," but I just don't think that is the right approach. I had a difficult time choosing between this song and Respect by Aretha Franklin because they are both great, but then I found Christina's version and thought it was worth mentioning.

I must admit as well that I love this song and Christina Aguilera. With that being said, this song title captures the essence of our patriarchal society. James Brown was a brilliant musician and to be a true artist, you must observe the world you live and and deliver your emotional response. He did this by acknowleging the reality that we live in a society of male privilege. I would also like to add that this clip is another example of how the media helps to perpetuate our beliefs about women and is a tool to keep women subordinate to men.

Knowing how to respond to violence is as important as preventing it. This is webpage is an important resource to respond to violence against women by empowering individuals through education and training. RAINN ( Rape Abuse and Incest National Network) has an option on its website where trainings online for individuals are offered on a broad range of topics. For instance education on how to respond to cases of rape, date rape and drug-facilitated sexual assault is available. I believe that this is an outstanding source because as it is important to know about statistics and facts, it is also equally important to know how to respond to cases of violence against women or men.

This is absolutely a crazy article. The author goes into how colleges and universities are being taken over by women and are becoming unsafe for men, as they will most likely be accused of rape. The author then takes a stab at feminism by saying that schools are being taken over by feminists, which is ruining the system.