Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Fighting Bodies, Fighting Words

Although I really enjoyed and resonated with Sharon Marcus' article, by the end of the article, I found myself wondering about female rapists. Where do they fit in in this picture? Are female rapists "manlier"? How do female rapists fit in in this portrait that Marcus has painted of male rapists? I would have loved to hear her thoughts on that, but since she didn't mention female rapists, the question has been turned to you!
Also, Marcus writes that the victim is "someone whom the would-be rapist assumes would not attempt to fight back" probably because of the "feminine fear [which] inspires the familiar sensations of 'freezing' -- involuntary immobility and silence." She contrasts it with the masculine fear, which "triggers the notorious 'fight or flight' response." Assuming that Marcus holds these responses to be inherent in all males/females, that is to say, a biological fact, then how does this fit in with the argument that "we recognize and enact our gendered selves as objects of violence" because "the criteria of feminine beauty and worthy feminine behavior, if enacted without any modification, create[s] a trammeled, passive person"?

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