Unfortunate Truth

The talk about masculinity and power has really allowed me to get a better understanding as to what is involved and part of our society today. Watching television regardless if it’s a television series or movie, if paid attention to, can show how masculinity and power sometimes are intertwined together. The episode we saw in class from A Different World revolved around the abuse a male character had toward his girlfriend and how a community comes together to alleviate and free the young woman from his power and control over her. The abused woman was brain washed into thinking that she was actually loved and that all his abuse was a result of something that was her fault which was definitely not the case. The Hooks reading talks about black masculinity versus sexuality and how some sexual acts come out from abuse or powerlessness which grows and layers in a particular community sometimes making them believe it is ok when in fact, we all know is something horribly wrong. I believe the Hooks article, for the most part, really tied in to this episode due to the fact that the abusive boyfriend grew up seeing his father be abusive toward his mother, if I recall correctly.

Interested in the topic, I did some research and found a similar topic involving a study conducted to see the connection between being a "sexual abuse victim" and later becoming a "perpetrator" as a result to that abuse. The study concluded the following: “Of all reported victims 59% were also perpetrators (79 of 135). The rate varied according to the victim's experience:

·         24% of the reported non-victims were perpetrators (146 of 612);

·         51% of reported incest victims were perpetrators (24 of 47);

·         61% of reported pedophile victims were also perpetrators (46 of 76);

·         75% of those who reported that they were victims of both incest and pedophilia were also perpetrators (9 of 12)” (The British Journal of Psychiatry).

-http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/179/6/482.full

I believe this study helps to further explain the relationship and credibility of someone undergoing some sort of event and seeing its affects later in life believing they’re in control and gaining power.

1.      "The British Journal of Psychiatry." Cycle of Child Sexual Abuse: Links between Being a Victim and Becoming a Perpetrator. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.