Thousand Waves and IMPACT Chicago are
hosting a screening and discussion of the film The Invisible War, a film about rape and sexual assault in the
military. Join us February 9, 4-6 pm, 1220 W. Belmont in Chicago.
The film
conveys both the extent of sexual violence against women in the military and
the general lack of response to women's reports. Invisible
War recommends that the military should take reports of violence against
women seriously, by prosecuting rapists.
However, there are a number of disappointing aspects to the film that
undermine an understanding of the violence the film itself purports to
explain. I am offering some questions to
guide your viewing of the film, to help you draw out its strengths and place
its disappointments in context.
1 Does the film represent the
diversity of women in the military?
The group
of women who compose the active-duty military force is more racially diverse
than the male force. Nearly one-third (31%) of active-duty women are black
compared with only 16% of men with active-duty women less likely to be white
than active-duty men (53% vs. 71%). (Patten and Parker 2011).
The film
starts out strong in its portrayal of multiple types of women in the film, in
terms of race. Is this portrayal of a diverse military maintained? This is an important question to address
because, without significant attention to African-American women in the
military, violence perpetrated against women of color is likely to be obscured,
a common practice in US culture. As you
view the film, assess in what ways white womanhood is highlighted as worthy of
defense and protection and ways in which women of color are excluded from such
protections. To what extent does the
film address how intersections of gender and race affect patterns of rape and
sexual violence?
2 Why do rape and sexual violence
happen in the military?
With any
social problem or issue, it is important to address the relationship between
individual behavior and the circumstances within which the behavior occurs.
Hierarchal organizations produce higher rates of violence—sexual, physical and
psychological—against women and men within them and against women and men
outside them. At the heart of these
hierarchies is a commitment to very rigid notions of masculine authority. Thus,
fraternities, male team-sports athletes and the military produce far higher
rates of sexual violence than what is found in the population as a whole.
Additionally, social science research has found that aside from more
traditional views toward gender relations, rapists are not psychologically
different from men who don’t rape.
As you
watch the film, consider how the hierarchy of the military is addressed in
placing rape and sexual violence in a broader context. To what extent does the
film look at the culture and structure of the military and how it deals with
rapists? To what extent does the film
focus on “bad” men who are psychologically deviant? In which ways does the film
cultivate a “predator” approach to rape/sexual violence in the military? To
what extent is the focus on serial rapists in the military, their
self-selection into the military and their taking advantage of vulnerable
women? To what extent is the issue of men’s sexual violence against women (and
men) presented as a product of individual flaws embodied in the predator model
and to what extent does it draw out the collective means through which sexual
violence is produced?
3 How does the film link violence
against women and other forms of violence central to the military?
The
preparation for and carrying out of war-making upon people across the globe
produces—perhaps requires—tremendous levels of violence upon individuals in the
military with deleterious effects, only one of which is the havoc wreaked upon
female service members. Hardly a week
goes by when there is not a news piece exploring the astronomical rates of
suicide among or domestic violence by military veterans. There are also many ways through which
service members commit acts of violence, often in sexualized ways, against
“enemy combatants” and civilians. To
what extent does the film connect violence against women in the military to
women who are not in the military but who are near or on military bases or in
nearby communities or the violence visited on "enemies,” including
civilians? All of these forms of violence are linked to the masculinized
structural hierarchies and culture of the military. Our understanding of next
steps to reduce violence will be stronger, if we make those connections.
Framing
the issue of sexual violence as one of predatory “bad men” serves to distance
the problem—and ourselves—from the more fundamental issues at hand, which would
require challenging militaristic logic and practices that characterize not only
the military, but also our entire culture.
After viewing the film, think about ways that you can place rape and
sexual assault in the military within the context of the US military and US
culture. Think about what changes can be made to reduce violence against women
in the military, women near military bases, women in the US and women globally.
Michael
Armato
Associate
Professor of Sociology and Women’s and Gender Studies
Northeastern
Illinois University
For
further reading on the links between masculinized culture and sexualized
violence, as well as strategies for reducing violence, see the following online
resources:
Men Can Stop Rape
Men Stopping Violence
White Ribbon Campaign
whiteribbon.ca/
Reference
Patten,
Eileen and Kim Parker. 2011. “Women in the U.S. Military: Growing Share,
Distinctive Profile.” PEW Social and Demographic Trends. Web. Retrieved January
20, 2013 http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/files/2011/12/women-in-the-military.pdf
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