Date: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 18:31:50 -0500
From: Yoshie Furuhashi <Furuhashi.1-AT-osu.edu>
Subject: M-TH: Who's Afraid of Rape Survivors? 


James wrote:
>>On the other hand, I think Marx, rightly or wrongly, would be bemused by
>>your preoccupation inter-personal violence, something that he thought
>>largely derivative of the power of capital, and not worth addressing at
>>the individual level.

To use the word "inter-personal" violence obscures the gendered dimension
of the use of violence and sexual oppression that feminists critically
examine and organize against. (Men rape women and other men while women
seldom--if ever--do.)

Further, feminists address male violence against women *not* at the
"individual level." This is a collective protest against one gender's
power. Rape is a physical and psychological weapon that some men use
against women and other men--especially gay men and men of color who are
also oppressed--(e.g. Abner Louima who was raped and tortured by NYPD cops)
in order to crush them, to put them in their place, and to circumscribe
their freedom of movement and sexual expressions.

For women to survive rape and to call themselves "rape survivors" is a way
for women to *refuse* staying victimized.

Yoshie





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