Jennifer Turpin’s essay “Women Confronting War” looks at the negative effects war has on the lives of women. In fact, if war were defined as a sex it would be male. Women are passive participants in war. They are not involved in war in the physical way men are, nor do they die a noble death fighting alongside their comrades against a visible enemy. Rather, women take care of family and homes yet it does not prevent them from suffering agonizing treatment and abuses at the hands of men. War dehumanizes women and provides men with a vehicle to totally dominate women. At the hands of men, women suffer “sexual abuse and torture, and losing loved ones, homes and communities” (Turpin, 325). And sadly “attitudes of military personnel often support the sexual abuse of women and girls” (327). Rape in wartime appears to be a used as some kind of tool. Firstly, rape seems to be some kind of reward or payment to those who are supposedly helping women. Turpin points out that women and girls who find refuge in camps are sexually abused and forced into prostitution. She continues saying, even UN peacekeepers who are supposed to be protecting civilian rights have raped or committed sexual abuses against women (327). Secondly, rape is used as a method of control towards women. Here, Turpin describes details of women who because of their political activities are imprisoned and then repeatedly raped in an attempt to break them down And finally rape is a way to demoralize women. To support this belief, Turpin speaks of the anguish women experience having to carry a “child who was both their own and the enemy’. (326). Even prostitution is supported by “militaries around the world” (327) for its potential to boost the economy and ‘service’ soldiers.
Unfortunately, even women who don’t live in these war-torn countries can be subjected to increases in domestic violence. Statistically speaking, Turpin says there is an “increase in the number of sons who commit violence against their mothers … an increase in violence in marriages where the husband and wife’s ethnicity differ … an increase in alcohol consumption among men returning from combat” (p. 328) during wartime. There are many reasons put forward to explain this behavior however, if sexual domination is supported by military heads, UN troops, refugee camp guards, etc., in countries at war how can we expect men’s attitudes towards women to change when they return home.
Women hold ranking positions in the military. Do you think during their tour they’d turn a blind eye to activities such as prostitution or rape or is it an accepted activity of war?
Hi Russ,
ReplyDeleteThis summary is excellent. You cover Turpin's main points beautifully, and your integration of quotes is well-done. I'm just taking a moment to look at some of your "signal phrases" leading up to the quote: Turpin describes and Turpin points out. These are good. Less effective are "Turpin says." How about Turpin posits, Turpin argues, Turpin notes, Turpin asserts. Just some suggestions for your research essay! A small picky thing -- no p. in the citation. MLA format is (328). Also, no comma between author and page (Sorry, this is super picky, but might as well tell you!) (Turpin 328).
On a final note, could you also include a paragraph of analysis of the article? How well has Turpin done her job in presenting this subject material? I thought she presented statistics in a way that didn't swamp the reader. In fact, her statistics strengthened her argument by pointing out just how many women are impacted by war.
You'll find your grade in the book. Again, thank you for all your hard work on the last two blogs!!
It is not necessarily an accepted activity, it is just impossible to regulate without changing the whole mentality of the military, regardless if they're women or men.
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