Well, It Isn't Schizophrenia... (1)

Hello, World.

       In Jasmine, a book by Bharati Mukherjee, the main character is an Indian woman whose transition from India to America leads to a clash of cultures where she experiences ignorance, judgment, and an identity-crisis. As we discussed in class, Jasmine undergoes a hero's journey whose individual stages are categorized by her extensive variety of names: Jyoti (in India), Jasmine (as she arrives to America), Jase (a Taylor-specific name for her in New York), and Jane (in Iowa, with Bud). In this blog sequence, I will discuss the many stages of her life represented by her collection of names, as well as the clay pitcher metaphor, the stereotypes and ignorance she faces, and the clothes motif throughout the novel.

       As Jasmine moves away from India to America, the different stages of her travels are so unique and important that a new identity is attributed to her every time. In her home town in India, she is known as Joyti and, as she moves away, she solidifies her departure by changing her name to an American one: Jasmine. Once she moves to New York and falls in love with Taylor, he identifies her with an endearing 'Jase' and Jane, her final name, is given to her by Bud, her partner in Iowa. Her many names categorise the many moments of her incredible odyssey across America. Mukherjee describes how every time that Jasmine adopts a new identity, she is metaphorically "reborn," (163). In a luncheon, she says "I am sure that I have been reborn several times, and that yes, some lives I can recall vividly" which acknowledges her many identities but also tells us, since her memories are so vivid, that each stage of her life is filled with so many dramatic moments that they couldn't possibly all belong to the same victim (126). Each stage of her life ends with a drastic event (such as her husband's death, a rape incident, the sight of her husband's murderer in NY, and her neighbour's suicide).

       Evidently, this results in a lack of identity because it has become impossible to identify Jasmine as one person. The author's writing makes this clear when she describes Jasmine seeing "ghosts float towards [her]. Jane, Jasmine, Jyoti," (21). Understandably, she doesn't know who she is, for example, when she says “In Baden, I am Jane. Almost,” (26). The transitions between life-stages are so drastic and abrupt that they lead to multiple-personalities.

       Finally, one must notice that only one of her names was used as the book's title: Jasmine. We discussed in class how the hero's journey, developed by Joseph Campbell, applies to Jasmine. I stated that this cycle does occur in the novel but only starts from her arrival to America, when she meets Taylor (because Taylor is her final result); by then, her name is Jasmine. I believe that Mukherjee uses Jasmine for the title not only because it represents the biggest stage of her life (her departure from India), but also because it  marks the beginning of her journey in America. As Jyoti 'dies' and is reborn as Jasmine, she begins her adventure in America to find the love and happiness that her life in India didn't give her.

       In my next blog post, I will discuss the clay pitcher metaphor, the stereotypes she becomes victim to, and the motif of clothing throughout the novel to further analyse the culture clash represented by Jasmine's journey.

Goodnight, World.

The Reason For Rape: Man's Motivation Cont. (3)

Hello, World.

       In my previous blog post, I started discussing the possible reasons for rape. I wanted to explore possible explanations, triggers, or influences that encourage men to commit crimes of sexual violence against women. In this post, I will talk more about men attempting to get away with raping or using blame, or excuses to keep their record clean as well as encourage them to rape again in the future.

       Additionally, it must be taken into consideration that men constantly pursue ways of having better sex. A seemingly obvious explanation for rape in fact is quite honest and powerful: Some men rape women simply because it is 'hot'. The same survey in UCLA shows statistics about attractive aspects of rape in men's opinion. The same educated boys also stated, for example, that: "93.1% liked to dominate women during sex" and "63.5% got excited to see a woman struggle over sex" (165). Men, although I think is not a justifiable 'excuse', commit rape actions for fantasy purposes, and unfortunately, these are fed by women's rape fantasies.

       Finally, some men claim to misunderstand women's expressions, although I personally think it's difficult to mishear a capital 'NO!', or to not feel a violent struggle. Men blame many things such as alcohol, drugs, women's clothing, etc. but I think it's pretty evident that rape is within a man's control. Men also sometimes state that women asked to be raped. The same UCLA survey stated that : 83.5% of boys said that some women just look like they're asking to get raped." (165). Well, by definition, it isn't rape if they ask for it. 

       When a man attempts to blame rape on something else, especially the woman, they give themselves a mentality saying "if I can get away with it this time, I can get away with it again in the future". The ugly truth is that rapist often are found 'non-guilty' because lawyers hammer the prosecutors, but also because women are 1) insecure and end up giving in to the pressure or 2) are too scared or embarrassed to share their story and challenge a male oppressor. Although I fully understand the bravery it takes, I urge female victims to stand up for themselves in order to better the world and the rape problem.

       Unfortunately, I haven't developed a concrete answer to why men commit rape. In my opinion, rape seems so grotesque and foreign that I'm glad I can't find a legitimate reason but I do understand more why rape occurs: because they are influenced to do so, because it seems 'okay', because they find it 'hot', or because they feel they can get away with it/blame it on something else.
       In my next post in this sequence, I will discuss the consequences of rape: the effects on women's bodies, their sex-life, and their views of men.

Goodnight, World.

The Reason for Rape: Man's Motivation (2)

Hello, World.

       Since roughly 90 percent of rape is committed by men, where women are the victims, I felt it most appropriate to discuss a man's motivation in order to discover the reason for rape. One might say, well, maybe the man just wants to have sex. However, I really don't think it's that simple. Not only is rape illegal, it is strongly against morals that most people believe in. It also has the power to extremely damage a women as well as prevent her from  ever having proper sexual intercourse in the future. With so many reasons against the action of rape, a man's motivation must be discussion worthy. In the Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf discusses some possible motivations for men, but also what has shaped men's thoughts and encouraged men to commit sexual violence.
       Wolf states that men are men. They usually exhibit more sexually aroused behaviour and are constantly pursuing sexual actions. Although rape seems to be a very extreme way of satisfying sexual desire, Wolf tells us that Catharine MacKinnon, a research scientist, says that men's desire is similar to a "hydraulic model" and that rape "lets off steam" (137-138). However, this explanation for rape seems to be too simple.
       In the first post of this sequence, I discussed influences for rape. Similar to the media's influence on women depictions, men are affected by images in the modern day industry. Since women are increasingly portrayed as submissive and controlled, men obviously develop a sense that it is okay to commit sexual violence to a woman.
       In addition, Wolf describes a research about men's views about rape:

"In 1986, UCLA researcher Neil Malamuth reported that 30 percent of college men said they would commit rape if they could be sure of getting away with it...When the survey changed the word "rape" into the phrase "force a women into having sex", 58 percent said that they would" (165).

 This shows that men often don't even care about the moral implications, but that they are scared of getting caught. A scary fact, in case you didn't notice, is that these are intelligent, educated boys, who attend UCLA. They are not random psychos, they are ordinary people, like you and me.
       At this moment, I will continue my ideas into another blog post. I will continue discussing men wanting to get away with rape as well as the excuses they use to be able to develop a "if I can get away with it once, I can get away with it again" mentality to encourage them to rape more women.

Goodbye, World.

The Influence of Rape: Media and Commodity (1)

Hello, World.

       A major symbol for a women is their vagina, obviously because they are the only ones who have one. Rape therefore becomes a symbol for female oppression because the vagina has been violated. Female independence and power has been ignored and overcame, and (usually) a male establishes a supremacy through his sexual harassing action. In this sequence, I will be discussing rape: the influences, motivations, consequences, and the male vs. female sides of rape.
       The influences of rape and the motivations for sexual harassment are the root of the problem and should be thoroughly investigate to understand both the prevalence and danger of rape. Overall, the increasing number of rape cases is a direct variation with one important aspect of popular life: the media. In The Beauty Myth, by Naomi Wolf, she discusses the impact of societal beliefs and the impact of culture upon men and women. Wolf states that "our culture is depicting sex as rape so that men and women become interested in it," which explains that our culture is the main cause of sex, that the media is portraying this absolutely terrible action as something interesting, even desirable (138)! The subconscious advertisement for rape has become so prevalent that according to Naomi Wolf, "Images of strangled women, women in cages, do no not push any limits; they are a mainstream cliché of a mainstream social order," (164).
       In pornography, women are depicted as attractive when they are subdued to some dominance, when male control becomes sexually appealing. Wolf takes it a step further and says that "glamorous rape scenes obviously eroticize the sex war," and that rape portrayed in glamour models or in pornography influences real-life sex, which is ordinarily meant to be a romantic and meaningful action (146).
       Now that the media had influenced rape, women who have already been victims of the pop culture and who, thanks again to the media, constantly aim to please men, help drive rape incidents by purposefully depict themselves as submissive, in order to attract men to the idea of control & power because "[their] private submission to control is what makes [them] desirable" (133). As previously mentioned, "Women become interested in [rape],"(138) and "49 percent had submissive sexual fantasies" (141). This situation is extremely dangerous because if the victims of a catastrophe begin to enjoy what they are victims too, the catastrophe is no longer viewed as bad and the oppressors will commit their crimes more comfortably and more commonly.
       In fact, hints of this unfortunate conclusion have already started to appear. Wolf says that depictions of rape are "a mainstream cliché" (164) and that rape, something usually so grotesque, disturbing and horrifying is decreasingly bad, "sexual violence against women is not obscene" (138).
       In all, the media, including pornography, is an important influence for rape. Depictions of submission & male control is increasingly popular and women are now not only beginning to choose to depict themselves in those manners, but are beginning to enjoy sexual violence. This is dangerous and frightening because at the rate we are going, rape will soon be just as enjoyable as a walk in the park, a family dinner, or even worst, romantic sex. As Naomi Wolf puts it, "we often see rape where sex should be" (137).

Goodbye, World.