Woman-to-Woman Sexual Violence: Does She Call It Rape?

9: The Vision and the Challenge

The Vision and the Challenge It’s all about gender roles, it’s all about sex roles, it’s all about the way we’ve constructed violence. So then how do we break that down further and how do we get at that? (Aileen) Society has to see two different items simultaneously: (1) since lesbian sex is ‘‘immoral and illegal,’’ the victim isn’t really a victim; (2) women are physically incapable of ‘‘rape,’’ therefore, they cannot be perpetrators. Both thoughts and the lack of support of officials, agencies, and community need to be addressed. (Oona) It all starts with understanding it. (Lila) We have shared the ‘‘painfully resurrected’’ memories of seventy survivors of woman-perpetrated sexual violence.1 Perhaps they have evoked fear or alarm, or triggered past hurts in you, the reader. They did in me. We now realize that the severity of sexual violence, as well as the forms and the impacts of this violence, are quite similar regardless of who your perpetrator is. It is not whether you are male or female, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or straight. Yes, individual factors will add to the complexity of the personal experience. But individual personality is linked to social status, socialization , and other macro factors. Theoretically our question is, if sex does not predict sexual perpetration and if sexual identity does not, then what is our framework to understand this interpersonal violence? Theory Revisited I return to hooks’s challenge to the idea that ‘‘hierarchical structures should be the basis of human interaction.’’2 I believe that the roots of op163 164 W O M A N - T O - W O M A N S E X U A L V I O L E N C E pression are in these hierarchical structures of society.3 I believe we need to move forward beyond the patriarchal analysis to a broader framework that includes patriarchy as one component. The many forms of oppression work as an interlocking system of dominance, which requires an integrated analysis . The integrated analysis is necessary because oppressions are experienced simultaneously.4 To answer questions I raised previously, the integrated analysis addresses all perpetrators, male or female, lesbian, bisexual , gay, or straight. Second wave feminism elevated patriarchy in its theoretical analysis because sexism was the dominant form of oppression the early feminists identified. Sexism and male dominance neatly explained violence against women. Unfortunately, this ignored much of the experience of those who were not authoring the first theories—those women also oppressed by race, by class, by age, by ability, and by sexual identity. A broader framework is inclusive and also acknowledges internalization of different aspects of oppression, validates group culture, and recognizes the uniqueness of the individual human being.5 This view does not downplay violence by men, but it does encourage us to examine how men and women both create and condone a culture of violence.6 This broader framework is still feminist and reminds us that there are many feminisms. To claim that patriarchy is not the prominent oppression is not to say that it is irrelevant but to elevate the importance of other oppressions. Feminism as I understand it is multidimensional and necessitates examining the intersection of multiple status hierarchies.7 hooks calls the integrated analysis the white supremacist, capitalist, patriarchal class system.8 Suzanne Pharr labels it the politics of domination.9 Chesley, MacAulay, and Ristock refer to the structures of dominance.10 My preference is to call it the hierarchical structures of dominance because I feel it is the aspect of hierarchy that allows the domination. The social controls of hierarchy are many. Whichever aspect of dominance you examine , the dynamics are similar. Whether sexism or racism, heterosexism or classism, the belief that one status group within that dimension is superior, natural, and right over and above the others keeps the others in their place. This similarity was noted in McIntosh’s examination of invisible white privilege , which led her directly to parallels with male privilege and heterosexual privilege.11 It is essential to examine both macro social forces and individual personality , which are connected to each other. We all live out our daily lives in the framework of institutions, such as family, education, law, economy, The Vision and Challenge 165 and religion, that are hierarchically organized. Socialization teaches us to accept power and dominance, both through norms and values and through societal institutions. Traditional gender roles...