The Right to Make Violence.

Bodily Harm was something I could directly relate to based on past experiences that I may or may not talk about on here (but would most certainly talk to someone about it in person if asked!). It was a must read for me. I felt a lot of emotions while reading it, including anger at some points (along with some very strong opinions). So, prepare for a bit of ranting.*

On a positive note, I like the purpose of this section of the publication. It, along with the entire work, is crucial to understanding societies and the constructs within them. However, there were some parts that really sparked some controversial interest inside of my being, starting with the explanation of the legal definitions of physical violence on page four. It states, "the degree of physical force may vary, and may range from minimal (e.g., nonconsensual touching) to severe (e.g., fatal injury)." 

Okay, hold up a moment--nonconsensual touching is minimal violence? First off, to me, nonconsensual touching usually corresponds with sexual violence more than simply physical. And, on a more evident note, why in the world is this considered minimal? This kind of attack on the body does not just hurt the person once or only physically, but continues to hurt the person for years mentally and emotionally while trying to cope with such a traumatic event. The severeness should not be undermined, and the laws saying this should be reevaluated.    

 

The next legal construction that I had a bit of a struggle with involved the body being defined as a "boundary." Supposedly, "the body perimeters as the defining characteristic of personhood...it is the body that articulates the limits of personhood and that circumscribes the range of others’ behavior. A gesture can, therefore, be translated into a criminal offense when it connects with or invades this physical boundary." Whoa. We cannot just define our PERSONHOOD as simply a BOUNDARY. We may live in a pretty messed up world with terrible things happening every second, but we, above all, are minds that contribute to our culture. What runs through our minds, whether it be creative ideas or radical beliefs, make us who we are. Our boundaries have been defined by our cultures within societies, which have also been defined by our minds. Therefore, this "gesture" that can be "translated into a criminal offense" is invading with not just that specific person's boundary, but our CULTURE'S. For example, rape is usually considered especially heinous and a no-no. The majority of people believe that an invasion of their boundaries in this instance would be sexual assault. NO TRANSLATION IS NEEDED FOR ANYONE TO REALIZE THAT RAPE IS NOT OKAY. To explain my frustration in a less jumbled way, the language greatly needs to be updated.

As I continued to read, though, I felt more understood with the legislation from the United Kingdom that states, " [the] laws on assault have undergone recent and dramatic change: The definition of assault has been stretched to incorporate psychological harm and the effects of the accused’s actions." Somebody gets it! Unfortunately, not everyone does. However, it is good to know that a change was in action, as "women’s advocates have sought to admit the psychic and social aspects of violence to the dominant legal and theoretical constructions of violence." In some cases, I think that the aftermath of the specific violence is worse than the actual event, because now, a person keeps reliving it.

 

And now I've got to the point in the article where it hits pretty close to home for me: the "stolen generation." It really pained me to read what a parent said after being subjected to such abuse when younger. "There’s things in my life that I haven’t dealt with and I’ve passed them on to my children. Gone to pieces. . . . Somehow I’m passing down negativity to my kids." Big ouch for me. This is exactly what I'm afraid of when I get older and have my own children. 

Violence is such a life-changing thing for everyone involved, and that includes more people than you may think.

*No one has to agree with anything I write. All I ask is that everyone thinks about what I propose/believe and respect it.