Mitra Ebadolahi Ebadolahi is a
third-year international development studies and history student.
For more information about starting a Men Against Rape Alliance or
a UCLA women’s collective or to share comments, please e-mail
mightymousemitra@yahoo.com.
Click Here for more articles by Mitra Ebadolahi
Remember “Hollow Man”? You know, that
suspense-thriller which starred Kevin Bacon? Let me jog your
memory. The storyline goes a little something like this: Bacon is
injected with invisible-man serum, turns psychotic and, while
invisible, spends the duration of the film attempting to sexually
assault a young woman.
Sound entertaining? Americans sure think so. According to
Entertainment Weekly, which compiles a list of the nation’s
highest-grossing video rentals every week, “Hollow Man”
is the top rental in the country. In early January, it grossed $72
million in just one weekend.
Funny how synchroneity works. Why, 1998 statistics indicated
that one out of every six women in the United States had
experienced rape. Of them, 85 percent were under the age of 25 at
the time of the attack. Additionally, United States Department of
Justice statistics reveal that the incidence of sexual assault in
America has been steadily increasing for the past 5 years (1999
National Crime Victimization Survey).
Illustration by ZACH LOPEZ/Daily Bruin And here at UCLA, acts of
sexual violence targeting women continue to plague our community.
Since the beginning of winter quarter, there have been several
reports of attempted sexual assaults that sound exactly like the
reports turned in last quarter, and last year, and the year before
that.
Sometimes life here reminds me of listening to a broken record.
The responses we have collectively given to sexual violence follow
a distinct and dead-end pattern. First, an attempted or actual
sexual assault occurs somewhere on or near campus. There is a
flurry of “action:” Community Service Officers
proliferate, the UCPD releases a composite sketch of the elusive
assailant and, of course, Chancellor Carnesale sends out a massive
alert to the UCLA community. The Center for Women and Men reminds
all students of its accessibility, a few news articles are written
in the Daily Bruin as follow-up and self-defense classes are
offered.
Yet, inevitably, the nightmare fades from our cluttered
consciousness. Days, weeks, sometimes even months, pass us by. Then
there is another assault. And the cycle starts all over again.
In my two and a half years as a student here, there has not been
a single quarter in which female students have not experienced
sexual assault. This is a horrific reality. It’s time we
actually do something about it.
While I agree that self-defense classes and CSOs are excellent
resources for students, it’s painfully clear that they do not
go to the root of the problem of sexual assault on our campus. The
fact is, we live in a society riddled with dangerously subtle
manifestations of misogyny and sexism; rape and sexual assault are
the naturally occurring fruits of this diseased tree. If we truly
want to eliminate violence against women, we must begin by
eradicating these elements from our mentality.
From Barbie dolls to movies to fraternity parties, our daily
lives are filled with images and events which embody and reinforce
all of these underlying causes of sexual violence. Dolls and runway
models perpetuate a misogynist culture by training us to seek to
fulfill a specific body image inextricably linked with
desirability, thereby objectifying women and inculcating self-hate.
Simultaneously, movies such as “Hollow Man” glorify the
exploitation and violent invasion of the female body and package
such violence as “entertainment,” which inevitably
desensitizes audiences to the horrors of sexual assault.
The lessons we learn from such socialization follow us into our
UCLA careers. How many times have partygoers overheard frat boys
discussing which women were “wasted” (and, therefore,
more sexually accessible)? Or how about Los Angeles bars and clubs,
which teem with men discussing which women are
“do-able” or “easy?” It is an undeniable
truth that we women are objectified, and trained to objectify
ourselves, in innumerable instances in this society.
From my viewpoint, perhaps the most tragic long-term effect of
such internalized self-hatred and self-objectification is
illustrated by the reactions women often have to victims of sexual
assault. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard women
blame the victimized female for the suffered attack: “Oh,
well, if she was dressed like that, or acting as such, she must
have deserved it.” When we think such things, we attempt to
separate ourselves from other women who have suffered and convince
ourselves that sexual violence isn’t an issue facing all
women, only a select few.
A second issue involves male and female reactions to sexual
assault. Most women respond to reports of sexual violence by asking
themselves: “What can I do protect myself and prevent
becoming a victim?” Although this is a perfectly
understandable reaction, I can’t help but wonder if we as
women shouldn’t be asking some deeper, and more difficult,
questions.
Why, for example, don’t we ask how men can take more
responsibility for their actions? Why can’t we demand that
our male relatives, friends, classmates and co-workers treat women
with the respect we deserve, and help us hold other men accountable
to these same standards of respect? Why are women thinking so much
about rape prevention when we’re not the rapists?
Although men are also victimized by sexual assault, the
overwhelming majority of sexual assault is committed by men against
women. Allow me to ask my male readers one question: when was the
last time you were alone on campus late at night, in a bathroom and
scared out of your mind?
The fact is, probably every single woman at UCLA has experienced
this fear. When faced with such a brutal reality, I can’t
help but wonder why men don’t spend as much time, if not
more, thinking about sexual violence and how they can take
proactive steps to prevent it.
My reasoning should not be misconstrued. I am in no way
attempting to blame all men for the heinous acts of the violent
few. But, I do believe that men should be just as concerned about
sexual assault as women. When a sexual crime is committed, the
media and the police warn women to take more responsibility for
their personal security. As the perpetrators of these crimes, why
aren’t men asked to bear an equal share of the responsibility
for creating a safer community environment?
Yet there are solutions to these incredibly complex problems. To
begin with, UCLA could learn from the examples set by campuses
nationwide, where male students have begun forming alliances
against rape and sexual assault. These alliances can serve as
support networks and provide men with information on how to become
better allies for women by stifling sexist remarks, promoting equal
treatment of women students, and educating other men on sexual
violence and prevention.
At the same time, women within the UCLA community can join
together and form a collective to provide female students with the
space to share experiences, draw support and combat the stigmas
attached to victimization.
Furthermore, I strongly believe that a gender studies course
should be mandatory for all undergraduates at UCLA. Ideally,
students should take such a course voluntarily, but it’s
clear that most of us are unaware of the extent to which we have
internalized sexism, and how much we could learn from such
classes.
Unfortunately, as institutions, both the UCPD and the Center for
Women and Men have failed to significantly impact the reality of
sexual violence at UCLA because they have been unable to address
the sociological and psychological roots of such violence, which
remain entrenched in all of us.
We must admit the gravity of these issues and take collective
action to deconstruct our socialization before another woman
““ someone’s mother, daughter, sister, wife or best
friend ““ is so brutally assaulted.