Misogyny and Sexism in the News

[femmeInterrupted]

Originally Posted by Kobi

TOKYO (AP) — An outspoken nationalist mayor said the Japanese military's forced prostitution of Asian women before and during World War II was necessary to "maintain discipline" in the ranks and provide rest for soldiers who risked their lives in battle.

The comments made Monday are already raising ire in neighboring countries that bore the brunt of Japan's wartime aggression and have long complained that Japan has failed to fully atone for wartime atrocities.

Toru Hashimoto, the young, brash mayor of Osaka who is co-leader of an emerging conservative political party, also said that U.S. troops currently based in southern Japan should patronize the local sex industry more to help reduce rapes and other assaults.

Hashimoto told reporters on Monday that there wasn't clear evidence that the Japanese military had coerced women to become what are euphemistically called "comfort women" before and during World War II.

"To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time," Hashimoto said. "For soldiers who risked their lives in circumstances where bullets are flying around like rain and wind, if you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. That's clear to anyone."

Historians say up to 200,000 women, mainly from the Korean Peninsula and China, were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers in military brothels.

China's Foreign Ministry criticized the mayor's comments and saw them as further evidence of a rightward drift in Japanese politics under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"We are appalled and indignant about the Japanese politician's comments boldly challenging humanity and historical justice," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily media briefing. "The way they treat the past will determine the way Japan walks toward the future. On what choice Japan will make, the Asian neighbors and the international community will wait and see."

Asked about a photo of Abe posing in a fighter jet with the number 731 — the number of a notorious, secret Japanese unit that performed chemical and biological experiments on Chinese in World War II — Hong again urged Japan not to whitewash history so as to improve relations with countries that suffered under Japanese occupation.

"There is a mountain of definitive iron-hard evidence for the crimes they committed in the Second World War. We hope Japan will face and contemplate their history of aggression and treat it correctly," Hong said.

Abe posed, thumbs up, in the aircraft during a weekend visit to northeastern Japan.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed disappointment over what it called a senior Japanese official's serious lack of historical understanding and respect for women's rights. It asked Japan's leaders to reflect on their country's imperial past, including grave human rights violations, and correct anachronistic historical views.

Hashimoto said he recently visited Okinawa in southern Japan and told the U.S. commander there "to make better use of the sex industry."

"He froze, and then with a wry smile said that is off-limits for the U.S. military," he said.

"I told him that there are problems because of such formalities," Hashimoto said, explaining that he was not referring to illegal prostitution but to places operating within the law. "If you don't make use of those places you cannot properly control the sexual energy of those tough guys."

Calls to the after-hours number for U.S. Forces in Japan were not answered.

Hashimoto's comments came amid continuing criticism of Abe's earlier pledges to revise Japan's past apologies for wartime atrocities. Before he took office in December, Abe had advocated revising a 1993 statement by then Prime Minister Yohei Kono acknowledging and expressing remorse for the suffering caused to the sexual slaves of Japanese troops.

Abe has acknowledged "comfort women" existed but has denied they were coerced into prostitution, citing a lack of official evidence.

Recently, top officials in Abe's government have appeared to backpedal on suggestions the government might revise those apologies, apparently hoping to ease tensions with South Korea and China and address U.S. concerns about Abe's nationalist agenda.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga repeated the previous government position and said those women went through unbearable pain.

"The stance of the Japanese government on the comfort women issue is well known. They have suffered unspeakably painful experiences. The Abe Cabinet has the same sentiments as past Cabinets," he said.

Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura said Hashimoto's remark was unhelpful given the criticism Japan faces from neighboring countries and the U.S. over its interpretation of history.

"A series of remarks related to our interpretation of (wartime) history have been already misunderstood. In that sense, Mr. Hashimoto's remark came at a bad time," Shimomura told reporters. "I wonder if there is any positive meaning to intentionally make such remarks at this particular moment."

Hashimoto, 43, is co-head of the newly formed Japan Restoration Party with former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who is a strident nationalist.

Sakihito Ozawa, the party's parliamentary affairs chairman, said he believed Hashimoto's remarks reflected his personal views, but he expressed concerns about possible repercussions.

"We should ask his real intentions and stop this at some point," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-mayor...042050746.html

This is terrible. There is TONS of evidence, including survivor testimonials, that this systemic rape took place. Shame on him!

http://www.amnesty.org.nz/files/Comf...-factsheet.pdf

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by femmeInterrupted

This is terrible. There is TONS of evidence, including survivor testimonials, that this systemic rape took place. Shame on him!

http://www.amnesty.org.nz/files/Comf...-factsheet.pdf

What was making me speechless was the convenient reframing of what occured in an attempt to make it not only acceptable but necessary.

"To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time," Hashimoto said. "For soldiers who risked their lives in circumstances where bullets are flying around like rain and wind, if you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. That's clear to anyone."

That one statement, the attitude and beliefs it suggests is the hallmarks of the patriarchial and paternal bullshit which perpetuates and fuels sexism and misogyny.

To hear someone attempt to dismiss it as "necessary" in 2013 is disturbing. Is also a good reminder why the war on women keeps rearing its ugly head all over the world.

[femmeInterrupted]

Originally Posted by Kobi

To hear someone attempt to dismiss it as "necessary" in 2013 is disturbing. Is also a good reminder why the war on women keeps rearing its ugly head all over the world.

That's the exact truth of it.
I can't even understand how anyone can NOT SEE that. Especially women.

[Kobi]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers say they're outraged that for the second time this month a member of the armed forces assigned to help prevent sexual assaults in the military is under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct.

The back-to-back Army and Air Force cases highlight a problem that is drawing increased scrutiny in Congress and expressions of frustration from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Lawmakers said it was time for Hagel to get tough with the military brass.

"This is sickening. Twice now, in a matter of as many weeks, we've seen the very people charged with protecting victims of sexual assault being charged as perpetrators," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said. "It's an astonishing reminder that the Pentagon has both a major problem on its hands and a tremendous amount of work to do to assure victims — who already only report a small fraction of sexual assaults — that they are changing the culture around these heinous crimes.

"Secretary Hagel needs to act swiftly to re-examine sexual assault services across the department to ensure that these disturbing betrayals of trust are ended," Murray said.

Hagel said he was directing all the services to retrain, re-credential and rescreen all sexual assault prevention and response personnel and military recruiters, his spokesman, George Little, said after Tuesday's announcement that a sergeant first class at Fort Hood, Texas, was accused of pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates.

The soldier, whose name was not released, was being investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Command. No charges had been filed.

Little said Hagel was angry and disappointed at "these troubling allegations and the breakdown in discipline and standards they imply." He said Hagel met with Army Secretary John McHugh earlier Tuesday and ordered him to "fully investigate this matter rapidly, to discover the extent of these allegations and to ensure that all of those who might be involved are dealt with appropriately."

The Fort Hood soldier had been assigned as an equal opportunity adviser and coordinator of a sexual harassment-assault prevention program at the Army's 3rd Corps headquarters when the allegation arose, the Army said.

"To protect the integrity of the investigative process and the rights of all persons involved, no more information will be released at this time," an Army statement said.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., said in a statement he was "outraged and disgusted by the reports out of Fort Hood."

McKeon, noting he has a granddaughter in the Army, said he saw "no meaningful distinction between complacency or complicity in the military's latest failure to uphold their own standards of conduct. Nor do I see a distinction between the service member who orchestrated this offense and the chain of command that was either oblivious to or tolerant of criminal behavior. Both are accountable for this appalling breach of trust with their subordinates."

He called on Hagel to conduct a review of the military and its civilian leadership "to determine whether they continue to hold his trust and his confidence to lead in this area."

Just last week an Air Force officer who headed a sexual assault prevention office was himself arrested on charges of groping a woman in a Northern Virginia parking lot.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement his panel was considering a number of measures to counter the problem, including changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and will act on them next month.

"Tragically, the depth of the sexual assault problem in our military was already overwhelmingly clear before this latest highly disturbing report," Levin said.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said she intends to present new comprehensive legislation on Thursday to overhaul the military justice system by removing chain-of-command influence from prosecution of sex abuse crimes.

"To say this report is disturbing would be a gross understatement," Gillibrand said.

"The sad thing is that this is not a unique case,"Anu Bhagwati, former Marine captain and executive director of the Service Women's Action Network, said in an interview. "Week after week, we're hearing of cases across the branches of military leaders taking advantage of their positions of authority. "

The Pentagon is struggling with what it calls a growing epidemic of sexual assaults across the military. In a report last week, the Defense Department estimated that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, based on survey results.

Of those, fewer than 3,400 reported the incident, and nearly 800 of them simply sought help but declined to file formal complaints against their alleged attackers.

There also is an ongoing investigation into more than 30 Air Force instructors for assaults on trainees at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and the recent arrest of the Air Force's head of sexual assault prevention on charges of groping a woman.

An Arlington County, Va., police report said Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski was drunk and grabbed a woman's breast and buttocks in a parking lot earlier this month. The woman fought him off and called police, the report said. A judge has set a July 18 trial date for Krusinski.

Congressional anger over these incidents and two recent decisions by officers to overturn juries' guilty verdicts in sexual assault cases has precipitated a storm of criticism on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is holding up the nomination of Air Force Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, tapped to serve as vice commander of the U.S. Space Command, until McCaskill gets more information about Helms' decision to overturn a jury conviction in a sexual assault case.

[femmeInterrupted]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/...-military.html

It's hard to watch, but does a fine job of bringing to light this very issue.

It's not a shocker of course. Already an endemic problem globally, it's easy to see that the culture of machismo and systemic dehumanization in the military has colluded nicely together to form a culture that creates sexual violence AND a culture that denies and covers it up.

It's not a few 'bad apples' that are spoiling the rest of the barrel. The barrel is rotten, as is the ground it stands on. There are still those that deny that or find it ludicrous that there is rape culture. But one only has to peep inside this machine ( or the Catholic Church, for that matter) and see how normalized and pervasive both perpetration and denial of sexual violence is.

[Soon]

I had a disheartening conversation with a fifteen year old (bright) boy today.

As a class, we were discussing sexual assault/rape/slut-shaming and victim blaming. I brought up a recent story where a young woman in Nova Scotia--Rehtaeh Parsons--killed herself after being raped and bullied and harassed in its aftermath.

So, at the end of the class, student comes up to me and wouldn't stop with the argument...."If she was under age I could maybe understand (?) but

....she shouldn't have been there at the party
...she shouldn't have been drinking
...if she hadn't done any of those things, this wouldn't have happened to her..."


Of course, I try to to tell him the onus shouldn't be on women to have to monitor their behaviour in order to avoid/prevent women, and that her behaviour does not negate the rape. That the onus needs to be on men not raping and assaulting. However, he kept INSISTING, but but but if she hadn't done this and that. He was not able or could not (?) see that the discussion shouldn't be on what the victim did or didn't do, but that these men are committing a crime. I told him about consent and lack thereof with intoxication or being passed out, but he kept reverting to the "but if she hadn't done A then B wouldn't have happened to her."

Anyway, it was very frustrating. I am asking if anyone has an article or resource that is simple enough to maybe make him (and others?) in the class understand that the conversation shouldn't be about what these young women did or didn't do prior to being raped. The conversation needs to be about the rapists and raising men to not rape at all. Ever.

So, if you have something--a turn of phrase, an article, anything--that might help these adolescents understand that rape is not about a woman's behaviour, I'd appreciate it.

Sigh. I am still rankled by the conversation.

Thank you.

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by Soon

I had a disheartening conversation with a fifteen year old (bright) boy today.

As a class, we were discussing sexual assault/rape/slut-shaming and victim blaming. I brought up a recent story where a young woman in Nova Scotia--Rehtaeh Parsons--killed herself after being raped and bullied and harassed in its aftermath.

So, at the end of the class, student comes up to me and wouldn't stop with the argument...."If she was under age I could maybe understand (?) but

....she shouldn't have been there at the party
...she shouldn't have been drinking
...if she hadn't done any of those things, this wouldn't have happened to her..."


Of course, I try to to tell him the onus shouldn't be on women to have to monitor their behaviour in order to avoid/prevent women, and that her behaviour does not negate the rape. That the onus needs to be on men not raping and assaulting. However, he kept INSISTING, but but but if she hadn't done this and that. He was not able or could not (?) see that the discussion shouldn't be on what the victim did or didn't do, but that these men are committing a crime. I told him about consent and lack thereof with intoxication or being passed out, but he kept reverting to the "but if she hadn't done A then B wouldn't have happened to her."

Anyway, it was very frustrating. I am asking if anyone has an article or resource that is simple enough to maybe make him (and others?) in the class understand that the conversation shouldn't be about what these young women did or didn't do prior to being raped. The conversation needs to be about the rapists and raising men to not rape at all. Ever.

So, if you have something--a turn of phrase, an article, anything--that might help these adolescents understand that rape is not about a woman's behaviour, I'd appreciate it.

Sigh. I am still rankled by the conversation.

Thank you.

This site has some simple easy to understand info. This young man is displaying a blaming the victim mentality. It is should not be a womans responsibility to have to act in ways to prevent rape. It is mens responsibility to learn not to rape.

Rape Culture

[CherylNYC]

Originally Posted by Soon

I had a disheartening conversation with a fifteen year old (bright) boy today.

As a class, we were discussing sexual assault/rape/slut-shaming and victim blaming. I brought up a recent story where a young woman in Nova Scotia--Rehtaeh Parsons--killed herself after being raped and bullied and harassed in its aftermath.

So, at the end of the class, student comes up to me and wouldn't stop with the argument...."If she was under age I could maybe understand (?) but

....she shouldn't have been there at the party
...she shouldn't have been drinking
...if she hadn't done any of those things, this wouldn't have happened to her..."


Of course, I try to to tell him the onus shouldn't be on women to have to monitor their behaviour in order to avoid/prevent women, and that her behaviour does not negate the rape. That the onus needs to be on men not raping and assaulting. However, he kept INSISTING, but but but if she hadn't done this and that. He was not able or could not (?) see that the discussion shouldn't be on what the victim did or didn't do, but that these men are committing a crime. I told him about consent and lack thereof with intoxication or being passed out, but he kept reverting to the "but if she hadn't done A then B wouldn't have happened to her."

Anyway, it was very frustrating. I am asking if anyone has an article or resource that is simple enough to maybe make him (and others?) in the class understand that the conversation shouldn't be about what these young women did or didn't do prior to being raped. The conversation needs to be about the rapists and raising men to not rape at all. Ever.

So, if you have something--a turn of phrase, an article, anything--that might help these adolescents understand that rape is not about a woman's behaviour, I'd appreciate it.

Sigh. I am still rankled by the conversation.

Thank you.

Sometimes it's as simple as changing the gender of the victim. "So, if you, (directed at the male student), were at a party and became intoxicated, you should expect to be raped. And you should expect photos of yourself being raped to be posted on the internet, and for your former friends to taunt you mercilessly about it. And it would all be your own fault for having gone to a party with other boys and for having drunk too much alcohol."