
By Sosina Tadesse
Put together a playlist (On Spotify, iTunes, etc.) of 6-7 songs about violence against women or factors that influence VAW. List each song and the artist and provide a brief 3-4 sentence description that explains what the song contributes to understanding violence against women. Link your responses and song choices to the readings and/or media somehow.
Some of the songs I found about violence against women was hard to listen to, but clearly have a strong message to anyone listening to it.
After reading Roxane Gay’s essay “The Careless Language of Sexual Violence” from the book Bad Feminist, I felt angry because the example of the eleven-year-old girl being raped by 18 men and how the story focused on the men’s lives change forever. One article “They Killed Their Husbands. Now in Prison, They Feel Free”, talks about how some Afghanistan women murdered their husbands because they were trying to get away from an abusive and violent relationship.
The language used in this news article isn’t that bad compared to others. The title “They Killed Their Husbands. Now in Prison, They Feel Free”, is attention-grabbing for people. Personally, I don't think the title of the news story is correct. Newspapers are using these attention-grabbing titles for their audience to see that these women should feel bad about what they did. Yes, it is a crime, but at the same time, these women did what they had to do because it was not a safe environment they were living in when they were with their husbands. The media particularly focuses on the women as the “criminals” instead of the “victims” and still puts down women who want to speak about the violence they’ve been through. The language used in these stories and all over social media still is negative against views on violence against women.
Works Cited:
Hayeri, K., & Jeong, M. (2020, February 26). They Killed Their Husbands. Now in Prison, They Feel Free. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/magazine/afghan-women-prison.html
Spotify Link:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Yhwh2wmFKjI274NNLHKAy?si=1P6RIOR8QMC76qPWID7iww
Put together a playlist (On Spotify, iTunes, etc.) of 6-7 songs about violence against women or factors that influence VAW. List each song and the artist and provide a brief 3-4 sentence description that explains what the song contributes to understanding violence against women. Link your responses and song choices to the readings and/or media somehow.
Some of the songs I found about violence against women was hard to listen to, but clearly have a strong message to anyone listening to it.
- The first song that I thought of is “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera. This song talks about how Aguilera was tortured and bullied by a man but thanks him in the song and how that made her stronger, better and a fighter for herself even though she went through a tough time.
- The song “His Story” by the group TLC is about how women are mistreated in society and only the male’s side of the story is believed by society. The message of the song “His Story” is how women are never being listened to and how society doesn’t believe women.
- The video to “Man Down” by Rihanna starts off with Rihanna shooting a guy in a crowded street because he raped her. The story behind the song is that she shot him to protect herself and finally be safe from him.
- The song “Love is Blind” by Eve tells a story about a friend of Eve’s who was in a domestic violence relationship. The lyrics really touch me when she mentions how what kind of love is it if the guy always makes you cry and beats you. This song explains the understanding of violence against women because singer Eve is calling out how this is not the right way a man should be treating a woman.
- “Till It Happens to You” by Lady Gaga is about how you don’t know the feeling of something happening to you until it actually happens. The song is straightforward and talks about violence against women. The meaning I got out of the song is that other women are telling her as time goes on, it gets better, but no one will understand exactly how she feels unless that someone else went through the same thing. Lastly, “Stronger” by Britney Spears is about how she has had enough of her boyfriend and she’s not his “property” anymore and that she can do it all by herself. This song tells the story of how her boyfriend cheats on her and she finally is done with him and she can do it all by herself without a guy.
- After reading Roxane Gay’s “The Careless Language of Sexual Violence,” analyze news clips or social media headlines over two days. List some of the languages and/or stories you found and explain how the language used could influence attitudes and policies relating to violence against women.
After reading Roxane Gay’s essay “The Careless Language of Sexual Violence” from the book Bad Feminist, I felt angry because the example of the eleven-year-old girl being raped by 18 men and how the story focused on the men’s lives change forever. One article “They Killed Their Husbands. Now in Prison, They Feel Free”, talks about how some Afghanistan women murdered their husbands because they were trying to get away from an abusive and violent relationship.
The language used in this news article isn’t that bad compared to others. The title “They Killed Their Husbands. Now in Prison, They Feel Free”, is attention-grabbing for people. Personally, I don't think the title of the news story is correct. Newspapers are using these attention-grabbing titles for their audience to see that these women should feel bad about what they did. Yes, it is a crime, but at the same time, these women did what they had to do because it was not a safe environment they were living in when they were with their husbands. The media particularly focuses on the women as the “criminals” instead of the “victims” and still puts down women who want to speak about the violence they’ve been through. The language used in these stories and all over social media still is negative against views on violence against women.
Works Cited:
Hayeri, K., & Jeong, M. (2020, February 26). They Killed Their Husbands. Now in Prison, They Feel Free. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/26/magazine/afghan-women-prison.html
Spotify Link:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Yhwh2wmFKjI274NNLHKAy?si=1P6RIOR8QMC76qPWID7iww