Criminalization and Pathologization

Criminalization and Pathologization

CeCe McDonald: Forensic psychologist Karen Franklin, who was interviewed in the movie, says that assault can be understood as a kind of theater or performance. How do you see this performance tying in with the social construction and performance of gender (and race for that matter)?

I do agree with Karen Franklin that assault may be looked at as a form of theater or performance. The people who assault others mostly do it as a result of peer dynamics, trying to prove something to their friends or peers. They may do it to prove masculinity, which aligns with the social constructions of masculinity and femininity. An individual may assault another to prove that their race is superior. Another individual may assault a gay person to simply prove that heterosexuality is superior or is the right thing. In addition, the anti-gay ideology, which is a social construction, may influence people to assault gay people.

Pathologization and Depathologization: In 19th and early-20th-century France, psychiatrists replaced clergy “as authorities in the sexual domain.” Have psychiatrists been replaced by other authorities on sexuality in the present day? Whose opinions do you consider and respect when it comes to sexuality?

I think that psychiatrists have been replaced by other authorities on sexuality today. While the clergy used to be the authority in the sexual domain before it was replaced by psychiatrists (De Block & Adriaens, 2013), I think that today social media and the larger mass media have replaced psychiatrists on sexuality. Today, it is common for people to learn about sexuality and other sexual matters via social media platforms and the internet, rather than get information from psychiatrists or the clergy. However, I still consider the opinions on psychiatrists and medical experts accurate and reputable when it comes to sexual matters. These groups of people provide substantiated information that is not biased.

Reference

De Block, A., & Adriaens, P. R. (2013). Pathologizing sexual deviance: A history. Journal of sex research, 50(3-4), 276-298.

Decriminalizing sex work: Regardless of whether you agree with Amnesty’s position, do their arguments for decriminalization for all parties make sense to you? Have you thought about or discussed this before? Bearing in mind that no one is advocating for the decriminalization of sex traffickers, where do you stand on decriminalization?

The arguments posed for the decriminalization for all parties make sense to me, even though I do not agree with the decriminalization of sex work. I have thought about the issue of making sex work legal and allowing people to engage in sex trade before, while in a group discussion about gender stereotypes with some of my friends from home. I do not think that sex work should be decriminalized. Having been raised in a culture that does not support sex work, and growing up with a Christianity background, I think that sex work is immoral and taboo.

The UDHR and the CEDAW: Do you see any problems or limitations in these documents? Do you object to any parts? Explain.

I do not find any problems with the UDHR and the CEDAW documents. The UDHR document provides a list of the various human rights that all people should enjoy, regardless of their gender or background (Assembly, 1948). The CEDAW document, on the other hand, details the various ways through which violence against women can be eliminated and discouraged (Assembly, 1979). I do not have an objection to any part of the two documents. However, I think the CEDAW document should have provided more elaborate explanations of what is considered violence against women and explanations of how violence should be handled.

References

Assembly, U. G. (1948). Universal declaration of human rights. UN General Assembly, 302(2).

Assembly, U. G. (1979). Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women. Retrieved April 20, 2006.

Do you think the concept of intersectionality can be applied to intercultural or transnational issues? How do you see this playing out in relation to gender, sexuality, and/or human rights?

I think the concept of intersectionality, which relates to the various ways through which institutions such as classism, racism, and sexism are usually interconnected and cannot be looked at separately from each other (Johnson, 2013), can be applied to transnational and intercultural issues. This is because it is not possible to address intercultural issues without talking about issues such as sexuality, human rights, and gender (Entenmann, 2014). It is not possible to discuss matters affecting a country without addressing issues such as gender-based violence and human rights. It is, therefore, important that these issues are looked at as a collective issue; the intersectionality concept.

References

Entenmann, L. (2014). “Aggravated Homosexuality”: US Influence in Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill (Doctoral dissertation, Humphrey School of Public Affairs).

Johnson, J. R. (2013). Cisgender privilege, intersectionality, and the criminalization of CeCe McDonald: Why intercultural communication needs transgender studies. Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, 6(2), 135-144.