Martha Roth

Some of these writers seem to assume that all men are abusive and sexist.

Many of them fail to distinguish between violence and counterviolence.

Most of them sincerely believe that simply by changing hearts and minds we can end rape forever.

These are all major faults. And though they don't entirely sink the book, they don't get us anywhere new.

Most of the best essays in this book come in at the end, these being some of the most personal. By far the best is Inés Hernández-Ávila's "In Praise of Insubordination".… (mehr)

The groundbreaking Transforming a Rape
Culture was first published in 1993, and this
revised and updated edition is just as powerful
as the first. The book gathers writing from a
diverse and wide reaching range of authors,
including bell hooks, Michael Kimmel, Carol J
Adams, Gail Dines and Andrea Dworkin, with
their astute analyses of the origins of sexual
violence, creating a stark insight into the
oppressive nature of sexual violence. While
this sounds bleak, the authors manage to
instill hope into the reader, hope that once the
origins of sexual violence are fully understood
and unraveled then we can start to change
and transform our ‘rape culture’. This edition
contains new writing on Internet pornography,
the role of sport in sexual violence, rape as
an instrument of war and domestic violence in
immigrant communities.… (mehr)

Transforming a Rape Culture is a book I've been reading for a few months on and off, skipping around. It's a collection of essays and speeches, and I've only recently just finished it. It's the best book I have ever read on the subject of rape. It's by turns infuriating and inspiring.
Some of the contributers I really do not like. Andrea Dworkin. I really, really do not like Andrea Dworkin. I find her stance on pornography offensive in its absolutism. Read the wikipedia article if you want to know. But, my point is, despite this, I rather like her contribution, a transcript of her speech "I Want a Twenty-Four Hour Truce'' (in which there is no rape) delivered in 1983 to a "men's movement" conference. There's at least a bit of wisdom in every contribution.
The best part about Transforming a Rape Culture is that it offers solutions. It names problems and gives concrete ideas to fix them; discusses strategies that have worked and not worked, such as counseling centers, legislation, artwork; stresses contribution on individual, community, national and global scales. After reading this book, I don't have a much easier time believing that I will see a world in which rape does not exist during my lifetime, but I have more faith in seeing a world working towards that.… (mehr)