Answers To Questions Using Sources Provided Essay Examples

1. In the YouTube video (Akin video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKa5CY-KOHc) provided the gentlemen discuss whether or not abortion of pregnancy should be legal or not if “legitimate rape” is the cause of the pregnancy. The topic of discussion is indeed very sensitive from both an ethical and sentimental point of view. Firstly, the video never mentioned the Todd Akin’s definition of the expression “legitimate rape”. The video indicates that Akin, who according to the online source provided, is against the concept of abortion and has an opinion that primarily the punishment should be for the offender and not the living foetus considering that abortion would end the foetus’s life. In the video clip he said that according to doctors a woman who happens to be a victim of rape has a mechanism of not getting pregnant. The question whether abortion of pregnancy resulting from rape should be legalised or not was ultimately left unanswered and the answer actually could not be confirmed. From the video clip one may sense that the argument did not seem to reach a conclusive answer. But again it was clearly mentioned that it was a huge ethical dilemma.
2. In the post, Even Ensler does express her disgust and indeed her words clearly show how livid she is. She clearly points out at the fact that rape under no circumstances is “illegitimate”. As a matter of fact it does beg the question of what the intended meaning behind the expression “legitimate rape” might be. Even Ensler speaks to support every rape victim there is and draws an image with her words of the extremely severe level of trauma that such an experience can cause in a woman. She is also horribly shocked to hear that the act of rape was being classified into categories and points out that rape needs to be stopped and not classified. The post has also responded to the rather strange comment that apparently a woman’s body has a mechanism of rejecting pregnancy that may be caused by rape. The post clearly expresses that it is solely the victim who should have the authority to decide whether or not she wants to terminate her pregnancy because it is she who is going to have to forget the severe trauma that she encountered in order to nurture the child. The whole situation can lead to a very paradoxical life for both the mother and the child.
3. This article has a very appropriate title and describes a very severe situation. The article suggests that it can be called as the stripping of the fundamental rights of dignity and liberty, with regards to labour experienced during childbirth as well as delivery of the child, of pregnant women who even accidentally caused their foetuses any harm that may result in its termination. Various examples have been mentioned from States such as Utah, Iowa and Florida which explain that even an accidental harm of the foetus can result in the humiliating treatment of the pregnant mothers involved. Some of the examples also suggest that there have been instances where a mother had to face extreme consequences even when she was undergoing miscarriage which in itself is severely painful. The same examples also mention that it is only due to the technical nature of the circumstances that such treatment towards the mothers was considered as unlawful. It is indeed a very sensitive situation and the article does indicate that the anti-abortion law has in one way or the other been able to justify these forms of treatment towards these women.
4. The post suggests that this is one of those instances where a graduate student’s research interest and University curriculum have turned into a controversy of political nature. The student’s eagerness to learn and research within her area of interest and increase her own as well as the University’s knowledge seem to have been deemed as unlawful by the Missouri State Senate. It is necessary to understand that research simply leads to intellectual understanding and academic growth. It is only a form of academic search for knowledge and this is exactly what the University of Missouri’s argument has been. The Senate on the other hand seems to believe that the research is likely to promote Planned Parenthood and they dislike the idea of using Government funding for the research. The University’s point of view is only that studying a subject and investigating into the depths of the matter should not be considered as unlawful as it can limit academic freedom and quality of education. The University has also responded saying that the student has not received any University funding for the research. The article also mentions about a 72 hour waiting period that a pregnant woman needs to go through from the time that she requests an abortion procedure to the time that she can get one done.
5. This article as reported by Callie Marie Rennison on 21-Dec-2014 in Denver describes a notion amongst people about Universities and Colleges being prone to violence of sexual nature. The article starts with a statement of comparison between groups in which the act of rape is prevalent. This article presents a comparison between the levels of risk of being victimized by sexual assault or rape for women belonging to various social and economic backgrounds. It does indicate that women who belong to a lower income group and have not had the opportunity of obtaining college or higher level of education have a higher possibility of being victimized than women belonging to higher income groups or women who have received college education. But the author in no way suggests that educated women are a lower priority when it comes to their protection from being raped or sexually assaulted. However, the author strongly suggests that women who do not have social or financial privileges should get the right amount of support. It is also said that the rate of sexual victimization of single women living with children at home is 9.1 times higher than that of married women living at home with no children. The author also mentions that regardless of social or financial status, women within the age range of 16 years to 20 years suffer victimization at higher rates than others.
6. The documentary trailer starts with describing a woman’s passion to serve the country as part of the military of the U.S.A. She then exclaims that the devastating change in her life came when she was raped. The video clip said about the judiciary as well. One of the people in the video was stunned to learn that a person who is charged with drug abuse is sentenced for 5 years but when the charge is rape the sentence is only two weeks. It was also said that a personnel accused of rape was awarded as “Professional of the Year” whilst the rape investigation was still pending. It has been pointed out that it is indeed a very serious and traumatizing problem amongst veterans in the military and never have such cases of trauma been seen before. The number of cases reported appears to be very high every week and the video also suggests that about 500,000 men and women in the military have been sexually assaulted. It was also disappointing to find out that the civilian population considered it to be a problem of the military. The last fraction of the video shows a hearing in which it was mentioned that there has been a history of covering up sexual assault problems.
7. This article has brought into light various cases of assault of sexual nature not only on women but also on men in the military. In fact the article suggests that 53% of the attacks were on men by other men. Although women are highly likely to be sexually assaulted, cases involving men are underreported. But the motive behind these attacks appears to be less of sexual nature and more of a matter of bullying and torture. Male personnel do not seem to report these incidents as they feel very embarrassed and feel that they are going to face resentment from others. Several examples have been mentioned where personnel were assaulted by other personnel of higher ranks. An example was also mentioned where a male personnel was sexually assaulted by a female superior officer. The attacks have caused some of these men to question their own sexuality and have led them to depression. Some victims have shown an improvement in their condition through therapy.
8. This article discusses about the reversal of social romantic norms from dating to hooking up. The author also describes his discussion with a colleague on the same matter. He says that about three decades ago one person used to ask the other out on a date and after a few dates if they happen to like each other they could have decided to take the relationship to the next level which involves sexual contact. But the concept of hooking up is the complete opposite. The people involved seem to be involved in sexual contact first and then they may consider going on a date if they want to stabilize the relationship. The pros and cons of hooking up were also mentioned. Amongst the pros it is said that hooking up may reduce the insecurity that some people develope due to their inability to get a date. The cons involved the fact that girls got fed up of hooking up as they wanted the relationship to stabilize but the male counterparts seemed to want to continue to hook up until much later when they realized that they cannot find a spouse with this approach. Also under the influence of alcohol hooking up might lead to sexual assault.
9. This article talks about feminism and the thoughts of various feminist personalities towards the power imbalance that might be involved in an encounter of sexual nature. It also explains the differences in opinion between the sex critique and the sex positive. It talks about aspects of sexual encounters that involve mutual consent and that despite mutual consent the encounter might be bad for one or both the participants. The article says that no matter what women do with regards to their sex lives they end up getting judged. It is also mentioned that even when the sexual encounter involved mutual consent, the consent from the woman may have been due to reasons that are too complicated to explain and despite the consent and regardless of physical involvement the woman was mentally uninvolved and possibly the mental satisfaction remained absent. The article included examples of personalities such as Gattuso, Katie Roiphe as well as Maya Dusenbury. There has also been a mention of the feeling of the male counterparts about their entitlement to sexual pleasures. According to the article communication can greatly improve the level of satisfaction that women can enjoy and that matters would be a lot better if they can communicate that they are not having a good time. Also some women seem to hesitate to say no as they feel that their feelings may not be heeded. The article does not object to the idea of casual sex but it does point in the direction of women wanting to have a fair opportunity of deriving pleasure from the act of sex. It concludes with an assertion on the idea that there is a need to raise the standards of the sex lives of women to a much higher level. It also mentions that generally speaking sex needs to be more than just about consent.
10. This article has mentioned about a new pharmaceutical drug called flibanserin that has been accepted for FDA approval letter and is said to increase the sex drive in women who have lost or are losing their interest in sexual contact in their relationships. It is not the same as Viagra that is used by men to achieve an erection before engaging in sexual activity. The drug flibanserin is a regular medication that gradually increases a woman’s sex drive. The writer of the article points out that people should be more concerned about sexual desire from a more personal and social perspective. The article talks about researchers saying that if a woman has been facing difficult situations in her domestic life which could possibly be due to sleep-deprivation after having a baby or due to difficult situations with ageing parents, then lack of sympathy and persistent pressure from her partner can further aggravate the woman’s difficulty. Also the drug is known to have various harmful side-effects and that a rather social session of drinking might do a lot more good than the drug.
11. The video shows a girl walking through the streets of Manhattan for 10 hours. The clip shows that she was harassed verbally on the streets with comments as well as whistles and sometimes winks by people from several backgrounds. The video is a medium to spread awareness about such street harassment. The video also promotes a non-profit organization called Hollaback that aims at ending harassment of such nature.
12. The videos mentioned about the project called It Gets Better which has been aimed at helping teenagers who are homosexual, bisexual and transsexual. It is especially aimed at putting an end to the bullying that these teenagers face because such treatment towards these teenagers can force them into taking drastic measures. The objective of the project is to support LGBT teenagers who have been facing adversities due to their sexual orientation. The project has been started to help these teenagers embrace life and to let them know that they are important and that there are people who love and care for them.