The Article Article Review Sample

Violence Against Women

Ozgecan Aslan was a twenty-year-old female student from Turkey. Unknowingly, she rode her last bus in Mersin and was found dead in a river in Tarsus. Police concluded that she was raped then murdered by a 26-year-old male who even asked for help from his family to dispose the body. He, along with his brother and father, were arrested for rape and murder. This incident sparked a worldwide Twitter campaign advocating violence against women. Netizens used the #sendeanlat (tell your story) to proliferate their cause. The campaign was deemed successful as a huge number of women participated (Davidson, 2015).

Symbolic Interactionist Theory/Perspective

The Symbolic Interactionist Theory states that society creates and manitains meaning through social interactions with one another. This theory also makes use of the concept of the looking glass self: humans become aware of their sense of self with how others view them. The Ozgecan Aslan incident is characteristic of the symbolic interactionist theory. It is composed of a series of social events: (1) the perpetuator’s interest in Aslan who had been influenced by society’s idea of beauty and sex as well as patriarchy, (2) the death of Aslan which sparked the nation-wide campaign, and (3) the nation-wide campaign that lead to a world-wide campaign as a form of awakening and stirring up the already existing issues on abuse and gender equality.

Our Society

For so many years, society has been living in a very patriarchal world. Women were denied of so many things for the sole reason that they were born females. Also, for so many years, campaigns to address these issues have existed. The Aslan incident will most probably add more wood to the fire of feminist movements. Feminists’ anger towards an unfair society and their dedication to their cause will continue to rise. Hopefully, more people will join the cause.

Reference

Davidson, H. (Feb, 2015). Rape and murder of young woman sparks mass Twitter protest in Turkey. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/17/turkish-woman-ozgecan-aslans-sparks-anti-violence-campaign-sendeanlat.