On facebook today, I first saw a Ted talks video by Dr. Jackson Katz on Violence & Silence. I found it extremely interesting in that Dr. Katz presents a "Bystander Approach" to violence prevention. I really like how he looks at the fundamental underlying language, how it's used, and (as I don't have a penis) a male perspective on the difference between sensitivity and leadership.
http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Violence-Silence-Jackson-Katz-P
As I looked down the comments on the facebook link, one commenter (who disagreed with Dr. Katz's lecture) posted a link to another speaker's video on "Continuing distortions about intimate partner abuse." This speaker, Dr. Christina Hoff Sommers, points out how the misuse of statistical information (some even outright make believe numbers) that keeps getting used even after they have been shown to be untrue, has distorted our perception of abuse and in turn does a disservice to victims of violence.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmfCB_IVkOc
Now, I honestly do not understand why the person who posted Dr. Sommers video seems to think that what she says negates anything that Dr. Katz says. To me, they both actually have a similar underlying message. Violence is a human problem, not necessarily specific to one gender. Also, misinformation, ignorance, and silence make the problem worse.
Also, both mention a documentary called "MissRepresentation." Now I must see it to find out what they are talking about.
Bottom line, in my humble opinion, go through out the day and try not to be an asshole to someone else. There's a start.
(If it's not clear, some of the social psychology topics that I see tying into this includes at a minimum: gender, aggression, ingroups & outgroups, social identity, institutional supports, leadership, social scripts, altered perceptions, self-censorship and the illusion of unanimity, conformative influence, informational influence, prejudice, bystander effects, confirmation bias, lying with statistics and research ethics)
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