Chapter Two - DreamWorlds 3 Blog

Chapter Two - DreamWorlds 3 Blog

In the real world violence against women is neither entertaining nor erotic. But it is an all-too-normal part of our society:

- More than 1 million women are stalked by intimate partners every year.

- 1 in 5 college females will be the victim of rape or attempted rape.

- On college campuses 90% of rape victims know their assailants.

- A sexual assault occurs every 2 1⁄2 minutes in America.

- 1 in 6 women has been the victim of sexual assault.

Ending Violence Against Women by Francine Pickup, Suzanne Williams, and Caroline Sweetman. (Oxfam Publishing, 2001.)

Please answer the following questions:

If the images and stories of music videos don’t directly cause male violence against women, then how should we understand the relationship between music video and gender relations?

What role do you think images in music videos play in the high incidence of male violence against women mentioned at the end of this film?

Can a major cultural force like music videos have an effect on behavior without directly causing it?

Can it not have an effect? Explain.