The Power Of Context Analysis
Not only is violence more than just the easy to realize physical harm, it is also a major culprit in shaping and influencing identity and self-perception. In the “Selections from Hard to Get: Twenty-Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom,” the author, Leslie Bell, interviews several women asking about their sexual identities. In one instance Jayanthi, one of the women interviewed by Bell, discusses an act of violence that changed how she would sexually identify herself. In addition, in “The Power of Context,” the author, Malcolm Gladwell, talks about how the Goetz incident, in which Goetz shot four black teens in a New York City subway train, contributed and affected how New York City would deal with its crime epidemic. Furthermore,
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During an interview, Jayanthi tells Bell about a night out in India and how “she had now come to understand and describe this experience as a disturbing version of sexual exploitation” (Bell 36). This traumatic event of violence that affected Jayanthi, individually, in this case was the rape. The rape caused a very distinct response in Jayanthi which would soon influence how she would identify herself and perceive men. Bell later on mentions how “Jayanthi’s strategy shifted from being a bad girl who was “up for anything” to being a bad girl who was in control” (Bell 36). Jayanthi changed how she identified and strategized herself after an act of violence that affected her mentally. Jayanthi began to view all men as being bad and players. Just as the African men played Jayanthi, Jayanthi wanted to be the player and do the exact same to other men. Jayanthi did this in order to hide and mask the pain and trauma she experienced from the rape. She was afraid of being raped again or put into a similar uncomfortable situation. Jayanthi’s only option to keep herself safe was to change roles; change the way she identified herself. By changing her role, Jayanthi was able to avoid ever going through the same type of violence. Instead of letting the men take advantage of her, she took advantage of them. By being the one taking advantage of the men Jayanthi knew that she was in control and could avoid having to go through another violent rape. This scare caused by the violent rape was enough to change and reshape her
During an interview, Jayanthi tells Bell about a night out in India and how “she had now come to understand and describe this experience as a disturbing version of sexual exploitation” (Bell 36). This traumatic event of violence that affected Jayanthi, individually, in this case was the rape. The rape caused a very distinct response in Jayanthi which would soon influence how she would identify herself and perceive men. Bell later on mentions how “Jayanthi’s strategy shifted from being a bad girl who was “up for anything” to being a bad girl who was in control” (Bell 36). Jayanthi changed how she identified and strategized herself after an act of violence that affected her mentally. Jayanthi began to view all men as being bad and players. Just as the African men played Jayanthi, Jayanthi wanted to be the player and do the exact same to other men. Jayanthi did this in order to hide and mask the pain and trauma she experienced from the rape. She was afraid of being raped again or put into a similar uncomfortable situation. Jayanthi’s only option to keep herself safe was to change roles; change the way she identified herself. By changing her role, Jayanthi was able to avoid ever going through the same type of violence. Instead of letting the men take advantage of her, she took advantage of them. By being the one taking advantage of the men Jayanthi knew that she was in control and could avoid having to go through another violent rape. This scare caused by the violent rape was enough to change and reshape her