Making Peace With Violence

Violence is not a rare occurrence in society. It also can come in vastly different shapes and forms. It can be very subtle like an insulting comment towards someone or highly detrimental like in the case of the recent mass shootings. Compared to largely devastating violent events, subtle things are often over looked and ignored. This action can be potentially dangerous. Domestic violence, unhealthy body image, cyber bullying, and self harm are only a few types of violence that often go under the radar.

In this day and age, society is concerned about their appearances more than ever before. People become consumed by their efforts to improve their image and often feel insecure and inadequate in the eyes of others. Consequently, people have become more violent towards themselves in their stride towards their ultimate goal of a “perfect body”. This mentality towards body image is undoubtedly unhealthy. People who struggle with their body image are often troubled by their violent mentality towards themselves. As a result, this violence plays a large role in shaping their perception of the world and of the others around them. However, it seems that society has almost intentionally forced these unrealistic and unattainable images onto others. In terms of advisements and marketing for products and services, there is almost always a model that personifies the ideal person. Nonetheless, there have been efforts to combat this trend. In 2006, Dove released their Evolution of Beauty campaign (video embedded below) to bring awareness to the fact that corporations have the ability to manipulate their advertisements. In doing so, people receive an unrealistic portrayal of body image from the media.

Another form of violence that is frequently neglected is domestic violence. Domestic abuse often goes undetected based on societal norms and expectations of domestic relationships. Some people assume or believe that it was justified for men to abuse their partners. However, this kind of violence is unacceptable and should not be ignored. The victims of domestic abuse are often too afraid to seek help or do not believe that anything is wrong. As a result, victims suffer through numerous emotional consequences from the violence that is displaced on them.

Cyber bullying is an example of a type of violence that has only recently become relevant in society due to the modern era of technology. Although cyber-bullying is limited to constraints of the Internet, countless people are still affected by mental abuse that can be caused online. Often people underestimate how great of an effect this type of abuse can have on others. This is yet another example of how violence can be disregarded and overlooked.

Violence plays a large role in how others interact in society. In turn, violence, such as an unhealthy mentality towards body image, domestic abuse, and cyber bullying, works to shape an individual's identity in a maladaptive manner. These types of violence are often ignored and disregarded by society. Change must follow through to prevent others from this abuse and violence should be challenged appropriately. 

Passing or Being Passive?

Racial identity is very much a black and white world. The reality is that society wants to believe that every individual has one identity and only one. People like to think that everyone fits in categories of race. However, it gets more complicated when people from multiracial backgrounds come into play. Looking back in history, multiracial people feel compelled to accept their "tainted" identity. In the video below, Elizabeth Alexander explains the idea of the one drop law in which "one drop of black blood makes a person black." A prime example of this in play is Barack Obama who is from black and white backgrounds but is considered an entirely black individual in society. The action of assuming one racial identity is a very common occurrence in the past and persists today.

This attitude of choosing one side seems outlandish but it has existed for a very long time. In the novel Passing by Nella Larsen, Irene Redfield and Claire Kendry were good friends who are both of mixed white and black backgrounds. Irene identified herself as a black individual but Claire lived her life passing as a white woman. Irene prided herself in her acceptance of her black race but in actuality, she was not entirely faithful to her black backgrounds. When the opportunity called for it, Irene passed herself as a white individual out of fear and anxiety that she would be victimized because of her other race. Larsen writes, “It wasn’t that she was ashamed of being a Negro, or even having declared it. It was the idea of getting ejected from any place” (Larson 19). On many occasions, people assumed that Irene was entirely white and she never bothered to correct them. It is clear that Irene uses her dual background to her advantage by constantly adjusting herself to the environment that she is in. 

On the other hand, Claire Kendry passed herself as a white person because she feels that being subjected to a black racial distinction limited her to a life that she would not be satisfied with. Having married a wealthy white man and given birth to a child with a fair complexion, Claire starts to feel regretful and apprehensive of the decision she had made to pass. It was revealed that Claire was terrified throughout the pregnancy of her child that her baby would appear more black than white. If that were to happen, her secret was out and she would be done for. Having gone through nine months of anxiety, she claims that she does not want any more children. In the end, Claire is torn between the superficial and wealthy life that she has and the life in which she could fully express her identity without the fear of being outed. The psychologist J.D. Teicher once said, "Although the burden of the Negro child is recognized as a heavy one, that of the Negro-white child is seen to be even heavier" (Source).