Martha McSally, one of the first female pilots in the United States and current senator, recently blew herself up at a hearing and was sexually assaulted by a superior officer. If you think that "Captain Marvel" makes women's rights too high, you should listen to what Captain Marvel might say if she lived in the real world.
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Captain Marvel = Women's Rights Rise? The first female pilot in the United States who blew herself up and was sexually assaulted by the military
Last week, the superhero movie "Captain Marvel" was finally released, and the Taiwanese box office exceeded 34.45 million on the first day, firmly sitting on the throne of the Marvel series of movies. The story tells the story of the protagonist Carol Danvers, who was originally one of the first female pilots in the United States to complete training in the 90s, and later became a superhero due to her involvement in an accident.
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Such a heroine origin story has attracted many negative comments on Rotten Tomatoes and Youtube (additional screening: [Gender Observation] The heroine imprisoned by the myth of beauty: "Captain Marvel" is not beautiful enough, who will provoke whom? )。 According to Huffpost , before the movie was released, Rotten Tomatoes received too many negative reviews and even had to close reviews for repairs. Opponents washed the board in large numbers because they believed that "the Captain Marvel movie brought about the 'rise of women's rights'" and even "the movie was 'discriminating' against white men".
However, the recent sex scandal that broke out at the top of the U.S. military may let you know that outside of the "Captain Marvel" movie, women's rights are not very high at all. If Captain Marvel lived in the real world, as the first batch of female pilots who should be in the spotlight, without the protection of superpowers, her fate might be even more unfortunate.
The first female pilot in actual combat came out? McSally: "In fact, I have no power."
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On March 6 of this year, former U.S. Air Force pilot and Republican Senator Martha McSally of Arizona listened to the voices of sexual assault survivors during a hearing on a military sexual assault case. At the same time, she also blew herself up, and was sexually assaulted by a superior officer during her past as a U.S. Air Force officer.
"Like you, I am a survivor of sexual violence in the military. But unlike other brave survivors, at the time, I didn't report. Like many men and women, I do not trust the military system. After the incident, I blamed myself, and I was confused and ashamed. I thought I was strong enough to face it, but in fact I had no power."
She noted that these perpetrators use their power to harm others. I'm just one example. I was sexually assaulted by a superior officer. I have been silent about this for many years. But when I found out that the military was constantly shrouded in scandals and that they would always respond in inappropriate ways, it made me feel compelled to speak up about it, and I was a victim."
In 1972, the U.S. Air Force included women for the first time. By 1994 , the "Don't ask don't tell" policy acquiesced to the participation of gay communities in the military. During the Gulf War and the Iraq War, women who served in the army also made many contributions. In 2010, Obama officially abolished the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.
However, the loosening of the superficial policy does not mean that the military's gender awareness has improved. According to CNN, Mai Sally is the first female pilot officer in the United States with actual combat experience. She distinguished herself in the military and participated in the Iraq War.
But even as important as her, she said that after being sexually assaulted by higher-ups, she did not even dare to report it: "I tried to talk about this experience, but I was scared to see the way they were handled. I stayed in the army for 18 years, and all I felt was despair." Moreover, since she did not disclose the names of the parties, it is likely that she will not be punished.
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Only movies have a good ending? The reality of the army should also change
"Like many victims, I felt the system was raping me all over again."
"I didn't choose to resign, but to stay, to continue to fight, to continue to lead," McSally said. I want to be a woman with a rank in the military so that I can speak for them. Then I went to Congress, I went to the Senate. I have two personal perspectives on this matter, the first is that I am their commander, and I have the responsibility to lead my men into the war. The other is that I am also a survivor."
"We have to fix this whole military culture distortion that they think they are tacitly consent to use sexual violence against women, and of course, men. But we need to make sure that all commanders are educated not to let this happen, and we need to make sure that they know how to act legally. If the commander himself is the source of the problem, they must be dismissed."
Feminism has never been "high" because of a movie
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In "Captain Marvel", the protagonist Danvers is constantly criticized by his male peers and mentors, and has experienced constant falls before he has figured out his own path. (Additional screening at the same venue: Pick a film for you|"Captain Marvel" I am emotional, I am not perfect, I am weak sometimes, but whatever). However, when the movie has a good ending, the #Metoo incidents and sexual violence stories in various fields in real life are still bloody.
Vivian Wu wrote this text in the recommended preface to the book "Confessions of Women: The Most Dangerous Power and the History of Silence":
As the number of female leaders increases and more women have access to voice, women's "silenced" is increasingly seen as a personal phenomenon rather than a structural problem. The success of a small number of women is seen as a testimony that "the problem is no longer there" (e.g., we elected a female president to show that the sexes are already equal), while the difficulties faced by the rest of the women are seen as obstacles that individuals should overcome through their own will and effort. (Recommended reading: Women are not born to engage in politics?) )
When the story of women's victory is told, it is easy to give the public the illusion that they are the victory of feminism and a symbol of gender equality. And the stories that are difficult for most women to talk about are easily treated as personal problems.
Don't make the few female victories mythologizing
We found that the victories of a few women were hailed as myths, while the defeats of the majority were taken for granted. This is why when Senator McSally was sexually assaulted by the military, she could only remain silent for 18 years. This is why we see Maria Rambeau, another African-American female pilot in the movie, who can only secretly laugh at herself that women will never be able to go to the battlefield anyway, but they have nowhere to speak.
When the female forced story of "Captain Marvel" was made into a movie by Marvel, we did feel that the film narrative from a female perspective went one step further.
But this does not mean that "women's rights are too high". Feminism focuses on people of different genders, sexual orientations, and gender traits to have a better life. It's not just about creating a myth of women's victory.
The narrative of Captain Marvel is just the beginning. We also invite men to join in more feminist actions.
If feminism really has a so-called "victory", it will certainly not stop at the qualification of a few female leaders, but should come from every injured body, every uneasy experience, to be able to speak freely and be well caught by the world.