13 Reasons to Stop Gendered Violence
Netflix recently released a TV series called 13 Reasons Why, which an adaptation from the novel by Jay Asher. The series follows the story of Clay Jenson weeks after his friend Hannah Baker tragically commits suicide, in which he listens to cassette tapes made by Hannah. On the cassette tapes are a narrated account of Hannah's last few weeks up until her suicide, giving 13 reasons why she decided to commit suicide. Clay experiences flashbacks of Hannah's last few weeks, while dealing with her death and the actions of his peers, who contributed to Hannah's death.
Gendered violence depicted throughout the TV series that shows the "bright spark to Hanna that slowly fades over the course of the series as she becomes progressively worn down by life's disappointment"(Sehedeen). Throughout the show, Hannah's male peers continuously oppressed her, forcing her into situations that made her feel uncomfortable, which resulted in her to feel a sense of guilt for not being able to stand u for herself on multiple occasions. The alienation and gilt felt by Hannah is because gendered violence that was targeted towards her in the form of sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, sexual assault, and rape, was all too much, making her turn to suicide.
I think this TV series holds some powerful scenes and messages that show how dangerous the world can be for a young women living in a patriarchal and misogynistic society. It highlights the pattern of male violence perpetrated by males that is motivated by anger, entitlement, and competition. The victims of rape are made out to be at fault because they "put themselves in that situation" or they "had too much to drink", which is problematic because mainstream society has been socialized to blame women who have been raped, making them feel a sense of shame about themselves.
13 Reasons Why speaks to the cruelty that circulates the world, making it a dangerous place for young people. There needs to be more conversations about gendered violence because it affects someone everyday and in spaces where we least expect it. A life could be saved by opening up dialogues about gendered violence and maybe this show will allow people to open up about what they are struggling with that nobody notices because they hide so well.
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