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hellsbellschime · 5 years ago

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A Brief Exploration Of How Generational Trauma Destroys The World

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Although The Umbrella Academy is only two seasons deep, one thing about the family that serves as the focal point of this story seems abundantly clear. They are absolutely, abysmally awful at their jobs.

After the bizarre births of some seemingly extraordinary children, Sir Reginald Hargreeves set out to purchase as many of these oddities as possible with one singular purpose behind it in mind, using these exceptional kids to save the world. Although Reginald only managed to acquire seven of these baby flukes, each of the Hargreeves children were gifted with some extremely unusual superpowers that seem to set all of them up for a successful life as superheroes.

Reginald raised them with the most rigorous superhuman training that he could devise, and he explicitly intended for his children to save the world. However, after nearly two decades of training and experience, along with a few major bumps in the road, the vast majority of the Umbrella Academy decided to leave the life of the hero behind.

But despite the fact that the children were raised to save the world, it seems like they can't help but to end it. The family has been estranged for years, but now, over the course of two seasons, they've managed to end the world twice, and in both instances it was just mere days after reuniting as a family. So, why the hell do all of the Hargreeves kids suck at life so hard?

Although the Hargreeves clan is supposed to be a squad of superheroes, the reality of the situation is that they are truly just a group of neglected and traumatized children who are not equipped to deal with adulthood, and their lack of ability to cope seems to have catastrophic consequences for the rest of the world. However, each one of the children is dysfunctional in their own way.

LUTHER

Oh, Number 1. Luther is the assigned leader of the Umbrella Academy, but it's painfully, awkwardly obvious that Allison might be the only one to even possibly defer to Luther in an emergency situation.

It is very interesting though, that Reginald has made Luther his number 1. Clearly Luther doesn't have the necessary leadership skills to keep his siblings on task, but he also arguably has one of the least useful superpowers of the entire group. So then, why is it that he's number 1?

Well, the obvious answer seems to be that, while he is not the most powerful, he may be the most useful to Reginald, because he is the only one of Reginald's children who actually tows the company line. He's the only person who has truly committed his life to Reginald's failed experiment, so even if he's the least powerful, he provides the most utility to Reginald.

In Reginald's eyes it's easy to see why Luther may have been the most important, however through the eyes of a normal human being, it's easy to see why Luther's experience growing up in the Umbrella Academy and his experience as Number 1 was so psychologically damaging to him. Luther seems to go to great lengths to seek approval and love specifically from people who always deny him, and this self sabotaging behavior seems to be reflected in many of the largest and smallest aspects of Luther's life.

Luther shouldered a disproportionate amount of blame for ending the world in season 1. Yes, his actions did have the direst consequences that any actions can have, but it's not at all difficult to understand his train of thought.

Firstly, he's the only member of the Hargreeves family who has never been able to escape his abuser. Luther's entire self identity is designed around what Reginald has taught him, and his overly simplistic idea of what a hero is and how he needs to lead his family is one of the many ways in which Luther demonstrates that he truly has not experienced life outside of his abusive childhood.

Secondly, it should come as no surprise at all that Luther's first instinct on how to handle Vanya is to do exactly what Reginald would have done. Despite the fact that no one actually remembers Vanya being locked up, Luther's reaction to the threat that Vanya poses is astonishingly predictable given that he is built by Reginald's design, through and through.

But finally, while Luther's actions are obviously the incorrect ones, clearly his assumptions about the threat that Vanya posed were absolutely correct. There were very few reasonable courses of action when the family realized that Vanya not only had powers, but had become dangerously unstable surprisingly quickly. Luther did take the wrong course of action, but there was really nothing wrong with his thought process behind it, and ironically it was likely only Reginald's extended isolation of Vanya in her childhood that led to Luther's imprisonment of her in adulthood causing such apocalyptic consequences.

Although Luther is a product of his environment, it's clear that he takes his duties as a real life superhero seriously. And interestingly, even though he was the last child to extricate himself from Reginald (and he didn't extricate himself willingly), he has actually shown himself to be one of the most easily self-reflective and self-critical characters in season 2 of The Umbrella Academy.

Luther made an enormous mistake because he recognized that Vanya was a powder keg ready to explode, but the choices that he made actually caused that bomb to go off. When he sees Vanya again, it's understandable that his first instinct is to eliminate the threat at any cost. But after just a few moments of consideration, he takes responsibility for his own actions, he recognizes that he needs to change, and he acknowledges that Vanya deserves the opportunity to change as well. Ironically, one of his first choices as an individual that isn't directed and controlled by Reginald is exactly the kind of decision that a good leader would make, which really goes to show how much Reginald's influence has stifled Luther's growth as a person.

DIEGO

If you're not first, you're last. Despite the fact that Diego is outwardly the most resistant to the training and indoctrination that his abusive father foisted upon him, it seems like Diego's position as Number 2 is how he has defined himself for his entire life.

The effect that Reginald's abuse had seems to be the most obvious with Diego out of anyone in the family, because it controls every aspect of his being. Everything that Diego thinks, says, or does is in reaction to his realization and understanding that he was raised by an abusive monster, as well as his deep and unyielding desire to experience true parental love in a way that was always denied to him.

It's intriguing but understandable that, despite hating his father more than anyone, Diego wound up becoming his Number 2. Because although Diego seems to mold himself in a reactionary way against everything that his father taught him, he's still the most ardently heroic member of the family, even more so than Luther.

Interestingly, despite the fact that Diego appears to be the most aggressive and brash member of the family, it seems like whenver he makes an attempt to express any of his sincere or deep emotions, he has a lot of trouble doing so directly. Both in the literal sense, due to his stutter, but also in an emotional and psychological sense too.

Like many of the Hargreeves kids, Diego's form of dysfuction almost seems to be an extension of his own superpower. He can literally adjust the trajectory of flying objects when they're already in flight, and his life's obsession seems to be redirecting his heroic story arc in the direction that he wants to see it go instead of along the path that his father set out for him. However, it's still incredibly telling and meaningful that Diego still defines himself by the heroic archetype that his father forced on to him when he was a child.

Similarly, Diego seems to be equally conflicted in his feelings towards his siblings. He at times embraces them, at times resists them, and he always seems to want to redefine the relationships that they all have on his terms instead of his father's terms. And the fact that he is so ardent that they all be a part of Team Zero when he spent his entire life playing the role of Number Two just goes to show that while he seems to rebel against everything that Reginald forced upon him, he still defines himself, his family, and the world in the terms that the Hargreeves patriarch laid out for him.

ALLISON

On the surface it would seem like Allison is the Hargreeves sibling who has gotten the closest to achieving a relatively normal life and who is the most capable of relating to others on a more healthy and normal psychological level, but it's still clear that her power defines how she relates to people and relates to the world, whether or not she's actually using it at the time.

Clearly her relationship with Luther is her most important familial bond, and while she doesn't seem to share Luther's more romantic interest in her, she does seem to be very keen to lean in to the person that Luther sees her as. And it's an understandable impulse, since it would appear that she doesn't use her powers on Luther or anyone in her family besides Vanya, so he's one of the few people who's interpretation of her she can actually rely on to be truthful.

But even when Allison can't or won't use her superpowers, her attempts at relating to other people or to society at large seem to be mostly driven by a need to control, redirect, or otherwise influence their way of thinking, even if they're extremely resistant to it. Of course, this isn't an entirely uncommon behavior, and it is an attitude that can be enormously beneficial in some situations while enormously detrimental in others.

However, the damage that Reginald has done to Allison is readily apparent because, regardless of the fact that she has been able to form deeper and more complex interpersonal relationships than any of her siblings, she still has no understanding of how to relate to people outside of her power.

And why would she? Allison's constant attempts at creating a normal life that seem to inevitably fail are not just failures because she is a superhuman trying to live in a human world. It's because she never had a fully dimensional and fleshed out human experience as a child. She wasn't seen as a person, but as a power, so she only knows how to develop or maintain relationships in which she exercises some sort of psychological control over the people she is engaging with, regardless of whether or not she's actually using her power in order to do it.

KLAUS

Klaus is undeniably one of the most compelling characters in the entire series, and it's easy to see why his childhood trauma has resulted in such extreme behavior and personality traits in his adulthood.

Reginald is a parent who did an exceptionally poor job of socializing his own children in a way that would help them function in the real world, but that lack of appropriate parenting seems like it would have the most extreme impact on Klaus, because Klaus' power is inherently social.

Seeing ghosts would be terrifying for any child and pretty much any adult on earth, but for a child who has no idea how to interact or relate to others, it could be an utterly crippling ability to have.

It's clear that the ghosts that Klaus typically sees are spirits who have some sort of unfinished business left in the world. And not only would any child be astonishingly incompetent when it came to dealing with those kinds of emotionally and psychologically complex situations, but the fact that Klaus' father mostly psychologically neglected and occasionally outright terrorized him meant that he had a very mentally draining and damaging power and was given no tools or coping skills with which to deal with them.

More than any other member of the Hargreeves family, it is Klaus that does everything that he can in order to escape his power, which is ironic considering that it was the only characteristic that his father seemed to think was relevant about him.

But, Klaus' desire to dull his senses by any means necessary was a rational response from a poorly emotionally developed person that was stuck in an astoundingly bizarre and psychologically taxing situation. In a sense, none of the siblings were failed by Reginald quite as much as Klaus was.

And that is a truly tragic result of Klaus' exceptional abilities. It's very telling that Klaus seems to occupy some metaphysical space between life and death that allows him to commune with the dead, but he's also terrified of losing the ones that he loves to death.

If most people knew with any degree of certainty that the afterlife was real, let alone if they could actually commune with the dead, it would be a huge relief. But Klaus lied to Ben about going into the light because he was afraid to lose him, and he spent most of the second season doing whatever he could to save Dave from certain death. But why? Well, because his father made his own abilities, and the dead, into his source of constant terror.

FIVE

Interestingly, despite the fact that he spent the least amount of time with Reginald out of all of his siblings, it seems that Five's utilitarian attitude towards heroism mirrors his father's the most closely out of anyone. It's easy to see why that would be the case, but the fact that Five's reaction to the most extreme trauma that any of the Hargreeves kids have endured is to act more like Reginald than any of the other members of his family is a strong indication of how abuse and generational trauma can affect an individual as well as an entire family.

However, there is one stark difference between Five and Reginald. While Five has a very easy time grasping the greater good in any morally difficult situation, he still goes out of his way to prioritize the health, safety, or survival of his family whenever he can.

With all of the Hargreeves children, there is an element of conflict that arises from the fact that they were raised being told that they had to save humanity, but they were also raised in a way that completely disconnected them from humanity. And with no character is that conflict more apparent than with Five.

Five is ready and willing to sacrifice nearly anyone that he feels he must on the altar of the greater good, but his emotional connection to his family is extremely strong, and even in the most dire of circumstances it seems like he always keeps them as his priority.

It's an interesting dichotomy for the character, because the distance between him and the rest of his siblings is larger and longer, both literally and psychologically, than anyone else in the Hargreeves family, but he seems to be almost entirely oriented around his family at the expense of himself. And it's a sharp contrast with his father, his father seems to have reacted to world-ending trauma by ensuring he would have no familial bond with his children, but Five has reacted to it by holding on to his familial bonds as if they're the only thing in the world that matters.

Although the trauma that Five experienced in the post-apocalyptic world as well as during his tenure as a time-traveling assassin is probably far worse than the trauma that he experienced as a child being raised by Reginald Hargreeves, becoming the survivor of an apocalyptic holocaust led him to most clearly mirror and contrast the parent who spent his entire life raising him with the intent of preventing another apocalyptic holocaust.

BEN

Most of the Hargreeves siblings seem to have some sort of connection between their power and their personality, either because of nature or nuture, so it's fascinating that Ben seems to be diametrically opposed to his. His ability to summon and partially transform into some horrific Eldtritch creature seems to completely contrast to his innocent, sweet, and generally kind disposition. But why is that?

Ironically Ben seems to be the most well adjusted member of the Hargreeves family, and it's hard not to speculate that his maturity might actually be driven by the fact that he died young.

He was subjected to the abusive and neglectful parenting of Reginald just like the rest of his siblings, but through death he actually wound up escaping his abuser. So, while his literal growth came to an abrupt end, it seems like his personal growth may have actually begun.

On the one hand, it seems like Ben's behavior is an obvious signifier of the fact that his life stopped at a relatively young age, however, a lot of Ben's behavior and overall outlook on life seems to be exceptionally childlike, even for someone who died as a teenager. And that in combination with the fact that he seems to be so well adjusted in relation to his other family members begs the question of whether or not death finally allowed Ben to have the childhood that he deserved but never had.

Either way, it certainly says a lot that the two most well adjusted members of the Hargreeves family either spent most of their lives in an apocalyptic hellscape or literally dead.

VANYA

Poor Number 7. Being relegated to the least important member of your family is never an easy position to occupy for anyone, but it seems like Vanya is the purest and most clear manifestation of all of Reginald Hargreeves' failings as a parent and teacher.

There are a lot of curious complexities to Vanya, and it's obvious that having no real human parental influence is almost certainly why she became the most dangerous member of the Umbrella Academy despite not even using her powers for most of her life.

Reginald's fatal mistake with Vanya was his belief that constantly reminding her of how un-special she was would lead to her never becoming dangerous enough to do real damage to the world. But his assumption of what would be the best way to handle her seems to be based on an incorrect conclusion that Reginald drew based on Vanya's behavior towards her nannies.

It's quite an odd dynamic, because while Vanya seems to have extremely negative reactions towards the nannies that try to parent her, Vanya's behavior in general has demonstrated her to be an extremely emotional, empathetic, and kind individual who doesn't want to hurt anyone or anything. So why did she keep on lashing out at the women who were being hired to care for her?

Well, because she is someone who had never experienced a human parent-child dynamic, and therefore she lashed out emotionally when that dynamic was suddenly thrust upon her.

Vanya may have become dangerous after years of being horribly abused, but what's sad about the trajectory of her life is that she clearly had an abundance of emotion, much of it positive emotion, that she was desperate to express but couldn't.

Given that she has very quickly fallen in love twice over the course of two seasons, it's painfully obvious that she feels like she has a lot of love to give and no one to give it too, but it's also tragically clear that she doesn't know how to differentiate between a healthy relationship and an unhealthy one.

Vanya dedicated her life to expressing herself through music, which is clearly deeply connected to the latent superpower that had been repressed for her entire life, but as a result of that enforced repression she even felt like a complete failure at that.

So, while everyone at the Umbrella Academy contributed to Vanya's meltdown in some way, the honest truth seems to be that nothing could have been done to prevent it. After a literal lifetime of total repression, abuse, and neglect, there was no other way for Vanya's abuse, or the abuse of all of the Hargreeves children, to end.

REGINALD

Of course, as the patriarch of the Hargreeves family, Reginald Hargreeves is truly the architect of his children's dysfunction. They all react to his neglect and abuse in their own way, but ironically the entire reason that the Umbrella Academy seems to repeatedly fail in it's sole mission is because of Reginald's single-minded focus on it. The Hargreeves children are doomed to destroy the world because all Reginald ever cared about was saving it.

Reginald is literally an alien, but the literal and metaphorical implications of a group of children who are raised in a world that separates them from their humanity is a rich textual and subtextual aspect of The Umbrella Academy.

Reginald himself is not a suitable parent to his children, but all of the outside influences that he allows on his children are literally not human either. Grace and Pogo provide some basic functional emotional satisfaction to the Hargreeves children, but they're still not people. They don't help the children to understand humanity or human existence any better, and they still serve to separate the Umbrella Academy from the very world that they're meant to protect.

On the whole, Reginald's abject failure as a parent, teacher, and creator is a fantastic allegory for the nature of generational trauma. Reginald is a failure as a parent for many reasons, but ultimately Reginald is a being who was extremely traumatized by the destruction of his own world, and as a parent, he passed that trauma down to his own children.

In that sense, the failure of The Umbrella Academy to live up to it's potential solely rests on the failings of Reginald himself.

#the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #tua #the umbrella academy meta #tua meta #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #reginald hargreeves #tua spoilers #lordt just let this one work

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kitkatopinions · 4 years ago

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Tbh I have no idea how people unironically say RWBY is about trust and how good it is to trust when people have literally had their trust betrayed leading to horrible things in SEVEN major plot points.

Number 1. Before the start of the show, Blake trusted in and believed in Adam, her mentor and (likely romantic) partner. Blake's trust in him was broken, as he went too far and started down a destructive and likely abusive path. This made it incredibly hard for Blake to trust anyone again, which is only made worse as Adam comes back into her life in an incredibly traumatic way, stabs her, cuts off the arm of her friend, and tries to behead her. Adam continues to be a major threat to her and her loved ones for months after, until she is forced to kill him in self defense. Blake's trust in Adam was proved to be wrong, and he hurt her and others.

Number 2. Ruby's trust in her friend Emerald - as well as Mercury and Cinder who were more acquaintances - was broken in an incredibly traumatic way. After discovering that Mercury was faking being injured and had lied about Ruby's beloved sister, he cheerfully stops her from saving Penny, who Emerald orchestrates the death of, and Ruby makes it past him only in time to see her dead, dismembered friend's body. Then Cinder purposefully causes a violent attack leading to the deaths of likely hundreds or more people and murders Pyrrha right in front of Ruby. Emerald, Mercury, and Cinder become central antagonists that the group sees again in Haven, who laugh and jeer about the deaths of their loved ones and almost kill Weiss. Ruby's trust in Emerald and her team was proved to be wrong, and they hurt her and others. Number 3. Leo Lionheart was a trusted member of Oz's inner circle and friend to him and Qrow. Although they (and Ironwood,) are all on edge over recent sketchy actions he's taken, Qrow and Oz give him the benefit of the doubt and Qrow even drops potentially dangerous information about Raven having the Spring Maiden. Lionheart has been working with Salem for a while, however, having gotten many of the Hunters in Mistral killed and having knowingly let Cinder infiltrate Beacon and cause the Fall. He gives this info to Salem and let's her operatives into Haven to capture children, kill children, and specifically murder Qrow - his friend and ally - and even tries to fight and kill, himself. The group trusted Leo, and it was proved to be wrong, and he hurt them and others. This betrayal clearly affects the whole group, but prominently Oz, who says Leo is not the first to betray him and uses it as another reason behind his own lack of trust in the group of teenage protagonists, which leads us to...

Number 4. In season 6 it's revealed that Salem and Oz had once been very close and romantic, but after a lot of stuff I can't take the energy to write out, Salem had changed for the worse, had lied and manipulated him, and started down a dark path he couldn't stand behind. When he tried to leave her with their kids, she exploded and murdered him and caused the deaths of their four young children. Since she couldn't die and Oz always reincarnated, this started a vicious cycle of Salem hunting down, hurting, and murdering him at every chance she got while she also tried to destroy the whole world and Ozpin tried in growing desperation to stop her and keep the world safe. Salem's actions caused great trauma that Oz has been clearly shown to have never fully healed from. She's the direct cause for his fears, paranoia, and isolation. His trust in Salem was proven to be wrong, and she hurt him and others. Number 5. Oz lied to the main cast several times and kept things hidden from them, and even after he swore not to keep any more secrets, he lied to them again. Despite Oz's problems being highly sympathetic, the show clearly intended us to think of this as a betrayal, framing the action as unquestioningly wrong, the complete lack of sympathy of our main cast being entirely unquestioned, and with doubt still being cast on Oz two seasons after. It's clear, however, that even though it’s sympathetic and understandable, Oz caused the others emotional pain through his actions, and the show intended to show us that Ruby and her team's trust in Ozpin was misplaced. Number 6. Ironwood showed major trust in the main characters, dropping charges against them and stopping them from being arrested, telling them all his plans immediately, letting them keep the Relic, giving them their Hunter licenses, sending them on high security missions, and listening to (and sometimes adhering to) their advice or concerns. But Team RWBY betrays him first by lying to him about crucial information (which he actually forgives iirc) and then by going behind his back to aid a vigilante who was stealing much needed supplies and telling her incredibly sensitive and dangerous government high security secrets. And then they never told him about it. Ironwood's trust in the protagonists was proven to be misplaced, and... Yeah, since Blake and Yang more or else helped Robyn get away with stealing supplies that were needed to finish Amity, their actions hurt James and others. Number 7. The Ace Ops and Penny trusted in Ironwood. The show had already framed Penny as having her trust broken by Ironwood when he decided to save the many while leaving the few, which the audience was meant to see as the evil option, but after that, Ironwood worked with a criminal to hack into and control her body and then threatens to bomb the remaining people of Mantle who Penny wants to protect. The Ace Ops and Winter agreed with Ironwood's choice to save Atlas and the already evacuated people of Mantle at the cost of the remaining few city blocks, but were clearly perturbed when he stopped saving as many as he could, and started actively killing whoever he wanted. And meanwhile, Oz himself was also betrayed by this turn of events, making it the second person in his very small inner circle to directly try to murder him. He clearly doesn't need any more reasons to think trusting people is something he doesn't have the luxury of. Oz, Penny, and the Ace Ops' trust in Ironwood was proven to be wrong, and he hurt them and others. And that hurt to type lol.

It's just all very strange. For a show that supposedly is meant to make you believe in the goodness of trust, there's certainly a lot of betrayal, back stabbing, lying, and mistrusting. There's something to be said about shows where bad things happen over and over and our main characters must struggle to continue to be good and trusting still even after they've been taken advantage of... But RWBY is not that, because the main protagonists themselves lie, mistrust, and betray, and the show frames that as good, letting us know Ruby was one hundred percent right and writing in fan favorites berating the people who question that, while they have Ironwood kicking puppies and shouting irrationally to remind us that Ruby's instinct of mistrust was completely good and right. I honestly can't take it seriously. RWBY's messages are juvenile at best, but this one was just severely ill handled. When I say that RWBY has a problem with 'Show Don't Tell' this is one of the things I mean. They didn't construct a narrative where Ruby and her team rise above cynicism, trust in others, and get the good consequences of not being frequently betrayed - thus showing the benefits of trusting and relying on others. They didn't even construct a gritty, sad, but ultimately hopeful narrative, where Ruby and co push through disappointment and betrayals and decide every day to continue to hold onto their morals of giving people the benefit of the doubt and offering redemption. What CRWBY did was construct a narrative where it seems like people would be stupid to keep putting their trust in each other, where it seems likely that anyone could be secretly evil next, and where it seems like the protagonists just don't have to adhere to any rules or standards and will be framed as right and congratulated no matter how they act or who they themselves hurt. And then we're told that the show is about trust, and Trust Love, and how your feelings will always lead you in the right direction despite being shown the opposite. I don't get it at all.

I don't feel like RWBY has anything to do with trust anymore.

#rwde #rwby hate #anti rwby #anti team rwby #anti ironwood #pro ironwood #I feel like I need to tag both anti and pro #because I talk about what the show had him become #but I think it's clear I hate it

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ljones41 · 6 years ago

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“DARK PHOENIX” (2019) Review

"DARK PHOENIX" (2019) Review I feel sorry for the old X-MEN Movie Universe. Well . . . almost. For a franchise that began on a high note, it certainly ended with a whimper. At least from a financial point-of-view. And that whimper proved to be the 2019 movie, "DARK PHOENIX".

Actually, "DARK PHOENIX" is not the final film of this franchise. The last film is scheduled to be released in the spring of 2020. As for "DARK PHOENIX", it is the twelfth film associated with the franchise that was associated with the old 20th Century Fox Studios. It is also the second movie in the franchise, after 2005's "X-MEN: THE LAST STAND", to adapt Marvel Comics' 1976-1980 comic book series of the same title. The movie begins in 1975 when nine year-old Jean Grey and her parents get involved in a car accident that leaves her as the sole survivor. Jean's situation eventually attracts the attention of Professor Charles Xavier, who enrolls her as one of his students at the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. The story jumps to 1992, nine years after the events of "X-MEN: APOCALYPSE". Some of Xavier's former students have become the next generation of the X-Men, with Mystique aka Raven as the team's leader in the field and the Professor receiving their glory from the public and media. The U.S. President summons the team to assist NASA into rescuing the space shuttle Endeavour, which is critically damaged by a solar flare-like energy during its mission. While the X-Men save all of the astronauts, Jean is stranded and is struck by the energy, which she absorbs into her body to save the X-Men's aircraft from destruction. Jean survives the event and her psychic powers are greatly amplified by the energy. Her powers become uncontrollable and she later accidentally unleashes her power on the mutants celebrating the success of their mission at Xavier's school. Even worse, Jean's enhanced powers attract the attention of a group of alien shape shifters called the D'Bari, whose home planet had been destroyed by the energy force. They want to use the energy (or Jean) to wipe out Earth's inhabitants and re-shape the planet to resemble their own. Eventually, Jean and the other X-Men learn that Xavier had placed mental walls in Jean's mind as a little girl to protect her psychic mind from experiencing trauma from her childhood accident. Jean's enhanced power destroys the mental walls and the trauma slowly returns, filling her with desire, rage, and pain. Jean then travels to her childhood hometown after finding out that her father is still alive and learned that he abandoned her. Jean recovers her complete memory of the car accident and remembers that her post-traumatic stress disorder had originated with the childhood car accident in which she had inadvertently caused by rendering her mother unconscious at the wheel with her telepathy. When the X-Men arrive to take Jean home but she injures Peter Maximoff aka Quicksilver and accidentally kills Raven aka Mystique before disappearing. And her actions led to the U.S. Army searching for her and willing to imprison other mutants at the government's order. Many X-Men fans and critics had really dumped on this movie when it first hit the theaters. I am not going to examine why this film was so unpopular. I can only discuss how I felt about it. One, it was not an original film. In many ways, "DARK PHOENIX" almost struck me as a remake of the 2006 movie, "THE X-MEN: THE LAST STAND". Or perhaps I should say . . . a remake of the Dark Phoenix story arc, but with slightly different details. I suspect that Kinsberg and the X-Men producers wanted to use the changed timeline from "X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST" as an excuse to re-write the Dark Phoenix story arc from 2006. Personally, I feel it would have been more original of them to completely leave that story arc alone and utilize another narrative for the film. I also found the enhancement of Jean's powers via some alien energy wave not only unoriginal, but unnecessary. Why did Simon Kinberg even thought it was necessary to enhance Jean's powers? She had displayed an uber level of power when she killed En Sabah Nur aka Apocalypse in "X-MEN: APOCALYPSE". I can only assume the solar flare energy situation was created by Kinsberg to introduce the D'Bari. Speaking of the latter, I noticed that their goal to destroy humanity and settle on Earth as its new home bore a strong resemblance to General Zod's plan in 2013's "MAN OF STEEL". Look, I do not mind that Kinsberg had used aliens as the movie's Big Bad for this film. But did he have to recycle a plot from a D.C. Comics movie? Or worse, create this energetic force to enhance Jean Grey's powers, when they really did not require to be enhanced in the first place? I have one last problem - namely the casting of certain actors in this film. "DARK PHOENIX" is set in 1992, thirty years after the setting of "X-MEN: FIRST-CLASS" and nearly fifty years after Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr's World War II experiences. This means both characters should be roughly 60 years old or in their early sixties by now. The Hank McCoy character should be at least in his mid-to-late fifties in this movie. And yet . . . all three characters are portrayed by younger actors. The ages of both James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender ranged from late thirties to early forties around the time of the film's production. Nicholas Hoult, who portrayed Hank, was roughly in his late twenties. If the movie's producers were not willing to hire age appropriate actors for the characters of Xavier, Magneto and McCoy; they could have at least arrange the actors to wear makeup that would reflect their characters' ages. This is just plain sloppiness on so many levels. Despite the film's lack of originality, I must admit that I actually managed to enjoy "DARK PHOENIX". I noticed that Kinsberg's screenplay featured a more in-depth exploration of how Jean's enhanced powers had made an impact on her life and on those in her life. I also enjoyed how the actions of certain characters in regard to Jean had resulted in major consequences for many characters. I found it interesting how Jean found herself isolated by her fellow mutants and a lot of the blame could be tossed at Charles Xavier's feet. He did not use his telepathy to contain her power - especially since he had encouraged her to use it to defeat En Sabah Nur in the 2016 film. Instead, he had used his telepathy to suppress her memories of her parents' death and her emotional reaction to it . . . instead of simply helping her deal with a tragic loss. Xavier had used a short cut. And when the alien energy removed his mental blocks on Jean's mind, tragic consequences followed. Xavier did not pay the consequences of his actions with death, but he did pay a heavy price. Ironically, Erik Lensherr aka Magneto had no interest in exploiting Jean's new powers, as he had done in the 2006 movie. He was more concerned in protecting Genosha, the refugee island for mutants he had founded and demanded that she leave after the U.S. Army appeared. Unfortunately, Magneto's desire to protect those mutants under his leadership transformed into vengeance when he learned about Mystique's death from a grieving Hank McCoy aka Beast. I found it interesting that Hank had never bothered to inform Erik that Mystique's death had been an accident on Jean's part. He was angry at Charles for the latter's handling of Jean and decided to use the latter as a moral scapegoat. And unfortunately, the vengeful actions of both men ended up exacerbating an already dangerous situation. By the time the movie shifted to Manhattan, three forces (including the U.S. Army) were trying to contain, exploit or destroy Jean. Only a fourth group seemed concerned with Jean - namely the X-Men. And for once, Xavier WAS NOT the catalyst for the team's attempt to rescue Jean. Her fellow team members - led by Scott Summers aka Cyclops and Ororo Munroe aka Storm - led this endeavor. If I must be honest, most of the film's visual effects did not blow my mind. At best, I found them serviceable. I could also say the same about Mauro Fiore's cinematography. However, there was one particular sequence in which the film's visuals and Fiore's photography really blew my mind. It involved the major clash that eventually evolved between the X-Men, the mutants under Erik Lensherr and Hank McCoy, the U.S. Army and the D'Bari. I have become increasingly weary of final action sequences shot at night over the past decade, thanks to the second "LORD OF THE RINGS" movie. I must say that I was more impressed by Fiore and the visual team's work in this particular sequence, which began on the streets of Manhattan and ended on a train headed out of the city. And their work was more than ably supported by excellent editing from Lee Smith. I certainly had no problems with the performances featured in "DARK PHOENIX". The movie featured solid performances from the likes of Evan Peters, Kodi Smit Mc-Phee, Ato Essandoh and Brian D'Arcy James. Another solid performance came from Michael Fassbender, whose portrayal of Erik Lensherr struck me as skillful, but not particularly memorable. I do not think Kinsberg's screenplay gave the actor something new or unusual to work with. At first, it seemed as if Alexandra Shipp was doomed to endure another movie in which her character, Ororo Munroe aka Storm, nearly became a background character. Thankfully, the movie's second half gave Shipp an opportunity to convey Storm's resilient nature with more dialogue and action scenes. I especially enjoyed that moment when Storm and Cyclops made it clear to Xavier their determination to help Jean. Vuk proved to be the second time I have ever seen Jessica Chastain portray a villain. And I thought she gave an interesting and slightly . . . bizarre performance as the D'Bari's manipulative leader, who seemed focused on seducing Jean for the latter's powers. Nicholas Hoult surprised me by his skillful portrayal of the uglier side of Hank McCoy's nature. This was especially apparent in scenes that reflected McCoy's desire to avenge Mystique's death. Speaking of the latter, Jennifer Lawrence's appearance barely spanned half of the movie. I thought she gave a solid performance. But there was one scene in which she truly impressed me. It featured Mystique's sardonic rant against Xavier for using the X-Men as his personal publicity campaign. I was more impressed by Tye Sheridan's portrayal of Scott Summers aka Cyclops in this film than I was in the 2016 movie. Sheridan's Cyclops became a more mature and determined personality. That maturity was expressed in Scott's continuing love for Jean and his determination to help her as much as possible. I think "DARK PHOENIX" marked the first time I can truly recall Charles Xavier being portrayed in a negative light . . . and I enjoyed it. This has nothing to do with any dislike of Xavier. But I cannot deny that I found James McAvoy's portrayal of his character very interesting . . . and new. What I really found interesting is that Xavier's uglier side was not briefly manifested in the revelation of the telepathic blocks he had placed in Jean's head. That revelation only deepened Xavier's arrogance and blindness. But audiences first saw signs of these traits, thanks to his argument with Mystique over his exploitation of the X-Men team for personal glory. Some of the franchise's fans felt that Sophie Turner was not up to portraying the "Dark Phoenix" aspect of Jean Grey's character. I suppose they were expecting a re-play of Famke Janssen's portrayal. Even if they were not, I still managed to enjoy Turner's performance. The main reason why I did was because Turner did not try to repeat the older actress' performance. Thanks to Kinsberg's script, Turner was able to put a different spin of Jean's evolution into the Dark Phoenix . . . one that did not paint her as villainous. I also felt that Turner did an excellent job of conveying how Xavier's mental blocks had led Jean to experience post traumatic stress (PST) and loss of control of her powers. I cannot explain why "DARK PHOENIX" proved to be a box office failure. And if I must be honest, I am not interested in expressing my opinion on this topic. The movie was not perfect. And frankly, I wonder if it was a good idea to use the shifted timeline from "X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST" as an excuse to create a new version of the Dark Phoenix story arc. But I cannot deny that I enjoyed the movie. I thought Kinsberg had created a solid piece of cinematic entertainment with a screenplay that did not become a convoluted mess and first-rate performances from a cast led by James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Sophie Turner.

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aspoonofsugar · 7 years ago

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I was thinking about AOT and the first chapter: Eren was crying, probably about what he experienced or will experience before the story ends and the memories will be stored in the attacking titan. That's how Kruger knew about saving Armin and Mikasa before it even happened. However in Eren's dream there is also a moment with possibly Mikasa saying "see you later Eren". I know people disagree on which Eren it's about (Kruger or Jaeger) but actually I was thinking that since (1/2)

it’s the only memory he gets from that dream, maybe it’s a sign that eremika is really going to be plot relevant. Why would he remember Mikasa in particular (and not Armin for example), assuming these memories were really about him and Mikasa? I’m so sorry if this doesn’t make a lot of sense, I love your snk posts so I wanted your opinion. Have a great weekend!

Hello anon! I am happy you enjoy my posts! And don’t worry, your ask makes sense, but since my answer is gonna be pretty long I’ll break it into two parts:

1) Firstly I will address the scene you mentioned and some theories about it.

2) Then I will talk a little bit of Eremika.

1) I agree with you that this scene

and this scene

are both linked to a common plot point which has to do with some worldbuilding elements like the paths among Eldians, the origin of the Founding Titan, the Attack Titan and the truth about Ymir. Until these details remain unknown it is difficult to come up with a perfect explanation for these panels.

You mentioned two theories in your ask:

a) The girl Eren sees in the beginning is Mikasa.

In this case Eren is definately seeing his future and probably him separating from Mikasa since the girl’s words sound like a goodbye. If it’s so then we are inside a time paradox. I have seen people reading the time paradox as a negative loop i.e. a situation where our characters keep struggling, but are never able to overcome tragedy and so Eren keeps living again and again the same experiences in the hope of finally breaking the cycle. People who believe in this theory seem to think that we will either get a bad ending (so the end will be like the beginning with Eren waking up under the tree and the story starting once again without a solution) or, alternatively, we may have an ending where the cycle is finally broken and our characters are finally free to go on and to create a new world.

I would like to propose an alternative (definately crack) theory: the time paradox may actually be a “virtuous” loop i.e. the events we assisted, despite their violence and sadness, are actually necessary to arrive to a positive ending and Eren’s final decision will be to actually accept everything that happened to him and to “send his will back in time” to influence the past events and to be sure that everything goes as it is supposed to go (i.e. as we have seen in the series). Basically I am proposing a time paradox like the one we get in the third book of Harry Potter where the characters going back in time and interfering with the past don’t actually change it, but are used to explain details the protagonists saw the first time and couldn’t understand (like the person saving Harry from the Dementors who turned out to be Harry himself).

Thematically it would be interesting for Eren’s character because he, despite fighting for freedom, is a character who has been enslaved since when his father gave him the titan power. He didn’t choose to become the Attack Titan, so in a sense he has been negated freedom since the very beginning because he isn’t given the chance to personally make that very first choice which kicked off the whole plot. For him to eventually accept what happened and to influence past events so that things go exactly as they went in order to ensure a positive outcome would be a nice touch imo. It would make the whole story a consequence of Eren’s choice and he would regain the agency Grisha took away from him back then.

b) The girl Eren sees is actually a girl important for Eren Kruger.

This theory has its own good points. First of all it’s obvious that Isayama wants us to associate Eren to Kruger:

The fact that Eren used the name Kruger as his alias in Marley and their two designs as children being similar, not to count them having the same name, are all details meant to draw the reader’s attention to the connection between these two characters. If so then we can assume that this connection will be important both thematically (meaning that Eren and Kruger will be characters made to compare and contrast each other) and plot-wise. If their link is relevant plot-wise then it may not be too far-fetched to imagine that, because of some unknown worldbuilding elements (aka Eldian paths or something), the two of them share a special mental connection. This unique mental connection may explain why Kruger mentioned Mikasa and Armin despite not knowing them and why Eren got to see one of Kruger’s memories despite having still to receive the Attack Titan.

Even if this theory were correct, though, this wouldn’t change the fact that the scene Eren saw may be relevant to Eremika:

After all it’s Eren himself who associates the girl to Mikasa and this means that, in the case the girl is someone important to Eren Kruger, their relationship will most likely foil Eremika and this girl may become a parallel to Mikasa like Kruger is to Eren.

In short there is no doubt that the scene in chapter one will be, one way or another, relevant to Eremika and that Eren and Mikasa’s relationship will be (and already is) relevant for the story.

Now I’ll try to answer the second part of your ask.

2) I think that the most interesting thing of Eremika as a ship is that it has been set up to be solved only when Mikasa is able to make herself independent from Eren instead than when the two characters come together:

It’s interesting that we get to see this scene from Mikasa’s POV because we can contrast it with the dream Eren had. At the beginning of the series we have Mikasa looking at Eren with adoration and at the same time we have Eren having a vision of a girl he associates with Mikasa saying goodbye to him. It may very well have been an effective representation of Mikasa’s arc in a nutshell: the very beginning against the very end.

The root of Mikasa’s character is that she is a child who lost her family and who is terrified from the prospective of losing it again and to remain alone:

When she sees both her parents die she doesn’t even have the instinct to run for her life and lets herself get caught without opposing resistance because she has no idea how to live without her family. Then Eren comes into the scene and Mikasa clings to him:

Mikasa’s clinging to Eren becomes even worse after she loses her adoptive family. Let’s also notice that for her to help Eren out was also Carla’s last wish:

It is because of all these circumstances that we see her doing things like this in the beginning:

However, the narrative keeps challenging her on this aspect to the point that I wouldn’t be surprised if, by rereading Mikasa’s arc at the end of the series, it would turn out that the whole story was preparing her to say goodbye to Eren (and possibly to Armin):

After all Mikasa has been now tricked twice into thinking that she was losing a member of the costitutive group representative of her happy childhood. To me these two occurrences seemed rehearsals to what will be Mikasa’s final trial. Moreover, she is even told that both Armin and Eren won’t live long:

It’s as if the narrative is warning her that she has to move on and to become more independent because one’s life isn’t reduced to the family nucleus one is born in, but a person can forge new relationships and find warmth and happiness even outside it.

In short Mikasa’s story starts with her being totally unable to face a traumatic loss and it is possible that it will end with her having become strong enough to actually let go. It would be a beautiful way to end her arc imo because it would tie it back to her original trauma (her family being killed) and would solve it together with her relationship with Eren who firstly taught her that she could keep on living even without her loved ones.

What about Eren?

It seems to me that Eren is ironically doing to his friends what Mikasa did to him in the beginning:

Mikasa in the beginning was constantly trying to protect Eren to the point of objectifying him to an extent and of trying to control him. Now, in the last chapter we have seen how protecting the people he cares about is still a pretty strong motivation of Eren’s character:

However, he is doing it by dismissing their opinions and their feelings and by isolating himself in the process:

It’s interesting that we see Eren in front of a mirror this chapter because the place each one of EMA is at tells us something about their current state of mind.

So we have Armin in front of an enemy trying to communicate without receiving any answer exactly like any chance of dialogue with Marley has now been lost:

Then we have Mikasa who is at Sasha’s grave, but isn’t actually looking at it (she is behind the grave and not in front of it) as if she couldn’t force herself to truly face the consequences of what Eren did:

She touches her scarf instead and repeats Eren’s mantra despite Sasha’s death basically proving it wrong. They won. Sasha still died.

Finally we have Eren alone, in front of a mirror:

He isn’t seeing neither his enemies (like Armin) nor his comrades (like Mikasa), but is seeing only himself. Again, I don’t mean that he doesn’t care about others, he does, but he has assumed a self-centred prospective: he wants to protect his friends and family and will fight against whoever wants to hurt them disreguarding both who they are and what his loved ones think about the matter.

Back in Trost Mikasa was so desperate to protect Eren that she would have disreguarded her duty as a soldier in order to keep him safe and would have indirectly sacrificed others’ lives she could have saved with her strength for this reason.

In that situation it was Eren himself who woke Mikasa up and urged her to do the right thing. Now I think Eren needs a headbutt as well and it might be Mikasa the one to deliver it (since I think Armin will leave the other two). However, she will be able to do so only if she is ready to actually enter into an open conflict with Eren.

I don’t know if I was of any help! Thank you for the ask and sorry I took a while to answer it! And have a great week!

#snk #snk meta #mikasa ackerman #eren jaeger #eremika #shinjeki no kyojin #asksfullofsugar #anonymous #my meta

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chisimage · 5 years ago

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Unresolved Veterans’ Nostalgia — Anti-communist Martyrs of the Korean War

Author / Chi Chu

Due to the influence of Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, Pierre Bourdieu, David Der-Wei Wang, there has been an attempt to understand how the traumatic experiences of the turmoil of war in China. The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945), the Chinese Civil War (1945–1950) and the Korean War (1950–1953) were the most turbulent and chaotic in Chinese history. They caused large-scale family relocation, abandonment of homes, unexpected sacrifices and trauma for many people. On 23 January 1954, more than 14,000 prisoners of war (POWs), who were members of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army and had engaged in the Korean War, decided to be repatriated to Taiwan (ROC) instead of China (PROC) and were subsequently called ‘anti-communist martyrs’ after the war. They were marked with various ‘anti-communist’ tattoos on their bodies (Picture 1) and KMT emblems as part of swearing allegiance to the Republic of China (ROC) and their determination to pursue freedom (Huang 2016). In order to ensure the identity of POWs, their lives have been dominated by political propaganda and post-traumatic stress. Therefore, this essay will discuss, firstly, how the bodies of POWs from the Korean War became a boundary of home. Secondly, the essay will evaluate how trauma has affected their behaviour by using several individual cases and the Hebei Taipei documentary.

Due to the changes in modern war patterns, famine, and changes in the social structure, wars continue to migrate, and there never seems to be an end. Bourdieu (1993) in The Weight of the World: Social Suffering in Contemporary Society uses the term’ social suffering’ to understand the situation in natural and human-made disasters. This means that people have suffered damage to the social structure and experienced ‘La Misère du monde’. Lary (2010) in Chinese People at War: Human Suffering and Social Transformation finds that for many Chinese people the wars meant separation because family members fled and young men joined the army or fought as guerrillas. Accordingly, this kind of separation is abrupt and has no signs to follow, no deadlines, no plans, and it happens naturally. The anti-communist martyrs, who are called the ‘Exiled People’s Volunteer Army in Taiwan’ by China, have lived in the shadow of the war and the trauma of their country’ s/family’s ruin. Their collective memory may be enforced to fix in official history. However, there are some differences (Huang 2016: 148). Their destiny was the product and tool of international political relations during the unset political period. They were between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party. Identity only obeys and loses human rights. It means that the state apparatus manipulated their identities. Moreover, their tattoos are examples of the domestication and discipline of the identity of the nation-state.

A well-known photograph printed by Life magazine depicts the arrival of the anti-communist martyrs in Taiwan after the Korean War on 23 January 1954 (Picture 1). Compared to the life experiences of anti-communist martyrs as POWs or tools of propaganda, the image is particularly ironic. In that period, due to the political situation between China (PROC) and Taiwan (ROC), people were taught to obey the nation-state, and bring down all communists (Chang 2018). In an era in which ‘homogeneity’ was emphasised, in order to consolidate the centripetal force of the country, the government established the ideology of ‘the enemies are not incompatible’ in people’s thoughts. Consequently, discipline created a tamed and trained body, and people became ‘submissive’. Sartre (1934) in Being and Nothingness describes three types of being for the human being. One is being-for-others, which means that people notice others observe and judge the beings of self. It means that people pretend and lose themselves in order to live in groups. Therefore, the oral content of the prisoners of war may be not authentic due to an attempt to hide their traumatic experiences. Nevertheless, memories of home can still be found in their words. The deceased anti-communist martyr Zhang (2014) always verbally stated that ‘Taiwanese are Chinese. Chinese are Taiwanese.’ His talking is a significant presence in unrooted identity. A documentary about anti-communist martyrs, Hebei Taipei, presents the resigned life experience and reluctance of anti-communist martyrs. The protagonist of this documentary, Li, said, ‘It was fate who chose me.’ The documentary shows that this is a typical feeling for anti-communist martyrs.

As Hartman (2008:2) states, the archive is a ‘death sentence, a tomb, a display of the violated body, an inventory of property, a medical treatise on gonorrhoea, a few lines about a whore’s life, an asterisk in the grand narrative of history’. Therefore, in the official historical narrative, it is necessary to think repeatedly about the complex text of the anti-communist martyrs of the Korean War. There are several records and books relating to the narratives of the anti-communist martyrs, such as Chou (2005) History of the Korean War and Anti-communist Martyrs, Halberstam (2008) The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War, Li (2015) Hebei Taipei. After the end of the Korean War, some of the Chinese POWs, who used to be KMT troops, were later forced to join the People’s Liberation Army and others became loyal to the Communist Party. After the POWs arrived in Taiwan, most of them became involved in the army and built cross-roads as workers in Taiwan. Even though they are the anti-communist symbols, they are not trusted by the government and are closely monitored due to their sensitive political status. Their strong local accents and individual military identity made it difficult for them to integrate into Taiwanese society, and their hometowns were isolated on the opposite side of Taiwan’s ideology. This history is influenced by political ideology, causing individual anti-communist martyrs to feel isolated, and as a consequence, they start to seek identity to rely on. At the junction of death and separation, scars and imprints are not only imprinted on the body but also inscribed in the mentality. It means that the imprint inscribed on the body expresses another symbol of social culture via the medium of memory, presenting the experiences and reaction of oneself inside and outside. Since 1988, anti-communist martyrs have been allowed to visit relatives in China. However, these anti-communist martyrs, which symbolise the ‘anti-communist’, seem to be incompatible with visiting China because of the intangible opposite political positions. Some martyrs are concerned that the tattoos may attract political persecution from the CCP regime. Therefore, before returning to their hometowns, they must cover tattoos or undergo skin suture operations, especially to hide those words that are abusive and critical of the CCP, as well as the national flag of the ROC, which must be hidden. Hence, by the times, the dichotomy ideologies of ‘the enemies are incompatible’ seems to end. The political signs profound in the body, whether with consent or not, must also be changed, from faded to clear vague, like their embarrassing identity as ‘anti-communist martyrs’ (Chang 2018).

As mentioned above, the uncertain status of home and unrooted emotions dominate the thoughts and behaviours of anti-communist martyrs. In the documentary Hebei Taipei, Li repeated the same story, one about the changes and ruin of his family and individual life because of the wars. The documentary reveals the truth behind the official historical discourse, which is based on the concept of narratives -‘Who am I? Where am I?’. Through this kind of documentary, it is able to present the individual experiences and memories. As Hartman (2008:12) states, ‘it is a history of an unrecoverable past, a narrative of what might have been or could have been, and a history written with and against the archive’. The protagonist, Li, talks about death: the death of his parents and his death. Li says, ‘If you do not like yourself, who will like you?’(Huang, X. 2016) Hence, he liked himself when playing with toys and has a particular habit (dressing up as a woman). It is a kind of healing process for Li to cover the deep wounds from wars and life experiences. In addition, Li cursed all the time to release his stress. His daily hobbies are to drink and watch pornography. The lonely man needs inflatable dolls to sleep with and has posters of naked women on the wall next to his bed. He dresses as a woman, which seems to be his happiest time, and even builds tombs with his first and last names written squarely with red paint because he bears too much misery in his life and hopes to have a stable place after death.

About Li’s dressing behaviour, the director of Hebei Taipei, Li Nyssa (2016; Cited in TFF), has personally states that Li lives in an era of shortage of supplies. Therefore, Li feels wasteful about a lot of beautiful things, and he must pick it up. Moreover, Li seemed to be ageing about himself and was not very satisfied with his appearance. Also, his tattoos are related to anti-communism and symbolise the consciousness of a nation-state. Hence, as mentioned above, perhaps, when Li puts on these glamorous costumes, he can forget the memories symbolised by the tattoos and escape from the distressing impression he has. Accordingly, he is no longer a homeless veteran but a happy and’ beautiful child. This behaviour as a resistance attempts to reverse or cover the cruel factual and individual experience. It tends to link to the concept of queerness. Tinsley (2008:199) states, ‘queerness is not apparently a gay or same-sex loving identity, however, as a tangible of resistance. Queer apparently make disturbance to the violence of normative order potently’. Also, Bahng (2018:6) states, ‘speculative fiction allows us to think against the grain of normativity, to challenge the naturalisation of certain orientations and ways of being.’ It means that queerness attempts to generate a reflection and resistance about ‘normal’. Hence, Li always wears women’s clothing and laughs because he has temporarily got rid of his homesickness and cut off the mark and ideology of national consciousness. Furthermore, the cross-dressing becomes a resistance against political patriarchy and reflect the masculinity of soldiers.

Overall, through the cases mentioned above, official historical discourses cover individual life experiences and traumas. Those anti-communist martyrs have been dominated, manipulated and colonised by the state apparatus. As Fanon (1967: 128) stated in A Dying Colonialism, ‘all this gnawing at the existence of the colonised tends to make of life something resembling an incomplete death’. It means that anti-communist martyrs have no sovereignty itself, not to mention ‘to define life as the deployment and manifestation of power’ (Mbembe 2005, cited in Beriant 2007: 755) because their individual identity, ideology and behaviours are dominated by a nation-state. The diversity of social forms of migrations thus gave way to a progressive homogenization. Diversity either disappeared or transformed itself. The anti-communist martyrs have started to heal themselves through particular behaviours such as Li’s. ‘Often people who are dominated resisted and reconstructed itself.’ (Bouteldja 2017). Furthermore, individual remembrance is more real than history because history is more like a fabrication (Le Goff 2010:2). It means that remembrance depends on the processing of memory, and history is an arrangement of the past. History is the past, the present, the enemy of truth, and the product of conscious political manipulation. Consequently, like the anti-communist martyrs’ case, ‘People first tell stories to testify, leave traces, and give a form of life to survive‘ (Stewart 1996: 58). Reflections are necessary to reframe normative society through individual life experiences.

Picture 1 anti-communist Martyrs with tattoos (CommonWealth Magazine 2018).

Picture 2 The welcoming scene for anti-communist Martyrs of Korean War on Jan. 23 in 1954 in Taiwan. Photo by :Joseph Scherschel (1954 ; Cited in Zhang 2014)

Reference

Bahng, A. (2018). Migrant Futures: Decolonizing Speculation in Financial Times. Durham: Duke University Press.

Berlant. L. (2007). Slow Death (Sovereignty, Obesity, Lateral Agency). Critical Inquiry, 33(4), 754–780.

Bourdieu, P. (1993), La misère du monde. Paris: Editions de seuil; Translated by P. Ferguson (1999), The Weight of the world: Social Suffering in Contemporary Society. Palo Alto CA: Stanford University Press.

Bouteldja, H. (2017). We, Indigenous Women. E-Flux, 84. <https://www.e-flux.com/journal/84/151312/we-indigenous-women/>

Chang, M.-L. The Tattoos Resurrecting Taiwan’s Forgotten War Kout [In Chinese].< https://www.twreporter.org/a/photo-go-photo-communication-2>.

Chou, H-H, ed. (2005). History of the Korean War and Anti-communist Martyrs (I) [In Chinese]. Taiwan: Academia Historia Office.

CommonWealth Magazine (2018). anti-communist Martyrs with tattoos [In Chinese]. <https://www.facebook.com/cwgroup/photos/a.162499326929/10155436321821930/?type=3&theater>.

Fanon, F. (1967). A Dying Colonialism. NY: Grove Press.

Halberstam, D. (2008). The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War. US: Hachette Books.

Hartman, S. (2008). Venus in two acts. Small Axe 26, 2–14.

Huang, C-F. (2016). War, Existence, and Generational Spirit: A Study of the Writing of the Situation of Taiwan Modernist Novels [In Chinese]. Taipei: Showwe.

Huang, X. Unsolved Veterans’ Nostalgia- Hebei Taipei [In Chinese]. Funscreen, 581. <http://www.funscreen.com.tw/review.asp?RV_id=2072>.

Lary, D. (2010). Chinese People at War: Human Suffering and Social Transformation. UK: Cambridge University Press.

Le Goff, J. (2010). History and Memory. In R.-J., Fang & F.-S., Ni (trans.). Beijing: Renmin University of China.

Li, N. (2015). Hebei Taipei. < https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4842868/>.

TFF (2016). 20160709 Hebei Taipei — Screen Discussion [In Chinese]. <http://taipeiff2016.pixnet.net/blog/post/151497971-20160709taipei>

Tinsley, O. N. (2008). BLACK ATLANTIC, QUEER ATLANTIC: Queer Imaginings of the Middle Passage. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 14 (2–3), 191–215.

Zhang, Z.-S. (2014). The welcoming scene for anti-communist Martyrs of Korean War on Jan. 23 in 1954 in Taiwan [In Chinese]. <https://www.facebook.com/ZhangZheSheng/photos/a.10151511331044531/10151965572689531/?type=3&theater>.

#migration #essay #korean war #martyrs #veterans #nostalgia

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spookywhipped · 8 years ago

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As stated in a prior post’s tags, I apologize in advance for the length --- I will NOT be putting this under a read more because… Fam, I’ve been waiting to make this post for literal months. Everything written here was accumulated months ago in my Mental Memory Bank, and expanded upon once the game came out and I could see ACTUAL CONFIRMATION that my theories were correct like holy shit. Thanks for understanding !!

Ann was, from the get-go, the perfect target ( and you have no idea how much it pains me to say this about My Girl ). She’s always been isolated socially, her only friend being Suzui Shiho --- another girl and member of the volleyball team that Kamoshida was already abusing physically. She had already been the target of rumors prior to Kamoshida thanks to her American looks, and thus had little to no support system at the Academy. It left her somewhat dependent on her relationship with her best friend, someone she’d do anything for, and he was completely aware of that fact. It was no doubt fairly easy to convince her that her friend’s starting position was on the line, and regardless, Ann was in literally no position to outright refuse someone who held such sway over the Academy. She had no support system at home, either, which only left her more susceptible ( and an even better target if he were aware of this, although he makes it clear he’s never been concerned about the volleyball parents saying anything at the very least ) ; her parents would be abroad the entire year at least. Honestly, though, even if they were in her life every day of that year it’s doubtful Ann would have come to them with any of her issues --- having been raised as a ‘strong girl’ that could handle herself in her parents’ stead, it’s a mentality that becomes ingrained in one’s very being. In her mind, the ONLY way to face this entire ordeal was alone; between her best friend missing out on what was believed to be her dream or angering the coach enough to have him force her out of the Academy ( in which case she really WOULD have to deal with her parents ), there was no foreseeable alternative.

This understandably did a huge number on her behavior. Ann is not inherently an introverted person, but she DOES have a tendency to draw inward when something affects her or bothers her in some way. Her personality would have undergone a drastic change, and this is made somewhat clear by her very first interaction with the protagonist. She offers him an idle smile, but otherwise her body language suggests she’s exceedingly uncomfortable --- hands deep in her pockets, gaze focused downward, head also tilted downward to avoid extra eye contact. It’s difficult to say whether this behavior was directly related to the protagonist or more due to the impending introduction of Kamoshida, but when he pulls up to offer a ride, it seems more spontaneous and opportunistic than anything. Thus, we can assume this is the sort of body language Ann typically offers --- and further sightings of her early on seem to confirm this. No matter where she is, she seems utterly uncomfortable and even exhausted, often angry; this is particularly evident when she sits on the sidelines during the volleyball rally, which is obviously Kamoshida’s domain. You can overhear rumors about Ann almost immediately, even referred to offhandedly as ‘ Kamoshida’s bitch , ’ and with what we know about the function of gossip in the game I highly doubt they simply stopped talking whenever she was around. This is problematic on its own, as no one shows any particular concern from a legal standpoint about their supposed relationship --- not even the adults that would be in a position to know or overhear --- which just goes to show how much of a pull he really had in this Academy, an integral facet to its sterling reputation. As is the case in many situations like these, it only serves to isolate the victim further --- giving them the perception that they really, truly have no one to turn to, much less anyone that might care in the first place. Their world starts to become that person. Think about it: in high school, that’s easily a seven-hour day. Much of your daily routine is spent there, and aside from her modeling, I find it doubtful Ann did much else besides go to school, come back home, and try to hold off Kamoshida and their ‘’’’relationship’’’’. Her daily life pretty much revolved around this ordeal, I mean… Do you have any idea how exhausting that can be to a person ?

Nothing hurts me more than when the protagonist chases Ann down in Shibuya. You could practically feel her rising panic, her despair after getting off the phone with Kamoshida. This was very clearly a scared teenage girl who felt she had run out of options. Just trying to imagine where she would be had the protagonist not found her and caused her to break down is difficult to even think about; knowing Ann at that point in the story, I consider it highly likely she would have ultimately gone through with it. Maybe not that day, maybe not tomorrow, but she would have eventually run out of excuses and would have been absolutely terrified of the consequences. The entire scene --- from chasing her down to sitting with her at the restaurant --- does an incredible job of making it clear just how devastating her situation is to her. Whether you know it to be true or not, it remains true that as far as Ann knew , her situation was as hopeless as it gets. Again, that panic was so damn real; she was so overwhelmed, and it was all over her face.

I won’t be writing about it in this particular post because it’s going to be incredibly long as is, but I want to make a note here that Ann was still never completely submissive. That’s definitely not what I’m saying here. It was clear in that same exact cutscene that she felt a great deal of anger over her situation, both in the way her finger repeatedly jabbed at the napkin and in her inflection and tone of voice. During the volleyball rally she looked about ready to kill someone, and the harsh murmur of ‘ LIES ’ when the protagonist first walks past her --- it all points to the fact that she is still very much attempting to fight her situation, or at the very least is still completely opposed to it. In her awakening scene, that anger didn’t just POP UP --- it had been seething under the surface for quite some time, even though she generally appeared calm and even meek in most interactions with Ryuji or the protagonist at school prior. What I am saying, however, is she never fully utilized that anger because she never sensed an opportunity; what I am saying is that any individual could only take her situation for so long before submitting in some way , exhausted and nerves beyond shot from the stress alone.

The effect this all has on her does not stop when Kamoshida himself is stopped. If anything, it only amplifies in the wake of her trauma --- because, yes, it was still a trauma. In fact, this distinction is something Ann herself fails to grasp. In her eyes, she got off easy ; in her eyes, she has no right to feel the way she feels or talk about her trauma because the entire volleyball team alone had to suffer through far worse. Not only that, but Shiho was the ‘real’ victim in all this --- a victim whose circumstances Ann only exacerbated. Keep in mind that for all her wisdom, for all her empathy for others, Ann is her harshest critic AND is still only sixteen in a society that does not exactly endorse conversations about trauma or mental health ; to Ann, because he never beat her or assaulted her, she in fact did not suffer ‘enough’ to be traumatized. I consider it exceedingly unlikely that her feelings and experiences are often brought up by her in conversation. As mentioned prior, the mentality that she must be ‘strong’ and turn inward has been ingrained in her since childhood --- and not only is that unlikely to change despite her new group of friends, but Kamoshida likely exacerbated that.

The only hints we really get to Ann’s current mental state are indirect, shown rather than told. The most obvious of these hints would be in her IMs in the wake of the accident. Since A//tlus is taking down most videos, I’ve been a little hard-pressed in hunting down an example/direct text, but I can easily sum it up: in essence, while Ann is incredibly grateful and relieved to have been able to have done something about Kamoshida, she still feels it is not enough . She feels directly responsible , and even lumps herself in with the adults who knew and did nothing --- although, as the protagonist has the option to point out, she didn’t know. Although she sincerely thanks both the protagonist and Ryuji, she still seems convinced she didn’t do nearly enough. Her guilt becomes especially evident --- and is even explicitly stated by Ann later in a heart-to-heart --- in her early interactions with Makoto. In the student council president she sees an uncomfortable reflection of herself; she sees someone that had been in a position to speak up, to do something --- anything --- but didn’t. Her harsh treatment is a direct result of how she actually feels about herself , disgusted at what she perceives to be her role in Kamoshida’s abuse.

While she would never admit it, and while the entire volleyball team’s suffering alone causes her guilt, the brunt of her guilt is thanks in large part to what his shadow declared in the Palace: had she just given him what he wanted, he wouldn’t have had Shiho ‘take her place’. I would like to add briefly that this is not my way of trying to say that what happened to Shiho revolves strictly around Ann, or that Ann and her trauma is in any way ‘worse’ or ‘larger’ than Shiho’s. Trauma does not work that way . What I can tell you, however, is that I myself am someone who has had to wrestle with similar guilt --- with knowing that I could have possibly protected a family member from suffering the same trauma that I have with the same abuser, but in refusing to speak up, only made our abuser more confident and enabled him to repeat the cycle of abuse. Ann is without a doubt suffering from the same level of guilt, and it’s the sort of burden that one may never shake ; it eats away at a person easily, because they’re generally too ashamed of themselves --- both for their perceived role and for making someone else’s ordeal ‘about them’ in their mind --- to say anything about their feelings to anyone. You can tell them they’re not at fault a hundred times over and it won’t ever ring true to them; it’s something they have to accept and move on from on their own , and I personally believe Ann currently lacks the tools to do so. This would leave her prone to occasional bouts of seemingly irrational anger, wherein the target is actually herself despite her lashing out --- and although certain circumstances cause the entire group to be irate with Makoto, Ann’s is undeniably much more personal, and it’s thanks to her own self-loathing. Although she is the first to say Kamoshida is the one to blame, and she remarks that it took a long time before she could accept this, I strongly believe she is still wrestling with that guilt --- but also wants to make amends with Makoto. I do think, on a more positive note, that being involved with the Thieves is aiding her progress.

Although Ann does not, in my opinion, have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, I do think she has some hints of post-traumatic stress --- which is a normal response that most people have to a traumatic event. She does suffer from nightmares, and often ( although I may be reaching here, when you hang out with her at the planetarium, she remarks that the day leaves such an impact on her that ‘I think I’ll have good dreams tonight,’ and it makes my heart hurt y’all… The clues are there , okay… ); she does sometimes get sudden sweats or heart palpitations with seemingly no cause; she does suffer changes in sleep patterns, and she does have a tendency to be easily startled by sudden noises or touches whereas she wouldn’t have before. One major result of the ordeal with Kamoshida is a HEIGHTENED SENSE OF AWARENESS . What this means is that she has a tendency to be suspicious or even paranoid of certain people or situations --- for example, she now walks with her house keys gripped tightly between her knuckles in case someone approaches her. It’s a really devastating experience, in all honesty, for someone who tries so hard to see the good in everyone and everything --- or at the very least, understand them --- to now be scared to walk home at night, and be prone to preconceived judgments of people that approach her ( which is an ordeal in itself considering she lives in Shibuya of all fucking places ). It’s part of why being Panther is so important to her, because it’s much like shedding her usual skin and identity and allows her to feel in complete control of any situation . As Panther, she has nothing to fear because she IS the threat; as Panther, she’s never defenseless or alone; as Panther, she never has to submit to ANYONE ever again.

#finally......#you know despite this length i'm still sure i missed some things i wanted to talk about #OH WELL..... i'll make them into individual posts if i remember tem #***them #just......take this #this is almost 3000 words i want death #I TOLD YALL I HAD A HUGE WALL OF TEXT ON THIS SUBJECT SINCE FUCKING MONTHS AGO #DID I GHOST WRITE THIS SHIT ? ⟨ HC. ⟩

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nc222358 · 5 years ago

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Covid Research

Copy paste dump:

Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental well-being amongst individuals in society- A letter to the editor on “The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic: A revie Post-Traumatic Growth and COVID

Understanding the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on wellbeing and mental health.

A research team from the Bordeaux Population Health research center (INSERM & University of Bordeaux) in association with the health company Kappa Santé, recently launched CONFINS, a major study into the effects of the SARS-CoV2 coronavirus pandemic and lockdown on the well-being and mental health of the population. Discover this study thanks to an interview with Christophe Tzourio, Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Bordeaux Population Health center.

Certain experts even evoke the notion of a second epidemic of psychological disorders for which we are little prepared. This is especially true given that the end of lockdown will probably be disappointing for those who are hoping to go back to life as it was before the pandemic”, suggests Christophe Tzourio, epidemiologist and director of the Bordeaux Population Health center (BPH) and head of the i-Share cohort on student health.

“It is clear that the student population, which already has high levels of stress and depression (20% to 30% of students according to i-Share study data), was impacted by this situation, facing isolation, loss of income, difficult lockdown living conditions, and concerns over their exams and professional future, etc. Certain students are reluctant to seek help.

CONFINS Created two surveys throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and collected results from roughly 2,500 people. The servery questions ranged from general well being (how are you feeling today? How has this week made you feel?) to more specific questions regarding topics like vaccines (if a vaccine was created would you opt for it? How do you think the pandemic is developing?) etc.

They plan to continue this research over the next few years and analyse the long term effects Covid 19 has had on people’s well being and state of mind.

https://www.u-bordeaux.com/News/Understanding-the-impact-of-the-COVID-19-pandemic-on-well-being-and-mental-health

Social interaction has been widely interlinked with psychological well-being, social opportunities and employment; thereby restriction of these measures are suggested to be profoundly distressing to those experiencing strict isolation. Previous epidemics have induced widespread fear, loneliness and psychological sequelae; COVID-19 is inducing similar effects. It has been reported that over 4000 arrests for domestic abuse offences have been made in the United Kingdom (UK) since the 9th of March, equating to roughly 100 a day; highlighting the potentially fatal impact of social isolation policies. The rise in domestic abuse cases are alarming and bring to light concerns surrounding the collateral psychological and mental health impacts of social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the high demand for emergency funding, many self-employed individuals are resorting to short-term bank loans to maintain lines of income. Those in low-paid, self-employed or insecure occupations experience the greatest impact due to loss of work or the temporary closure of their business. There have been reports of heightened feelings of anxiety and depression, with some fearful of post-lockdown anxiety and paranoia; the largest stressor being an overarching feeling of loss (loss of income, routine or social interaction). Other at-risk groups include children and students who have experienced closure of schools and/or universities causing significant disruption to daily routines, with factors such as exam postponement, accommodation expulsion and graduation cancellations contributing. Furthermore, there has been a significant detrimental impact to those suffering from ongoing mental health conditions, due to decreased access to support and resources

A recent survey from YouGov, an international journal, involving 996 healthcare workers in the UK, for the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), saw 50% of them admitting to being in a deteriorating mental state, with further questioning highlighting 21% of healthcare staff being more likely to quit as a consequence to the COVID-19 outbreak.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7198428/

Covid 19 could cause a mental health crisis. It can also spark post traumatic growth.

Americans estimated the rates of anxiety and depression to be as high as 35%. We are being warned that the pandemic may increase rates of post-traumatic stress disorder, since being exposed to actual or potential death is the very definition of trauma.

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/mental-health.htm Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Mental Health Household Pulse Survey

Post-traumatic growth is a concept similar to resilience, but distinct from it. It’s a term coined by psychologists Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun in the mid-1990s. In essence, post-traumatic growth is positive change that occurs in the aftermath of struggling with a major life crisis or traumatic event. According to Tedeschi and Calhoun, perhaps 50% of people experience post-traumatic growth after enduring a trauma.

Negative attitudes such as stigma and shame can prevent seeking help, which could prevent this type of recovery, whereas optimism, altruism, social support, and self-confidence may foster post-traumatic growth.

https://www.statnews.com/2020/06/22/covid-19-spark-post-traumatic-growth/

Post-traumatic growth (PTG) is a concept coined by psychologists Robert Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun in the 1990s, defined as a “positive psychological change in the wake of struggling with highly challenging life circumstances” (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004.)

The potential of PTG goes far beyond simple self-improvement or “making the best" of a bad situation. Interviewed in 2012, Robert Tedeschi said, “It is crucial to understand that PTG does not make everything all better; it does not make all the stress disappear. But it can bring true meaning to a person’s life. PTG forces us to focus on bigger questions — questions and concepts about wisdom, virtue, and values.”

But just knowing about PTG makes it more likely — so if you’ve even read this far, you are on the path! The other critical feature that facilitates PTG is a willingness to reflect on (rather than avoid thinking about) the trauma or hardship.

And we must pause and sit with the lessons that resonate most with us personally.

What types of personal and professional possibilities are on your radar that weren't a couple months ago?

What professional opportunities have arisen/may soon arise thanks to a changing economy? Are there professional aspirations that you shelved in the past that could be revisited now?

What have you learned about yourself personally during this time? Where is there continued room for improvement in your journey?

How have you shown strength during this time? What are you proud of?

How do you see yourself differently than you did just two months ago?

In what areas would you like to gain more personal strength?

In what new ways do I appreciate the opportunity to live this life, in light of my experience with the coronavirus?

How has this experience enhanced my understanding of my purpose on Earth?

How can I do right by the opportunity I have been given to live this life? How can I live in a way that honors those who lost their lives due to COVID-19?

What facets of life can I now appreciate more fully, thanks to this experience? How can I actually show this enhanced appreciation in the way that I live my life?

https://www.psychologytoday.com/nz/blog/buddhist-psychology-east-meets-west/202005/post-traumatic-growth-and-covid-19

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lelou-quotes · 5 years ago

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Why are narcissists so hateful?

Well…… you asked for it….. now have fun:

50 Devious Habits Of Highly Toxic Narcissists (And Why They Do What They Do) Shahida Arabi

1. They criticize to nitpick and demean you, not to empower you. Highly toxic people don’t give constructive criticism as a way to help you – they throw nuggets of disdain rather than wisdom your way in order to make you double your efforts to please them. They stage personal attacks on your character or develop a hyperfocus on irrelevant things, sometimes even fabricated flaws, to evoke insecurity in you.

2. They give unsolicited advice, especially in situations where it is inappropriate to do so or about matters you’ve made clear are none of their business. Giving unsolicited advice enables a toxic person to feel in control and smug. Most of their unsolicited advice is usually not even helpful, and is doled out as a way to distract you from your progress.

3. They enjoy raining on your parade. Toxic people like bringing little tempests of debasing comments whenever they see you’re that you’re proud of yourself or feeling especially happy. It’s usually because they’re envious.

4. They frequently play devil’s advocate especially when it’s unnecessary.They tend to do this with regards to issues that are deeply personal to you and touch on your core values, belief systems, life experiences and moral codes. For example, a highly toxic person might try to dismiss a trauma you’ve gone through by arguing that it’s not really a trauma at all. They may get into useless discussions about whether everyone should have equal rights and whether proven facts are truly legitimate. This is not done with the intention of adding to the discussion, but to provoke you and warp your sense of security about your perspectives.

5. They copy your mannerisms, your work, your behavior, anything they covet. In this context, imitation is not the highest form of flattery, because they do it so often you feel like a part of you is being “stolen.” They are identity thieves in that they steal facets of your personality for their own. They are always “watching” to see what other attribute they can take from you. They have no core sense of self, so they’d prefer to mimic the qualities they know make you likeable and victorious.

6. They rage excessively when challenged. When done by a pathological person, this is what is known as narcissistic rage. It occurs when a person feels slighted or when they feel their sense of superiority is negated in any way. Raging at the perceived offender allows the toxic person to reclaim some measure of control and reaffirms their sense of superiority.

7. They guilt you when they don’t get what they want. Since they feel excessively entitled to everything, they feel they need to coerce you into getting the outcome they desire.

8. After mistreating you, they try to get you to feel sorry for them. These pity ploys are a way for them to skirt responsibility and have you work hard to please them instead.

9. They rarely take accountability for their actions or say sorry. Apologizing would mean sharing in the consequences for their behavior or taking part in evolving from it. That’s why toxic people rarely do it.

10. If they do apologize, it’s usually to get you to forgive them. There’s no change in their behavior accompanying the apology. In fact, they may even continue the same behavior with even more force after you’ve pointed it out.

11. They act superior to you and treat you with contempt, as if you were below them in some way. Toxic people believe that others exist to serve them and that they deserve to be the center of attention. They do not like seeing the success of others nor do they want to feel as if someone could possibly surpass them in any way. When they see someone with qualities and strengths that threaten to take the attention away from them, they do not hesitate in humiliating, shaming or tearing down that individual to put him or her back in “their place.”

12. They use chronic, vitriolic sarcasm. This form of sarcasm is notemployed as a way to playfully build rapport as some people use it, but as a way to demean you and make you feel small.

13. They attempt to sabotage you in areas where they know you’re flourishing. Whether it’s creating chaos before a major job interview or ruining a celebration, toxic people are always on the lookout for how they can prevent you from achieving a level of success and joy that could threaten to overtake their power over you.

14. They call you names and verbally abuse you. These are traumatic shortcuts to control your behavior. Toxic people know that if they repeat something long enough, you’ll start to internalize it. Verbal abuse acts as a portal to erode your identity and self-esteem.

15. They attempt to micromanage your life. They may try to control where you go and who you see. They might try to place undue pressures or demands that take up your time so that you’re unable to pursue the dreams or support networks that they know are outside of their psychological jurisdiction.

16. They take over your finances, your career and demand a portion of what you’ve earned for themselves. Agency, independence and the ability to thrive on your own terms is very threatening to a toxic individual. Toxic people require that their victims be isolated; success, economic empowerment and a solid support network all threaten this, so they feel they have to take back the reins on the parts of your life that grant you a sense of stability and self-actualization.

17. They compete with you rather than celebrate your accomplishments. At first, toxic individuals may exhibit a starry-eyed admiration of your achievements. However, these same achievements come under extreme scrutiny as they work to use them for their own agenda or diminish them as a way to feel superior.

18. They project their own shame into you. If you evoke in them a sense of inadequacy – even without meaning to – they’ll suddenly go into an epic rant and rave, defending themselves with an excessive amount of force. You’re left dumbfounded as to why they’re so invested in proving themselves and why they’re so intent on attacking you, when in reality, their reactions have little to do with you and everything to do with their own egotistical delusions.

19. They project their own malignant qualities onto you. Everything that makes them toxic (their rage, their envy, their selfishness) is assigned to you as they try to paint you as the unhinged one.

20. They gaslight you. They make you believe that you are unable to see your own reality clearly. They deny abusive things they’ve said or done. This sudden “abuse amnesia” works to undercut your perceptions and make you doubt yourself.

21. They engage in pathological lying and infidelity. Lying comes easily to them and so does betrayal. They engage in a number of indiscretions and affairs, all while leading a double life. Their public image and facade rarely match the person they really are behind closed doors.

22. They exaggerate your flaws to the point of absurdity. This is meant to leave you feeling hopeless and worthless so that you are unable to self-validate. When you’re too busy feeling unworthy, you’re also too busy to realize that you deserve better.

23. Meanwhile, they dismiss your good qualities and all you’ve done to help them. You only seem to get “credit” for what the toxic person thinks you’ve done wrong. You feel as if you can never quite measure up to whatever arbitrary standards or expectations they’ve set for you. That’s because they’d never want you to feel sure of yourself – they want you to keep trying to please them so that you’ll never work to please yourself.

24. They don’t take ownership over their own problems; they expect you to clean up after them and fix their lives. Highly toxic people never want to be held responsible for being adults; they want to be coddled like children. If they made a mistake, they’ll inevitably scapegoat you and claim you’re the problem.

25. They blame you for parts of their lives that theyare responsible for taking care of. Their various addictions, failures, shortcomings all get served on your plate – along with the check. It’s as if they expect you to pay the price for their own omissions and struggles.

26. They are hypersensitive to any feedback you give them, even if it’s done gently. Meanwhile, they have no problem giving you plenty of “feedback” in terms of what they perceive is wrong about you.

27. They exhibit hot and cold behavior. One minute they’re love-bombing you with excessive praise, and the next they’re withdrawing from you as if you were the plague. These intermittent periods of kindness mixed with cruelty are a set-up to get you addicted to the crazymaking cycle of their abuse.

28. They subject you to the silent treatment (and there’s no good reason for it). They subject you to unpredictable periods of silence where they do not interact with you at all; it’s as if you cease to exist, even if you’re in an intimate relationship. The silent treatment is harmful because it affects the same area of the brain that registers physical pain. The silent treatment allows them space to commit whatever treason they’re engaging in behind your back while making you feel undesirable – it also helps them to evade any discussions about their unacceptable behavior.

29. They show no empathy for you when you’re suffering. These sadistic individuals are indifferent to your suffering; they lack empathy and some even take pleasure in seeing you suffer. The most malignant of narcissists even drive their victims to suicide.

30. They abandon you in times of illness or when you need them – even though you’ve always been there for them. This is done with a cruel and callous indifference that is unsettling. They show little to no concern for your welfare or your basic needs. They are too inherently selfish to look after you like the way you’ve looked after them.

31. They attempt to fast-forward intimacy with you without getting to know you – physically and emotionally. Whether it’s sex or your deepest secrets, toxic people try to push you to divulge and disclose early on so they can take inventory of your weak spots and exploit you.

32. They’re the fair-weather friend who’s always there when things are great but never when you need their support. When life is going well and you have everything going for you, they always seem to come around to leech off your newfound resources. When you want them to help out in an emergency or just need a listening ear, however, they’re nowhere to be found.

33. They piggyback on your success and take credit for your ideas. Toxic individuals feel they don’t have to work hard for what they want. They’d prefer to take it from others who’ve already done the work.

34. They judge your life decisions. This is done in a way that is vicious, cruel, unhelpful, excessive and unwarranted. If you feel uncertain about making decisions, you’re unable to trust yourself. Negating self-trust acts as leverage for a toxic person to step in and exercise their power over you.

35. They rarely provide emotional validation – every word out of their mouth tends to pick at your emotions. They question why you’re feeling the way you are rather than accepting it and creating space for it. By invalidating and pathologizing your emotions, they ensure that you never learn to listen to your inner guidance.

36. They cry crocodile tears when they need something or as faux remorse. Otherwise, they’re rarely emotional. In fact, most of the time, you can’t even sense fear, anxiety, or empathy from them.

37. They “hoover” you after mistreating you. Like a hoover vacuum, they suck you back into their toxic vortex even after the ending of the relationship, friendship or partnership. They do so by contacting you out of the blue just when you’re finally moving on. Once they get what they want from you, they leave and you may not hear from them from quite some time. At least, not unless they need you for something else, in which case, they tend to come crawling back.

38. They use you for your resources but are stingy with their own. Money, shelter, sex, social networks – they want access to all of yours. However, when it comes to their own resources and connections, they tend to be a lot more reserved.

39. They withhold acknowledgment and appreciation. You could bend over backwards fulfilling each and every one of their requests, and still not feel appreciated by them. They don’t appreciate what you do for them, but they keep you around to keep tapping into whatever it is you’re providing.

40. They’re conversational narcissists, constantly talking about themselves and rarely asking how you’re doing. When you finally try to get a word in, suddenly they’re cold and unresponsive. Or, they turn the conversation back to themselves.

41. They gossip about people and engage in relational aggression. They enjoy pitting people against one another. They like spreading rumors. They thrive off of excluding people and socially ostracizing those they feel threaten their power or evoke their envy. They assassinate your character both publicly and privately (the latter ensures you don’t catch on). They want to feel like they are the ones in control of managing everyone’s image so that they come out on top.

42. They recruit allies or flying monkeys to enable their behavior and carry out some of their dirty work for them. They wouldn’t want to get caught – so they keep their hands clean and allow their harem members to support them instead.

43. They spread misinformation about you and spread smear campaigns to undercut your credibility. This way, if you ever speak out about their behavior, fewer people would believe you.

44. They covertly and overtly insult you. This includes harsh remarks disguised as “jokes,” backhanded compliments, and needless comparisons that diminish you. Victims of toxic people tend to struggle with self-doubt and ruminations over these insults, and it’s no wonder why. These insults become ingrained in your psyche and lead to self-sabotage.

45. They withhold affection – for no apparent reason. Most people withdraw from being affectionate due to some sort of conflict. Toxic people do it so they can play puppeteer to your emotions.

46. They use sex to degrade, objectify and control you rather than as a way to connect with you. Sex is a power play to them, another instrument to feed their grandiose fantasies.

47. They stonewall you and shut down conversations before they’ve even had the chance to begin. That way, you never get to have a voice in the relationship. Your desires or basic needs never even enter the picture.

48. They idealize you, putting you on a pedestal, only to devalue the same qualities they once praised. Throwing you off the pedestal has the effect of making you work hard to get back on it. Meanwhile, they sit back, relax, and enjoy the show of making you pine for their approval.

49. They discard you once they’re done with you and quickly move onto another replacement, triangulating you with others to make you feel unworthy – and to compel you to compete for their attention.

50. They constantly shift the goal posts so what you do or who you are is perceived to never be enough.

Shahida Arabi is the author of POWER: Surviving and Thriving After Narcissistic Abuse.

https://www.quora.com/Why-are-narcissists-so-hateful

#narcissism psychology

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entergamingxp · 5 years ago

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The Last Sky Review — The Long Journey Home

February 28, 2020 3:30 PM EST

I take a journey through the tormented mind of Jake as he overcomes the guilt and trauma he has had to struggle with since his time in the war and try to help his nightmares come to an end.

Over the course of recent years, game developers have become a lot more open to the idea of tackling mental health issues within the games they create. This willingness can sometimes be either hit or miss due to a lack of information or empathy on the said condition. Thankfully, it’s being talked about more, which will always be great news for society as a whole. The Last Sky by Little Guy Games aims to approach the traumatic anxiety disorder, PTSD, which is wrapped around an atmospheric, puzzle/platforming game where we see the internal struggles of a retired air force pilot Jake.

I always find the first few moments of a game the most compelling. So, finding an old man standing in a dimly light room surrounded by lots of curious objects is most certainly a good start. This elderly gentleman, with his large grey mustache and old air force forage cap, is Jake – a retired air force pilot suffering from the effects of PTSD due to the distressing and raw memories he has from his time in the war.

It soon comes to light that Jake is trapped in this metaphorical room which lays in the deepest part of his tormented mind. As you start to explore this space, some light puzzle elements appear, from finding keys to locked compartments to piecing together an old childhood toy airplane. Within the many items you can interact with, I found the old pictures of Jake’s past really endearing. Players get a taste of who Jake was by clicking onto the worn black and white photographs while the old man narrates his memories of that time.

Another fascinating aspect of this “room” is the books found on one of the shelves you can pick up and open. Many are based on philosophy, and ancient techniques on how one can better themselves. This intertwines with Jake’s narrative on his endeavor to heal himself of past and present pain. I took some time after completing the game to look up one of the authors Jiddu Krishnamurti, an Indian philosopher. They wrote about psychological revolution, the nature of mind, human relationships, and bringing about a radical change in society. I found this nugget of real-life information encapsulated within a game a wonderful, and educational touch that tied in with the subject this game is trying to push.

Throughout The Last Sky, Jake experiences time jumping – one moment he’s a 70-year-old man, and the next, the player is taken back to his childhood. These flashbacks are on trend with PTSD, which gives the player a better understanding of what Jake faces in his daily struggles. Thankfully, not too far into the game, you are exposed to The Last Sky’s platforming elements in which Jake is holding a lamp. Scattered around the area are small lights that you catch in your lamp, allowing you to progress onto the next stage by inserting the gathered light particles into a holder to open a door. Getting from one area to another is pretty straight forward. Similar to the lights you collect, there are colored lights you jump onto that shoot you to where you need to go.

As simple as this sounds, some focus and fast reflexes are needed because as you collect these beads of lights, you only have a certain amount of time before it dies out. If you’re not fast enough to reach the next door, you must suffer the consequences of having to start over. I found the movement controls satisfying, fluid, and easy to navigate which is important when it comes to platforming sequences. My only hesitation is how dark the first area’s environment was, even with my display quality set to high. Although, the flashes of neon structures did somewhat help to break up the murkiness, and in later stages, the light quality improved quite a lot.

A part of The Last Sky I found quite strange is Jake’s encounter with a shaman who guides him through his journey, and offers him advice. It’s not necessarily the idea that a shaman shouldn’t be included because it does add an extra layer to the storyline. Rather, how realistic or helpful this added feature is for somebody who plays this game and suffers from PTSD. I would have liked to have seen something a little more practical and would give some real-life help that the player could take away with them. I mean, not everyone has a shaman on hand. In saying that, the medicine man did offer a few words of wisdom towards the end of the game, but nothing that could be seen as beneficial.

The Last Sky dances around the subject of PTSD without fully explaining what this condition is at any stage. So, players who don’t know a lot about this disorder are probably left to Google it for themselves. It does portray a good basic understanding – once you know what you’re dealing with – and it does convey the trauma and isolation connected to it well. The cinematic scenes throughout are thought-provoking and beautifully crafted with just the right amount of emotional impact to keep you invested. But due to its short two-hour playtime, The Last Sky feels a little rushed at the end where more could have been done to continue Jack’s journey with more depth and choices.

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For players who don’t have a lot of time to invest in a long game and who also enjoy experiencing the journey of a tormented mind, The Last Sky has much to offer. The fact that it wasn’t as thorough as I would have liked minimizes its true potential. Since this title is currently in early access on Steam, my hope is that the developers will include more branching story paths that become more personal; not only to Jake but to the player’s experience as a whole. With further work, it could also provide a deeper and boarder understanding of the complex mental health condition of PTSD.

February 28, 2020 3:30 PM EST

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/02/the-last-sky-review-the-long-journey-home/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-last-sky-review-the-long-journey-home

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rolandfontana · 6 years ago

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Children’s Exposure to Crime Costs U.S. $458B a Year: Study

Childhood exposure to violent crime costs American society $458 billion a year, according to a University of Pennsylvania study.

Building on their previous broad analysis of crime’s impact on children, authors Michael Gilad of the University of Pennsylvania Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, and Abraham Gutman, a staff writer with the Philadelphia Inquirer, quantified the consequences of that impact in areas ranging from health and lost unemployment, to the cost of treatment for substance abuse, to come up with what they said was still a “conservative” estimate.

For example, they estimated the lifetime associated cost for treating one individual for depression associated with childhood trauma at $75 million. In another example, they estimated the average loss of earnings during peak years of unemployment for an individual affected by “direct victimization” to be $5,000-$6,000 a year.

“An astonishing 64.12 percent, or 47.56 million (2.58 million in the 2002 birth cohort) children living in the United States today are affected by at least one form of crime exposure during their childhood,” the authors said in the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Law & Economic Research paper, entitled The Tragedy of Wasted Funds and Broken Dreams: An Economic Analysis of Childhood Exposure to Crime and Violence.

In their earlier, so-called “Triple C Impact” study—short for Comprehensive Childhood Crime Impact—the authors noted, “the observed harms were found to infiltrate all life’s disciplines, ranging from increased involvement with the criminal justice system and heightened risk for substance use, to physical and mental health problems.

“If we go one step further and apply these percentages to the total U.S. population (of all ages), we can conclude that there are approximately 210.5 million individuals walking among us who have been exposed to at least one category of the Triple-C Impact during childhood.”

They added that boys are at a higher risk of exposure, at 66.49 percent, compared to girls at 61.64 percent.

The authors noted that there was wide agreement about the extent of the harm to children caused by exposure to crime, and about the moral imperative to do something about it. In 2012, then-Attorney General Eric E. Holder’s Task Force “declared childhood exposure to crime and violence a ‘national crisis.’”

But, they argued, calculating the “bottom line” costs of such exposure to individuals and society over time would help to galvanize policymakers and the public into action.

“Money talks,” the authors said.

“Despite the severity of the Triple-C Impact problem, and the devastating effect it has on millions of children nationwide, little is done on the policy level to heal the open wounds,” the paper said.

“The majority of children harmed by crime do not receive the much needed services to facilitate recovery from trauma. At present, there are no effective mechanisms in place to identify affected children and refer them to vital services.”

A previously conducted 50-state survey found that “access to the services and resources that can help traumatized youngsters is obstructed by a myriad of bureaucratic labyrinths and system design flaws, including flaws in inter-agency coordination, extensive access barriers, ineffective utilization of resources, and insufficient account for the distinct needs of minor children,” the authors wrote.

As a result, they added, impacted individuals suffer “dire and costly outcomes throughout their childhood and into adulthood.”

The authors pointed out that even when a child is “indirectly exposed” to violence, he or she can be left with “marks that are acute, and often long lasting.”

The authors cited a psychological study showing that being exposed to crime at a young age causes heightened levels of stress, and it “over-stimulation of certain brain structures, which can lead to chemical imbalance in the child’s brain and abnormal neurological development.”

As a result of viewing a violent crime, a child is more likely to grow up and perpetrate similar acts, the research argues. This adds to the justice system’s cost of investigating and prosecuting crime.

Children impacted by Triple-C were also found to have higher rates of substance use and abuse disorders into adulthood, with one study cited calculating the usage odds at 60 percent to 70 percent higher compared to children who were never exposed to crime.

If that same individual were to need outpatient treatment for drug use disorder, it could range from $115 to $270 per week, which accumulates to a minimum of $5,980 per patient every year.

From a mental health and psychological perspective, children exposed to crime-related traumas “were found to have an increased risk of suffering from depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety, developmental and behavioral problems, aggression, attention disorders, personality disorders, suicide risk, attachment disorders and deficit in social adaptation,” according to the research paper.

By putting these impacts into a monetary perspective, the authors believe it will persuade policymakers of the need for “early intervention efforts to alleviate the injurious and costly outcomes from children affected by crime exposure.”

“Dollar after dollar, the costs associated with the Triple-C Impact pile one on top of the other,” the study said. “At first glance, some of these cost figures, when viewed in isolation, appear to be negligible.

“However, it is clearly shown that when summed together, considering the high prevalence rates, and the large number of costly adverse outcomes threatening the millions of children affected by the Triple-C Impact, the bottom line is of colossal proportions.

“When the total cost of all Triple-C-Impacted adults in the United States today is calculated, the sum amounts to over $458.7 billion every single year.”

The authors added that they believe their calculation is “conservative,” since it likely underestimates some of the economic impact and doesn’t include children harmed by parental violence.

The paper called for policymakers and politicians to focus on the needs of children affected by violence.

“Children do not have voting power, and their voices are rarely heard in the political debate,” the authors said.

“Although their sweet faces grace election campaigns, when the national budget is distributed they are not present to negotiate their share.”

They concluded: “Since the muffled cries of millions of children across the nation have yet to awaken policymakers to act, perhaps money will ‘talk’ on their behalf and incentivize change.”

The full study can be accessed here.

TCR staff writer Andrea Cipriano contributed to this summary.

Children’s Exposure to Crime Costs U.S. $458B a Year: Study syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/

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foursprouthappiness-blog · 7 years ago

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50 Devious Habits Of Highly Toxic People (And Why They Do What They Do)

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/happiness/50-devious-habits-of-highly-toxic-people-and-why-they-do-what-they-do/

50 Devious Habits Of Highly Toxic People (And Why They Do What They Do)

Coffee and Milk

Toxicity exists on a spectrum. People who engage in a few of these behaviors in certain circumstances are not always malignant predators. However, if someone engages in these behaviors chronically with the intent to harm and with little to no admission of their own wrongdoing, there is a high chance you’re dealing with a highly manipulative and toxic individual.

Many malignant narcissists, for example, use most, if not all of the behaviors listed and more to diminish their victims. Whether you’re dealing with a garden-variety jerk or a predatory psychopath depends on the frequency of the behaviors as well as the ways in which that person approaches accountability. If you find that they are unwilling to change their toxic behaviors and actually take pleasure in engaging in them, you might be dealing with someone who is character-disordered. Here are fifty signs you’re dealing with a highly toxic person:

4. They frequently play devil’s advocate especially when it’s unnecessary. They tend to do this with regards to issues that are deeply personal to you and touch on your core values, belief systems, life experiences and moral codes. For example, a highly toxic person might try to dismiss a trauma you’ve gone through by arguing that it’s not really a trauma at all. They may get into useless discussions about whether everyone should have equal rights and whether proven facts are truly legitimate. This is not done with the intention of adding to the discussion, but to provoke you and warp your sense of security about your perspectives.

7. They guilt you when they don’t get what they want. Since they feel excessively entitled to everything, they feel they need to coerce you into getting the outcome they desire.

8. After mistreating you, they try to get you to feel sorry for them. These pity ploys are a way for them to skirt responsibility and have you work hard to please them instead.

12. They use chronic, vitriolic sarcasm. This form of sarcasm is not employed as a way to playfully build rapport as some people use it, but as a way to demean you and make you feel small.

19. They project their own malignant qualities onto you. Everything that makes them toxic (their rage, their envy, their selfishness) is assigned to you as they try to paint you as the unhinged one.

25. They blame you for parts of their lives that they are responsible for taking care of. Their various addictions, failures, shortcomings all get served on your plate – along with the check. It’s as if they expect you to pay the price for their own omissions and struggles.

36. They cry crocodile tears when they need something or as faux remorse. Otherwise, they’re rarely emotional. In fact, most of the time, you can’t even sense fear, anxiety, or empathy from them.

37. They “hoover” you after mistreating you. Like a hoover vacuum, they suck you back into their toxic vortex even after the ending of the relationship, friendship or partnership is over. They do so by contacting you out of the blue just when you’re finally moving on. Once they get what they want from you, they leave and you may not hear from them from quite some time. At least, not unless they need you for something else, in which case, they tend to come crawling back.

43. They spread misinformation about you and spread smear campaigns to undercut your credibility. This way, if you ever speak out about their behavior, fewer people would believe you.

45. They withhold affection – for no apparent reason. Most people withdraw from being affectionate due to some sort of conflict. Toxic people do it so they can play puppeteer to your emotions.

46. They use sex to degrade, objectify and control you rather than as a way to connect with you. Sex is a power play to them, another instrument to feed their grandiose fantasies.

50. They constantly shift the goal posts so what you do or who you are is perceived to never be enough.

Shahida Arabi is the author of POWER: Surviving and Thriving After Narcissistic Abuse.

#Happiness

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dairynewsin-blog · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on Dairy News India

New Post has been published on http://dairynews.in/a-study-on-role-of-self-help-groups-in-woman-empowerment/? utm_source=Tumblr

A STUDY ON “ROLE OF SELF HELP GROUP’S IN WOMAN EMPOWERMENT”

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

A STUDY ON “ROLE OF SELF HELP GROUP’S IN WOMAN EMPOWERMENT”

(A special reference to STEP project dairy co-op societies which is farmed with women SHG in Vellore and Tiruvannamalai Districts)

By NALLA VIVEKANAND PhD in Psychology Dravidian University KUPPAM-AP

ABSTRACT

The self help group replica which became popular in India, and gathered an enormous response, in rural woman empowerment through various project initiatives of the government agencies, which are appreciate and recognized. The impact of self help groups in many districts which provide an employment and facilitate them to run their day to day life. Dairy cooperatives have provided fillip to the rural women their deserving share. SHGs can enhance the equality of rural women status as participants, decision-makers and beneficiaries in the democratic, economic, social and cultural spheres of life.

Key word: SHG, economic, social, political, social, psychological, legal, health and community

Introduction:

Self help group is a model which is giving an opportunity for women more empowerment, in terms of well being and economic independence through self employment and entrepreneurial development. Economic independence makes the woman more confident, increases the self esteem. Rural India woman is facing Poverty and unemployment is the major problems. In India at the end of ninth five year span 26.1% of the population was living below poverty line. In the rural area 27.1% of the population was living under poverty. The overall unemployment rate is estimated to 7.32%. The female unemployment rate is 8.5%. The rate of growth of women unemployment in the rural area is 9.8%. This is because of the low growth rate of new and productive employment. Government is implemented various schemes to reduce poverty and to promote the gainful employment. But the more attractive scheme with less effort (finance) is “Self Help Group”. It is a best tool to remove poverty and improve the rural woman life through dairy farming.

Since history to today the rural woman life from womb to until the death, they are facing grave consequences; it starts from the stage of pregnancy, baby, adulthood, puberty, young age, and in older age. Woman live with series of hurdles; starts from pregnancy sex selection, foeticide, forceful treatment at the time of delivery, coerce pregnancy, child abuse, mental, bodily pressures, difference in diet and health safety, Physical slit incest, sexual harassment, disparity in diet, health, study, teenage trafficking, family femininity inequity, love and affection cheating, thriftily forced sex, sexual abuse, harassment, rape, enforced prostitution, exploitation of women by close associates, marital rape, dowry violence and murders, spouse murder, psychological, sexual abuse at the office, work area, Physical disable girls suffered from cruelty, harassment, exploitation of widows, and older abuse. Still, rural woman’s face struggles alone without the support of family, community and all.

As per the Indian rural woman social-distress background sorrows, it is evidence that their dependence, desperation, unfair in gender, social and psychological suffering. These all go to be converted into post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorders, depression, sociopaths, and other mental illnesses. After that it may be reflected in many other problems, like social problems, aggressive behavior aligned with women, moribund teenager gender ratio, anticipation of teen wedding, Woman trafficking, physical condition, hygiene, intake Water, Sex ratio budget, associates cruelty, violence, brutality, family fall down, then the individual will enter into lack of food, poverty, cruelty, work too hard, sexual, reproductive nastiness, family, society will face, national conflict and severe trauma situation.

Apart from this rural woman is faced with different challenges and hurdles, like personal, family, supervision, corresponding work and obstacles, woman’s isolation into lower-paid work, the disparity of pay between men & women, the feminization of poor quality of life, and added brutality against women. The above said all unfair practices from all sides putting the woman under psychological depression, so she is unable to move towards personal development. If it cannot avoid conflict, harmony situations, the above said hurdles need to be understood at a deep level of rural woman’s ability to adopt. Accessible approach and mechanism need for success in this order.

SHG’s philosophy:

A SHG is a small economically homogeneous affinity group of the rural poor voluntarily coming together to save small amount regularly, which are deposited in a common fund to meet members emergency needs and to provide collateral free loans decided by the group. (Abhaskumar Jha 2000). They have been recognized as useful tool to help the poor and as an alternative mechanism to meet the urgent credit needs of poor through thrift (V. M. Rao 2002) SHG is a media for the development of saving habit among the women (S. Rajamohan 2003).

Empowering Women through woman cooperative societies:

Cooperation is human instinct and crucial from the civilization. To take cooperation from fellow members is the need of an individual and consequently to offer cooperation is quid pro quo, cooperation is recurring cyclical informal practice society is doing since ages. Cooperatives have empowered women through its economic activities. Generally politically & socially sidelined women are factually full time engaged in farm & dairy activities. Rural woman Empowerment cannot be possible with enthusiasm and, confidence of woman, which can built up by SHGs, when women can fight against injustice and unsecure rights and help to self-empower themselves.

Community chattels of Dairy Co-operatives:

(Jayachandra & Naidu, 2006) have studied the impact of dairy co-operatives on income, employment and creation of assets of marginal and small farmers in Rangampet milk producer co-operative society (Chittor DT, Andhra Pradesh). The study had identified significant increase in income, among marginal and small farmers after joining the dairy farming through the co-operative society. Farmers have been able to get new (full-time and part time) employment opportunities through dairying. The values of their assets have also increased after engaging in dairy activity. The findings of the study has indicated that dairying offers a vast scope for increasing the income, employment opportunities, and assets value of marginal and small farmers whose marginal and average productivity is low and dairying could be identified as an appropriate and beneficial occupation to increase the purchasing power of rural farmers.

Indian Rural woman traditionally associate with agriculture and dairying, nearly 70 % households keep animals a part of regular income, which take care by the woman, Dairy production is an important income source of an integral part of crop live stock production.

The dairy industry is one of the best suitable tool for explore millions of rural women, who can be brought into the mainstream of dairy development, with access to training and employment at the household level. And their economic well-being and self esteem empowerment. The women’s need to access training in modern dairying and cooperative management system is essential.

The employment of women is an index of their economic and social status in society. In India, women constitute 90 per cent of marginal workers, with some regional variations.

Dairying at the household level is largely the domain of women

The products and income from dairying can be controlled by women

Dairying can be practiced on a small scale.

Review of research literature:

A research review of the literature has given insights on various aspects of the role of self help groups on women empowerment. Even though the concept of women empowerment through women self help groups is relatively new, the academic community has shown substantial interest by exploring the extent to which such groups facilitate women empowerment. However, the concept of empowerment with its varied definitions processes and outcome does not have a systematic procedure to be measurable. There have been a number of attempts to conceptualize empowerment and various authors have proposed different frameworks. The domains by which empowerment can be measured has of late gained some unanimity; however, is not exhaustive and different frameworks propose additional domain which perhaps might then include new avenues.

The field of women empowerment in modern societies has gained critical significance even more so in developing nations of the world. There have been systematic efforts from various agencies and governments of the world to empower women, however whether such efforts contain be victorious in bringing about a significant alter inside the plight of women across the world cannot be objectively assessed for lack of clarity of domains as well as a systematic process of measurement.

Thus, empowerment of women is not a one-way process; empowerment involves women are being empowered and where women empower others. Women by being agents of change-to-change in their own plight have great significance; it’s not only for women but also for societies as a whole and future generation. Economic and Social empowerment have been widely studied and been reported. The role of psychological domain gains much significance as it has a property to influence all other domains as well as affects the comfort and excellence of existence of individual women.

Objectives of the study

To assess the extent to which psychological factors such as self-efficacy, self-esteem and general well-being has improved among women self help group members after joining the self help group.

To determine whether membership in self help groups facilitate improvements in key discriminating psychosocial factors such as self-efficacy, self-esteem and general well-being in comparison to the non-members.

To determine whether membership in self help groups facilitate improvements in various facets of empowerment by comparing self help group member with non members

Need for the Study:

“Educate a man and you educate an individual; educate a woman and she educate a family ’.

Women by being agents of change-to-change their own plight have great significance not only for women themselves but also for societies as a whole and future generation. Economic and Social empowerment have been widely studied and been reported. The role of psychological domain gains much significance, as it has a property to influence all other domains as well as effects, the individual well-being, and quality of women.

Study significance:

Thus, empowerment of women is not a one way process; empowerment involves women getting empowered and where women empower others. Women by being agents of change to change their own plight has great significance not only for women themselves but for societies as a whole and future generation. Economic and Social empowerment has been widely studied and been reported. The role of psychological domain gains much significance as it has a property to influence all other domains as well as affects the well-being and quality of life of individual women.

This study therefore intends to assess the level of change brought about in various domains of empowerment by joining self help groups. Additionally, it purposively investigates the level of change self help groups were able to influence on certain key psychological factors related to the self.

Methodology: As this paper seeks to explore how SHG’s are relatively works in co-op societies.

Method of study:

The present study has covered the villages from north districts of Tamil Nadu Viz., Vellore District, and Thiruvanamalai District, These 20 villages were selected for these study, because of the SHGs are converted in to Dairy co-operative societies as functioning for milk producers society with successful manner.

The review of the literature on various perspectives on Empowerment, Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy and General Well-being and provided valuable insights on the role of different self-help groups in empowering, its members especially women with regard to the variables under study. Based on the review of the literature, several hypotheses were formulated and the research, the redesign was finalized to meet the key objectives of the study

Hypotheses:

Based on the review of the literature, the following hypotheses were formulated.

Formulated Hypotheses

· There will be a significant improvement in Self-Esteem among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in Self-Efficacy among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in General Well-Being, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in indicators of Empowerment, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in Education, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in Social Awareness, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in Political Participation, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls.. · There will be a significant improvement in Psychological Strength, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in Legal Knowledge, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in Health Knowledge, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in Economic Status, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls. · There will be a significant improvement in Community Service, among SHG members after joining the SHG in comparison to normal controls

Research Design:

This study followed a Non-equivalent Control Group (NECG) design to evaluate the function of Self-Help Groups in facilitating change in key psychological factors among its members. In a quasi-experimental design, the causal variable of interest is not manipulated, but rather is an event that occurred for other reasons. In an NECG design, study subjects in both the groups need not be similar to the dependent variable and can be non-equivalent. Moreover, randomly assigned to the control group and experimental group is usually absent. Both the groups are, however, matches on factors that might influence the dependent variable in addition to the quasi-experimental variable. In an NECG design both experiment and control groups are measured before and after treatment or an event.

Sampling Design:

Targeting women, self help group members working in dairy cooperative societies. With a purpose to identify the extent to which membership and working in such self help groups facilitate improvements in their self-esteem, self-efficacy, general well-being and domains of empowerment an experimental group of 70 women SHG members were compared with a group of 70 NonSHG members across two points of time.

To assess the empowerment domains such as education, social awareness, political participation, psychological strength, legal knowledge, health knowledge, economic improvement and community services.

Operational Definitions:

Self Help Group usually consists of a few individuals usually less than 20 members with a relatively homogenous factor such as economic status or job status. A self help group is formed based on accessible affinities in addition to common belief wherein WSHGs assemble frequently on a preset occasion in addition to position and work towards a predetermined goal. This study further selected registered self help groups that were a part of women dairy cooperative society.

Statistical Techniques:

It was intended to examine the improvements in the level of psychological factors under investigation after five years of joining an SHG and compare it with on-SHG members.

TABLE-1: The following table presents, the demographic characteristics of women self help group members and matched controls.

Demographic / Group Category Count Percentage Age Self-help Group Below 30 years 19 27.14 31-40 18 25.71 Above 40 33 47.14 Control Group Below 30 years 20 28.57 31-40 20 28.57 Above 40 30 42.86 Marital Status Self-help Group Married 66 94.29 Single 4 5.71 Control Group Married 68 97.14 Single 2 2.86 Education Self-help Group Illiterate 19 27.14 Literate 51 72.85 Control Group Illiterate 20 28.57 Literate 50 71.43 Family Type Self-help Group Joint 21 30.00 Nuclear 49 70.00 Control Group Joint 15 21.43 Nuclear 55 78.57 Community Self-help Group SC 20 28.57 ST 12 17.14 BC and Others 38 54.29 Control Group SC 16 22.86 ST 8 11.43 BC and Others 46 65.71

TABLE-2: Descriptive Statistics for the Two Groups on Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy and General Well-Being

Variable / Group N Mean

Self-esteem Self-help Group 70 17.49

2.84

Control Group 70 18.64

2.46

Self-efficacy Self-Help Group 70 24.96

2.95

Control Group 70 25.34

2.04

General Well-Being Self-help Group 70 8.01

.94

Control Group 70 7.79

1.04

Time 1

Measure

1. Self Efficacy

2. Self-Esteem

3. General Well-Being

Women not in SHG

(Control Group)

Women in SHG

(Experimental Group)

Women in SHG

(Experimental Group)

Women not in SHG

(Control Group)

Assess Change

Therefore, no such change was observed in well-being levels, which indicate that actual change in emotions and

behavior was not observed. It might be then fair to infer that it might take the time to translate perceptions to action.

TABLE-3: Comparison of the SHG and Control Group on Education:

Group Education Improved Total No Yes Self-Help Group Count 5 65 70 % within Group 7.1% 92.9% 100.0% Control Group Count 63 7 70 % within Group 90.0% 10.0% 100.0%

The number of women who felt their education status has improved was significantly greater in the SHG than the control group. Members of the SHG would have improved on their level of education from Time to Time 2 or after joining the SHG at the least by attaining literacy status.

TABLE-4: Comparison of the SHG and Control Group on Social status:

Group Social Status Improved Total No Yes Self-help Group Count 16 54 70 % within Group 22.9% 77.1% 100.0% Control Group Count 52 18 70 % within Group 74.3% 25.7% 100.0%

The members perceived their social status improved in comparison to those who had not joined a self help group. Access to credit, increased social interaction, better revenue, employment opportunities, better savings habit and better status in the family would have contributed to the improvements in social status.

TABLE-5: Comparison of the SHG and Control Group on Political Participation

Group Political Participation Improved

Total

No Yes

Self-help Group

Count

% within Group 64.3% 35.7% 100.0% Control Group Count 51 19 70 % within Group 72.9% 27.1% 100.0%

The number of women who felt their political participation has improved was similar in both the SHG and the control group. Women SHG members might not have gained any political roles, even at the local body levels nor any specific leadership roles. This might require more time and sufficient social backing to play a significant political role.

TABLE-6: Comparison of the SHG and Control Group on Psychological Strength

Group Psychological Strength Improved Total No Yes Self-help Group Count 27 43 70 % within Group 38.6% 61.4% 100.0% Control Group Count 47 23 70 % within Group 67.1% 32.9% 100.0%

The number of women who felt their psychological strength has improved was significantly greater in the SHG than the control group. The improvements in Psychological Strength might be due to the improvements in employability skill, better social interaction, the ability to save, feelings of confidence, better status, and acceptance in family and community.

TABLE-7: Comparison of the SHG and Control Group on Legal Knowledge

Group Legal Knowledge Improved Total No Yes Self-help Group Count 34 36 70 % within Group 48.6% 51.4% 100.0% Control Group Count 52 18 70 % within Group 74.3% 25.7% 100.0%

The number of woman who felt their legal knowledge has improved was significantly greater in the SHG than the control group. It might be because NGOs provide frequent training with regard to various legal acts to SHG members. Moreover, training and better social interaction would have facilitated knowledge about various legislations and acts such as dowry domestic violence, women’s rights, child marriage, etc.

TABLE-8: Comparison of the SHG and Control Group on Health Knowledge

Group Health Knowledge Improved Total No Yes Self-help Group Count 25 45 70 % within Group 35.7% 64.3% 100.0% Control Group Count 52 18 70 % within Group 74.3% 25.7% 100.0%

The number of women who felt their health knowledge has improved was significantly greater in the SHG than the control group. Frequent interactions with other members of the community, access to health services through SHGs, training and education on health related matters would have enabled SHG members to perceive that they have improved with regard to Health Knowledge.

TABLE-9: Comparison of the SHG and Control Group for Community Service

Group Community Service, Improved Total No Yes Self-Help Group Count 18 52 70 % within Group 25.7% 74.3% 100.0% Control Group Count 50 20 70 % within Group 71.4% 28.6% 100.0%

The number of women who felt their community service has improved was significantly greater in the SHG than the control group. SHGs facilitate participation in community services such as rural sanitization, alcohol prohibition, watershed projects and, protesting and acting against child labor. Moreover, engaging in such activities significantly improve SHG member acceptance in the community and society.

TABLE-10 Comparison of the SHG and Control Group on Economic Status

Group Economic Status Improved Total No Yes Self-help Group Count 9 61 70 % within Group 12.9% 87.1% 100.0% Control Group Count 54 16 70 % within Group 77.1% 22.9% 100.0%

The number of women who felt their economic status has improved was significantly greater in the SHG than the control group. SHGs provide access to micro credit either from their own credit pool or by acting as a go in between members and banks. It would have also facilitated more employment opportunities among its members, improved the employability skills of the members. It would have also contributed to members developing the habit of savings. All of these would have those enabled SHG members to feel that they have improved economically after joining the SHG.

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Conclusion:

It is found that the income of the women has been increased after joining in the SHGs, as well as after joining in dairy society, and gained good knowledge money management. Considerable improvement is found in dairy activities, capacity building and other skill development activates through training. In similarly that the monthly household expenditure also has been raised in considerable level. But the savings is increasing at slow rate, because the incremental expenditure is higher. Mostly they are spending for present consumption needs. Since the repayment of loan is regular, and within the time frame, that the economic activities of SHGs are quite success. In this way SHGs in north Tamil Nadu are very successful to develop women empowerment and rural areas.

That the self help groups played a significant role, in improving educational status, social status, psychological strength, legal knowledge, health knowledge, community service and economic status domains of empowerment. This finding was a result of the comparison of the self help group members’ perception of empowerment with the matched control group members’ perception of empowerment at a Time. In any rural woman empowerment schemes, woman needs more involvement with awareness of their rights and opportunities.

On the whole of this study confirms that women’s status is inferior to men. Women face discrimination within families as well as in society, where society maintains double standards in the case of education, marriage, spousal relationships, domestic violence, laws of patriarchal society, property laws, dowry system, sexual morality, sexual harassment as well as discriminatory social stigma and also less recognition and respect for women’s work.

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References:

Krishana, Vijaya R. and Das, Amarnath R. (2003), “Self Help Groups” – A Study in A.P. District, HRD Times, May.

Rasure K. A. (2003), “Women’s Empowerment through SHGs”, Journal of Fact for yo9u, November.

Siddiqui, Saif (2003), “Rural Entrepreneurship and Poverty Alleviation Programmes”. Yojana, December.

Manimekalai N. and G. Rajeswari (2002), “Grassroots Entrepreneurship through Self Help Groups (SHGs)”. SEDMI Journal, Vol. 29 p2.

Naranaswamy N.S. Manivel and B. Bhaskar (2003), “Networking SHGs and Cooperatives – An Analysis of strengths and Weaknesses”, Journal of Rural Development. Vol.22. p 3.

Ariz Ah;med, M. (1999), “ Women Empowerment: Self Help Groups:, Kurukshetra, April, 47, 7: 19,20 & 49

Dodkey, M.D. (1999), “SHGs and Micro Credit, Sustaining Rural Women”, Social Welfare, March, 45. 12: 19-20

Gopalakrishnan B.K. (1998), “SHGs and Social Defense”, Social Welfare, January, 44. 10: 30-34

Kokila K. (2001), “Credit Groups for Women workers:, social Welfare, May, 48.2: 23-25

Lalitha N. and B.S. Nagarajan (2002), “Self Help Groups in Rural Development”, New Delhi: dominant Publishers and Distributors.

Narashimban Sakunatala, (1999), “Empowering Women: An Alternative Strategy for Rural India”, New Delhi: Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd.

Jeyaraman, R. et al., (2004), “Role of Self help Groups in Fisher Women Development,” Peninsular Economist, Vol. XII, No.2, pp. 197-200.

Manimekalai, N. et. al., “Gross-root Women Entreprenurship through SHGs”, Peninsular Economist Vol. XII, No.2, pp. 181-187

Rajamohan, S. (2003) , “Activities of Self Help Groups in Virudhunagar District-A Study, TNJC, pp. 25-29

Ritu Jain, (2003), “Socio-Economic Impact through Self Help Groups”, Yojana, Vol. 47, No.7, pp.11-12

Bandhyopadhyay, D, B.N. Yughandhar and Amitava Mukherjee (2000), “Convergencce of Programmes by Empowering SHGs and PRIs”, Economic and Political Weekly, June 29

Chiranjeevulu T. (2003), “Empowering Women through Self Help Groups – Experiences in Experiment”, Kurukshetra, March.

Chopra Kanchan (2004), “Social Capital and Development Processes – Role of Formal and Informal Institutions “, Economic and Political Weekly, July, 13.

Kapadia, Karin (1997), “Mediating the Meaning of Market Opportunities Gender, Cast and Class in Rural south India”, Economic and Political Weekly.

United Nations. 1995a. Population and Development: Programme of Action Adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development: Cairo 5-13 September 1994.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW). 2000. National Population Policy, 2000. New Delhi: Department of Family Welfare, MOHFW.

2006. Ending Violence against Women: From Words to Action. Study of the Secretary- General. Division of the Advancement of Women: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations A/61/122/Add.

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#economic #health and community #legal #political #psychological #SHG #social

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hricindiaconference2017-blog · 8 years ago

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Why Human Rights in Childbirth Matters? Rebecca Schiller can tell you.

Rebecca Schiller is the author of Why Human Rights in Childbirth Matters and chief executive of Birthrights in England. This is the perfect book to introduce you to framing maternity care within the lens of human rights. And guess what, there will be copies available at the Human Rights in Childbirth Conference in Mumbai!

...um, what?

To be honest, though I am studying to be a midwife and am keenly interested in the experience of childbirth, the concept of human rights in childbirth was new for me. Even at the time of starting to volunteer for this conference I wasn't fully aware of what human rights in childbirth meant or implicated. But along came Rebecca Schiller's book and my jaw dropped, my heart almost burst, and something shifted inside me.

So I thought it would be appropriate to interview her on Skype to further discuss the book, and it's implications in a place like India. But, what a struggle it was for me to write this blog. No matter what I wrote, it fell short of what is conveyed in this book and by Rebecca herself. Rebecca Schiller does an unprecedented job of conveying just what the title says- why human rights in childbirth matter.

But first, a little about the book...

The book (is a whole lot better than this blog)

Schiller does a wonderful job of blending together the voices of women from across the world, the words of experts, legal cases, laws, ideologies, concepts and debates and whips it all up into a comprehensive look at human rights in childbirth. According to her, the core issue in childbirth is not what type (vaginally, natural, or c-section) or where (home, hospital or birth center) women give birth, but really women's autonomy in birth (how was her birth experienced?). She points out that trauma suffered from a birth experience isn't necessarily related to what type of birth a women had, but how it was conducted. A woman may have a “normal, vaginal” birth but if in the process she feels out of control, disrespected and doesn't have enough information, she is likely to feel traumatized from her birth.

She asserts that to truly uphold human rights in childbirth, then everyone needs to recognize that when a woman is pregnant or giving birth, she is no less of a human and is entitled to the basic human rights we are all born with. These rights include the right to autonomy, dignity, choice, informed consent (and refusal) and being free from coercion. To uphold all these rights, maternity systems, healthcare practitioners, policy makers and advocates should shift their focus from pondering how to reduce intervention rates, increase rates of “normal” delivery or promote any one kind of birth, to how to implement the right models of care so that women's authority and choice is maintained. Consequently, providing maternity models that promote individualized care, are likely to reduce c-section and interventions rates that have health officials so alarmed, without degrading a woman's status as an autonomous human being in the process.

It may seem matter-of-fact that a pregnant/birthing woman is still human, but this fact is actually all too often dismissed, in the seemingly legitimate belief of making birth “safer” or a “healthy baby.” Women can be forced or coerced into c-sections, have episiotomies without consent, forcibly held down while unwanted interventions are performed, have police show up at their door for attempting a homebirth or even be denied elective c-sections because someone feels it is better for the baby. Women traumatized from birth beg the question, “Is it really all that matters is a healthy baby?” Schiller resolutely will answer NO! Of course it matters that we have healthy babies, but it is certainly not all that matters.

Right now, almost the whole world prioritizes getting a “healthy baby” out of the mother, at any cost- even at the cost of women losing their dignity, being treated with disrespect or abuse and without autonomy or self-determination. This translates into treating women like vessels or containers where things can be done to them, even without meaningful consent. She asserts that a true good outcome in birth is when both mother and baby turn out to be physically and psychologically healthy after birth.

One interesting point Schiller makes throughout the book is that maternity care systems shaped to maintain human rights will implicitly view mothers as the decision-makers. This can bring up a lot of questions, like, “Can a mother really be fit to make decisions, what about a ‘bad mother?’” But just like the dogma that “all that matters is a healthy baby” needs to be done away with, so does the idea the a mother is in conflict with her unborn child. She explains that mothers are typically exceedingly cautious and concerned about their pregnancies and births- rightfully so as it is their baby and their body that they will carry after the birth. So while they may not be a trained expert, they are the person with the highest stake in the outcomes of birth and with the objective input (not coercion or bullying) from healthcare providers, can know what is right for themselves individually (which can even be finding a trusted careprovider and dutifully doing everything he or she says!)

Schiller calls for all birth activists to unite forces and start fighting for human rights in childbirth so we can recognize the true potential of humanity in maternity care. I urge you to get a copy of her book to be fully convinced of why human rights in childbirth matters. But first read a little more from her in this interview...

The interview

Q. If there is one thing the Indian crowd should take away from this book, what would it be?

A. It's quite simple: women MATTER during childbirth. If we design a system where women matter during childbirth, it will be better for women, it will be better for babies, it will be better for healthcare professionals and it will be better for the family. Actually, it shouldn’t be too hard to do.

Q. So, why isn't that, “All that matters is a healthy baby?”

A. It’s become such a common sentence, it’s easy to let it slide. But when you look at it, what it also says is that 'women don't matter' because the opposite of that sentence is that ‘nothing else matters.’ So it gets used to excuse a lot of behavior (and treatment of women), it’s used to stop women from being able to talk about their experiences and to process their experiences.

But, on a broader level, it can be part of a quite worrying desire to reduce women to reproductive vessels. There are a lot of parallels that happen in other corners of reproductive rights, particularly in the US where there is a real intersection between human rights in childbirth and rights to abortion. So if all that matters is a healthy baby, there is a discomforting and dis-topian lens to that where women don’t matter unless that are the producers of healthy babies.

Q. What's the difference between advocating for human rights in childbirth versus advocating for “natural birth,” “homebirths” or lowering c-section rates?

A. I was a person who previously advocated for a particular kind of birth and a particular way of feeding babies but I found, when we advocate for a specific way of doing things, we can alienate some women and policy makers and health care professionals. And you risk also putting a layer of pressure on women to do things in a certain way. If all of us who are promoting different things in birth, different things in feeding, different things in reproductive rights, focused simply on ensuring that basic human dignity, autonomy, choice and non-discrimination was upheld, then things would sort of follow suite. So if a woman wants a homebirth and since we maintain that women have a choice of birth, she can. And the same with elective cesarean section. Same with infant feeding.

We don’t want to be another pressurizing force in the system, adding a layer of pressure to women. [Human rights in childbirth] brings us all together, so we are not polarized or counterbalancing our arguments by arguing amongst ourselves. We are just focusing on getting all women the respect and dignity and choice that they should have and everything else sort of follows on from there.

Q. So, can a positive birth experience be significant in woman's life?

A. I come to this from a place where I know, from my own birth experiences, that birth can be very positive...I work with a midwife who says ‘get something out of this other than a baby.’ I think what she means is that this is an opportunity to learn about yourself, to learn about your partner, and to feel very powerful and strong. And, that doesn’t mean you won’t feel vulnerable and scared.

Birth can be very healing. I have worked with women who have had trauamtising first births and go on to have very healing births. Not necessarily because it was some magical experience, but it was because she felt like she was in control, a big thing happened to them and they did it! Women can gain a sense of self that becomes stronger rather than weaker.

Birthrights did a survey where we found that women who characterized their births as negative were much more likely to have a negative view of themselves, their partners, and their babies after birth. And on the flipside, women who had positive experiences felt positively about themselves, their babies and their partners. It can be profound. A lot of women [who have had positive experiences] can take it foreward into the rest of their lives, into their careers, their mothering, illness and take on a sense of strength and pass that on into the next generation.” Her mother had a very positive view of birth, so she wasn’t frightened.

Q. How could childbirth and maternity care systems change in India, worldwide, if Human Rights were held up in the process?

A. It’s hard to see that in isolation for a general respect of women’s human rights. The first caveat is that globally, there would have to be a shift towards women and girls….

But (if human rights where upheld in childbirth) we would see many more women having births they planned. And for those whose birth don’t go to plan, there will be less trauma.

I’d imagine it would have an impact on the intervention rates, because most woman aren’t desperate to have loads of interventions [during childbirth]. It would also have an impact on mental health- overall perinatal outcomes.

It seems like India needs human rights in childbirth, not to just decrease the almost rampant intervention rates, including c-section, but to bring back women into birth- to remind women of India that they matter, too.

Join the conference to see how we can go about doing that!

**Interviewed and written by Zoe Quinn, Birth India

Rebecca Schiller is the Director of the human rights in childbirth charity Birthrights, which provides legal advice, training for midwives and doctors and campaigns to improve women’s experiences of pregnancy and birth. She is a freelance writer, occasional doula and wrote the must read book Why Human Rights in Childbirth Matters.

Come grab a copy of Rebecca Schiller’s book at the Human Rights in Childbirth Conference in Mumbai, India!!

Sign this petition to make it mandatory that Indian hospitals declare their c-section rates!

Check out Human Rights in Childbirth on Facebook.

Ask questions, find support and information at Birth India’s Facebook Support Group.

#hricindia2017 #birthindiaorg #breakthesilence