If one were to turn back the pages of a celebrity gossip magazine to nearly a year ago, he or she wouldn’t find a photo of a young celebrity dressed in couture on the red carpet but rather, a familiar face with a black and blue eyes and busted, swollen lips. Under this damaged face would be the caption, “I still love him.” The Rihanna and Chris Brown domestic abuse saga controlled the media for weeks as Americans wanted to know the latest, juiciest details on what would be in store. According to the LAPD, Brown punched, choked, and bit his pop star girlfriend after she intercepted a sexual text that he received from another woman. After threatening to kill Rihanna and leaving her unconscious, bloody, and bruised, Brown is later found guilty to two felony charges of assault and criminal threats with 180 days of community service. But so what? Two pretty stars get caught up in a fight and magazines from People to US Weekly share the tragic story with the world. But where are the rest of the stories? The stories of 1.3 million other women who are victimized. Their stories have never been told. In the United States alone, only one fourth of domestic violence cases are reported. What’s the hold out? Are they afraid that if they leave, their husbands will hurt them even more? Are they still in love? Like Rihanna, who returned to Brown briefly after the ordeal, many women are attached to their man and want it to work out. According to Diane Sawyer, it takes a women on average 6 to 7 beating until they are gone for good. But how could this be? What makes a women come back for more?
Using the “Strategies for Making Comparison/Contrast More Analytical”, we analyzed both the videos and the article “Teenage Girls Stand by Their Man”, which reveals some very troubling opinions of teenagers. A common topic worth comparing within this event is where to place blame. According to the article’s study, 46 percent of students claimed Rihanna was responsible for the events that transpired. It is a classic case of “blaming the victim”, which people find easy to do because of Rihanna’s gender. The reasons used to justify Brown’s actions are transparent and sexist: she wears slutty clothes and may have been unfaithful, she nagged/provoked Brown about a certain text, she went back to Brown so she obviously doesn’t have a problem with being beaten, Brown was “blacked out” etc. On the other side, Rihanna does not need reasons to justify her actions. Like she said in the interview, she may have hit Brown before, but that absolutely does not make battering her acceptable.
The sexism doesn’t stop there however; the very fact that people blamed Rihanna for bringing it upon herself was the epitome of the “perfect women” once described in America’s youth. The perfect women was to do whatever she was told by her man, and he was also allowed to do whatever it took to keep her in line, and anyone now who looks back on that would say it’s extremely sexist. So is sexism ok when it deals with celebrities?
What do you think about all of this? Do you notice any other sources of sexism and violence between the two interviews? What about racism, is there any source of racism being portrayed in this whole ordeal?
- Yours Truly,
Nancy Klee, Matt Welch, and Kevin "The Bomb" Regan
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First of all I just want to say that all this violence against women PISSES me off. I look at Rihanna and want to shake her and be like woman why the hell did you deal with that shittt! But aside from that...
ReplyDeleteI compared both the article and the interviews and something that stuck out to me was blame. It's like everybodys playing the blame game. Nobodys really sure who to blame… and who’s to say that anyone has a right to place blame (besides Chris Brown and Rihanna that is). I honestly don’t think that anybody has the right to even try to place the blame because they weren’t there. Nobody knows the real story besides Chris Brown and Rihanna and I really don’t think anybody will ever find out the whole truth. There’s always three sides to every story… his side, hers and then the truth. I think that’s definitely something to keep in mind while reading the article/watching the clips.
Something that seriously bothers me is that people will justify getting the shit kicked out of them because they wore SLUTTY clothes.. okay does that justify half of the girls on campus getting their ass beat? Because I sure as hell know that girls dress sluttier than Rihanna. It really really really bothers me that people can even try to justify getting beaten. Nothing Rihanna did or could have done should have led to her getting beat up. Nothing.
Another thing that pissed me off was the fact that she went back to him. But on the other hand I kind of understand in a twisted way. I guess if you love somebody that much it’s hard to set them free even if they do incredibly shitty things. She knew that getting back with him was wrong, which is why she eventually left him, but she couldn’t help herself because she just wanted to forget what happened and have everything be perfect again.
So I’m super sorry this comment was really long, I just get really heated when it comes to domestic violence… in my eyes it’s never okay and never will be okay. There is never a reason for a person to lay their hands on another person. I’m not just talking about men hitting women I’m also talking about women hitting men. Just stick to the golden rule: keep your hands to yourself.
After reading the groups blog I began to ask myself what if the situation was reversed what would people think then? Is it sexist I’m not sure. Males in just about every situation are dominate over woman physically. The choice they have to make is whether they want to use that physical dominance. From experience I know that there are cases of females abusing men. Those men who don’t fight back are even more of a man in my eyes. The fact is men have to overcome whatever anger they are feeling towards a woman in that given situation and I don’t think that all men know how to do that. Chris brown for sure didn’t know how to.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that really stated to annoy me with reading the articles and watching the videos was that people/fans felt that they were in the position to place the blame where felt was appropriate. I don’t think blame game is going to get anyone anywhere in this situation. No one really knows what happened that night or what kind of relationship they had besides Chris and Rihanna. I think that people should look at the bigger picture instead which is domestic violence and how big of a problem it is become in our youth instead of wasting energy trying to place the blame. Chris and Rihanna are doing that why can’t everyone else.
When Rihanna went back to Chris after the fight I do believe it was a wrong decision and one that set a bad example for young woman. However love is powerful thing. It’s hard to leave someone you love; you start to make excuses for the wrong doings trying to justify them to everyone and yourself. But in the end you have to put your feelings aside and do whats best for yourself, and put the rest in god’s hands, just as Rihanna did.
Wow. I’m sitting here, thinking…thinking about how Chris Brown’s actions could ever be justified, and…I’ve got absolutely nothing! Chris hit Rihanna till she bled. Woah. That’s not okay. And it’s not okay for him to make excuses either. Yeah, he said he was sorry, but really…man up already! I didn’t get the impression he really feels accountable. I don’t doubt that he doesn’t regret what he did, but his appearances on tv were merely attempts to save his career, cos he knows at this point that’s all he’s really got.
ReplyDeleteI found the article in the New York Times a little more troubling, though. There are girls that believe Rihanna had it coming to her because she started nagging Chris? Really? So if your boyfriend was being unfaithful, like Chris seems to have been, it’s better to ignore the issue so as not to upset your man? Never should a relationship be built around pleasing that person at your own expense. Sorry girls. That isn’t love. Just like celebrities who enter rehab for a drug addiction and come out as sober idols, Chris came out of community service and still had fans. In my opinion, it tells young people it’s okay to abuse someone when you’re angry (cos hey, “I’m young,” as Chris so often mentioned), because your girl will come back 6-7 more times…that’s 6-7 more chances you’ve got to kick the violent habit. Moral of the story: abusive relationships can’t be restored, once the damage is done, it’s done. Just as Chris claims to be so scarred by his stepfather’s abusive nature towards his mother, a girl who has been abused, regardless of whether or not the bruises remain, will have the painful emotions to deal with for a long time, if not for the rest of her life.
When I watched the two separate interviews the thing that really stuck out to me was the seriousness factor. In Rihanna’s interview she was very professional. She told her side of the story, she looked very professional, she was polite and said she accepted what has happened and that she wants to move one and use this experience to help kids in the same situation. She looked very strong, as in she has taken this situation and learned from it. Chris, on the other hand, looked like a total jackass. The guy wore some stupid shirt and a stupid hat and just beat around the bush. His actions are totally unacceptable. The way he tried to make light of the situation by making jokes and what not. His tweets that he posted about him doing his community service and the “OOPS!” chain obviously show that he is not mature enough to handle this situation. He obviously handled the situation wrong and he keeps digging himself into a deeper hole. That was the major thing that I saw in the two interviews.
ReplyDeleteIn no way, shape, or form would this ever be Rihanna’s fault and the fact that these people had said those sorts of things is really quite disturbing. I think that that goes to show that these kids are immature and need to be educated about these sorts of situations and more girls and boys (yes boys) need to come out and try to be more proactive if they are being abused, no matter how difficult it may seem. They need to look up to people like Rihanna who has come out and helped the issue of domestic abuse reach the national scale. In her interview she says that she is glad of this experience because it has opened her eyes and now she can use it to help other young people.
After watching the two interviews, I came to the conclusion that Rihanna is a very strong woman that had a moment of selfishness, by taking Chris back, and Chris Brown is an unintelligent young man that still does not understand the severity of what he did. I did not really follow the story when it first broke news. I guess this is because I did not, and still do not, follow these two artists. So I was a blank canvas before watching these two interviews, and reading the New York Times article. My first reaction to this story is sympathy for Rihanna and hatred toward Chris Brown. However, after learning Rihanna had gone back to Chris, only three weeks after the attack, I was confused on why anyone could go back to a person who had hurt them not only physically, but also emotionally. The interview with Rihanna was very enlightening toward my confusion. Rihanna talked about how powerful love is and how she also wanted to help Chris. I guess I could understand that reasoning, and I do not think anyone could really know what she was going through unless they were in the same situation. I believed she showed great maturity for leaving Chris when she realized thousands of young girls were looking to her for the next step in their abusive relationship. Chris has done some good things about making the situation better. By actively participating in his community service, going to therapy groups, and making numerous apologies to Rihanna. The main problem I have with Chris is how he still does things that make you think he has not learned anything from what he had done. I do not think there is racism in this particular abusive situation. However, there is sexism. I disagree with Rihanna when she says, “Even if I were to have hit him first, there is no excuse for him hitting me.” While I do believe men should never hit women, I also believe that women should not hit men. Even though a woman, for the most part, would not hurt a man if they hit him the relationship would be an unhealthy one. Why does society think it is ok for women to hit men, but not the other way around? Just because one cannot do any damage?
ReplyDeleteI was taken aback by the teenage girls in the article, because they just seemed so ignorant. Like walked in to a door??? Seriously?? At first I was thinking that NY Times just did a really crappy study and that if they were trying to back Chris or Rihanna they really should find some people with some more valid reasons. However, then I realized that NY Times like whole point was to show these girls opinions and how shocking they were. I understand that some of them porbably just backed him because they liked him or what not but really backing domestic violence becasue some is attractive? Or can sing? I just hope those girls never end up in a domestic violence relationship because if they truly back what they said they would never leave the person who was hitting them. Plus I wonder if those girls ever listened to any of the news or anything that Rihanna had to say? Again I just really hope that those girls don't end up with someone who hurts them, becasue bluntly I think they'd be screwed. Domestic violence is never right no matter if someone verbally starts it. It isn't okay for anyone to punch anyone no matter what sex becasue they said something the other did not like. Like really saying it was mostly her fault because she probably started it? Who cares who started it the thing that matters is that he started the physical confrontation. He said that is was his fault, she didn't think it was her fault, I really hope those girls just opened their eyes a little after more information sourced about the event. Whoever thinks having a good looking significant other, or talented significant other is worth getting beaten over really needs some counseling in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteCrazed fans are one of the most powerful forces in the universe. If they are loyal enough they will place you on a pedestal and protect you. That is why Chris Brown's career is not too badly damaged. That is also why people will blame anybody or anything to explain why Chris beat Rihanna. Was it really anyone's fault? People says that Chris's youth, Rihanna's questions during the car ride, Chris's past, and being backed up into a fictional corner caused Chris to attack. I did find it strange that Rihanna went to Miami to see him three weeks after the event. I do not know whose fault it was but I do know that violence is wrong. Did Chris have a mental blackout? Maybe. Does Rihanna still love Chris? Who knows. What about the other men and women who are in an abusive relationships? I think the media does not pay attention to them because not everyone knows Jane or John Doe.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Chris Brown was forgiven way to quickly not only by Rihanna but also by his fans. It seems like the whole ordeal has just blown over for Chris Brown (at least the way I see it). Since so many people followed this story, I think it was an example for others in abusive relationships. I did not agree with Rihanna when she went back to Chris Brown. She thought everything would go back to normal, but odds are, abuse would have occurred again. I hate how people try to justify chris Brown's actions by claiming he blacked out. It was obviously Brown's fault. Rihanna was innocent in this case.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the interview with Rihanna, I do not blame her one bit for being embarrassed for loving Chris Brown. I cannot imagine the disappointed Rihanna experienced. Going from loving a person that deeply to finding out that the person you are in love with is capable of beating you. I think it would be easier to accept if alchol was involved because people change when they are intoxicated, but Chris Brown was not intoxicated, so that was, in a way, the "real" him.
ReplyDeleteI do not understand how young teenage girls can stick up for Chris Brown in this situation. Even if Rihanna did something to trigger the situation, it is still not right to go to the extreme of beating one's girlfriend. If these girls are sticking up Brown and saying it is okay for him to do what he did because she started it, what is going to happen to these girls if they are ever in an abusive relationship? There is no need to support Chris Brown in this situation just because his music is good. Take Michael Jackson for example. Many people might say that they love his music, but they do not support what he did with his personal life.
I support Rihanna in this situation based on the fact that she did nothing to deserve what Chris Brown did to her.
Wow... I always knew that Rihanna was beaten, but I never saw the picture from it. I always thought it was something like the Snooki punch. After looking at the pictures, I definitely think that Chris Brown is unforgivable. Rihanna is wise now to ignore Chris Brown and do nothing with him. The court also had a good choice with the forced restraining order, the best thing in this situation is for Chris and Rihanna to get distance, emotionally and physically.
ReplyDeleteWhen Chris brown made his interview, his body language was giving him away with the way he was so figgity, signs of nervousness. Perhaps this could be him not being honest, or maybe he still really does like Rihanna, but he needs to stay away from her.
After seeing the pictures of Rihanna I was shocked. I’ve never seen the pictures before and saw how bad she was actually beaten. I don’t understand how his fans can forgive him that easily and blame it on Rihanna. Rihanna also forgave Chris Brown too easily by going back with him because once abuse happens it is likely to happen again. After watching the two interviews, Chris Brown wasn’t being straight forward and Rihanna was giving her side of the story professional and honest. Chris realized he needed to make the situation better, so he joined therapy groups and did community service. After watching this whole ordeal I don’t think there was any type of racism involved. There was sexism because when Chris Brown hit Rihanna many people said she had to have done something to provoke him to do that. Since there are two sides to the story, no one really knows what happened but Rihanna and Chris Brown.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the New York Times article about the teenagers point of views I was shocked. I cannot believe that they tried to justify Chris's actions by blaming it on Rihanna. Are they that big of fans of Chris's that they just simply dismiss the fact that this issue is a serious one? If you look at the pictures, this was not just a slap on the wrist or even a punch in the face. It really looked like Rihanna had gotten beaten up by a whole gang, but unfortunately, one person did that damage to her. In the interview, Rihanna was straight up about all her feelings and seemed very genuine and sincere about everything. Chris on the other hand looked like a 12 year old child, still not realizing how serious the issue really is, thanks to the fans who are dumb enough to support him. I really feel for the girls who are not strong enough to just let go of their significant other after they have been beaten. Love is blind, and it makes me sad to see how some girls can just be silent about the whole issue.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the interview, I was fist shocked to see images of her bruises. I never would have imagined it to be as graphic as the image proved it to be, I had no idea that the physicality of the abuse was to that extent. I was also surprised how she knew the relationship was dangerous, seeing as how quickly they fell in love. I don't think anyone has any evidence that can justify Chris Brown's actions in this story, he made one of the wurst decisions of his life when he chose to not talk about the problem like an adult should and make it physical. It is sad to see that something such as a text message can result in provoking these actions. I agree with Rhianna when she calls those fans who say she had to have provoked it ignorant. If she did anything, she asked to see his cell phone, Sure he might have gotten in trouble, he is an idiot for not accepting a little blame and moving on with life. I think Chris Brown should have probably received a worse punishment, but hopefully he will realize what he truly did and accept the deeper meaning of it. Abuse is not something you can apologize over, its no accident, you must realize what you do and never do it again. I feel so proud that Rhianna said she wants to set an example for her fans and others in abusive relationships out there. She realizes the power she has, being a celebrity and wants to use this tragic event to help others prevent it. While Love has no boundaries, you can always be hurt by those you love, I just hope she can move on and enjoy the rest of her career.
ReplyDeleteI was pretty surprised after reading the article that so many young girls still defended the male in this dispute, chirs brown. Although I feel that the situation was blown out of proportion because the two involved happened to be celebrities, i figured that most young women would have been outraged at chris brown. Even more amazingly, he was defended by most of the girls interviewed. Since none of us were there, i think only rihanna and chris brown can truly evaluate the situation and determine if its right to get back together or not, but since the article is asking the opinions of others, i believe that rihanna is rather foolish for going back at least so soon. I believe in second chances but they were back so quickly after the incident that brown may not have even learned anything....blake sorry for the late post
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