Chrystul Kizer self-portrait
Recently I finally acquired a copy of The Bonobo Sisterhood, by Diane Rosenfeld, which, for obvious reasons, I’ve been keen to read. However, having read two thirds of the book, I must say that I find it something of a let-down. Firstly, it’s very US-based, which sorely tests my anti-US bias, shameful though that is. Second, it concentrates almost solely on individual male sexual violence – certainly an important topic, but not so much a part of my own focus, which is political, economic, legal and military power, among other things. It’s also somewhat aggressively black-and-white, often giving the impression that most if not all males are potential violators and/or sexual predators, which, when I think of my own social circle, strikes me as absurd. A great deal of the writing focuses on women’s self-defence, which, again, I’ve never given much thought to. None of the women in my admittedly narrow circle go in for self-defence training, though most have been into physical fitness, yoga, pilates and the like. They clearly don’t feel the need for it, which might suggest that this is more of a US problem. Then again, my little microcosm may be atypical.
To be fair, The Australian Bureau of Statistics does make for grim reading on male violence,
In the most recent incident of physical assault by a male (September 2023):
For women
- 87% knew the perpetrator
- 70% experienced the incident in a residential location
- 63% experienced anxiety or fear
For men
- 42% knew the perpetrator
- 74% experienced the incident in a non-residential location
So, yes, self-defence training might be a useful option (do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself), as might ‘girl gangs’ or safety in numbers. And Australia’s figures, I’d reckon, are much the same as those of any other WEIRD country.
Another focus of the book is policing, and legal treatment of women who have been abused and fought back. Rosenfeld reveals, unsurprisingly, a bias in these arenas with respect to both gender and ethnicity. That’s to say, African-American women seem to be given a particularly raw deal. She goes into detail about one case, that of Chrystul Kizer, a 17-year-old accused of shooting Randall Volar, a sex trafficker who had been abusing her over an extensive period. Both Chrystul and her mother had been abused by other men, and Volar’s history of abuse, relating to many women, was extensive, but the authorities had been slow to act against him, to put it mildly. Chrystul’s case became something of a cause célèbre for the MeToo movement, and her fate was undecided at the time of The Bonobo Sisterhood’s publication. She has since been sentenced to 11 years’ prison. Hopefully, this isn’t the end of the matter, and I have to say, a great deal of what I read of the US justice system, especially as it pertains to the disadvantaged, makes me white with rage.
So, as I continue to read The Bonobo Sisterhood, I have moments of overwhelming emotion which make it hard to continue. For example the story of low-caste girls being sold into sexual slavery in Mumbai, the stories of Dr Denis Mukwege and ‘Mama C’, Christine Schuler Deschryver, founders of Panzi Hospital, and V, aka Eve Ensler, co-founder of City of Joy, all in the DRC, where bonobos abide and where female victims of warfare, terror and horrific abuse are being protected and rehabilitated, as far as is possible.
We have to continue the push, for female political, legal and financial dominance, which will not lead to any utopia, for utopias are simply fictions, but will definitely lead to something better than we have now. I’ll no doubt have more to say once I’m finished this book.
Reference
Diane L Rosenfeld, The Bonobo Sisterhood: revolution through female alliance, 2022
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