Re: [-empyre-] the invisible subject

[Christina McPhee <christina112@earthlink.net>]

Tracey writes,


On Jul 11, 2006, at 11:02 PM, Benson, Tracey wrote:
> I think the invisible woman as subject, visible woman as object can be
> deployed in a range of subjective contexts.
...


> However, the subject is rendered invisible not only because of these
> associations, but because of the restrictions in place regarding  
> access
> to the outside world.

and Michele writes of
>  t the ways women are both rendered
> invisible as subjects and are hyper-visible as
> objects. I have been considering the ways that
> traditional forms of gazing are enforced by the sale
> of vintage erotic photography on eBay and how
> descriptions of these images also articulate other
> viewers and desires.


Or -- one might add --  regarding information access , hence,  
language usage or branding, to the 'outside'  world.  In the  
permanent state of emergency,  it seems that how the subject is   
characterized is more important than the subject, or what has  
happened to the subject.

Observing  the sexual labelling of the victim of the gang rape and  
murder in Iraq by US troops,  a new article by Susan Weber in Editor  
and Publisher  is pertinent (cc below)

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp? 
vnu_content_id=1002803062


Evidently, the rape was less outrageous if the victim was considered  
a 'woman'.  Evidently the assumption may be that a woman deserves to  
be raped, or is customarily raped. Or that there are rights extant  
(accorded to unnamed entities)  to rape a woman, whereas no rights.  
or fewer options anyway, exist to rape a girl.   Meanwhile, they  
gangraped the girl and killed her and her family. It was less OK if  
it was a girl, I guess.

christina





When Is a 14-Year-Old Girl a 'Woman'?


By Sarah Weber

Published: July 11, 2006 1:45 PM ET

NEW YORK Ever since the case of the raping and killing of an Iraqi  
and the alleged murder of three of her family members by U.S. troops  
went public, the age of the rape victim had been in dispute, ranging  
from about 15 to 25. Two days ago, Reuters and others news agencies  
produced proof that she was 14, based on a passport and identity  
card. Most news organizations then started calling her a girl -- but  
some persist in referring to her as a "woman."

The girl was apparently born August 19, 1991. Yet a widely published  
AP story today by Robert H. Reid repeatedly referred to the girl,  
whose last name was al-Janabi, as a “young Iraqi woman" and later  
again as a "woman." The story was in reference to the gag order being  
requested by attorneys of Steven D. Green, an ex-soldier who is one  
of the men charged with the rape and murders. It begins: "An al-Qaida- 
linked group posted a Web video today purporting to show the  
mutilated bodies of two Fort Campbell soldiers, claiming it killed  
them in revenge for the rape-slaying of a young Iraqi woman by  
American troops from the same unit."

A separate AP story today by Juan Lozano, on the soldiers' families  
defending them, also refers to the girl as a "young woman."

In Tuesday's Washington Post, an article by Joshua Partlow refers to  
the teenager as an “Iraqi woman.” USA Today continues to feature the  
AP "young woman" story. The CNN site calls the victim a "young  
female" and a "woman." A CNN report aired Tuesday by Nic Robertson  
continued to refer to the child as a "young woman."

Yet a full day earlier, and again today, The New York Times was  
calling her a "girl." The Los Angeles Times today referred to her as  
a "teenage Iraqi" and later as a "teen." Bloomberg used "girl" and  
McClatchy's dispatch chose "teenager." Reuters simply stated her age:  
14.

But Jim Lehrer on his PBS "NewsHour" last night referred to her a  
"woman." At the CBS News site today, a joint CBS/AP story uses "young  
woman."

Other stories today continue to offer caveats, claiming that the age  
of the young victim was “in dispute.” The Reid AP story referred to  
an FBI affidavit concerning Green’s charges, which estimated al- 
Janabi to be about 25. The article went on to say that “a doctor at  
the Mahmoudiya hospital gave her age as 14. He refused to be  
identified for fear of reprisals.” The AP story does not mention the  
Reuters release of al-Janabi’s passport and the other supporting  
documents.

An AP wire photo published with many of the stories does refer to the  
victim as a "girl."

***

UPDATE: In a story for Wednesday's Washington Post, following the E&P  
story above, reporter Joshua Partlow, who had earlier described the  
14-year-old as a woman, now refers to her an an "Iraqi girl."
Sarah Weber (sweber@editorandpublisher.com) is a reporter for E&P.