Juliet Kushaba

C/o Bard College, NY, Uganda

Title: Rape and Gender: Beyond the Power Relations Discourse

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Biography

Abstract

This paper unpacks the concept of rape from a varied range of epistemological standpoints. Radical feminists (Jeffreys 1997; Kazan 1998; Whisnant 2007) among others suggest that rape is a product of disproportionate power relations between women and men. This view will be contrasted with queer scholarship (Muholi 2004, & 2006; Matebeni; Heather and Christopher 2018) that seeks to move beyond heteronormative assumptions underlying the power thesis of rape. The paper further examines the theoretical contribution(s) of each set of debates on this type of violence. In conclusion, towards a comprehensive understanding of the notion of rape as a form of violence whose motivation goes beyond the discourse of power relations, the paper posits that rape can also be located in the political economy by highlighting how sexuality has historically interacted with class, race, and ethnicity to produce violable subjects.