In class, the discussion if the different types of conflict was quite riveting. Who would have thought that a group of pacs students (okay, I am totally generalizing and stereotyping) could get so heated/conflicted about violence and conflict?! I had not anticipated that.
In terms of the different types of violence, it took me back to my peace & gender days. Polly had ingrained in our heads the difference between cultural, structural, and direct. Little did I know those concepts were so multifaceted, nor had a considered how many other types of violence and conflict exist in the world.
In terms of conflict and violence, they are often considered inherently gendered concepts. As we discussed in class, it was difficult to adequately discern whether or not conflict is actually gendered or whether it is simply the influences that social constructions have had.
Many rely on the fact that the sexes handle conflict differently solely because of biological differences; i.e. men are stronger, thus they must be more violent (a completely false assertion). Or women have babies, so they must be more peaceful. In reality though, the only reason these ideologies exist is because of the perpetuation of misconceptions. In order to create a tolerant society, people must be intolerant of certain ideologies, like the ideas of gender roles.
So finally, the discussions and readings from class make it clear that conflict is only gendered because of the fact that society has refused to believe anything other than what the dominant culture (males) decide.
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