wider

analysis of socialization, power, heteropatriarchy, and trauma revealed that the so-
called paradox of women’s fear was only paradoxical when viewed through a lens that
ignored gendered power relations.208 From a feminist perspective that takes women’s lived
realities seriously, the paradox was nothing of the kind, nor were women remotely irrational.
Whitzman insists that those puzzled over women’s fear were ignoring some essential—and
for feminists, somewhat obvious—facts. At the top of her list: “The crime women most fear
is rape. The crime men most fear is robbery. Robbery is a bad thing to have happen to you.
Rape is worse.”209
That sexual violence generates a heightened sense of fear seems clear, but this factor was
hidden by the generic nature of fear of crime surveys. Feminist scholars also point out that
sexual assault is grossly underreported, suggesting that rates of violence against women are
massively underestimated using statistics based on reported crimes. The experience of prior
assault is also likely to leave women with an intensified fear of future assault. The very
everyday experiences of catcalling and sexual harassment serve to reinforce fear as women
are constantly sexualized, objectified, and made to feel uncomfortable in public spaces.210
Geographer Hille Koskela observes that “sexual harassment reminds women every day that
they are not meant to be in certain spaces.”211
The long-term effect of childhood socialization has to be considered as well. We’re given
very explicit instructions to fear strangers and public spaces at night. The news media also
plays a role through sensationalized reporting on violent stranger crimes against women and
a relative lack of reporting on intimate partner violence. The whole genre of police
procedural shows revolves around portrayals of heinous acts of violence against women,
each season escalating the imagined crimes and graphic scenes (I’m looking at you, Criminal
Minds and Law & Order: SVU). Sexual assault is a common trope throughout movies, books,
and television, often used by authors to illustrate a pivotal moment in a woman’s character
development. Taken together, these portrayals imply that stranger violence and sexual assault
are always just around the corner. Comedian Tig Notaro has a bit that captures the effects of
this perfectly. Every time a man makes her feel uneasy in public, she wonders, “Is this my
rape?” We laugh uneasily because it rings true. We do sort of believe that “our rape” is
already out there, an inevitability waiting in the shadows.
In contrast, domestic violence, sexual assault by acquaintances, incest, child abuse, and
other “private,” yet much more prevalent, crimes receive far less attention. From a feminist
perspective, this difference in attention serves to direct women’s fear outwards, away from
the home and family, reinforcing patriarchal institutions like the nuclear family and women’s
reliance on heterosexual partnership for the appearance of security. In a vicious cycle, this
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stigmatizes violence experienced within the “safe” space of the home and drives it further out
of sight.
Weighing all of these factors—underreporting, harassment, socialization, media—the
paradox of women’s fear begins to dissolve. In fact, concludes Whitzman, “women’s fear is
highly rational.”212 Instead of trying to locate some internal cause or explanation for
women’s fear, feminists are more interested in situating it within broader structures, systems,
and institutions. And this leads to the question, “why is women’s fear so deeply embedded,

Kern, Leslie. Feminist City : Claiming Space in a Man-Made World, Verso, 2020. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/ncl/detail.action?docID=6178348.
Created from ncl on 2023-01-04 14:37:59.