In the Blog
When the men speak…
Tonight on CNN Gordon Ramsay, celebrity chef, will be talking about his experience growing up witnessing his father abuse his mother. In the online promo for the interview he talks about his childhood and the charity work he does to help survivors of domestic violence. He even urges others to get involved in the issue: I encourage everyone to help take a stand against domestic violence.
So this is all good right? It draws attention to the issue. Makes it more visible and credible when a celebrity speaks out. But what difference does it make if that celebrity is a man or a woman?
In 2003 Joe Torre (famous manager of the New York Yankees) spoke openly about growing up in an abusive home. He got a lot of attention and so did the issue of domestic violence.
In general, I think its amazing when men speak about their experiences witnessing violence, especially when they do so from a place of emotion and vulnerability. But in a society that still values the experiences of men over women and stereotypes women as overly emotional do we pay more attention to some people because of their gender?
