Violence Is A Feminist Issue Sociology Essay

Violence Is A Feminist Issue Sociology Essay Violence against women and children has always been a concern for women movements. Violence within the family set-up was seen as a social problem and this was recognized by women rights movements who acted as catalysts in the 1870s for human rights (Costin et al., 1996; Gordon, 2002). In the early 1900s, feminism was an original expression of women advocates who were campaigners of right to life and right for women to vote in the United States and the United Kingdom. Later on in the 1970s, the meaning of feminism was changed by liberals in order to have a representation of people who were in favour of abortion and similar roles for women in the society. My purpose in this essay will be to define and problematise key concepts used such as violence, feminism and patriarchy using various definitions given by key authors. My main focus in this paper will be to discuss violence against women and demonstrate that violence is a feminist issue by examining radical feminist arguments around p atriarchal violence against women. I will also argue that violence is not only a feminist issue basing on the violent experiences men go through in a human rights perspective then critically analyze the findings. Violence to start with has been defined in various ways by a number of authors. According to Martin Luther Kings (1964), Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys a community and makes brotherhood impossible. World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence as the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation. This kind of violence as described by WHO, could be self-directed, interpersonal or collective kind of violence. Stanko (2003) states that what violence means is and will always be fluid, not fixed; it is mutable (2003: 3). For the purposes of this essay, I will use Salmis (1993) definition which states that violence is any avoidable action that constitutes a violation of a human right, in its widest meaning, or which prevents the f ulfillment of a basic human need (Salmi 1993, Chap 3). Feminism on the other hand according to historian and activist Cheris Kramarae (1991), is the fundamental idea that women are human beings and as a movement, it advocates for womens rights where they live on equal terms with men and no discrimination is put upon them by the law or their culture. In general terms, feminism can be described as a movement for social, cultural, political and economic equality of men and women. It strives for equal rights for women by promoting campaigns against gender inequalities. Feminism has had several historical waves which have stated various rights of women over time. The first-wave feminism which came between the 18th Century and the World War II aimed at ensuring that women had basic civil rights such as voting and owning property. The second-wave feminism started at the end of the World War II until the 1980s when the amendment of the equal rights was defeated. Its main agenda was to campaign for equality between both women and male sexes (Rosen, 2000) by trying to pass the Equal Rights Amendment and also protect the womens reproductive choice. The last wave was the third -wave feminism which wanted to seek equality for all women form racial justice, class oppression to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights. Liberal, radical and cultural feminism are different kinds of feminism which seek for various rights for women, these will be discussed at a later state of this essay. For the purposes of this essay, I will also discuss patriarchy. Patriar chy in general is described as a system in which men have power over women. According to Renzetti Curran(1999), patriarchy is a system of social stratification, which means that it uses a wide array of social control policies and practices to ratify male power and to keep girls and women subordinate to men (1999: 3) . Violence is a feminist issue Feminism has played a major role in effecting the social changes in the Western society and this has resulted to giving it more attention. Some people see feminism as an acceptable form of fighting for women rights while others look at it as a destroying factor of traditional gender roles in the society in which some feminists say that these roles are used to oppress and silence women. The feminity and masculinity of human beings has been challenged by radical feminists as mutually exclusive and biologically determined categories. Radical feminists seek to eradicate feminity and masculinity characteristics restricting womens competences and reinforcing male dominance. While sex differences are linked to biological differences between male and female, gender differences are imposed socially or even politically by constructed contrasting stereotypes of masculinity and femininity (de Beauvoir, 1970: 258). Radical feminists consider patriarchy as the root cause of social problems such as inequalities, oppressions, and injustices indicating that oppression of women came from the underlying bias of a patriarchal society. These feminists argue that patriarchal violence against women keeps women subordinate, oppressed and unequal to their male counterparts. The term violence against women according to the declaration of the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995 means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, patriarchy was mainly used to describe the power of fathers (patriarchs) within families and according to Fredriech Engels (1884) and Max Weber (1922) family-centered patriarchy was imita ted in the economic and political dominance of men in society. The broader system of family centered patriarchy was called patrimonialism by Weber. Radical feminists such as Brownmiller (1975); Griffin (1971); Millett (1971) and Mitchell (1971), argue that the greatest capacity for male violence against women is linked to the origin and nature of patriarchy and that violence is a something that men use to control and maintain their dominance. Brownmiller (1975) and Mitchell (1971) believe that for men to act violently there is an existence of dissimilar level of physical strength between sexes. On the other hand, Millett (1971) and Griffin (1971) denote that there is a difference on how the two opposite sexes use violence which is influenced by culture and current technological developments. It has been assumed that all men are capable of being violent and that all women are submissive. The aim of Radical feminists has been to determine individual identity; free language and culture from the masculinity seize, and re-organize the power of politics, determine the significance of human behaviour and challenge what is valuable to i ndividuals. Mandell (1995) argues that radical feminists believe that unless the notion of sexuality is reformed and rebuilt, womens image and representation will always be subordinate to men. According to Heywood (2003) Women are subordinated as a sex that is subject to pervasive oppression and not as individuals who happen to be denied rights or opportunities (2003:254). Radical feminists have raised the shortcomings of individualism as the basis of gender politics and this has resulted to ignoring the structural role that patriarchy plays. They have received criticisms from Marxist feminists for completely ignoring the basis of patriarchy which happens to be historical, materialistic and economic. At the same time, Alison Jaggar in Feminist Politics and Human Nature (1971) states that social organizations determine gender differences in the society and so women should be in control of their lives. Jaggar (1971) critiques radical feminists for not recognizing reasons that brought about patriar chy and its structures. Violence is not only a feminist issue Men continue to experience domestic violence within the society and even though many of them do not come out to report about the abuse, the issue is still a human rights matter that has to be addressed. In this essay, I will be interested in exploring the human rights perspectives and compare them with the feminists ones in order to come up with an argument that covers both sides of gender violence. Stanko (2006) argues that gender is more that just being male or female. Many people only view gender as a psychological and social system of reference. According to Stanko (2006) the work of feminists on domestic and sexual violence clearly explains the criminal harm against humanity as a justification to freedom of behavior in close relationships. Feminists insist on dealing with violence as ordinary and everyday activities in womens lives whereas human rights activists follow legal dimensions that address the needs of each and every individual in order to enjoy the conditions that call for a decent life. Stanko (2006) continues to state that in domestic settings, mens experiences of sexual and physical violence should be treated as similar to that of women. For a very long time, criminology as a discipline has portrayed womens use of violence against men as normal (Klein, 1973). Human rights, according to Merry (2006) promote equality, individual choices, individual autonomy and secularism. Gender violence which includes violence against women is a violation against human rights and as Merry argues, it is deeply established from the cultural and religious beliefs. Very often, the communities that commit acts of aggression resist change. Womens human rights are violated in a number of ways and many a times, the violation of womens rights is mainly by the fact that they are female and are abused on the basis of their gender. Many people have argued that feminism has been re-shaped by the fact that the last decade has seen major changes in terms of labelling womens rights as human rights (Walby, 2002). Historically, women as both victims and offenders have had many disadvantages in the eyes of the law and men have dominated in each aspect from politics to domestic settings. Theorists such as Copelon, (1994) and Roth (1994) have argued that in order to disclose the usefulness of human rights for women, public and private divide relating to violence against women has to be challenged. Comparing feminist with human rights perspective, it is clear that in reference to the terms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, women enjoy the same rights, freedoms and autonomy as men. Feminism has been known for contending for gender equality and bringing to an end the gender based discriminations against women. Most feminists do not agree to the fact that men are equally oppressed as women and they insist that equality between sexes would make the society a better place. While feminisms agenda is to campaign against gender inequalities and strive for equal rights for women, human rights motives provide the general basic fundamental rights which each human being is entitled to. Femin ists agree with the fact that human rights provides rights for all human beings and addresses their needs but they claim that human rights does not include cultural diversity and gender perspectives thus limiting its interests. Various feminists argue that some of the womens rights have been neglected and have proposed that all women rights be included in the human rights protection system considering that the main difference between men and women is the biological otherwise they all have equal rights. Analysis It has been argued that feminists of the second wave especially those in the USA between 1970 and 1985 focused mainly on violence against women because this violence resulted in to a patriarchal system which gave explanations to the biological difference between men and women. According to an article by Martinez (2011), the social and sexual control of women by men in patriarchal societies was linked to the use of violence against women and the second wave feminists contend that domestic violence is associated with the fact that men are more powerful than women , there are biological differences between men and women and that it is men who commit acts of violence against women. Due to the cultural and religious norms that people belief in, many womens rights are violated in family set-ups and this has made human rights activists change their way of thinking in order to make an impact to the society. In reference to the Working Conference on Womens Rights as Human Rights held in Dublin (1997) and the discussions in this essay, it is clear that feminism and human rights have several differing components but they both have a common world view. In the Western society, feminism has become popular because of the social changes it has brought about although this has not passed without critisms. It has been noted that some feminist movements have invaded on the traditional gender roles which has harmonized the society in the sense that women have been silenced and oppressed. At the same time, there has been a massive negative impact on men due to the fact that a number of advocates for mens rights claim that they have been oppressed by the social changes and legal reforms taking place for example, the law favouring mothers in divorce cases involving custody hearings. It is true some of the men go through domestic violence and other oppressions but statistics show that 11% of men had exp erienced domestic violence compared to 32% of women who actually experienced domestic violence four or five (or more) times more (Walby and Allen, 2004). This means that mens experience of violence is much less that that of women. According to (Walby and Allen, 2004) 89% of women represented all those who had experienced incidents of domestic violence 4 or more times. Male dominance has promoted the idea in the society amongst women that they are more superior thus creating a power gap between men and women. Patriarchal society has been identified by the existence of men whose thinking and ideas are influenced by their cultural norms. The patriarchal social structures according to Johnson (1997) Â   are male dominated, male centered, societal and personal attributes are associated with men and they are valued for their ability to put things in control unlike women who have no control over anything. It is evident that these factors have contributed in a big way to domestic violence and other kinds of women oppression and has driven most feminists to fight for equity and demonstrate the importance of women in the society. Evidence has also shown that violence is also a human rights issue with the arguments that the human rights activists protect the rights of all human beings against violence and any sort of abuse. Despite the fact that human rights activists are doing a good job, there has been a big conflict between human rights activists and feminists in addressing violence issues especially those affecting women. In a paper presented by Krishna Mallick (1998) at the World Congress of Philosophy in Boston on the common ground of feminism and cultural Relativism in Human Rights Discourse, feminists have argued that gender and culture must be included in the human rights systems because human rights in itself should incorporate all human beings rights irrespective of gender and culture. According to Mallick (1998), feminists recommend that human rights framework be revised in order to consider the differences like the reproductive and sexual anatomy rights that exist in a woman. It could be argued that both feminists and human rights activists play a major role in ensuring that violence against women is addressed despite the fact that both sides criticize each other. Much of this essay clearly indicates how feminism has effected changes in the society in fighting for women equal rights although men were not left behind in the human rights discussion. I will conclude this essay by indicating that that violence is both a feminist and a human rights issue and that both can work together to effect positive change on to the society. Conclusion Feminism has received a lot of criticism but that this criticism has failed to account for the extent to which it has played a major role in protecting the rights of a common woman. According to Winston (2012) feminism has been a core movement in protecting women from the storm of patriarchy and historically, these feminists have been able to bring to attention issues that affecting women especially accessing education and also getting jobs in areas where men have been in occupancy for a long time. Morgan (1989) states that it is undeniable that history record of most women acting peaceably and most men acting belligerently to a point where the capacity for belligerence is regarded as an ingredient of manhood and the proclivity for conciliation is thought largely a quality of women (1989:27). It is evident that feminists have helped many women to be self determined and to have legal representation on various issues ranging from domestic to international level. This essay has considered the definitions of violence, feminism and patriarchy, discussion of violence against women and has demonstrated that violence is a feminist issue by examining radical feminist arguments around patriarchal violence against women. I have also stated that violence is not only a feminist issue basing on the violent experiences men go through in a human rights perspective. I tend to think that feminism has helped both men and women on gender issues and its principles. Patriarchy has been challenged and violence against women is becoming a thing of the past through the campaigns that are being undertaken by feminists. It would be important to see human rights activists and all feminists work together in fighting gender and violence issues because violence is not only a feminist issue but also a human rights concern.

Advertising Manipulates People Essay -- Advertisements, Adverts

In our society, we are constantly surrounded by advertising. From the time our alarm clock wakes us up in the morning until we set it at night, our brains are bombarded with advertisements. Ads play a huge role in our lives, telling us what to buy, what car to drive, how our families should interact, and what we should look like. The business of Advertising is built on persuasion. Advertisements attempt to persuade us that we are not rich enough, pretty enough, thin enough, family oriented enough, and the list goes on. To put it more clearly, the advertising empire is built on the exploitation of the fears of the American people. They take the knowledge of our fears and attempt to convince us that if we buy their product, we will achieve all the things we need to attain perfection. The possessing of material goods and wealth as a determinate of our status and self-worth is a huge emphasis of advertising. It works by convincing people that the amount of money they have, and the quality of the goods that they own will gain them social acceptance. Advertising is then exploiting a persons fear of rejection. We are constantly being bombarded with images of famous people in designer clothing, driving expensive cars, and living in enormous mansions. We are taught that this is a portrait of success, and to be happy you must be successful. Therefore, the possession of these items will endow the possessor with happiness. The rich and famous are viewed as the most socially acceptable persons in our world. Advertising uses the images of these famous people to convince the rest of us average Americans that we need to buy all of the things that the celebrities have in order to be accepted and consequently happy. This is why celebrity endors... ...er and get along better if once a week you sit down at the table and play one of their games together. I mean, what else unites a family better than a good game of chutes and ladders? People are so afraid of having a â€Å"dysfunctional† or imperfect family that they will go as far as spending money on things they do not need in order to achieve this ideal. Once again, advertising has accomplished its goal. Advertising is a complex industry, focused on the selling of products by convincing people that they need them. It is a business that manipulates people in order to accomplish its goals, which it does quite effectively. Our society is one with many fears, and because of this advertising will continue to find new and different ways of exploiting them in order to market their goods. And as long as the American people continue to buy into it, they will be successful

Diet and Depression

â€Å"Can Diet Help Stop Depression and Violence? † Every prisoner in jail most likely incarcerated due to some sort of violence they’ve committed or been a part of. There are many suggestions as to what can bring down depression and violence rates like Jurriaan Kamp explained. Some given information from the passage includes more physical activities, yoga, meditation and a well balanced diet. Yes, these symptoms might help bring down the depression and violence rates but that is not the only thing that has been researched on.Weirdly enough fish oil can provide the extra boost. Having a healthy diet with enough vitamins and nutrients are a great start for a healthy well-being. After researching and doing studies on certain prisoners and students by feeding them fish oil it is provident to say that prison violence dropped, children in school began to achieve better grades, and depression rates have fallen. Bad diets cause bad behavior and good diet prevents it. 231 Briti sh prisoners were rounded up and began to be investigated upon for four months.Bernard Gesch, a psychologist and the researcher spitted the men aged 18-21 in half. Half of them would be receiving multivitamin, mineral, and fatty-acid supplements with their meals. The other half would be taking placebos, a substance containing no medication to see if the vitamins and fatty acid like omega 3 really had an effect on prisoners’ violence and minor infractions. As month passed and Gesch observed that minor infractions of prison rules by the group consuming multivitamins and omega 3 had fallen by 26 percent.On the other hand the group taking the fake medication barely changed. The most dramatic changed was showed in the group taking the fish oil, incidents of violence dropped to a staggering 37 perfect while the prisoners on placebos did not change. Gesch did the same research in the Netherlands but results were different than in England. This time around he conducted research with 221 inmates ages 18-25. 116 of them were given daily supplements for up to 3 months. The other 105 receive placebos.Report of violence dropped by 34 percent but contrastingly the prisoners on placebos rose 13 percent. Better healthy can only help violence and can not hurt it, so why not take the chance. Additionally, another place where nutrition as been improved and seems to be working is in the city of Durham, England. A psychologist conducted a study in 12 primary schools. The study was based on 117 children ages 5-12. Students were of average ability but underachieving in some aspects.Likewise in the prisoner’s research half of the students were given omega-3 supplements for 3 months and the other half received an olive oil placebo. Results showed that those students taking the omega-3 did significantly better in spelling than those students who were taking placebos. The psychologist also goes to explain that yes there are prescriptions for disorders such as Ritalin, but states that there’s also something more than can be done. One of the choices is to increase your child’s intake of omega-3.It may not totally cure his disorder but it will cause no harm and omega-3 will only benefit the child’s disorders. It can play an important role in stimulation the brain, keeping it healthy, and helping it ward off debilitating conditions. Seeing as the number of people with psychological disorders will double. People should take into consideration and should want to take omega-3 to better their health and their brain by just taking a simple fish oil pill. Jurriaan Kamp stated that 6. percent of New Zealanders suffer from severe depression; these citizens also eat very little fish. In Japan where the fish consumption is high, 0. 1 percent of the people suffer from depression. After carefully looking at the statistics psychologist have come to the conclusion that in countries in which fish consumption is low there is a new found theory that it is more likely of suffering from depression by 50 times greater than in countries where the consumption is high.People should eat fish regardless if it does help depression or not. Fish isn’t only beneficial to depression but it is also good for ones health. Depression is rare in Iceland, which has the highest per capita fish consumption in the world. It was also found that the risk of being murdered is thirty times higher in countries where fish consumption is low compared to countries where fish consumption is high.In conclusion, after reading all these statistics it’s safe to say everyone should take fish oil or omega-3. Hibbeln found that depressive and aggressive feelings diminished by about 50 percent after taking fish-oil capsules. Not only does it better your chances of being ‘violent’ or even going into ‘severe depression’ but also it’s excellent for your body over all. Even just increasing your consumption of fish it self c an do the body nothing but it nothing but multiple of superb results.

Magical Realism - Definition and Examples

Magical realism, or magic realism, is an approach to literature that weaves fantasy and myth into everyday life. What’s real? What’s imaginary? In the world of magical realism, the ordinary becomes extraordinary and the magical becomes commonplace. Also known as â€Å"marvelous realism,† or â€Å"fantastic realism,†Ã‚  magical realism is not a style or a genre so much as a way of questioning the nature of reality. In books, stories, poetry, plays, and film, factual narrative and far-flung fantasies combine to reveal insights about society and human nature. The term magic realism is also associated with realistic and figurative artworks  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  paintings, drawings, and sculpture  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  that suggest hidden meanings. Lifelike images, such as the Frida Kahlo portrait shown above, take on an air of mystery and enchantment. Strangeness Infused Into Stories There’s nothing new about infusing strangeness into stories about otherwise ordinary people. Scholars have identified elements of magical realism in Emily Brontà «s passionate, haunted Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights) and Franz Kafka’s unfortunate Gregor, who turns into a giant insect (The Metamorphosis). However, the expression â€Å"magical realism† grew out of specific artistic and literary movements that emerged during the mid-20th century. Art From a Variety of Traditions In 1925, critic Franz Roh (1890-1965) coined the term Magischer Realismus (Magic Realism) to describe the work of German artists who depicted routine subjects with eerie detachment. By the 1940s and 1950s, critics and scholars were applying the label to art from a variety of traditions. The enormous floral paintings by Georgia OKeeffe (1887-1986), the psychological self-portraits of Frida Kahlo (1907-1954), and the brooding urban scenes by Edward Hopper (1882-1967) all fall within the realm of magic realism. A Separate Movement in Literature In literature, magical realism evolved as a separate movement, apart from the quietly mysterious magic realism of visual artists. Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980) introduced the concept of â€Å"lo real maravilloso (the marvelous real) when he published his 1949 essay â€Å"On the Marvelous Real in Spanish America.† Carpentier believed that Latin America, with its dramatic history and geography, took on an aura of the fantastic in the eyes of the world. In 1955, literary critic Angel Flores (1900-1992) adopted the term magical realism (as opposed to magic realism) to describe the writings of Latin American authors who transformed â€Å"the common and the every day into the awesome and the unreal.   Latin American Magic Realism According to Flores, magical realism began with a 1935 story by Argentine writer Jorge Luà ­s Borges (1899-1986). Other critics have credited different writers for launching the movement. However, Borges certainly helped lay the groundwork for Latin American magical realism, which was seen as unique and distinct from the work of European writers like Kafka. Other Hispanic authors from this tradition include Isabel Allende, Miguel à ngel Asturias, Laura Esquivel, Elena Garro, Rà ³mulo Gallegos, Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez, and Juan Rulfo. Extraordinary Circumstances Were Expected Surrealism runs through the streets, Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez (1927-2014) said in an interview with The Atlantic. Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez shunned the term â€Å"magical realism† because he believed that extraordinary circumstances were an expected part of South American life in his native Columbia. To sample his magical-but-real writing, begin with â€Å"A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings and â€Å"The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World.† An International Trend Today, magical realism is viewed as an international trend, finding expression in many countries and cultures. Book reviewers, booksellers, literary agents, publicists, and authors themselves have embraced the label as a way to describe works that infuse realistic scenes with fantasy and legend. Elements of magical realism can be found in writings by Kate Atkinson, Italo Calvino, Angela Carter, Neil Gaiman, Gà ¼nter Grass, Mark Helprin, Alice Hoffman, Abe Kobo, Haruki Murakami, Toni Morrison, Salman Rushdie, Derek Walcott, and countless other authors around the world. 6 Key Characteristics of Magical Realism It’s easy to confuse magical realism with similar forms of imaginative writing. However, fairy tales are not magical realism. Neither are horror stories, ghost stories, science fiction, dystopian fiction, paranormal fiction, absurdist literature, and sword and sorcery fantasy. To fall within the tradition of magical realism, the writing must have most, if not all, of these six characteristics: 1. Situations and Events That Defy Logic: In Laura Esquivel’s lighthearted novel Like Water for Chocolate, a woman forbidden to marry pours magic into food. In Beloved, American author Toni Morrison spins a darker tale: An escaped slave moves into a house haunted by the ghost of an infant who died long ago. These stories are very different, yet both are set in a world where truly anything can happen. 2. Myths and Legends: Much of the strangeness in magic realism derives from folklore, religious parables, allegories, and superstitions. An abiku  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  a West African spirit child  Ã¢â‚¬â€Ã‚  narrates The Famished Road by Ben Okri. Often, legends from divergent places and times are juxtaposed to create startling anachronisms and dense, complex stories. In A Man Was Going Down The Road, Georgian author Otar Chiladze merges an ancient Greek myth with the devastating events and tumultuous history of his Eurasian homeland near the Black Sea. 3. Historic Context and Societal Concerns: Real-world political events and social movements entwine with fantasy to explore issues such as racism, sexism, intolerance, and other human failings. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie is the saga of a man born at the moment of India’s independence. Rushdie’s character is telepathically linked with a thousand magical children born at the same hour and his life mirrors key events of his country. 4. Distorted Time and Sequence: In magical realism, characters may move backward, leap forward, or zigzag between the past and the future. Notice how Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez treats time in his 1967 novel, Cien Aà ±os de Soledad (One Hundred Years of Solitude). Sudden shifts in narrative and the omnipresence of ghosts and premonitions leave the reader with the sense that events cycle through an endless loop. 5. Real-World Settings: Magic realism is not about space explorers or wizards; Star Wars and Harry Potter are not examples of the approach. Writing for The Telegraph, Salman Rushdie noted that â€Å"the magic in magic realism has deep roots in the real.† Despite the extraordinary events in their lives, the characters are ordinary people who live in recognizable places. 6. Matter-of-Fact Tone: The most characteristic feature of magical realism is the dispassionate narrative voice. Bizarre events are described in an offhand manner. Characters do not question the surreal situations they find themselves in. For example, in the short book Our Lives Became Unmanageable, a narrator plays down the drama of her husbands vanishing: â€Å"†¦the Gifford who stood before me, palms outstretched, was no more than a ripple in the atmosphere, a mirage in a gray suit and striped silk tie, and when I reached again, the suit evaporated, leaving only the purple sheen of his lungs and the pink, pulsing thing Id mistaken for a rose. It was, of course, only his heart.† Dont Put It in a Box Literature, like visual art, doesn’t always fit into a tidy box. When Nobel Laureate Kazuo Ishiguro published The Buried Giant, book reviewers scrambled to identify the genre. The story appears to be a fantasy because it unfolds in a world of dragons and ogres. However, the narration is dispassionate and the fairy tale elements are understated: â€Å"But such monsters were not cause for astonishment†¦there was so much else to worry about.† Is The Buried Giant pure fantasy, or has Ishiguro entered the realm of magical realism? Perhaps books like this belong in genres all their own. Sources Arana, Marie. Review: Kazuo Ishiguros The Buried Giant defies easy categorization. The Washington Post, February 24, 2015.  Craven, Jackie. Our Lives Became Unmanageable. The Omnidawn Fabulist Fiction Prize, Paperback, Omnidawn, October 4, 2016.Fetters. Ashley. The Origins of Gabriel Garcia Marquezs Magic Realism. The Atlantic, April 17, 2014.Flores, Angel. Magical Realism in Spanish American Fiction. Hispania, Vol. 38, No. 2, American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese, JSTOR, May 1955.Ishiguro, Kazuo. The Buried Giant. Vintage International, Paperback, Reprint edition, Vintage, January 5, 2016.Leal, Luis. Magical Realism in Spanish American Literature. Lois Parkinson Zamora (Editor), Wendy B. Faris, Duke University Press, January 1995.McKinlay, Amanda Ellen. Block magic: categorization, creation, and influence of Francesca Lia Block’s Enchanted America. UBC Theses and Dissertations, The University of British Columbia, 2004.Morrison, Rusty. Paraspheres: Exten ding Beyond the Spheres of Literary and Genre Fiction: Fabulist and New Wave Fabulist Stories. Paperback, Omnidawn Publishing, June 1, 1967.Rà ­os, Alberto. Magical Realism: Definitions. Arizona State University, May 23, 2002, Tempe, AZ.Rushdie, Salman. Salman Rushdie on Gabriel Garcà ­a Mà ¡rquez: His world was mine. The Telegraph, April 25, 2014.Wechsler, Jeffrey. Magic Realism: Defining the Indefinite. Art Journal. Vol. 45, No. 4, The Visionary Impulse: An American Tendency, CAA, JSTOR, 1985.