Tamara DeGray

Boston, MA

I believe in the power of words. Spoken, written, having a voice gives you power. It enables you to exist. In this world, some women are denied that voice, by society and/or by their intimate partners. I want to do what I can to help them. My specific interests are women and their effects on the peace process, gender-based violence, and the role of the poet in a democracy. I've also done work regarding the plight of women in prison.

http://card.ly/tldegray

Tamara signed the petition | 2 months ago

South Hadley School: stop bullying our kids at lunch
Tamara signed the petition | 5 months ago

McDonald's: Stop Using Pork from Abused Pigs
Tamara signed the petition | 7 months ago

Cobb County GA: Release Grieving Mother of Hit-and-Run & Install a Crosswalk
Tamara signed the petition | 12 months ago

Ebay Classifieds: Stop Selling Live Animals
Tamara commented on the article | over 2 years ago

A Global Look At Women's Attitudes Toward Domestic Abuse

As a DV advocate I'm aware of the statistics both in the US and around the world. However the post was about developing nations so that was what I responded to.

I see from your condecension to me (I am most certainly not your "darlin'") and your comments below about sexual intimacy and submissiveness that you are trolling so do enjoy that.

Jen--I'm bowing out of the discussion after this since I don't believe it can be constructive if it's being trolled. Great topic to bring up, as always.
Tamara commented on the article | over 2 years ago

A Global Look At Women's Attitudes Toward Domestic Abuse

From my research I've found the community, both male and female, to be well aware of the violence against women and to be highly accepting of it. It is, sadly, the norm. My research was in developing nations so I think it can safely be applied to the countries listed in the above chart.

I imagine if any women in those societies did hit their husbands the repercussions would quite possibly be deadly. I also don't think matching violence with violence is a valid solution. Better to work to solve the societal issues that cause violence against women than to teach women more violence.
Tamara signed the petition | over 2 years ago

Eliminate Violence Against Women
Tamara commented on the article | over 2 years ago

A Global Look At Women's Attitudes Toward Domestic Abuse

"I wish I could understand how domestic violence makes sense in these countries"

I can understand. Not because it's my understanding but because I've read studies and done quite a bit of work on this. This is something I wrote earlier this year:

"It is essential to note the difference between cause and risk factors, and to not assign cause where there is none, especially in the case of domestic violence, which is often thought to be the "fault" of the victim, and which burdens the victim with a great deal of shame and fear. According to a study, factors associated with but not causing DV are unequal power relations, the feminization of poverty, and patriarchal societies and cultures (Kahn, 2005), all of which Bangladesh experiences to a large degree."

Looking at the countries on that chart it's easy to see where these causal factors come into play.

Tammy, who goes on and on about her pet cause
Tamara recruited Sarah A. to sign the petition | over 2 years ago

Let Iran Know that the Global Community is Monitoring Their Every Move
Tamara recruited Glenn to sign the petition | over 2 years ago

Be The Change - Workshop