Women at Risk

Brittany Liebenow

Mr. Glenn

AP Lang

6th Response

10 August 2009

“Women at Risk” by Bob Herbert emphasizes the hidden discriminatory violence towards women that permeates America. I am a feminist myself, and even I did not connect the dots with current events to realize that many mass killings target women in some way. The fact that many recent mass killings have some root in misogyny is a very shocking truth. Herbert also brings up an interesting point when he notes that if that many massacres targeted a race or ethnic group, news stations and political figures would make that information widespread. Dissecting modern and horrific examples, Herbert pulls in and convinces the reader that women are the targets of many hate crimes. While scrolling through the opinion editorials, I usually do not find articles about women’s rights. “Women at Risk” is not only a slight shock to me but also a delight because Herbert supports women so well. This article does an excellent job of speaking up on women's rights in America that are still, despite popular belief, restricted. An interesting part of this article is that Bob Herbert, a male, is the author. The fact that a male is writing an article about women’s rights shows that, although there is much sexism in America and the world, some people other than feminists are starting to realize this and do something about it.

Not only does “Women at Risk” sport some well-developed ideas, it also flaunts literary excellence. The article starts off with a quote that is the epitome of what this article is about, hate against women. Right from the beginning Herbert shows us sexism in modern America, something people easily overlook. He uses this quote to envelope the readers into this world of sexism. What makes this work so well is his follow through. Herbert does not stop at that one profound example; he takes his ideas deeper and deeper, adding and analyzing more examples as he continues through his article. All of his examples are solid, and all of his support is thorough. Herbert does a good job of using different sentence and paragraph lengths. He does seem to use more short paragraphs than most other writers but does it in a way that complements his ideas and writing.