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Action Alert: Strike Out Rape Culture, NYC!

16 Sep

There’s nothing to pull me out from my maternity break like a little rape culture. Check out this gem I found on NOW-NYC’s Not Cool Tumblr:

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This Bowlmor Lanes advertisement is currently posted throughout New York City subways and reads, “Getting jumped in an alley has never been this much fun.”

Really?! Not that it needs to be said, but ENOUGH WITH THE RAPE CULTURE, ALREADY! And frankly, not only is it offensive as a woman and a rape survivor, it’s offensive as a consumer. Do the asshats at Bowlmor think so little of New Yorkers that they believe this rape-y campaign will draw us to their over-priced lanes like moths to a flame?

Bowlmor Lanes and NYC’s Metro Transit Authority (MTA) need to hear from us. They need to know that perpetuating rape culture and making light of sexual assault is unacceptable. Take action! Tell the MTA to remove the ad and call out Bowlmor CEO Tom Shannon on this disgrace: tshannon@bowlmor.com, 212-777-2214.

 

UPDATE: Tom Shannon responded to NOW-NYC’s call to remove the ad with the following:

“Our ad has nothing to do with rape and no reasonable person could interpret it in that way. No woman in this city of 15 million people has registered any problem with the ad except for the leadership of your organization. The ad is humorous and flirtatious and was conceptualized and written by two young women to whom it never occurred that the ad could be interpreted in such a twisted way.”
 
“NOW’s position on this is extreme and laughable…”
Wow. Extreme and laughable?

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Keep It Real

28 Jun keepitreal

You’d have to live under a rock to not know that magazines and Photoshop go hand-in-hand. Advertisers constantly alter models’ bodies in some twisted attempt to create the “perfect” woman, or what they believe the “perfect” woman looks like. This can contribute to unrealistic body image standards and self-esteem issues among girls and women. Don’t believe me? Let the statistics speak for themselves:

TEN YEAR OLD GIRLS are dieting. I repeat: TEN YEAR OLDS.  Shouldn’t they be more preoccupied with mastering long division and running around the soccer field?! Perhaps they would be if they weren’t forcibly consuming unhealthy and unrealistic images of women’s bodies at every turn — in TV, movies and magazines, on billboards, and the Internet. Impressionable girls — and women, for that matter — are seeing images like this when they flip through magazines:

Um, sick.

The media industry needs a wake-up call, stat.  Thankfully, SPARKMovement.org, LoveSocial.org, IAmThatGirl.com, EndangeredBodies.org, and MissRepresentation.org have created a 3 day “Keep It Real” Challenge, calling upon magazines to pledge to use at least one un-Photoshopped image of a model per issue — a completely reasonable request. After all, girls should be focusing on having fun with their friends over summer break, not obsessing over squeezing into size-0 bathing suits they see on emaciated models!

What can you do as part of the Challenge? For starters, let your fingers do some wandering: Tweet at and Facebook magazines and editors, challenging them to change their ways. For a list of top magazine editors to target on Twitter, go here.  You can also blog about the issue and tell the world why Photoshop must go! Finally, take the #KeepItRealChallenge to Instagram with pictures of what real beauty means to you.

And be sure to download the Keep It Real Toolkit – in it, you’ll find more details about the challenge, plus images and statistics you can use.

LET’S KEEP IT REAL!!!!

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Simple Steps Towards Empowerment

10 Apr FistOfPower

Last night over dinner with a good friend, I had a very telling conversation about today’s war on women and activism. From attacks on birth control to Congress’ reluctance to renew the Violence Against Women Act, there was a lot to talk about. My friend, who is an extremely intelligent woman and is aware of and vested in women’s rights issues, surprised me when she expressed a feeling of helplessness. She asked me, point-blank, “but what can I do about it all?”

It hit me that if she feels this way, many many many more women must likewise feel powerless. And this overwhelming sense of powerlessness is very easy to give in to, to truly believe that as one individual, you cannot affect change. To that, I say…wrong! There are very simple steps you can take to become active on an issue and help alter the course of politics/history/what-have-you. Mind you, I am not writing this  from a professional activist/organizer point of view, but rather as your run of the mill feminist. So if I can take these steps and feel empowered, anyone can!

Be targeted. There are, sadly, a million women’s rights issues that really ruffle my feathers. But it’s extremely difficult, not to mention overwhelming, to try and take on everything. Pick an issue (or two or three) and really dedicate yourself to it; doing so makes activism much more palatable.

Get informed and get engaged. It’s one thing to be pissed off, but it’s another thing entirely to be pissed off and armed with information. Knowledge is power. Read the news, relevant blogs and reports on the issue(s) you’re interested in. Engage in online commentary and talk about the issue(s) with your friends, colleagues and family. The more you read and talk about it, the more confident you’ll be in your ability to take action.

Don’t just talk the talk. Tweet it, Facebook it, blog it, YouTube it. You have a voice and valid opinions so don’t be afraid to blast them beyond your immediate inner circle! We live in an era in which social media reigns and if the Arab Spring taught us anything, it’s that these tools are our friends.

Walk the walk. Literally. March in protests and participate in rallies. This may sound like an outdated form of activism, but trust me, it’s not. It’s extremely empowering to be part of a crowd demanding justice and accountability for something you believe in. You can also let your fingers do some walking, so to speak. Successful activism has both verbal and visual components, including the written word. Don’t like the way your local paper is covering an issue? Write a letter to the editor. Hate that sexist billboard in your neighborhood? Email the company whose ad is offensive. Think that rapist should get the maximum sentence? Write the judge and tell him/her why.

Get involved with grassroots organizations. Find the local chapter of a women’s rights organization (like NOW, Planned Parenthood, etc.) and get involved! Not only is this a wonderful way to network with other like-minded feminists, but it will also provide you with ample opportunities to take concrete action in your community. This is particularly helpful for those of us who need some direction and guidance. If you’re not keen on physically going to meetings, sign up for action alerts!

Don’t get complacent. This one bears repeating: do NOT get complacent. You can’t depend on others to be your voice or your vote.

If you have other tips, please feel free to post them in the comments section!

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V-Day: Day of Action for Birth Control

11 Feb iheartbc

While President Obama stood strong for women last week by requiring all insurers to cover birth control, the onslaught against contraception is far from over. Several Conservative members of Congress want to eliminate coverage for birth control entirely.  As Think Progress reports, anti-choice Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) is at the helm, introducing an extremist bill that would grant insurers the right to deny you coverage for ANY health service it deems immoral.

In response, NOW-NYC has called for a Day of Action for birth control on Valentine’s Day (February 14). Here’s what you can (and should!) do:

  • Change your Facebook and Twitter profile pictures to the “iheartbc” logo (featured in this post)
  • Tweet and post about why you love and need birth control using #iheartbc
  • Send some love to HHS’s Kathleen Sebelius (Kathleen.Sebelius@hhs.gov), who is being brought before Congress to defend birth control
  • SPREAD THE WORD!

99% of women use contraception. Don’t let the conservative, male-dominated 1% dominate the conversation — take action! Let’s show our solidarity with birth control!

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What’s Your Slavery Footprint?

29 Oct slavery

Today has been a depressing, inspiring and eye-opening Saturday. Forced inside because of abysmal weather (sleet, snow, lightening, thunder — you name it), I caught up on the PBS docuseries Women, War & Peace. As I sat reeling from what I’d just watched, I went online and started browsing some of my favorite feminist sites, which led me to the discovery of Slavery Footprint.

The site is designed to help you understand your influence on modern day slavery. Yes, slavery; it didn’t end with the Civil War. Human beings are still bought, sold and traded like cattle every day. Even as you read this, young children are being sold into slavery by their families who are so poor their only option for survival is trading their offspring for enough money to eat.

Like many Western feminists, my exchanges about slavery tend to focus on sexual slavery. But it’s important to remember that modern slavery does not exclusively exist in the form of rape. Girls, boys and women are trafficked not just in brothels but in farms, fields, mines and sweat shops across the world. There are 27 million slaves in the world today.

Given our society’s preoccupation with all things electronic and material, it’s difficult to think that our smartphones, laptops, makeup, clothes, and jewelry are most likely made by slaves. But they are. Even those items made by reputable brands.

Enter Made in a Free World’s Slavery Footprint. The site encourages you to understand your individual role in slavery-fueled supply chains — not to make you feel guilty or to stop buying things, but to ask the brands we love where their materials are coming from and to urge them to stop using slave labor.

So take a hot minute to take their survey. You are prompted to answer questions regarding what types of electronics, jewelry, food, and household goods you own and consume. As you input your answers, you are given statistics on slavery. Here are a few of them:

  • Many Pakistani boys are signed away to bonded labor at the age of 13. The contracts last until they are 30. If those boys were released today, they would have begun their work when: OJ Simpson drove his white SUV down a freeway, Bill Clinton gave his first State of the Union, and Justin Bieber was born.
  • In 2007, Save the Children reported that 250,000 children live and work in Pakistani brick kilns in complete social isolation. That’s more than the population of Irvine, CA, Baton Rouge, LA, or Orlando, FL.
  • More than 200,000 children are forced to work in India’s carpet belt of Uttar Pradesh. That makes it a pretty large operation, considering Honda, Sony, Procter & Gamble, and Boeing each have fewer employees.
  • Bonded labor is used for much of Southeast Asia’s shrimping industry, which supplies more shrimp to the U.S. than any other country. Laborers work up to 20-hour days to peel 40 pounds of shrimp. Those who attempt to escape are under constant threat of violence or sexual assault.
  • Every day tens of thousands of American women buy makeup. Every day tens of thousands of Indian children mine mica, which is the little sparklies in the makeup.
  • Coltan is an effective superconductor found in electronics. A U.S. State Department official was interviewed about Coltan mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He pointed to the reporter’s smartphone and said, “The likelihood that one of these was not touched by a slave is pretty low.”
  • 1.4 million children have been forced to work in Uzbek cotton fields. There are fewer children in the entire New York City public school system.

At the end of the survey, you are given an estimate of how many slaves work for you around the world. It’s completely disturbing and utterly eye-opening. But, as always, you can help affect change. Made in a Free World offers ways to take action via apps and social media — definitely check them out and use your power as a consumer to break the link in the slavery supply chain.

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Demanding Justice for Rape Survivors

28 Jun end rape nypd

I just returned from the rally to demand justice for rape survivors and maximum sentencing for NYPD rape cops Mata and Moreno. What an inspiring event with an amazing turnout — dozens of men and women gathered to lend their support.

Unfortunately, the defense attorneys filed a motion to delay sentencing, so it has been pushed back one month. Nevertheless, we all stood together in solidarity and demanded an end to all violence against women, including rape, and for accountability of these crimes. Members of the Connect the Dots Coalition (including NOW-NYC, Crime Victims Treatment Center, Feministing.com, The Healing Center, New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault and Service Women’s Action Network) were all present and spoke, as did NYC Council members, among others.

The message was clear: we will, under no circumstances, stand by as women and girls are raped, harassed and brutalized, especially at the hands of law enforcement. We are going to continue fighting until the city and the NYPD take rape seriously. As one speaker so eloquently put it, we challenge the NYPD to win back our trust and we challenge the judge to deliver justice. We demand an end to victim blaming and an environment in which victims are afraid to come forward, lest they be treated like the brave victim who reported her rape by NYPD officers. We will accept nothing less.

It speaks volumes that members of the NYPD have gotten away with raping a member of the public they swore to protect and that last year, NYC did not fund one single sexual assault prevention program. However, this evening, the NYC Council will vote on a budget that includes this funding in its base line. If you live in NYC, be sure to contact your Council member and urge her/his support of it.

And most importantly, mark your calendars for a month from now, when the rally will resume on the day of sentencing! Stay tuned for more details.

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Local Activism Alert: Rally in NYC on June 28th

22 Jun r-RAPE-COPS-PROTEST-large570

Last month, two NYPD cops — Kenneth Moreno and Franklin Mata — were found not guilty of raping a woman who they were called to help. Despite the fact that they made three unauthorized return trips to the woman’s apartment, placed a fake 911 call to buy themselves more time inside her residence, admitted on tape to using a condom when having sex with the victim, AND testified about climbing into bed with the semi-conscious woman while she wore nothing but a bra, the pair were found guilty only of “official misconduct.” Yes, you read that correctly.

While Moreno and Mata were promptly fired from the NYPD, more justice must be served. This outrageous conduct was a clear betrayal of their duty to protect a member of the public and leaves NYC women to wonder whether a police officer called in a moment of need will be a protector or a predator.

Sentencing for their “official misconduct” is this coming Tuesday, June 28th. Connect the Dots, a coalition of NYC advocates and organizations working to prevent violence against women and sexual assault, is spearheading a rally that day to demand maximum sentencing and to “connect the dots” between the sentencing and the larger issue of violence against women.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Tuesday June 28, 2011 at 9 AM

WHERE: Foley Square in Manhattan

ADD’L: Wear white in solidarity!

Even if you aren’t in NYC or can’t make the rally, please add your name to the petition urging Judge Gregory Carro to hand down the maximum sentence.

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Are SlutWalks Awesome…Or Offensive?

16 May alg_slutwalk3

It seems you can’t read a paper or blog these days without articles about SlutWalks — protests against victim-blaming and rape culture — popping up. I’ll take this opportunity to add to that growing pile of stories.

I admit, when I first heard of SlutWalks, I was instantly conflicted. While I will fight to my death defending the notion that dressing or behaving a certain way is — under NO circumstances – an invitation for rape, I couldn’t help wondering how using a pejorative term furthers the rights of sexual assault victims. Luckily, as quickly as I had become conflicted, I came to my senses. I realized the term “SlutWalk” bothered me because I was buying into the myth of the slut.

This is very alarming. Me, a die-hard feminist whose existence centers on the belief that women have every right to choose their lifestyles, had succumbed to this irrational stereotype. Momentarily, but nevertheless, I had. And that, my friends, is a huge red flag: the acceptance of slut mythology is so ingrained in our culture that it can set up camp in an otherwise sex-positive, feminist brain.

Once I regained my sanity, I realized how genius the concept is. Much like Inga Muscio’s Cunt, SlutWalks are reclaiming the word “slut.” The founders of SlutWalk in Toronto explain,

Historically, the term ‘slut’ has carried a predominantly negative connotation. Aimed at those who are sexually promiscuous, be it for work or pleasure, it has primarily been women who have suffered under the burden of this label. And whether dished out as a serious indictment of one’s character or merely as a flippant insult, the intent behind the word is always to wound, so we’re taking it back. “Slut” is being re-appropriated.

We are tired of being oppressed by slut-shaming; of being judged by our sexuality and feeling unsafe as a result. Being in charge of our sexual lives should not mean that we are opening ourselves to an expectation of violence, regardless if we participate in sex for pleasure or work. No one should equate enjoying sex with attracting sexual assault.

YES! I applaud this movement for its boldness and ingenuity. Despite advancements over the years for sexual and victims’ rights, true success will never come to fruition so long as society embraces victim-blaming. Nor will perpetrators sufficiently be brought to justice if law enforcement — who are supposed to protect and advocate for victims — participate in slut-shaming or sexual profiling. To that police officer in Toronto who said that women “should avoid dressing like sluts in order to not be victimized,” I say try being on the receiving end of sexual harassment or assault and see what it’s like to be called a slut.

The bottom line is that no woman should ever be asked what she was wearing or how she was acting in response to reports of unwanted sexual advances. Rape is rape, period. It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing a skirt, pants, a low-cut dress or a freaking snow suit. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been drinking or even if you’re considered sexually “promiscuous.” No means no, and the onus should never fall on the victim.

If you are interested in supporting or participating in a SlutWalk, see if one is coming to your town!

*** Please note, this post was originally published on FeministsforChoice.com, where I am a contributing writer***

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Get Involved: The No More Excuses Campaign

1 May rapeisrape_big

I love a good activist campaign, so you can only imagine how stoked I was to learn of Ms. Magazine’s & the Feminist Majority Foundation’s No More Excuses campaign.

In a nutshell, the campaign’s goal centers on encouraging law enforcement to take rape seriously, with two specific goals. First, to get the FBI to update its archaic definition of rape — “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will” (note the inclusion of “forcible,” which, as you’ll recall, was used by conservatives earlier this year in an attempt to restrict abortion access). Second, to ensure that city police departments quickly test all available rape kit evidence in order to help combat the serious backlog of untested kits sitting in precincts across the country.

Please check out their online campaign headquarters. From there, you can quickly take action and make a difference! For example, you can email the Department of Justice, send a message to the Chiefs of Police Association and even find out your community’s rape kit backlog. And of course, tell a friend about the campaign.

Make sure all levels of law enforcement know: RAPE IS RAPE and it must be taken seriously.

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An Open Letter to the NY Daily News

19 Apr petition

Although the Daily News printed one paragraph of a letter to the editor I submitted in response to the “sex romp” debacle, it has yet to issue an apology or retract the egregious term. As such, what follows is my open letter to the newspaper. Please feel free to “sign” it as well in the comments section!

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Dear New York Daily News,

I had the opportunity to read Jennifer Cunningham’s article regarding Lawrence Taylor’s sentencing for rape. I take serious issue with the fact she conflated rape of an under-aged, forcefully prostituted girl with “a sex romp” — not only in the lead paragraph, but in also in the article’s title. In no way is this responsible reporting. It should go without saying, but this type of insensitivity fosters a culture that diminishes the severity and impact of sex crimes, and contributes to rape apologist attitudes that already permeate our society.

I am completely astounded that a Daily News writer and her editor deemed the term “sex romp” an appropriate use of words to describe a violent, misogynistic act. It is a slap in the face to victims everywhere and you should be ashamed.

The article even states that the teenaged victim reported being forced into prostitution, and it quotes the Rockland County Assistant District Attorney, who plainly stated that this case was one involving sex trafficking. What is it, exactly, about forced prostitution and sex trafficking that indicates a “romp” in the hay?

Victims will forever fear being taken seriously when respected news outlets refer to rape as “sex romps,” a term that connotes consensual, fun sexual relations. We must call rape what it is and not mask it with sugar-coated euphemisms. The only ones who stand to benefit from doing so are rapists and sex traffickers.

I respectfully ask that you issue a correction to the article, and retract the words “sex romp.”

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