Are you tired of street harassment and do you have access to a video-recording device or a camera? Then how about participating in the Medusa Gaze Project?
How to participate:
“Send us your 15 to 20 seconds video file or jpg of your gaze, no text, no name, no photo manipulation, just your icy stare. For uniformity, standing like I am, cropped like in our tumblr pic. We will add the text ‘I will not be intimidated’ to it and add it to the projection loop. We will accept images & videos throughout the Summer 2011. We plan projections beginning this Fall (US and Europe) and will document them online. Also called for are your harassment stories, in writing or an audio clip.
Send images, audio, written texts and video files to: seekingkali(at)yahoo(dot)com“
What is the project?
“The Medusa Gaze Project is an art project conceived by Artist Collective Seeking Kali (William Evertson, Susan Shulman, Ria Vanden Eynde), to rage against public sexual harassment of women. Whether it be catcalling, obscene gestures, sexually explicit comments, cornering, following women. We want to protest against this kind of bullying by men of women in the public space.
Literally and figuratively unseen by bystanders, this kind of threatening behavior leaves women feeling insecure to walk the streets. Society, men AND women often perceive it as normal, a small annoyance , as a way of complimenting the women or they hold the women responsible as a kind of victim blaming.
Seeking Kali wants to artistically speak out against sexual harassment and raise awareness that it IS a problem. We created this project as a way to empower women and confront society with its responsability. We aim to do this by sharing stories and showing images/video of women expressing their reproval and their determination not to be intimidated. We want to claim the right for women to walk freely and safely on our city streets.”
I made my own Medusa Gaze Project contribution. If only I COULD turn street harassers to stone with it! What does yours look like?
beckie says
wonderful! love it!
John Kensler says
I have a street harassment story for you. These stories are all true. One day while walking home in the Capital Hill section of Seattle, three women pulled up next to me in a car.
The woman who was driving shouted “hey, ever have three white bitches suck your dick before”? Wow. That was a first. Here’s another street harassment story for you. I also used to get harassed by the young white cashier in my Seattle neighborhood health food store. I had no problem with these things, because I actually like women. All women.
Here’s another one for you. I used to live in the lesbian colony of Santa Cruz California. I have no problem with lesbians, I’m just stating fact. I was getting off work one Friday night and two beautiful women ran up to me almost knocking me over (one black and the other Puerto Rican. Sexy).
One woman screamed “a black man in Santa Cruz”! As you can guess, there aren’t too many black men in Santa Cruz. The conversation went great until they asked me how I was doing with women in Santa Cruz. Not being too wise at the time, I said “women here don’t seem to respect or like men very much”.
One of the women (the angry one) proceeded to say “fuck you”. And pulled the other woman (who agreed with me) away while screaming “fuck you bitch”! Thinking back, I should have said I love being treated like a human dildo by the women of Santa Cruz. Damn, that would have been my threesome story for the old folks home. Painful to think about..
I have other street harassment stories if you would like to hear them. My point is that I think your project is misandrist (haters of men). I also think that it’s a bit racist and classist.
White women in large American cities have turned into the new Scarlet O’Hara’s/Birth of a Nation missy’s. “Save meh, save meh from the big black buck Rex”. White American women believe your own press a little too much. Not every black man or white man for that matter wants you.
Feminists need to stop trying to police every aspect of heterosexuality. Yes, there are extremes that need to change. Who can argue with that? You are assisting in creating the Orwellian nightmare. Please stop. As you can see by my true stories, women are not defenseless children. Please stop trying cage men’s penises.
Some women like to be complimented and approached politely on the street. As a matter of fact, some women complain that men look but don’t speak to them. You know why? Because nice guys like me are terrified of the feminist misandry agenda.
Chill out ladies, the world is angry enough. We don’t need more women giving Medusa stares. Pretty soon American men will have to leave the country to find a sane woman. Whoops, too late, that’s already happening.
That’s all. If you’ll excuse me I’m going to go compliment a European, Canadian or South American woman. I’m sure she’ll say thank you, even if she’s not interested. Most men will keep walking after a smile and a thank you. Atleast those of us who are not spawn of the SATAN.
Martial Arts Junkie says
Hey, John. Tell your degenerate brothers out there to stop acting like sex starved criminals who have the absolute right to degrade and dehumanize any woman they see anytime they feel like it. Funny how you guys have NOTHING to say about the pervs out there doing this, but get SO pissed the moment a women tries to defend herself or assert her rights as a human being against this shit. Like, your right to degrade me supercedes my right to not be degraded. Is that it? I want to be sure to get it right.
By the way, those few experiences you had must have made you feel like less than human, right? You’ve had a “few” experiences of being dehumanized and sexually harassed. Imagine going through it 3, 4, 5 times A DAY, nearly EVERY SINGLE DAY. OF YOUR ENTIRE ADULT LIFE. You’d be hostile as fuck by the end of about a month or so, trust me. Are we here trying to say that men should not be allowed to say anything to women? I think you know better than that. But there is an element and a practice going on out on these streets (and also in enclosed spaces) where men are doing more than just “trying to talk to us”. They’re being hostile, vulgar, forceful, threatening and appear to feel ENTITLED to our bodies and our attention regardless of the fact that they they don’t even know us. WTF is that about? The guy that said to me as I passed him by in Midtown the other day “that ass was made for some serious fucking. Damn!” — he’s just a guy out here trying to give all us ladies a cool little compliment to brighten up our day, eh? Forget the forceful, brutish tone of voice and the serious as hell look on his face when he said that to me — I shouldn’t take that or any of the other roughly 1000 or so comments of the exact same nature that I hear each year seriously or give it one more moment of thought, huh? For me to have an outraged, disgusted, violent or disagreeable reaction to this type of attention and these all too common, vulgar actions from strange men means that I’m just trying to “cage up your penises”, huh? Fucking REALLY??? And WTF are ALL OF YOU sexist, asshole, idiot pigs out there who make these types of comments to women trying to do? That’s CERTAINLY not any form of chaining up, oppressing, restricting and trying to dominate me in any way, is it? Nah! I’m just a spoiled, unappreciative snooty bitch who doesn’t realize how lucky I am to even register on some random guy’s radar, as he tells me how juicy he figures my pussy is. I should just smile, say thanks, and keep it moving, right? Or maybe stop and get his phone number quickly…. after all, I’ve just been supremely honored by this crude remark upon my person.
Be sure to tell your daughters, your sisters, your female relatives and all the women/girls that you know to “lighten up” and “don’t be so hard on a guy” just because he loudly appreciates your tits, pussy and ass while you’re walking down the street. No, I’m serious. Go home and DO THIS. Have this conversation with every female in your personal circle for the next week. Just say to them what you said here. Also, don’t forget to remind them that any random guy on the street telling him that he wants to fuck them, suck their pussy, taste that ass, et al, is just being kind and complimentary. Please report back the results of these conversations with your female friends and loved ones. I’m dying to hear the outcome.
Arizona Cat Posts says
I couldnt agree with you more..