By Kendra Corbin, SSH Intern
After what seems like an eternity of winter, spring is finally here! This means that my college graduation is just around the corner and that my time spent as an intern with Stop Street Harassment is coming to an end. This internship has been an amazing opportunity for me to learn more about the issues of women around the world. It’s also given me the opportunity to educate my family and friends about harassment in public spaces.
I’m mostly grateful to have had the chance to educate my mom about street harassment. My mom is an incredible woman. She’s empowered, supportive, and beautiful inside and out. She comes from a generation when street harassment was not given the attention that it deserved. It seems that street harassment was once considered something that women just had to deal with. However, over the last few months, she has listened to me talk about my internship, my personal encounters with harassment, and has read every article that I’ve written (hi mom!). She shares my articles on her Facebook page so that her friends can read about street harassment, as well. I cannot express how wonderful it’s been to watch her transition from not having much of an opinion on street harassment to now actively engaging with me in conversations about it.
For International Anti-Street Harassment Week, I planned a small chalking event on my college campus. My wonderful boyfriend joined me along with other students at Shenandoah University to chalk empowering, pro-respect messages around our campus. When I spoke to my mom after the event, she said to me, “I had thought about asking you if I could come and help you, but I didn’t want to embarrass you by having your mom there.” That moment both broke my heart and made me smile at the same time.
* First, I would never be embarrassed of the woman who gave me life.
* Second, I would have been proud to have had my mom join me in taking a stand against street harassment. The fact that she even wanted to help still means the world to me.
I would just like to thank my mom for being so supportive of me. She listens to me talk endlessly about street harassment, rape culture, and feminism. She takes an interest in what I care about. I couldn’t ask for a better mom. Finally, I would like to say how grateful I am that this internship has allowed me to connect with her on new level. Hopefully neither one of us will ever forget what we’ve learned together.
Kendra Corbin is senior at Shenandoah University. She is majoring in Mass Communications and minoring in Women’s Studies.
