By Phaydra Babinchok, Chicago, IL, USA, SSH Safe Public Spaces Mentee
In addition to creating three short films as part of the Stop Street Harassment’s Safe Public Spaces Mentoring Program, we created a fun event for screening the films. With the $250 stipend provided I was able to book a performance space at Studio Be a nonprofit theatre. The screening was held on the afternoon of Sunday October 13.
I wanted to create a comedy event about street harassment. Because it is such a serious issue I feel it needed a light-hearted touch to make it a more approachable subject. My friend Alicia Sowisdral is a feminist comedian and host of Pop Goes Alicia a live monthly pop culture show about gender. I reached out to her and she gladly agreed to be the host for the event.
Stop Calling Me Baby, a comedy event about street harassment, still needed a few performers before it would be complete. The lineup was rounded out with two stand-up comedians and a spoken word performer. As I said before, I feel it is important to include men in the discussion so one of the stand-up comedians was a man.
The stand-up comedy was interspersed with a powerful spoken word performance. The performances ended with a hilarious stand-up set about street harassment by Marla Depew. Who knew street harassment could make one laugh so hard.
Then it was time to debut the films. They were projected onto a large screen and I stayed behind the curtain during the screening because I was nervous that the films wouldn’t go over well. I had anxiety that the films might possibly upset people because we are in a way making fun of a serious issue. However, my anxiety was quickly alleviated by the audience’s laughter.
Once the films were done screening Alicia led a Q&A with the audience and writers of the films. Again I was nervous that there would be a critical or judgmental question about the films, but the audience really liked them. We were able to talk with the audience about how street harassment is a daily issue that most women have to deal with. People in the audience shared personal stories of experiences of street harassment.
Overall, the event turned out exactly as I had wanted. It was empowering, educational, and fun for all.
Phaydra Babinchok is a feminist activist based in Chicago. She is the Director of SlutWalk Chicago and Chapter Leader of Chicago’s Women, Action, and the Media. She works at Sarah’s Circle, a program that helps homeless women.
