Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Weekly Round Up: October 17, 2010

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Story Submissions Recap:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story!

In the News, On the Blogs:

Announcements:

Upcoming Events:

10 Tweets from the Week:

  • jonubian: I don’t think most people understand how terrorizing street harassment can be.
  • mjbyars @DesiSanchez we need more of that from women. Embarrassing harassers is one way for women to send a loud message about #streetharassment.
  • jennpozner Walking to meet w/ Emily of @ihollaback. Think her aura’s working:1st time in ages no #streetharassment in 10blocks so far.
  • thekateblack To the guy who tried to grab my tits on the Bedford L platform: Eat the third rail, you miserable piece of shit. #streetharassment #NYC
  • HollabackPGH we <3 @bikepgh, who are working to make the streets safer for people who ride bikes. we want that too!
  • ElizabethOwens This is a belated entry from last weekend, but the girls in my program and I did some awesome hollabacks at street harassment. #effoff
  • euonymy Street harassment: really fucking unpleasant.
  • happiestrotteen on a more sombre note, i was a victim of (sexual) street harassment in kilburn today (just 1 incident of hundreds, thousands in my life)
  • nazzynasir At what century of your twisted pathetic brain would a married woman like me ever respond to a catcall whistle? Want to die isit?
  • hymnforrachel another friendly reminder: guys, girls don’t like with when you catcall at them..well, any self-respecting girl.
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This is how change happens – NYC hearing on street harassment

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Elizabeth Mendez Berry recently wrote an op-ed about street harassment (and mentions my book, Stop Street Harassment). It was published in El Diario, the largest Spanish language newspaper in the country. People in power read op-eds and people in power read hers.

Because of her op-ed, the NYC Council’s Committee on Women’s Issues is holding a hearing on “Street Harassment of Women and Girls.”

The hearing will take place on Thursday, October 28 at 1 p.m. in the 14th floor committee room at 250 Broadway. I will be one of the people testifying about the problem of street harassment, along with RightRides, HollaBack, and Girls for Gender Equity. This is my first time testifying at a hearing and I’m very excited!

The hearing is open to the public, so I encourage anyone who can come to do so. This is an amazing opportunity for us to tell people in power what it’s really like out there for women. So if you can, please show your support and solidarity for this issue and attend. Let’s pressure the government into taking action and creating change. We deserve the right to be safe and to have equal access to public spaces!

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Weekly Round Up: October 10, 2010

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Story Submissions Recap:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story!

In the News, On the Blogs:

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10 Tweets from the Week:

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Using stand-up comedy to raise awarenss about street harassment

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I love hearing how people are using their talents and expertise to speak out against street harassment. Lucé Tomlin-Brenner is speaking out and raising awareness through stand-up comedy.

If you’re in the DC-area, see her TONIGHT at “Bellylaughs in Bethesda” at Caddies on Cordell in Bethesda, MD, 8-10 p.m.

She explains:

“I’ve started doing stand-up comedy recently here in Washington, DC, and my material is all based on different times I’ve been harassed on the street or Metro, and I wanted to share my most recent video…I have battled lots of anxiety since I’ve moved here over just leaving the house because not a day has gone by that I haven’t been harassed, and most of it happens on Metro.

About a month ago this dude and his friends sitting across from me on the red line around midnight on the weekend kept making all of these blowjob insinuations about the bottle of water I was drinking. When I put on my headphones and ignored them they started talking about me being a bitch and just making fun of me in general.

I was really freaked out about it since I was alone and they were in a group. It got even scarier when the further out of downtown we got (I live in SS) they were not getting off the train and I was convinced they were going to follow me off when I got to my stop.

Luckily they got off one stop before mine, but I was so shaken up by it I was anxious my whole walk home. The next day I started writing these bits about the experience and I found being able to make fun of him and all the stupid things he said to me felt really empowering. I eventually polished these jokes into one whole bit that I performed at RFD in Chinatown about a week ago.

I was nervous about the crowd’s reaction because it was made up of mostly males… But to my surprise and delight the crowd loved it and lots of dudes came up to me afterward to compliment my writing and original material. It was so empowering to make fun of this asshole who harassed me in front of a room full of people and have them laugh and agree with me.

I think humor is a great way to show some more light on this issue because when done well comedy has the ability to set societal norms. Just think of how the average college Freshman still puts Animal House posters in their college dorms, and how that film has narrated Greek life on so many campuses to this day. Talking to all the dudes after my show about the material, many of them said they didn’t realize how much that kind of interaction affected or upset women. It was totez awesome to reach all these guys that never think about feminist issues.”

Way to go, Lucé!

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Weekly Round Up: October 3, 2010

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Story Submissions Recap:

I accept street harassment submissions from anywhere in the world. Share your story!

In the News, On the Blogs:

Announcements:

Upcoming Events:

10 Tweets from the Week:

  • Elderta I just love that the guys at the automobile shop have taught their parrot to catcall women as they walk by. NOT.
  • khanyisile Street harassment. RT @Yo_lin: These guys called me names last time, now they wanna talk to me.. Mxm.. I wish there was another route home
  • SuzBomb I am so unimpressed with the kind of Vancouver street harassment &assaults I keep hearing about from friends/witnessing myself
  • msmagazine RT @Anti_Intellect: Sexual harassment on the street virtually never happens 2 me. #MalePrivilege You’ll get over it
  • rightsandwrongs So my pitbull was a victim of #streetharassment by a man in a car making kissy noises & yelling “what’s the matter, boy?” What.
  • DianeMassage to the man in the livery cab on washington and st marks, do not make me stop my bike to tell you to stop catcalling me! #streetharassment
  • HKearl & your sons not 2 harass rt @sfxmaven @mkylemiller It’s never too early to train your daughter about what to do about street harassment.
  • clembastow @ruminski plenty of men seem to think unwanted attention/street harassment is “okay” if they’re “polite” about it.
  • notesandrainbws Was wondering if dying my hair bright red would increase street harassment…yep. Decidedly yep. Ugh.
  • BLANK_NOISE attn GUYS! did you intervene? tell us how. we want stories of guys intervening to stop street sexual violence/ #eveteasing #bnguy
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