Stop Street Harassment

Making Public Spaces Safe and Welcoming

Sexual Harassment isn’t “Natural”

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In conversations around street harassment, sexual violence, domestic violence and rape, inevitably someone will say, well, men are “natural predators” and “biologically wired to be violent” etc. UGH. Guess what? It’s simply not true.

Agustín Fuentes, trained in Zoology and Anthropology, is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame. His research delves into the how and why of being human and he breaks down why it is wrong.

Check out the article and perhaps bookmark it so next time someone tries to tell you men can’t help saying sexually explicit things or grabbing you on the street you can tell them why that is wrong.

He ends with:

“…when men’s rights groups bemoan the oppression of their ‘nature’ by women they are wrong. When anyone asserts that sexual coercion, harassment, or even rape is, at least in part, driven by biological prerogatives, they are wrong—and no one can use biology and evolution as an excuse for being a jerk. But that does not mean that such behavior is not an ongoing reality—it just means that it is a reality that we can alter.

Most men aren’t sexual predators. But we need to be more active when someone is—especially in regards to sexual harassment, coercion and assault on women. Society needs to own up to the fact that sexual aggression is not inevitable—but it is predictable, explicable, and in most cases avoidable.”

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Documentary about Street Harassment in DC

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I first met Dienna Howard in 2008 when I was doing research for my first book. She had run the blog Golden Silence about street harassment for a few years and was outspoken on the issue so I knew she’s be a perfect person to interview. We’ve remained friends and activist allies ever since then, participating in marches, rallies, safety audits, and events together. Recently, she completed a documentary about street harassment and activism to stop it in the Washington, D.C. area. She has no background in making documentaries and learned how to do it in her spare time… and then did it. It was a huge under-taking and I’m so proud of her!!

Here is her documentary and below is an excerpt from her blog post about making the film.

“I became a member of Arlington Independent Media in late 2012. I’d known about it for years (and I attended a comedy screening there once), but I never thought to take advantage of it until then. (Más vale tarde que nunca!) This is an amazing organization that teaches its members how to create their own productions. I took the six-week field production class last spring, an Adobe Premiere Pro editing class last summer, and the six-week studio production class early last fall. Volunteering on a variety of different programs allowed me to develop my skills and do a 180 from “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing!” to “I am growing each day.” AIM’s staff is incredible and its members are wonderful.

After last year’s field production class, I wanted to produce my own show. Summer was on its way, and with summer comes an increase of street harassment, gender-based violence against women in public spaces. I am all too familiar with street harassment and I won’t use the space to get too deep into it here (I’ve talked about it enough), but being harassed on a regular basis is demeaning, frustrating, and humiliating, as well as dealing with the victim blaming responses that come from people who don’t understand it and don’t get it.

Doing a documentary on street harassment was a big challenge for someone who was still new to AIM at the time. I originally wanted to start off with something light. I love comedy, love all the old sitcoms, and wanted to do something humorous. But other than its timeliness, I wanted to do a piece on street harassment because I cannot count the number of documentaries on it that I’ve either been interviewed for or someone said they’d be working on, but they’d never come to fruition. I wanted to fill in that gap. I made a promise to myself to work on it from beginning to end and to get it done. (And as an AIM member, I’m required to get programming completed for them to air regardless!)

It was such a learning process working on this documentary. My confidence behind the camera developed, my ability to lead a team burgeoned, and my editing skills became smooth. I was getting the hang of this!

I don’t have all this fancy-schmancy technology at home, so I spent a lot of my weekends at AIM editing this project. (I know the weekend staff got tired of seeing me…HAHAHA!) Thankfully it’s cheap to rent AIM’s equipment and use of an editing suite, and using volunteer hours in lieu of part of the payment helped to reduce my costs.

I found it hard to give up most of my Saturdays during this time to edit. I’m an insomniac and I rarely sleep enough during the week, so to lose a day of my weekend was a sacrifice….

I never thought this project would end, and at times it was easy to see why others would cease working on similar things. I watched the same timeline footage each session, that I had it memorized by rote. I was beyond ready to move on.

I didn’t have a deadline for it, which was partly why the project seemed to never end….

So I put my foot down. It’s going to be done by the end of May, and I will make it happen.

Last month it was down to the wire. I was in that editing suite every Saturday, fine-tuning and finishing things. I’d been in contact with those who were involved in the program, doing things such as getting updates, getting photos, and verifying spelling and credits. I set a deadline with them too, because if I didn’t, I never would’ve gotten things done…

After what felt like an eternity, the video was completed and AIM saved a copy to their hard drive. I filled out the requisite forms, and was on my way. Nine is my favorite number, and 5/24/2014 – 5+2+4+2+0+1+4=18, 1+8=9. I spent another week nervous about whether the program was suitable to air. As long as the content wasn’t severely vulgar, it should be good to go, but there are scenes of a harasser using vulgar language against me, mentions of harassers masturbating, and cursing used when quoting the harassers. Would it fit their standards?

I got that e-mail from AIM stating that the program would air, starting June 5, 2014. 6+0+5+2+0+1+4=18, 1+8=9. Someone up there was on my side, rooting for me to achieve.

I don’t have a TV at home, but watched the live stream when it aired on the 5th. Though I had a saved copy of the video and that I would put on YouTube after it aired (AIM has a policy that nothing can be shared on other sites until it’s aired on their channel), I still watched it because I was finally watching this piece as a viewer, not as an interviewer or interview subject, not as a camera person, not as an editor, and not as a producer. I was watching it through new eyes. And as a viewer, I was proud of what I accomplished while wearing all of those other hats….

It’s been a few weeks since the program started airing on the station (three times a week!) and I finally got to put it on YouTube. The reception has been positive, which is a sigh of relief. I personally know most of the people that I interviewed for this documentary, and was worried they’d react with, “I don’t like how I was edited!” That would’ve been rough to hear. Years ago, when I was in college, I wrote an article about someone who was president of the student council. He got mad and said, “She misquoted me!” in front of me as if I weren’t even there. I didn’t want a repeat of that. Luckily everyone involved in the project has been very supportive…

I’ve finished this piece and am ready to move on, though I wouldn’t mind having a screening of it in the future. People have asked me what my next steps are. I’m currently helping a friend from my field production class co-produce a series of pieces and I’m looking forward to seeing how this project unfolds…

After everything’s said and done, I’m proud of myself for sticking with something, even when it seemed like no end was in sight. I’m looking forward to whatever else comes my way. Bring it on!”

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Today at Noon EDT: #YouOkSIS? Tweet Chat

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Via News One:

“If you’re a woman, there’s a good chance you may have been harassed on the street. Have you ever wanted to someone to help you when you were in that most uncomfortable situation? Or if you’re a man, have you seen a woman being harassment on the street but wasn’t sure how to help her? Well, NewsOne interviewed some women in New York City and asked them to give their suggestions of ways someone could intervene in the event they are being harassed.

Also, NewsOne, along with special guest @FeministaJones, will host a town hall on Twitter TODAY, July 10 at 12 p.m. on the issue of street harassment and we’ll discuss practical ways we can all help stop it. Use the hashtag #YouOKSis?

For now, check out our video to see what women have to say about street harassment.”

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New Film: Out in the Night

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I’m teaching a “Representations of Women” class at George Mason University (GMU) where I am a new adjunct professor. A key lesson from my class is that women are, first of all, under-represented in most media (from tv shows and movies to op-eds and news articles) and a second lesson is that when they are there, they’re often sexualized or stereotyped.

GMU Professor Giovanna Chesler is the producer of a new film Out in the Night which encompasses both street harassment and representations of women in the media — and more.

Via Bitch Magazine:

“Who has the right to self-defense? How do race, class, sexuality, and gender expression affect what our society sees as violent? In 75 minutes, new documentary Out in the Night challenges us to consider these questions.

The film follows the case of Venice Brown, Terrain Dandridge, Renata Hill and Patreese Johnson, four women who became known as the New Jersey Four after they defended themselves against an assault on the streets of New York City’s West Village.

On August 18, 2006, seven young black lesbians friends from Newark, New Jersey, came to New York City’s West Village. As they walked down the street, they were harassed by a man named Duane Buckle. When they told him they were gay, he began threatening to rape them—then he physically attacked them, throwing his lit cigarette at them, ripping the hair from one woman’s head, and choking another woman. The women defended themselves and, at some point during the four-minute fight, two unknown men jumped in to assist them. As Buckle attempted to choke Renata Hill, Patreese Johnson stabbed him with a pen knife. The two unknown men left the scene, but when police arrived, they arrested the women. Buckle was taken to the hospital where he stated that men had attacked him. Nonetheless, the women were charged with assault and attempted murder.”

From the Out in the Night Facebook page:

“Out in the Night follows their journey to Rikers Island, to the courtroom, and through slanderous media coverage that labeled them a “Wolfpack” and “Lesbian Gang”. While exploring the fight from all sides through the security camera footage that captured it, that hot August night in 2006 can be seen from many perspectives. But our film’s purpose is to examine the events after the fight: biased media coverage likening the women to “man-hating” animals, and unprecedentedly harsh sentencing by the court. This story shows how four young, queer women of color were unfairly criminalized for defending themselves.”

The film team has been screening the documentary at film festivals (there are a few screenings coming up, see if there’s one near you!) and Professor Chesler and I plan to meet up upon her return. Stay tuned!

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Will a fake phone number keep you safer?

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Via Yahoo! Shine:

“The Rejection Line, and others like it, play kiss-off messages when would-be suitors call. The person (or people) behind a new fake number had a different idea: every text or call is responded to with a quote from feminist activist bell hooks, such as “Whenever domination is present, love is lacking.” hooks is a respected professor, writer, and critic whose best-known book is “Feminism Is for Everybody.” She often talks about the intersection of race, gender, and class issues.

The number, (669) 221-2651, was created by an unknown feminist activist and started gaining attention on Thursday. So far, the creator is remaining anonymous, but she has posted a message on Tumblr. “Next time someone demands your digits and you want to get out of the situation, you can give them this number,” she wrote. “Protect your privacy while dropping some feminist knowledge when your unwanted “suitor” calls or texts.”…

While it may seem mean to give a guy your number only to have it turn out to be a feminist prank, many women have spoken out about the importance of having a fake number. “Oftentimes men become more aggressive when women say they’re not interested,” Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, executive director of the NLIRH, tells Yahoo Shine. “[Giving out a fake number] is a safety mechanism to avoid any aggressive behavior.”

Sadly, there are many examples of women fearing for their lives simply because they said “no” when a guy asked them out. In April, a Connecticut teen was murdered by a male classmate when she turned down his request to go to the prom with him because she already had a date. Last month, a California man named Elliot Rodger shot and killed six people and injured many others because he was angry about girls not wanting to date or have sex with him.

Holly Kearl, founder of the organization Stop Street Harassment, agrees that many women feel scared to say no to a man. “During one of the 10 focus groups Stop Street Harassment held as part of our new national study on street harassment, a woman in Brooklyn said, ‘I’ve seen a guy knock a girl’s head into a brick wall that she was leaning on behind them because she did not want to talk to him. She was gushing blood. It’s unacceptable.'” Kearl reports. “Sometimes the safest way for a woman to get out of a situation is, sadly, to humor the harasser and if he wants a phone number, to give him a phone number.”

Would you use this fake phone number? Do you think it will help? I love bell hooks but I think perhaps a more direct message to the harasser would sink in beter?

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