Palin supporter!
by Rockero Sunday, Oct. 05, 2008 at 9:53 PM
rockero420@yahoo.com
palinsupporter.jpg, image/jpeg, 600x399
Palin is an animal killer
by Rockero Sunday, Oct. 05, 2008 at 9:53 PM
rockero420@yahoo.com
animalkiller.jpg, image/jpeg, 600x900
Jesus: "No war in my name!"
by Rockero Sunday, Oct. 05, 2008 at 9:53 PM
rockero420@yahoo.com
______________________
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/palin-women-protesters-2180453-held-seemed
Saturday, October 4, 2008
COSTA MESA More than 300 people – mostly women and Barack Obama supporters -- protested outside the Orange County Performing Arts Center Saturday as they awaited Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's appearance at a fundraiser.
Holding signs such as "Orange County for Obama" and "Women Against Palin,'' the group chanted "Shame on you" and "Go home" as guests walked by them to enter Segerstrom Hall.
Some guests seemed unfazed by the protesters and snapped photos. A few others screamed and gestured back at them in anger.
"Are they blind?" said one fundraiser attendee, Jane Tourino, as protesters yelled toward her. "They're robots. I feel they are so uninformed. Palin is the right choice. But I suppose it's American, how they are just expressing themselves."
Protesters started gathering outside Segerstrom Hall around 3:30 p.m., while Palin was finishing up a speech at the Home Depot Center in Carson. The demonstration was peaceful, and Costa Mesa police did not report any arrests.
Women seemed to make up most of the crowd, including Linda Long, the Orange County president of the National Organization for Women.
"In some respects, I think it is important to elect a woman. But it has to be the right woman,'' Long said.
Patty Humphreys, a real estate agent who lives on Balboa Island, agreed that Palin seemed like the wrong choice. She held a sign that read "Baseball Moms 4 Change,'' as her 11-year-old son held up an Obama sign.
"As a mother, (Palin) doesn't stand for anything I believe in,'' said the single mother and member of the Newport Beach Democratic Women's Club.
Ed Frederick, a retired Boeing engineer who resides in Garden Grove, brought his daughter and two grandchildren to the protest.
"I'm tired of eight years of Republicanism,'' he said. "I see what has happened to the economy, to myself and my children … Palin is not qualified to get us out of this. I don't believe she has what it takes."
Besides this protest, Jim Gilchrist and a handful of other members of the anti-illegal immigrant group, the Minuteman Project, also held a small rally across from the Palin protesters to send a message to Palin that illegal immigration is a problem.
Robin Hvidston of Upland had watched Palin speak in Carson, and then rushed down to Costa Mesa to attend the Minuteman rally.
"(Palin) connects with people,'' Hvidston said. "She wants to see all our lives improved, and doesn't seem like part of the elite, like Joe Biden."
Not everyone took a side. Nineteen-year-old Caitlin Macate was buying a purse at South Coast Plaza when she decided to walked over to see the protest.
"This is historical,'' said Macate, an Irvine Valley College student. "It makes me happy that people are so politically active."
Contact the writer: 
714-...
or rsrisavasdi@ocregister.com
___________________________________________________________________
http://www.daily49er.com/news/csulb_organizations_take_a_stand_for_women_s_rights
Sandra Siagian
Staff writer
Published: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Michael Yee
Allie McDonald, campus organizer for the Feminist Majority Foundation, discusses the importance of voting this November at The Women's Resource Center Monday afternoon.
Feminist organizations on and off campus are firing up a new campaign to challenge two propositions on the Nov. 4 ballot.Student groups from Cal State Long Beach such as the Feminist Organization Reclaiming Consciousness and Equality (FORCE) and the Women's Studies Student Association (WSSA) have united with the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) to work toward protecting choice and equality through the "Get Out Her Vote" campaign.
The campaign is reaching out to over 100 campuses nationwide to encourage students to vote "no" on Propositions 4 and 8.Proposition 4 was drafted to amend the California State Constitution by banning abortions for minors unless parents are notified in writing by the doctor. Allie McDonald, campus organizer for FMF said that it is a dangerous amendment that could take compromise a young woman's right to privacy.
"Proposition 4 would take away a young woman's right to access safe and legal abortion," McDonald said. "It would require her to notify her parents for permission and then wait 48 hours to get the abortion."
The new amendment would force young women to go before a judge to determine if she is mature enough to deserve a safe, legal abortion without notifying her parents.McDonald said the new amendment would force a young woman, who could be a victim of rape, incest or family violence to officially report a crime and report her family to the police.
From there, another family member must be notified if she wants to have a safe and legal abortion."Most young women do inform their parents or a responsible adult about their decision to have an abortion," McDonald said. "This campaign is threatening young women's lives, putting their lives in risks as some young women in other states have risked their lives with illegal back-alley abortions in desperate measures when they cannot tell their parents."
McDonald said the number one reason that minors don't want to inform their parents is because they don't want to burden them and they feel that they are mature enough to make the decision."The proposition is trying to force families to communicate and a law cannot make families communicate," McDonald added.
CSULB student Audrey Silbestre, a junior women's studies major, is against Proposition 4."The law is important as there are a lot of young women under 18 who live in houses where they may be abused and they should be able to do whatever they want with their bodies," Silbestre said.
Proposition 8 is seeking to take away marriage equality rights for same gender couples in California. In May, the Californian Supreme Court struck down the state ban on same-gender marriage."We (FMF) believe that the right to marry the person you love is a fundamental civil right and that should not be taken away, so we are going to fight for it," McDonald said.
CSULB student Maria Perez, a senior women's studies major, is a big supporter of the campaign."Proposition 8 is important to oppose because if you support it, then your supporting a sense of inequality in our community, and how can we ever hope to attain actual equality if we promote the idea that only heterosexual people are allowed to marry."
At CSULB, students from FORCE and WSSA are working together to encourage students to vote. The students are looking to recruit volunteers to help spread the message to other students with rallys, protests and banners to position at polling booths on the day and lead up to the 2008 Election.This is not the first time Proposition 4 has been brought up in an election. In 2005 and 2006, Californians voted both times against the proposition.
McDonald said California is going to experience a big movement. "The FMF have already started campaigns at over 30 campuses in California and we are hoping to get 30 more."_______________________________________
http://www.daily49er.com/news/on-campus_associations_prepare_for_palin_appearance
Aarika Carter
Staff writer
Published: Monday, September 22, 2008
courtesy of Marina Wood
Erin Nakamura, WSSA board member, holds her sign that she created to protest Sarah Palin's upcoming Orange County visit.
Several groups on campus plan to protest at Sarah Palin's upcoming GOP fundraiser and rally appearances in Orange County.
"Our goal is to bring awareness to women about Sarah Palin," said Yvonne Moore, a coordinator of the protest. "Our main opposition to her stems from her stance on feminist health care, abstinence-only programs and abortion. Anybody who cares about women should come to the protest."
According to the O.C. Register, Palin is scheduled to be featured at a GOP fundraiser on Oct. 4, with a rally to follow on Oct. 5. Palin's fundraiser has changed locations twice due to overwhelming demand for tickets and lack of space. The dates and locations for the fundraiser and event may still change.
Student groups from Cal State Long Beach such as the Women's Studies Student Association(WSSA), the Feminist Organization Reclaiming Consciousness and Equality and the La Raza Student Association(LRSA) plan to protest the event. They're inviting like-minded voters to join them and bring signs, banners, flags, kazoos and drums.
"Even Jesus will be there," said women's studies major Erin Hale, regarding her friend's Messiah costume to protest Sarah Palin's recent statement that the war in Iraq "is in God's hands." Hale, also an executive board member of WSSA, eagerly anticipates the protest.
Marina Wood, a senior women's studies major and executive board member for WSSA, said Palin is not only a danger to women's rights, but also to animal rights and foreign policy. Wood touched on the delicate issue she called "women-vote-women," and said the Republican Party is trying to appease women by parading as 'progressive.'
"We don't vote with our vaginas," Erin Hale said.
Wood said the issue of Sarah Palin cuts across political party lines for women because many are offended by the Republican Party's carefully cultivated decision to choose a largely unknown female.
"There were so many more qualified, well-known Republican women," she continued, "like Senator Elizabeth Dole or Condoleezza Rice. It's like [they] had this wipe-board criteria that the V.P. had to fit -- like outdoorsmanship."
"I'm nervous to think that if [Sen. McCain] was to pass away she would take over," said CSULB undergrad Megan Brushey, "She doesn't seem ready to take over because of her ignorant comments."
A counter-protest is also in the works. Jason Aula, president of the CSULB Conservative Student Union (CSU) and leader of Youth for McCain on campus, is organizing a counter-event to coincide with the Palin protest.
Aula also wants to organize a Barack Obama protest following the Palin protests. He said the protest would point out some of the deficiencies of the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Joe Biden.
"Sarah Palin is the greatest example of what a conservative Republican should be that we have this election year," Aula said, "the closest we've had resembling Ronald Reagan's policies. I believe she will get us into the White House -- I'm pretty confident."
Aula said there is no difference between Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton, except political beliefs.
"I think they're just mad that the Republican Party got a female on the ticket before the Democrats," he said. "It sounds like they're just whining -- don't get me wrong, I'd be whining too if Hilary got on the ticket."
There are also women on campus who do not object to McCain's running mate.
"I don't take offense at all to Palin's camp," said CSULB alum Monica Ly, "I think McCain was smart to pull the 'woman card' in this election. Obama can't have all the attention."
_____________________________________________________________________
Published: Thursday, July 31, 2008
Imagine you are a 17-year-old woman and it is your first day in the dorms at Cal State Long Beach. You exit your room and cannot help but notice a cute guy plastering fliers on the bulletin boards in the common room that read “CHERRY BUST 2008: Friday, September 5th: SAE House.”
The guy turns around and you notice his shirt reads, “We’re not pulling out until the Cherry Busts! Fall 2008 Sigma Alpha Epsilon.”
“Hey,” he says and smiles. “You new?”
“Yeah,” you reply, nervously.
“You should come to the welcoming party this Friday. It’s going to be the best party of the year,” he tells you.
That Friday, you find yourself at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house with your new roommate. Someone hands each of you a cocktail in red cups and you are quickly making a lot of new friends.
The alcohol is making you much more social than usual and all of the guys from SAE are so nice that they keep handing you more drinks. At some point, you and your roommate get separated and she is nowhere to be found.
The next day you wake up in a room you’ve never seen before and you don’t remember anything from the night before.
This hypothetical scenario helps to demonstrate just how dangerous this party can be. Mind you, this situation could be any college party. So what sets the Cherry Bust apart from the others?
Well, what does it mean to “bust a cherry,” or “hit it,” “tap it,” or “bang her” for that matter? Even the idea of “doing a chick” implies that the woman involved is being somehow conquered, is not participating, and in many cases, is being violently “screwed.”
In thinking about language, the idea of “busting” a piece of a woman’s body just does not sound mutual or consensual.
It definitely does not sound enjoyable for the human person that has been “busted.” We at the Women’s Studies Student Association have initiated an educational campaign to inform both women and men of the potential consequences of this party.
Surely, the party could just be a harmless and fun way to welcome new students to CSULB. We are not condemning the act of drinking, nor of having sex; these two acts can be enjoyable in a non-threatening social environment.
But this party is hostile toward women and is thrown with the intent to rape. Allow us to clarify: the legal definition of rape as per the California penal code prohibits sexual intercourse “when the person is incapable of giving consent because s/he is incapacitated from alcohol and/or drugs.”
In other words, you are a rapist if you get a girl — or any person — drunk and have sex with her/him. Sure, it’s possible that no one will be raped.
But if everyone is informed of the possible danger, and armed with the legal definition of rape, hopefully some illegal acts will be prevented — that would mean our campaign was successful.
The WSSA is affiliated with the Long Beach Sexual Assault Crisis Agency (SACA) and three members are state certified rape crisis counselors. If you have been sexually assaulted, please call the 24-hour sexual assault crisis hotline at 562-989-5900.
_________________________________________________________________________________
See the video of our workshop, "It Takes a Village to Rape a Woman"
__________________________________________________________________________________
WSSA hosts KPFK's Feminist Magazine for a live 2 hour broadcast at CSULB about the upcoming election, asking both candidates to commit to ending violence against women
http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/mp3/kpfk_080917_190200femmag.mp3
http://archive.kpfk.org/parchive/mp3/kpfk_080917_200200femmag.mp3
_____________________________________________
http://www.daily49er.com/news/news_in_brief_cherry_bust
Published: Thursday, August 7, 2008
Cal State Long Beach’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter Cal Lambda recently changed the name of their annual “Cherry Bust” party. The decision came after a editorial in the Daily Forty-Niner written by WSSA members Marina Wood and Erin Hale, on July 30 “Women’s group decries annual frat party.” Wood received a e-mail from Caitlin Roberts, CSULB’s coordinator of Greek Life, after the editorial was published expressing her concern for the event’s theme and the subsequent change in name. According to Wood, the “Cherry Bust” is specifically aimed at freshman girls. Dorm residents have said to have seen signs for the party inviting only freshman girls in previous years. Currently the Facebook page for the original themed party has been deleted with a notification that the event has been canceled. While most fraternities and sororities hold annual welcoming parties coinciding with “Rush Week,” it is unknown whether the theme is used by others.
_____________________________________________________________________
Published: Thursday, July 31, 2008
Imagine you are a 17-year-old woman and it is your first day in the dorms at Cal State Long Beach. You exit your room and cannot help but notice a cute guy plastering fliers on the bulletin boards in the common room that read “CHERRY BUST 2008: Friday, September 5th: SAE House.”
The guy turns around and you notice his shirt reads, “We’re not pulling out until the Cherry Busts! Fall 2008 Sigma Alpha Epsilon.”
“Hey,” he says and smiles. “You new?”
“Yeah,” you reply, nervously.
“You should come to the welcoming party this Friday. It’s going to be the best party of the year,” he tells you.
That Friday, you find yourself at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house with your new roommate. Someone hands each of you a cocktail in red cups and you are quickly making a lot of new friends.
The alcohol is making you much more social than usual and all of the guys from SAE are so nice that they keep handing you more drinks. At some point, you and your roommate get separated and she is nowhere to be found.
The next day you wake up in a room you’ve never seen before and you don’t remember anything from the night before.
This hypothetical scenario helps to demonstrate just how dangerous this party can be. Mind you, this situation could be any college party. So what sets the Cherry Bust apart from the others?
Well, what does it mean to “bust a cherry,” or “hit it,” “tap it,” or “bang her” for that matter? Even the idea of “doing a chick” implies that the woman involved is being somehow conquered, is not participating, and in many cases, is being violently “screwed.”
In thinking about language, the idea of “busting” a piece of a woman’s body just does not sound mutual or consensual.
It definitely does not sound enjoyable for the human person that has been “busted.” We at the Women’s Studies Student Association have initiated an educational campaign to inform both women and men of the potential consequences of this party.
Surely, the party could just be a harmless and fun way to welcome new students to CSULB. We are not condemning the act of drinking, nor of having sex; these two acts can be enjoyable in a non-threatening social environment.
But this party is hostile toward women and is thrown with the intent to rape. Allow us to clarify: the legal definition of rape as per the California penal code prohibits sexual intercourse “when the person is incapable of giving consent because s/he is incapacitated from alcohol and/or drugs.”
In other words, you are a rapist if you get a girl — or any person — drunk and have sex with her/him. Sure, it’s possible that no one will be raped.
But if everyone is informed of the possible danger, and armed with the legal definition of rape, hopefully some illegal acts will be prevented — that would mean our campaign was successful.
The WSSA is affiliated with the Long Beach Sexual Assault Crisis Agency (SACA) and three members are state certified rape crisis counselors. If you have been sexually assaulted, please call the 24-hour sexual assault crisis hotline at 562-989-5900.
_________________________________________________________________________________
See the video of our workshop, "It Takes a Village to Rape a Woman"
__________________________________________________________________________________
Taken from the DAily 49er: http://www.daily49er.com/news/wssa_discusses_community_role_in_preventing_rapes
Shawntelle Latini
Date: Friday, July 4, 2008
The Women’s Studies Student Association of Cal State Long Beach concentrated on redefining violence against women
as a man’s issue rather than primarily a woman’s problem in their workshop, “It Takes a Village to Rape a Woman,” in the
first Los Angeles Social Forum at USC on Saturday.
“This workshop was not about what women can do to reduce our risk of being assaulted,” said Marina Wood, a WSSA
executive board member at CSULB and speaker at the workshop. “It was about recognizing and understanding the fact
that we live in a rape culture where rape and the idea of rape is normalized and supported, and the survivors are largely
ignored and disbelieved.”
“We chose not to focus on the victims and survivors of violence because it is only the fault of the perpetrator who decided
to attack the victim,” Wood said.
The workshop looked at how the mass media can also reflect and sometimes reinforce gender roles.
The other two speakers, Erin Nakamura and Erin Hale, also CSULB executive board members of WSSA, led an open
discussion about the influences media heads, such as Howard Stern and Tom Leykis, can have in dehumanizing women.
Both speakers concurred, however, that in order to change the media, we must first change the community.
“[The workshop] caused me to … critically analyze the things women have to go through. It really does take a village
to rape a woman,” said Cassie Comley, a CSULB senior human resource management major.
The speakers also touched on myths about rape and rape victims, explaining how the use of phrases such as, “she
was asking for it” or “she shouldn’t dress like that if she didn’t want it” are untrue and instead treats the rape victim
as a statistic rather than an individual.
Spencer A. Ruiz, a CSULB religious studies major, stated that the workshop was an “exercise exploring the use of
language, breaking open prejudices and really seeing how rape culture is promulgated throughout the culture we live in.”
The workshop also delivered the truth that most perpetrators are people the woman often knows, trusts and
sometimes loves. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, almost 2/3 of rapes were by someone
the victim knew, 38 percent were by a close friend and 28 percent of all rapes happened in an intimate relationship.
Relatives of the victims make up 7 percent of rapists.
“While we acknowledge that we as women can make choices that would reduce our risk of assault, we also know
that no matter what measures we take we still have a rate of 1 in 3 in regards to being sexually assaulted in our lifetime,”
Wood said.
WSSA is an organization re-established by five female students, Marina Wood, Erin Nakamura, Erin Hale,
Alaina Chamberlain and Maria Perez, who are devoted to the empowerment of women and committed to the ongoing
struggle to eliminate sexism, racism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination in society.
“I think our workshop at the L.A. Social Forum was important because it is basically a crash course in a feminist
perspective on men’s violence against women,” Wood said.
Other than this workshop, WSSA, with the help of the Feminist Organization Reclaiming Consciousness and Equality
(F.O.R.C.E.), held two feminist film events on campus, supported the Long Beach Pride Parade, and helped host the
Take Back the Night at CSULB and UCLA last semester.
This coming fall semester WSSA plans to expedite several film events, a White Ribbon Campaign Day (men working to
end men’s violence against women event), a “Get Out Her Vote” campaign and a speak-out via fliers against “Cherry Bust,”
a yearly event thrown by the Long Beach Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.
Ludacris Protest Article in Daily 49er
..>..>
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_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mon. February 25
The District’s Kevin Ferguson attended tonight’s Ludacris protest and a Q&A between Ludacris and various local media outfits. Interviews and minute-by-minute event log below:
7:18 PM
“There’s ten people walking up to the free speech area with signs. There’s nobody outside—everybody’s already been checked in so one will see them besides security guards and the Power 106 dudes. They’re hammering their signs down, and they say, ‘STOP COMMODIFICATION OF WOMEN,’ ‘HOMOPHOBIA IS A DISEASE,’ ‘562: NO HOS IN THIS AREA CODE,’ ‘WHAT DOES LUDA STAND FOR?’ and ‘GOT RESPECT?’ I don’t see anything else yet—oh, ‘TELL LUDACRIS NOT TO CRASH HERE.’ There’s not enough people to hold the signs yet. But they’re a little early—it starts at 7:30. ‘WOMEN’S BODIES ARE NOT MONEYMAKERS.’ They’re kind of tucked away in a corner where no one is gonna see them, even if there were people. ASB or the university police or whatever did a good job putting them where no one would see them. Pretty standard.”
7:35 PM
“In the Q & A room—free wifi! I asked the protesters if there was one question they wanted me to ask Ludacris and they said, ‘Why does he say “faggot”?’ They called his rhymes ‘like Dr. Seuss but about hos.’”
7:42 PM
“Someone from OC Weekly is here. They’re bringing out the opening act for Q&A: Pacific Division, three MCs with the same manager as Snoop. Boring. This room is notable. It looks like a sports conference room. Everybody is making jokes on how it looks like they’re doing a sports-draft announcement. They’re just talking up their group now. Who cares about these dudes?”
7:54 PM
“Bummer, they yelled at me for trying to take a picture of Pacific Division with my Macbook.”
7:55 PM
“Someone smells like weed in here.”
8:09 PM
8:21 PM
“OCW writer is editorial intern Patrick Chavis. That’s a job I used to have. I just talked to him. He’s cool.”
8:25 PM
“Ok, here we go. Going dark.”
8:35 PM
The District Weekly: What’s your reaction to the protesters?
Ludacris: It’s always gonna happen—you’re always going to have people doing that. At the end of the day, you know I can’t really control anything about it. But how do I feel? I feel like they judge me based off words but they don’t really know who I am or what I do for the community or things of that nature, so that’s basically what it’s all about.
8:37 PM
OC Weekly: Does hip-hop need protests like this?
Ludacris: I wouldn’t say hip-hop needs protesters, but whenever you have something that is dominant and is this influential and it’s art… sometime then you’re always gonna have that. At the end of the day, it’s freedom of speech. They can protest all they want to but I have the right to be here.
8:38 PM
Daily 49er: [Pretty much the same question I asked but hard to understand; he looked a little annoyed the third time in a row.]
Ludacris: I feel like I need to kind of desexualize the word. I say men are hos. So when people try to pinpoint a word, it’s not about that. So you know—the people protesting out there—it seems they’re scared of the truth. They don’t listen to what we’re trying to do. Hip-hop is a coded language—so it’s not for everybody to understand. All I’m doing is being honest and talking about living life. I’m not all good, I’m not all bad—I’m not nobody’s puppy!
8:40 PM
“He’s gonna star in a movie version of Max Payne with Mark Wahlberg.”
9:01 PM
“Ludacris on stage now!”
9:06 PM
“Another good sign: ‘WHY DOES UCR GET MOS DEF AND WE GET THIS?’”
9:08 PM
The District Weekly: Do you consider this protest a success?
Marina Wood: Well, it’s not over yet. When people come out, we’re gonna hand out leaflets and flyers and people will be able to see our signs again.
What do you think about Ludacris saying you’re afraid of the truth?
That sounds a little vague. Is the truth we should be violent toward women and hate gays? I’m not sure what he means.
http://media.www.daily49er.com/media/storage/paper1042/news/2008/02/13/Opinion/Doll-Symbol.Of.Sexist.Oppression-3206306.shtml
Mardi Gras: Sexual Terrorism at State College
by Marina Wood
2.11.2008
Dr. Maythee Rojas, the Women's Studies advisor and our professor for Community Service Women's Issues suggested last
Tuesday February 5 that we (the women's studies majors in her class) seem to be in this "women's studies bubble". Many of
us laughed and I wondered to myself what, if anything, is wrong with that? When we left class that day however, whatever bubble
that existed was suddenly transformed from a protective screen into a magnifying lens with which we witnessed the usually
mundane trash can in front of the bathroom being turned into an altar of filth.
Atop a foundation of party trays and Mardi Gras decorations was an inflatable sex doll placed firmly on its knees with its
hands and "genitals" wrapped together with bright blue tape. The doll had gray hair painted on beneath its Mardi Gras mask,
disturbingly implying that this sex doll was elderly. The two men most likely responsible for this despicable doll wore Mardi
Gras hats and were playfully putting their final touches on it.
A woman who appeared to know the two men stopped and complimented the doll, informing them that the best part
about it was her "cute mask."
The six to eight of us who stumbled upon the scene were not so amused. Our bubble, we found, didn't extend outside
of the classroom. It couldn't protect us from the violence against women and sexual terrorism on campus that we were
reminded of every evening as we pass the strange men or "chaperones" meant to protect us.
"What's this for, a party?" I ask the guys as I take a couple pictures. Their smiles suddenly transfigured into apprehensive
stares as they each began stepping away from the trash can. One man began to flee the scene and requested that we not
get him in trouble.
"This promotes violence against women!" senior women's studies major Desiree Gifford exclaimed, pointing at the doll.
The man leaving looked back and smirked. He muttered that he wouldn't say that and disappeared. She spoke up again
telling the other man to look at it, pressing that it definitely does. He looked back over his shoulder and remarked that it
was "only tape" before he too had disappeared.
Some of us were angry, some hurt, some confused. In order to get it out of the sight of the women and men in the hallway,
senior women's studies major Moriah Meeks and two other women popped it and buried it in the trash can inside the bathroom.
Afterward, I left the scene with fellow junior women's studies majors Erin Hale and Alaina Chamberlain with whom I witnessed
the entire spectacle.
"The worst part was that a woman was endorsing and reaffirming it. For some reason it's worse when women participate."
Erin commented.
Alaina responded, "What was clearly intended to be a joke carries different meaning for women who have or know
somebody who has experienced kidnapping, rape, or other forms of sexualized violence."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Oped-Mardi Gras: Women Caught between Beads and Brutality
by Marina Wood and Alaina Chamberlain
2.11.2008
On February 27, 2001 the Seattle, WA Mardi Gras festivities turned ugly. The Christian manifestation of the Pagan festivity is devised to be a last minute purging of all sinful and pleasurable consumption before the fasting and sacrifice associated with the 40 days of Lent. Here in the U.S. however, we hold no illusions that after a night of female flesh, alcohol, and beads that the participants are waking up and going to Mass.
The history of Mardi Gras in the U.S. and around the world is marred with violence and sexual assault. In Seattle, a swarm of rabid men were caught on tape violently ripping a woman’s clothes off and groping her breasts and crotch. There were similar sexually aggressive incidents caught on tape and others reported. In the context of Mardi Gras, women are “rewarded” for exposing their breasts. But should the penalty of women who choose not to obey the Mardi Gras rules be sexual violence? And what of the women who played along? Is it their fault if they are attacked?
The issue of harassment and menacing of women by men in public spaces and a lack of police intervention and support isn’t limited only to Mardi Gras. We still remember the attack of fifty six women in Central Park on June 11, 2000 after the Puerto Rican Day Parade in which a mob of hooting men grabbed, robbed and ripped
off the clothing of women for about an hour while the NYPD was only yards away ignoring all requests for help.
Similar events took place at Woodstock of 1999 in New York where the crowd began rioting and at least four rapes were eventually reported to the police.
The gender issues are huge. Why do men get away with such sexualized violence? Why are women afraid to report being assaulted? Maybe you have heard the horror stories of women who have reported incidents to the authorities: heckling, harassment, violence, further assault, and often a lack of legal recourse. Race and class play an obvious role in this Mardi Gras mayhem as well. Today, we associate Mardi Gras as an MTV spring break special or a glorified frat party filled with upper middle class white women and men. The reality is that it serves asan excuse for people of all races and classes to indulge themselves and “get rowdy”, often victimizing and objectifying women, and brutalizing one another.
So maybe the fact that our society is trained with a “blame the victim” mentality which is reinforced by apathetic authority is the reason that people think they can stand on the sidelines and laugh, or even participate, while women are sexually assaulted. And this big “joke” about women’s bodies being consumed for entertainment at Mardi Gras festivities carries over in smaller, more subtle ways into places like college campuses where something that is seen as harmless and funny to some carries greater undertones of misogyny, violence and sexual terrorism for others.
