Prez got cross about sexual harassment so she wrote about it.

Content warning: This poem contains strong language and discusses rape culture.
Rhyme for a Crime

Last Saturday I went out, out to a bar, 

The music was dodgy and floor sticky like tar,

But I was with two friends who are great and so, 

I was happy to be there and for drinks to flow.

We joined up to the big long queue, 
3 men were behind me, doing what men do,
Clapping each other on the back and the arm, 
Seemingly fine and doing no harm. 

Then low and behold, what did I find?
Some fucking cunt's hand on my behind!
Perhaps it was tired and needed a rest -
of all my features, my arse is known as the best.

But you know what, mate? That's not your call. 
It's for people in bed to compliment, not you to maul.
Because maul's what you did, you ham-fisted fuck, 
I flew round pretty quick and boy you all ducked. 

All 3 of you creeps laughing along,
You just didn't get that what you'd done was so wrong. 
The worst was I didn't know which of you it was out of the bunch,
So I decided not to guess my punch. 

I moved away, silently seething,
My heart kind of felt like it was bleeding.
This is why I fight so hard – because it's wrong and it's sick and it's twisted and gross, It's not a compliment - it's just fucked up, 

Don't you dare fucking tell me to stop making a fuss.
 My friends weren't too sure, 'it's not that bad'
I said 'if that happened to you on a bus you'd go mad.'

So this rhyme's little moral is, kids -
Just don't do it or laugh or shrug it away,
Consent is consent, and my body is mine. 
It's not a play-thing for anyone to abuse, that's not fine.

And it's moments like that which cause me to fight, 
Because it's men like that who don't know the meaning of 'No.' 
Those men are the ones who our society shapes,
The ones who refuse to stop, and will rape.

Rose Walker, 2013-14 President

2013/14 President Says Hello

Hey, everyone. I figured I should do a little 'Hello' spiel to any new faces and to anyone already involved who isn't familiar with me. I'm also going to tie in a little introduction to what the Feminism Society does and how it operates. Please note, anything I'm about to say does not necessarily represent the views of this society or any of its committee or members.

So. My name is Rose and I'm the 2013/14 FemSoc President.  I study English and Classical Studies here at Royal Holloway, and I'm about to re-take my second year. Things I like: cake (you'll learn more about that during any events that require refreshments) photography, peppermint tea, writing, positive attitudes to mental health and gender equality. I also like trying to make a difference in areas of society I feel are problematic (mainly the last two. I don't worry too much about the representation about cake. Although... http://rhul-fem-soc.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/food-guilt-societys-tool-to-make-you.html)

So, it was a bit of a no-brainer when I started here to try and get involved with things I thought were important within our SU (that's Student's Union.) I won't go into the inner dealings of GMs (General Meetings) Sabbs (Sabbatical Officers) and heated debates by way of microphone, because I don't want to overload you.

I got involved in second year, because I was too busy thinking I was a super awesome fresher in my first. At the beginning of my second year, I soon realised there were quite a few like-minded people within our union, and I started learning about some really important issues that hadn't really crossed my mind - trans* people's representation, BME representation and LGBT issues. Getting involved with the Feminism Society made me realise that every minorities representation in society interlinks, and it's important for us all to realise that.

For a while, like anything new, I was a little nervous about turning up to FemSoc events as I went by myself, but I can honestly say that now there are at least 6 members who are close friends. And I mean the kind of friends you Skype, not the ones you wave at awkwardly in Crosslands every now and again. So, FemSoc is friendly, and really welcoming. There were loads of great social events last year - we went out for meals, for drinks, hosted Come Dine With FemSoc (that also turned into an impromptu birthday celebration for me) went to SU club nights together and travelled into London for events, amongst others. There was a huge variation, and that's something we're going to continue doing next year - if you don't like clubbing or you don't drink alcohol, totally not an issue. We try to make sure every event is accessible, both in terms of disability and also atmosphere.

As well as social events, most of our sessions are designed to get our members thinking about Feminism as a whole, and also individual issues and how Feminism looks at them. Last year we talked about politics, diets, body hair, sex, porn, mental health, the representation of BME women in the media, Islam and Feminism amongst plenty more. Some sessions the society invited speakers to visit us and lead them, and others we would set up ourselves and just chat about. We also linked up and put on joint sessions with other societies, including the Islamic Society, the Afro-Caribbean Society, the Debating Society and the LGBT society. Like I said before, we work hard at being intersectional.

As well as discussions / presentation events, the society has also worked on campaigns that directly affect our University and its members. It's proposed and passed many motions at GMs (sorry if I've lost you here. I'll post a crib-sheet on Student's Union language at some point to ensure everyone understands why Twitter goes berserk every few weeks) that support other student women. For example, the society wrote to and offered our support to students at a University which was being targeted and harassed by anti-abortion activists, and did the same to a university finding it difficult to set up their own Feminist Society. On campus, we've worked with Sabbatical Officers and Students Union staff to ensure our SU is a zero tolerance union - put simply, it and its staff have a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is a huge issue within society, and university campuses don't escape that. We've helped implement an atmosphere that means there are ways of dealing with and reducing the occurrences of these issues, and that students feel comfortable reporting anything.

I plan on writing another post within the next couple of weeks about why I think Feminism is still so important in our world today; there's way too much to include within this. I hope this has been an interesting overview about the society and the kind of things it does - if you have any other questions relating to the society, feel free to send me or any of the committee a message or post in our Facebook group. It would be great to see a lot of new faces in September - I hope this post has sufficiently piqued your interest.

Oodles of feminist love,

Rose Walker

SlutWalk 2012 – or Why I don’t really care about the controversy

April Howard discusses the merits of SlutWalk

SlutWalk - we’ve all heard about it. What do we all think? Despite attempting to ignite activism and achieve real social change, the scantily-clad marches through cities and towns all across the world have truly polarised opinion within feminist movements and the general public alike.

Why are they using the word slut? 

Who do they think they are? 

How can they use their bodies like that to raise the cause of feminism? 

I have encountered all these reservations in feminist circles and amongst other acquaintances and friends.


Who cares? This is the thought that usually comes into my head at such discussions, often unbidden
and usually unspoken. Yes, I have a persistent inner-debate over using the word slut, but really, SlutWalk’s association of everyone in society with that word isn’t such a bad idea – it instantly lays open the ridiculousness of using the word slut to denigrate and allow a “certain type” to be raped without protection and without certain resource to justice.

With the SlutWalk organisers yelling the abysmal figures of 7 in 100 reported rapes ending in a conviction in the direction of the CPS and police, surely any action that brings attention to such a clear weakness and blind-spot in our judicial system is worthy of support?

Yes, some of the photographers may have come to get a picture of scantily-clad women, but it got
photographers to the event and interviews in many local and national newspapers. The view of thousands of men and women in unusual outfits, shouting slogans that described the need to blame the rapist and not to victim (“It’s a dress, not a yes” and “Whatever we wear, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no” being amongst my favourites) caused many people in London, and across the world’s SlutWalking cities to stop and consider an issue that has long been swept under the legal and social carpet.

Academic feminism has an incredibly important place in influencing governmental policy, but movements such as SlutWalk can access all levels of society and cause a stir on the streets. If society and those holding judicial power within society continue to tell men that someone’s drinking or attire can excuse rape on the grounds that the victim had somehow “asked for it” or been a “vulnerable position”, then people will continue to view rape as something that only happens in certain settings, to certain people. By loudly calling bullsh*t on this analogy and demonstrating that rape is never acceptable, SlutWalk use their attire and slogans to visibly demonstrate the absurdity of slut-shaming and victim-blaming.

So, I went to my first SlutWalk dressed in a 60s dress with suspenders underneath to highlight that neither attire legitimises rape.

Did I enjoy the walk? Yes, I did.
I feel empowered to stand up to the rape-culture we live in? Yes. 
Did I feel empowered to call bullsh*t before I Slut-walked? No.

SlutWalk may not be your cup of tea, yet I defy anyone to refute the good it has done – uniting millions of people across the world to publicly reject rape-culture and sparking millions of discussions on the acceptability of rape-apologists. I refuse to believe that because of a word and a bra these global outpourings of frustration are an endangering addition to the feminist cause.

Also we managed to get on to Sky News briefly and April's placard is featured in The Huffington Post.

A Brief History of SlutWalk

On January 2th 2011, Constable Michael Sanguinetti spoke on crime prevention at York University safety forum at Osgoode Hall Law School. He said, “I’ve been told I’m not supposed to say this - however, women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimised.” This comment sparked the Toronto SlutWalks, organised by Sonya Barnett and Heather Jarvis, which marched on 3rd April 2011.

 The SlutWalks were named after the offending comment and their aims are, put simply, to protest the justification of sexual assault and rape against women by judging their clothing and general appearance. Initially women were encouraged to wear everyday clothes to the protests in order to show the range and diversity of those who are impacted by sexual assault, but many women took the theme to heart and dressed in revealing attire to show their distaste for the Constable’s remarks and society’s attitude as a whole. It has since grown to be a global annual protest, stretching from its roots in Canada to the UK, much of Europe and Australia.

The SlutWalks have stirred up their fair share of controversy, from within the feminist movement and without. Jessica Valenti labelled the Slutwalks as “the most successful feminist action of the past 20 years” for bringing feminist issues into the public sphere and mainstream media. On the other hand, critics such as Susie O’Brien wrote, “I believe the name will marginalise women and girls who want to be active in violence prevention campaigns but who don’t feel comfortable with personally owning the word slut." The controversy surrounding the marches has, in effect, only served to bring it further to the attention of the media and encourage discussion of modern feminism and its meaning to young generations of women.

 The London SlutWalk 2012 will be held on September 22nd this year and many members of Feminism Society will be marching. Provocative attire is completely optional and the aim is for the march to be an inclusive, anti-racist and pro-sex workers’ rights space.

If you haven't been before take a look at our post from last year! 

Alcohol <- This is not an invitation for rape

TW: Discussion of Rape/Sexual assault
A response to: Vagenda - ""Don't get Raped" - An important message?" by Oli Rushby
I came across this Vagenda blogpost on the society’s Facebook page and it angered me to the extent of writing a response. It’s not often I’ll disagree with content published by Vagenda and of course everyone’s opinion is going to differ however I was baffled at the sheer ignorance this writer had displayed. The blog was written to defend a campaign run by West Mercia Police, “Safe night out”, which had come under fire by the F-word and many feminists on Twitter for victim blaming.

 

Vagenda make a fair point when stating that whilst campaigns should focus on stopping morons from raping people, whilst we live in a society in which these idiots do go around raping - it’s a good idea to give women “tips” on how to avoid finding themselves in a situation where they are at more of a risk. Although of course the massive problem with this is that if it was that easy to avoid getting raped, nobody would get raped! The bottom line is (and the argument that the F-word and those on twitter fronted) if the Police spent more time targeting and convicting those committing sexual offences then the rates of sexual assault crimes would decrease, we all know the current conviction rate of rape in this country is dire. Women should be able to go out with their friends and have a drink without having to take precautionary measures to avoid tosspots who seem to think because a woman is drunk it’s OK to rape her.
My biggest issue with the Vagenda article is that it claims West Mercia Police can’t be accused of simply victim blaming because whilst it seems the tagline puts “the onus of responsibility on the woman who has been raped” it actually doesn’t, because there is also a poster aimed at men... The poster aimed at men is absolutely appalling. It pictures a group of men having a drink together at the top and at the bottom it pictures a man in a police cell with his head in his hands, with the tagline “Don’t let a night full of promise, turn into a morning full of regret”. Yes, in a very loose sense this poster is saying “Don’t rape” - which is what I’d like to see from an anti-rape campaign however the way in which this poster is designed and the way in which the campaign focuses on sensible drinking, to me is suggesting that if a man goes out and gets really drunk, he’s putting himself in a position in which he may commit a sexual assault... Is this not blaming alcohol for the crime? Using intoxication as an excuse? I’m a 21 year old man and in my time I’ve had nights where I’ve been pretty drunk yet never have I felt whilst being so drunk that it’d be a fab idea to rape someone and I’m sure there are many men out there who will echo that.
“Don’t Rape” campaigns should stick quite simply to that message - “Don’t Rape”, because there are absolutely no excuses for committing a sexual assault. Our Students’ Union and Society ran a campaign last year in which stickers reading “This is not an invitation to rape me” were attached to the cups in which drinks are served in the Students’ Union. The campaign was really successful with positive feedback and I believe it’s creative but simple ideas like this that will really help to tackle the problem of men thinking it’s OK to sexually assault someone who’s drunk.  Even more recently the society passed a motion within the Students’ Union General Meeting to apply for accreditation to become a Zero-Tolerance Union, a campaign initiated by NUS Women’s Campaign to show that Students’ Unions will not tolerate any form of sexual harassment within their establishments after a survey conducted in 2010 revealed a shocking 68% of women were subjected to sexual harassment during their time at university or college. Are these not better steps towards preventing sexual assaults than the seemingly thoughtless campaign by West Mercia Police?
It would seem the issue with the article posted on Vagenda was a knee-jerk reaction to feminist criticism of the “Safe Night Out” campaign. A reaction which does not seem to consider that the campaign run by West Mercia Police seems to be suggesting alcohol is an excuse for a man to sexually assault a woman. Vagenda seem to be jumping the gun a little, almost “Oh, it can’t be victim blaming, there’s a poster aimed at men too” without even considering the actual message the male-aimed poster conveys, which is basically “Don’t get too drunk on a night out, you might rape someone”. If I want to get really drunk on a night out, I will. Will I rape someone? No, because I’m not a dickhead.