When you get sick of sharing your street harassment stories on this thread, and are tired of snapping Hollaback pics, here's another bit of street-harassment-related action you can take -- a London-based feminist group is collecting items of clothing you were wearing when you were harassed:
Based on similar campaigns in India we are launching an “I DID NOT ASK FOR IT UK� campaign. We are asking women to send us garments they were wearing when they were sexually harassed, in any way. We would like you to add the message “I Did Not Ask For It� to the garment, sew it onto a tee-shirt or marker pen it onto a pair of jeans, embroider it onto a dress or boiler suit… Or draw, paint or digitise the message “I Did Not Ask For It� and then pin the drawing onto your chosen garment, photograph it and send it to us at our e.mail address or send with a comment to our myspace. Feel free to add other messages of your choice, be as creative as possible.
They'll be making an exhibit of all the photos and articles of clothing. So ladies, grab a magic marker, find those sweatpants and baggy T-shirts you've been harassed while wearing, and get to work.
I'm guessing it's ok to submit even if you don't live in the UK. But this also seems like a great local action for college campus feminist groups in the run up to their annual Take Back the Night march.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Asking for it.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/5512
Weekly Feministing Newsletter
Feministing RSS Feed
I hope that lots of women send in miniskirts and halter tops and things, too. Because those women still didn't ask for it.
Problem is, of course, that those types of clothes are a lot more expensive, and a lot less likely to be parted with.
Cara beat me to what I wanted to say. I hope this doesn't turn into a collection of just baggy sweatshirts, which would send the message that we only aren't asking for it when we cover up.
Heh. I was hoping they'd get lots of baggy sweatshirts so that no-one would be able to claim that harrassment was about the men being turned on by their clothing!
Let's just hope they get a lot of everything, then.
I hope someone more organized than myself is inspired to create "I DID NOT ASK FOR IT NYC". Maybe as an addition/sister site to HollaBack?
I third what Cara said. Although one of the things I've been harassed in (asshole reached out and RUBBED MY THIGH) is black (tough to write in marker on black) and it's one of my favorites... and it's BCBG, i.e., not cheap :\
TLF, You could always write it on a piece of white paper and set it on top of the pants, then take your picture and send it.
Sounds like a super idea!
Will pass it on to my friends in India as well.
"I hope that lots of women send in miniskirts and halter tops and things, too. Because those women still didn't ask for it."
"Heh. I was hoping they'd get lots of baggy sweatshirts so that no-one would be able to claim that harrassment was about the men being turned on by their clothing!
"Let's just hope they get a lot of everything, then."
Imagine if they do get a very wide range - from halter tops to sweatpants to hijab, both women's and men's clothes, children's clothes from cartoon character t-shirts to little preppy school uniforms, etc.
I'm thinking that it would be cool to get those words stitched onto the pair of pants that I was wearing the night I was raped and then keep wearing them. (I only still have them because the police felt that the guy would never be convicted anyway because I had consented to have sex with him before.) Thoughts?