- Activism:
This was a big week for Feminist Agenda Radio. We had Dr. Jennifer Vest on our show, and Take Back the Night was that Wednesday. Evan suggested that we have Dr. Vest on the show, and Dom and Josh made it happen. They both currently have class with Dr. Vest, and they were able to convince her to appear on the show. She performed several of her spoken word pieces, and it was powerful. We would find out later that we made an error by not providing a warning about the graphic nature of the piece. This occurred because we did not review the material before letting it air on the show.
- Reflection:
This entire week was appropriate for the materials we read in class. Violence against women and men were spoken about at Take Back the Night and on our radio show. Vest commented on the fact that the majority of the Feminist Agenda Radio that night were male, and she commended us for being there. It reminded me of what occurred in the “I Am Not A Rapist” chapter of our text. One point we discussed on the show was the words we use to describe those that are raped. 'Victim' is known to be troubled, and I brought up the issue with the word “survivor” and the culture attached to it. I have seen issues with survivor culture (around October, a lot of blogs comment on breast cancer survivor culture), and Morales's essay in our text reminded me of it. She states that a “place of wounded eroticism is one that is honored in survivor culture, evidence of blows inflicted and then denied by our abusers” (284).
- Reciprocity
Dr. Vest made me think of the role of art in activism. What she does with her poetry and spoken word is a “new”, effective way to reach people. Activism is more than making phone calls and writing letters and handing out flyers, it can be a source, an inspiration of creative force.
Morales, Aurora L. "Radical Pleasure: Sex and the End of Victimhood." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 283-4. Print.
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