I have to remember there are some decent men in the world. But there are too many who aren't. I can't go out and have a good time at night because I and every other female have to deal with these guys who are trying to "score" --the aggressiveness--basically having to ward off unwanted advances. There's all this talk about sexual harassment in the workplace-- some people still try to call it harmless flirting--but it's everywhere. I don't even want to call it "street harassment" because it's sexual harassment--the same thing. I'm emotionally warped because of it. I'm mad. I walk around in this state when I should be doing other things with my time. Whether it's happening to me or someone else is not the point it's that it's happening period. Whether it's a guy getting out of a car going, "Pretty ladies!" or men in groups trying to stop us, "lines" it's enough, enough. I don't even want to go out anymore. I don't remember dealing with these extremes when I was younger, in high school. I was thinking about it, and I believe there is a reason the Street Harassment Project started when it did--as there are no coincidences. It's the Central Park incident--interesting how all this anti-woman aggression happens in parks, where people go for relaxation and "outdoor therapy"--but a sign of the times, and there's a reason it started in New York City. Because here there are people crammed together in small spaces, and one of the drawbacks of nice weather is that people want to hang around and unwind, outdoors, lay back--and check out all the babes. It's not fun and flirting, it's a method of control and intimidation. The problem is....women are responsible for women's oppression as well, but that's another topic I don't have time to go into. I know, I've heard the pro-woman line and I see the logic, but I'm sorry it is true--women oppress women. It's not only women doing it but it's reality. Like the women who took over SHP, kicked out the founding member, and....according to some....pretty much diluted the original message, made it non-political, and even, to an extent (my opinion anyhow) infused it with a new kind of class bias . Whether that was deliberate or not is anyone's guess. This is my take on how things went down, but I'm not going to deny what I feel. SHP was supposed to be a safe space for women and I, and other women, didn't feel safe there.
more on this later....
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Friday, April 27, 2007
NY incident
My friend and I were walking down St Marks around 2 AM. This guy approached us, one of these Williamsburg/Ramones types with stringy black hair and tight black jeans. He said, "Excuse me....uh....I'm ....re..e...e....a...ally disoriented......uh.....can you....spare some change...?" We both said in unison, "I don't have any change, sorry." He walked of saying, "Stupid fucking yuppie bitches."
Ironic because both of us are about as far from being "yuppies" as it's possible to get. One of my heroes is Joe Strummer. I was called a JAP by the punks I knew when I was in junior high because I didn't dress punk. This one time my friend and I went into one of these 8th street shops and a girl with her face plastered in makeup and eyeliner started yelling at me...."JAPPIE!!!! Get out of here!" I grew up poor. All her makeup must have cost money, not to mention her $300 Doc Martins....
Do people distort stuff?
Ironic because both of us are about as far from being "yuppies" as it's possible to get. One of my heroes is Joe Strummer. I was called a JAP by the punks I knew when I was in junior high because I didn't dress punk. This one time my friend and I went into one of these 8th street shops and a girl with her face plastered in makeup and eyeliner started yelling at me...."JAPPIE!!!! Get out of here!" I grew up poor. All her makeup must have cost money, not to mention her $300 Doc Martins....
Do people distort stuff?
Monday, April 23, 2007
For anyone who needs some cheering up
http://abcnews.go.com/US/LegalCenter/wireStory?id=2657500
I don't suggest the above article. In case you're wondering what some of our brave boys are up to overseas.....
I don't suggest the above article. In case you're wondering what some of our brave boys are up to overseas.....
Thursday, April 19, 2007
From Desiree Alliance
End Demand Fact Sheet
A coalition of advocates and sex worker rights organizations have produced materials critiquing "end demand" style programming. Proponents of "end demand"-style programming such as "John's Schools" or increased arrest of clients of prostitution, claim that the measures only punish the men who purchase sex and protect women who sell sex. However, programs working with sex workers across the United States have found that intensive "end demand" programs increase law enforcement activities against all people in public space. Furthermore, these programs allow conservatives to channel hard won social service funding into policing efforts. This downloadable fact sheet cites research that illustrates the real results of "end demand" programming. We were able to do this analysis and produce these fact sheets via a grant from the Urgent Action Fund in early 2006. Groups involved in developing analysis of changes in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act include: the Desiree Alliance, Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA (SWOP-USA), the Woodhull Foundation, Bayswan, Best Practices Policy Project and local service providers in the District of Columbia. Below is the fact sheet. You can download the fact sheet here as a Word document. You can view the text of the End Demand legislation here. You can download the End Demand legislation here as a Word document.
Initiatives to “end demand” for prostitution harm women and undermine service programs
The Bush Administration is aggressively pushing the idea of ending demand for prostitution, claiming that programs oriented toward an “end to demand” are evidence- and rights-based, protecting “vulnerable” women and girls exploited by men. For example in December 2005 new provisions about “ending demand for commercial sexual services” were incorporated into the Re-authorization Act of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).[1] In reality these programs do not stop men from seeking sexual services, but rather, they harm women and channel social service funding into policing efforts. This frequently harms sex workers by pushing them, and their clients, to adopt strategies that heighten their risk for violence, HIV, and more.[2]
What are “end demand” programs?
Typically when people speak about “ending demand” they are referring to a range of efforts such as diversion programs in the court system and increased policing of men often accompanied by the imposition of new laws. Diversion programs such as “Johns’ Schools” and public shaming campaigns (i.e. naming people caught for solicitation on bill boards or on websites) are thought to deter men who might consider purchasing sexual services, thus “ending demand.” These programs are often developed in tandem with heightened policing of poor neighborhoods where sex workers reside and work, in order to enforce anti-prostitution laws. These policies are construed as “progressive” because rather than targeting and policing sex workers, they instead target anyone, including clients and organizations working with sex workers. The new legislation thus “punishes” men while “helping women,” an approach developed by Swedish conservative legislators and feminists in the 1980s. Claims have been made that sex workers are provided health care and training in other forms of work with the funds obtained from arresting men (i.e. fines). Police also claim that they arrest fewer women because they are focusing on male clients of sex workers.
Do these programs work?
Proponents of end demand style programming claim that they reduce prostitution without harm to sex workers, deterring men from purchasing sexual services and helping women.[3] Swedish proponents claim that criminalization “will affect relations between women and men in the direction of greater gender equality.”[4] They also that claim statistics on reduction of arrests of both sex workers and their clients prove these programs are working and improving the lives of women and girls. Evaluations of end demand style programs reveal a very different picture:
· Prostitution in general is not reduced by “Swedish style legislation” and sex workers are made more vulnerable to violence. An evaluation of Sweden’s legal experiment concluded that it did not greatly reduce the number of women engaging in street sex work: figures from Stockholm show that the total number of women on the street remained stable from 1999-2003.[5] However, the report found that during this period street sex workers were increasingly exploited, pressured to reducing prices and to provide unprotected sex.
· Highly touted end demand style programs, such as “Johns’ Schools,” have little or no deterrent effect above and beyond the effect of arrest and criminal proceedings.[6] One study found that before and after participating in the program, 1 in 10 men said that they would likely seek commercial sex services again. This rate is 4 times higher than the officially reported recidivism rate of 2.4%.[7]
Rather these programs end up targeting and arresting clients who are poor, people of color and immigrants.[8] These men plead guilty even though many of them may not have been doing anything illegal at the time of arrest and would have been found not guilty had they gone to trial.
· End demand programs rely on fear tactics that endanger women’s safety. Researchers observing Johns Schools in action found that presenters cautioned participants that “drug addicted prostitutes… have stabbed their clients with AIDS infected needles”[9] as a way of “scaring men straight.” Consequently sex workers are portrayed as violent, dangerous and diseased, thus increasing stigmatization and making prostitutes more vulnerable to violence.
· End demand programs that are financed by “user fees” paid by participants lead to corruption and conflicts of interest between the police and NGO service providers. Often funds obtained by arresting people are insufficient or are used by the city for other purposes. Research shows that close relationships between policing and funding undermine service providers’ accountability to communities served. In one case, numerous police joined the board of directors of an NGO overseeing a Johns School program. Eventually a police representative became Chair of the board. The researchers noted that “[s]ince the social service organization’s financial welfare depends… on the number and volume of prostitution offenders diverted to the ‘John School’ programme [sic], and given that this volume largely depends on the level of prostitution enforcement, it becomes apparent how… considerable conflicts of interest can arise.”[10]
What can you do to help sex workers in your area?
We are a coalition of sex workers, service providers, advocacy groups and concerned community members who are concerned that “end demand” style programming is undermining service provisions for women in need. We are also concerned that all people engaging in commercial sex (men, women and trans-people) be provided with real social support. If you are concerned about these issues we ask that you join us by contacting representatives of the following organizations in our coalition:
Desiree Alliance, http://www.desireealliance.org/
Sex Workers Outreach Project http://www.swop-usa.org/
Best Practices Policy Project, http://www.bestpracticespolicy.org/
[1] See complete text here.
[2] For example, carrying condoms can be cause for arresting someone for prostitution. Condoms are needed to practice safe sex, yet policing policy makes this practice problematic.
[3] The developer of the John’s School program, Norma Hotaling of SAGE, claimed that 98% of men going through the program were “rehabilitated” (Jerome and Rowlands, 1998).
[4]Working Group of the Legal Regulation of Sexual Services, 2004, Purchasing sexual services in Sweden and the Netherlands: Legal regulation and experiences: pp14-15
[5] Working Group of the Legal Regulation of Sexual Services, 2004, Purchasing sexual services in Sweden and the Netherlands: Legal regulation and experiences:
[6] Wortley, S., Fischer, B., & Webster, C. (2002). Vice lessons: A survey of prostitution offenders enrolled in the Toronto John School Diversion Program. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 3(3), 227-248: 394. Monto, Martin A. and Steve Garcia. 2001. "Recidivism Among the Customers of Female Street Prostitutes: Do Intervention Programs Help?" Western Criminology Review 3 (2). [Online]. Available: http://wcr.sonoma.edu/v3n2/monto.html.
[7] Wortley, Op.Cit: 389
[8] Fischer, B. , Wortley, S., Webster, C., Kirst, M. (2002). The Socio-Legal Dynamics and Implications of Diversion: The Case Study of the Toronto 'John School' for Prostitution Offenders. Criminal Justice, 2(4), 385-410: NEED PAGE #.
[9] Wortley, Op.Cit: 373.
[10] Fischer, Op. Cit: 393.
Desiree Alliance is a coalition of sex workers, health professionals, social scientists, professional sex educators and their supporting networks. We seek to encourage a better understanding of human sexuality by promoting ethical and unbiased research into sexual subcultures; to promote saner and more sensible approaches to policies relating to adult sexual health and behavior. We use this information to educate and empower the public to have healthy and rational attitudes about sexuality.
Desiree Alliance is a Project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE), a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
A coalition of advocates and sex worker rights organizations have produced materials critiquing "end demand" style programming. Proponents of "end demand"-style programming such as "John's Schools" or increased arrest of clients of prostitution, claim that the measures only punish the men who purchase sex and protect women who sell sex. However, programs working with sex workers across the United States have found that intensive "end demand" programs increase law enforcement activities against all people in public space. Furthermore, these programs allow conservatives to channel hard won social service funding into policing efforts. This downloadable fact sheet cites research that illustrates the real results of "end demand" programming. We were able to do this analysis and produce these fact sheets via a grant from the Urgent Action Fund in early 2006. Groups involved in developing analysis of changes in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act include: the Desiree Alliance, Sex Workers Outreach Project-USA (SWOP-USA), the Woodhull Foundation, Bayswan, Best Practices Policy Project and local service providers in the District of Columbia. Below is the fact sheet. You can download the fact sheet here as a Word document. You can view the text of the End Demand legislation here. You can download the End Demand legislation here as a Word document.
Initiatives to “end demand” for prostitution harm women and undermine service programs
The Bush Administration is aggressively pushing the idea of ending demand for prostitution, claiming that programs oriented toward an “end to demand” are evidence- and rights-based, protecting “vulnerable” women and girls exploited by men. For example in December 2005 new provisions about “ending demand for commercial sexual services” were incorporated into the Re-authorization Act of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).[1] In reality these programs do not stop men from seeking sexual services, but rather, they harm women and channel social service funding into policing efforts. This frequently harms sex workers by pushing them, and their clients, to adopt strategies that heighten their risk for violence, HIV, and more.[2]
What are “end demand” programs?
Typically when people speak about “ending demand” they are referring to a range of efforts such as diversion programs in the court system and increased policing of men often accompanied by the imposition of new laws. Diversion programs such as “Johns’ Schools” and public shaming campaigns (i.e. naming people caught for solicitation on bill boards or on websites) are thought to deter men who might consider purchasing sexual services, thus “ending demand.” These programs are often developed in tandem with heightened policing of poor neighborhoods where sex workers reside and work, in order to enforce anti-prostitution laws. These policies are construed as “progressive” because rather than targeting and policing sex workers, they instead target anyone, including clients and organizations working with sex workers. The new legislation thus “punishes” men while “helping women,” an approach developed by Swedish conservative legislators and feminists in the 1980s. Claims have been made that sex workers are provided health care and training in other forms of work with the funds obtained from arresting men (i.e. fines). Police also claim that they arrest fewer women because they are focusing on male clients of sex workers.
Do these programs work?
Proponents of end demand style programming claim that they reduce prostitution without harm to sex workers, deterring men from purchasing sexual services and helping women.[3] Swedish proponents claim that criminalization “will affect relations between women and men in the direction of greater gender equality.”[4] They also that claim statistics on reduction of arrests of both sex workers and their clients prove these programs are working and improving the lives of women and girls. Evaluations of end demand style programs reveal a very different picture:
· Prostitution in general is not reduced by “Swedish style legislation” and sex workers are made more vulnerable to violence. An evaluation of Sweden’s legal experiment concluded that it did not greatly reduce the number of women engaging in street sex work: figures from Stockholm show that the total number of women on the street remained stable from 1999-2003.[5] However, the report found that during this period street sex workers were increasingly exploited, pressured to reducing prices and to provide unprotected sex.
· Highly touted end demand style programs, such as “Johns’ Schools,” have little or no deterrent effect above and beyond the effect of arrest and criminal proceedings.[6] One study found that before and after participating in the program, 1 in 10 men said that they would likely seek commercial sex services again. This rate is 4 times higher than the officially reported recidivism rate of 2.4%.[7]
Rather these programs end up targeting and arresting clients who are poor, people of color and immigrants.[8] These men plead guilty even though many of them may not have been doing anything illegal at the time of arrest and would have been found not guilty had they gone to trial.
· End demand programs rely on fear tactics that endanger women’s safety. Researchers observing Johns Schools in action found that presenters cautioned participants that “drug addicted prostitutes… have stabbed their clients with AIDS infected needles”[9] as a way of “scaring men straight.” Consequently sex workers are portrayed as violent, dangerous and diseased, thus increasing stigmatization and making prostitutes more vulnerable to violence.
· End demand programs that are financed by “user fees” paid by participants lead to corruption and conflicts of interest between the police and NGO service providers. Often funds obtained by arresting people are insufficient or are used by the city for other purposes. Research shows that close relationships between policing and funding undermine service providers’ accountability to communities served. In one case, numerous police joined the board of directors of an NGO overseeing a Johns School program. Eventually a police representative became Chair of the board. The researchers noted that “[s]ince the social service organization’s financial welfare depends… on the number and volume of prostitution offenders diverted to the ‘John School’ programme [sic], and given that this volume largely depends on the level of prostitution enforcement, it becomes apparent how… considerable conflicts of interest can arise.”[10]
What can you do to help sex workers in your area?
We are a coalition of sex workers, service providers, advocacy groups and concerned community members who are concerned that “end demand” style programming is undermining service provisions for women in need. We are also concerned that all people engaging in commercial sex (men, women and trans-people) be provided with real social support. If you are concerned about these issues we ask that you join us by contacting representatives of the following organizations in our coalition:
Desiree Alliance, http://www.desireealliance.org/
Sex Workers Outreach Project http://www.swop-usa.org/
Best Practices Policy Project, http://www.bestpracticespolicy.org/
[1] See complete text here.
[2] For example, carrying condoms can be cause for arresting someone for prostitution. Condoms are needed to practice safe sex, yet policing policy makes this practice problematic.
[3] The developer of the John’s School program, Norma Hotaling of SAGE, claimed that 98% of men going through the program were “rehabilitated” (Jerome and Rowlands, 1998).
[4]Working Group of the Legal Regulation of Sexual Services, 2004, Purchasing sexual services in Sweden and the Netherlands: Legal regulation and experiences: pp14-15
[5] Working Group of the Legal Regulation of Sexual Services, 2004, Purchasing sexual services in Sweden and the Netherlands: Legal regulation and experiences:
[6] Wortley, S., Fischer, B., & Webster, C. (2002). Vice lessons: A survey of prostitution offenders enrolled in the Toronto John School Diversion Program. Canadian Journal of Criminology, 3(3), 227-248: 394. Monto, Martin A. and Steve Garcia. 2001. "Recidivism Among the Customers of Female Street Prostitutes: Do Intervention Programs Help?" Western Criminology Review 3 (2). [Online]. Available: http://wcr.sonoma.edu/v3n2/monto.html.
[7] Wortley, Op.Cit: 389
[8] Fischer, B. , Wortley, S., Webster, C., Kirst, M. (2002). The Socio-Legal Dynamics and Implications of Diversion: The Case Study of the Toronto 'John School' for Prostitution Offenders. Criminal Justice, 2(4), 385-410: NEED PAGE #.
[9] Wortley, Op.Cit: 373.
[10] Fischer, Op. Cit: 393.
Desiree Alliance is a coalition of sex workers, health professionals, social scientists, professional sex educators and their supporting networks. We seek to encourage a better understanding of human sexuality by promoting ethical and unbiased research into sexual subcultures; to promote saner and more sensible approaches to policies relating to adult sexual health and behavior. We use this information to educate and empower the public to have healthy and rational attitudes about sexuality.
Desiree Alliance is a Project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE), a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
Friday, April 13, 2007
I don't know
if these men are innocent or guilty. I don't know the situation. Maybe I'll never know. But there's a strong likelihood that-- if it wasn't these men it was someone else--somewhere someone was assaulted and the perps got away with it. It happens. It's all part of the backlash. It's overwhelming. Every time I step outside I have to face this.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
The Duke Case
I don't know what went on here, if she was or wasn't raped (apparently she was, just it's unknown by whom) but those Lacrosse players, or at least (shit I forgot his name) the big one, he is a pompous asshole in my opinion, and it's completely wrong to go after the District Attorney and say he "fabricated" rape charges or whatever he did.
I'm so mad about this. Whether or not these guys did it, it makes me think that I could be raped or killed out there, and it's likely nothing will be done about it.
My friend said in her neighborhood these frat boys desecrate the streets every night, throwing beer bottles, pizza, knocking over trash cans, screaming at the top of their lungs. Or a bouncer in the club scene talked about these guys who "come in here and throw their money around...." and that he had to break up 20 fights in three days. What is happening here? Has it always been this way? What can I do?
I love my sister, but I'm mad that she chooses to associate with these people. It's the environment she grew up in, I guess.
I'm so mad about this. Whether or not these guys did it, it makes me think that I could be raped or killed out there, and it's likely nothing will be done about it.
My friend said in her neighborhood these frat boys desecrate the streets every night, throwing beer bottles, pizza, knocking over trash cans, screaming at the top of their lungs. Or a bouncer in the club scene talked about these guys who "come in here and throw their money around...." and that he had to break up 20 fights in three days. What is happening here? Has it always been this way? What can I do?
I love my sister, but I'm mad that she chooses to associate with these people. It's the environment she grew up in, I guess.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
he is eating chicken wings in slow motion
tries to button his pants. The button pops off because he's gained so much weight. There's a half-drunk pitcher of beer on the table....he starts to cry.
The Christina Aguilera song "Beautiful" is playing....
The Christina Aguilera song "Beautiful" is playing....
He said,
How did you feel, the last time we were together?
I said, it was good, but I was a little afraid at times, like I didn't know what you were going to do.
He said, well, to be honest, it's kind of a turn on that you were afraid.
I need to stop thinking about D, but I still have feelings for him although I am really, really mad at him. He did "trap" me. He got away with it.
But in any event, it looks like I will be going somewhere: LA LA LA yippie! I have to brush up on my driving....
I said, it was good, but I was a little afraid at times, like I didn't know what you were going to do.
He said, well, to be honest, it's kind of a turn on that you were afraid.
I need to stop thinking about D, but I still have feelings for him although I am really, really mad at him. He did "trap" me. He got away with it.
But in any event, it looks like I will be going somewhere: LA LA LA yippie! I have to brush up on my driving....
Beat It
I've become obsessed with music videos, and have been watching the above mentioned one over and over. It's fascinating to me, and superbly acted. Love it, love it.
Others worth mentioning: Madonna/Britney Spears Me Against the Music, Gwen Stephanie What You Waiting For, Hollaback Girl, Madonna Sorry, Maroon 5....well, Adam Levine is cute so, for that reason.
I read Indymedia on the way home on the train and maybe I need to read something else. It's relentlessly grim. I'm glad Bush was greeted by protest after protest: I have to hand it to people in their ability to organize, against obstacles, in the face of other people's wrongdoing. But it's depressing to read about all the money that the US has given to these fascist and corrupt military dictatorships and to think anyone would support that----it just put me in a really foul mood. So I'm mad but it all makes sense; because every day I brush up against people whose energy is just in plain English horrid. I see, in certain people, the same narcissism, year after year and realize they'll never change. These are all the same people who created the Iraq war and Halliburton....what is it: narcissistic personality disorder, sociopathy? There was another article about how a squat, or something like that, in Denmark was brutally raided and the people evicted....all of which has been protested throughout Europe and a thousand or so people have been arrested....I could go on about this when I have more time--just that there's something really, really wrong going on here. Conspiracy? I can't say definitely, but look what happened to the Street Harassment Project. I don't know all the reasons I only know the ....manipulation that went on, I don't know yet....but somehow all this intense energy was snuffed out. I felt terribly alienated in my last days there, out in the wilderness, it's hard to describe, maybe because it was winter, but the whole atmosphere was bleak. Something went really, really wrong there. But this is for another article.
On to another topic: another place I recommend visiting in my neighborhood is Connetitcut Muffin, on the corner of Myrtle and Waverly. They make fabulous lattes, muffins (including lowfat) and have a wide selection of alternative news. Go, go, if you're in the area.
Others worth mentioning: Madonna/Britney Spears Me Against the Music, Gwen Stephanie What You Waiting For, Hollaback Girl, Madonna Sorry, Maroon 5....well, Adam Levine is cute so, for that reason.
I read Indymedia on the way home on the train and maybe I need to read something else. It's relentlessly grim. I'm glad Bush was greeted by protest after protest: I have to hand it to people in their ability to organize, against obstacles, in the face of other people's wrongdoing. But it's depressing to read about all the money that the US has given to these fascist and corrupt military dictatorships and to think anyone would support that----it just put me in a really foul mood. So I'm mad but it all makes sense; because every day I brush up against people whose energy is just in plain English horrid. I see, in certain people, the same narcissism, year after year and realize they'll never change. These are all the same people who created the Iraq war and Halliburton....what is it: narcissistic personality disorder, sociopathy? There was another article about how a squat, or something like that, in Denmark was brutally raided and the people evicted....all of which has been protested throughout Europe and a thousand or so people have been arrested....I could go on about this when I have more time--just that there's something really, really wrong going on here. Conspiracy? I can't say definitely, but look what happened to the Street Harassment Project. I don't know all the reasons I only know the ....manipulation that went on, I don't know yet....but somehow all this intense energy was snuffed out. I felt terribly alienated in my last days there, out in the wilderness, it's hard to describe, maybe because it was winter, but the whole atmosphere was bleak. Something went really, really wrong there. But this is for another article.
On to another topic: another place I recommend visiting in my neighborhood is Connetitcut Muffin, on the corner of Myrtle and Waverly. They make fabulous lattes, muffins (including lowfat) and have a wide selection of alternative news. Go, go, if you're in the area.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
my friend
said a guy grabbed her wrist and screamed in her face, "You come in here with your feminist bullshit.....when are you going to realize men will always be in charge? You women don't deserve to have any rights.....I hate all of you...." while ....well, this particular guy isn't very popular. The thing is, he's being up front about it at least. How many people think this and don't say it?
Sometimes I think women are guilty, too. In different ways.
So...on to a lighter topic. Here are some of my recommendations if you ever visit my neighborhood in Fort Greene, Brooklyn:
Yummy Yummy Chinese food, Myrtle Ave off Vanderbildt. I get the cold sesame noodles with vegetable rolls....just my recommendation.
Green Apple Cafe, Dekalb near South Oxford. Little place, good muffins and lattes.
Videos I'm watching: Michael Jackson's Thriller and Beat It
Madonna: Papa Don't Preach and Hung Up.
Summer is a mixed blessing. I love hot weather and wearing tank tops, not feeling chilled and miserable going out, but the down side is these people, mostly guys, hanging around the street who make a hobby out of pouncing on any female who walks by. I saw a gang of guys leave the projects last night and it was not a good feeling. The police station is right there....on the same block. Gangs of men in general....I don't like it. I don't support the prejudice that goes on in the world but I also am not going to tolerate the wrongful treatment of women by men, regardless of where it's coming from, and it just doesn't change from one place to another. Especially after I was assaulted last summer, well, things were bad, what can I say? It's supposed to be changing, but regardless, women are a target. I don't feel free to go out at certain hours and I have to be able to do that. I'm a night person. I don't know....don't know if it's worth staying here.
Sometimes I think women are guilty, too. In different ways.
So...on to a lighter topic. Here are some of my recommendations if you ever visit my neighborhood in Fort Greene, Brooklyn:
Yummy Yummy Chinese food, Myrtle Ave off Vanderbildt. I get the cold sesame noodles with vegetable rolls....just my recommendation.
Green Apple Cafe, Dekalb near South Oxford. Little place, good muffins and lattes.
Videos I'm watching: Michael Jackson's Thriller and Beat It
Madonna: Papa Don't Preach and Hung Up.
Summer is a mixed blessing. I love hot weather and wearing tank tops, not feeling chilled and miserable going out, but the down side is these people, mostly guys, hanging around the street who make a hobby out of pouncing on any female who walks by. I saw a gang of guys leave the projects last night and it was not a good feeling. The police station is right there....on the same block. Gangs of men in general....I don't like it. I don't support the prejudice that goes on in the world but I also am not going to tolerate the wrongful treatment of women by men, regardless of where it's coming from, and it just doesn't change from one place to another. Especially after I was assaulted last summer, well, things were bad, what can I say? It's supposed to be changing, but regardless, women are a target. I don't feel free to go out at certain hours and I have to be able to do that. I'm a night person. I don't know....don't know if it's worth staying here.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
poisoned pet food
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070324/ap_on_re_us/pet_food_recall
It's so upsetting, my heart goes out to these people who have lost their pets. My cat got sick a few months ago with a mysterious near kidney failure, and I wonder if it was the food. It's scary.....I have to watch closely.
It's so upsetting, my heart goes out to these people who have lost their pets. My cat got sick a few months ago with a mysterious near kidney failure, and I wonder if it was the food. It's scary.....I have to watch closely.
more
I know there are many groups working to confront street harassers. I am all for women standing up for themselves and fighting back. But realistically we're confronting well-trained soldiers here. Safety IS an issue, and has a lot to do, I believe, with why most women don't respond to these guys. I've been through many confrontations in my life and it's an ugly, painful thing to go through. Plus, it nearly got me in bad situations. Groups like Hollaback have the right intentions, but you may get a guy who freaks on you if you snap his picture. I did that to a couple guys on the street once and they just made a joke of it. I just don't think that is going to change their behavior. What IS the solution? Anti-street harassment legislation? That may actually be--I'm all for grass roots mobilizing but really are we going to get all women to take up Uzis and become Navy Seals to fight these guys off--in an ideal world that would happen but it's not the world we're living in. I don't know. I don't know. And a part of me felt really empty after the counter harassment parties, even though I know these women had their hearts in the right place. But it felt ....like I wasn't reaching anyone, just creating or exacerbating negative situations. I am NOT saying we should just do nothing or wait for a law to be passed and just sit passively meanwhile, but the solutions so far have seemed superficial to me, and frustrating. There's no issue in the world quite like this one, and names like "Ëve teasing" just cuten the meaning, make it look like flirting.
I'm pissed. I live with this feeling every day.
And I just got back from a family get together which stressed the hell out of me. I love my mother but I can't deal with her and I was on the verge of never wanting to see her, or any of them, ever again. I finally was willing to forgive her, though anyone else I wouldn't, but it is the same result over and over whenever I go there. Now, I come home and the cats want food, my room is a mess, I have to go to the store for coffee and contact lens rinse..... and it just never, never ends, you know? So as soon as I come back from the store I am going to try to mellow out with wine and a joint. That will maybe restore my sanity.
I'm pissed. I live with this feeling every day.
And I just got back from a family get together which stressed the hell out of me. I love my mother but I can't deal with her and I was on the verge of never wanting to see her, or any of them, ever again. I finally was willing to forgive her, though anyone else I wouldn't, but it is the same result over and over whenever I go there. Now, I come home and the cats want food, my room is a mess, I have to go to the store for coffee and contact lens rinse..... and it just never, never ends, you know? So as soon as I come back from the store I am going to try to mellow out with wine and a joint. That will maybe restore my sanity.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Street Harassment is a Political Problem
Not every woman's individual, personal one.
I love summer, but this is one of the drawbacks. Guys lounging around leering at women.....on the subways, everywhere, there's no escaping this male attention. It is not harmless flirting. And they'll say they're doing it to meet women; they're not. Most of the time I don't dress up, much, and I get far more when I am. That pisses me off, as well. I wonder if we're going back. It's worse than ever. How do I get away from it?
I love summer, but this is one of the drawbacks. Guys lounging around leering at women.....on the subways, everywhere, there's no escaping this male attention. It is not harmless flirting. And they'll say they're doing it to meet women; they're not. Most of the time I don't dress up, much, and I get far more when I am. That pisses me off, as well. I wonder if we're going back. It's worse than ever. How do I get away from it?
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Am I the only one who finds this somewhat comic?
http://www.examiner.com/ArticleEmail.cfm?articleID=613045
this has to set a record for one of the shortest trips ever taken by anyone....
this has to set a record for one of the shortest trips ever taken by anyone....
Performance, Mo Pitkins
So my friend Alex and I did a show there and people loved us! Good news. These things are never easy to pull off. I've been rehearsing like mad and preparing for auditions around the city. This one woman got on the mike to do a performance piece and said something to the effect of, "I've recently gotten interested in feminism. When I was growing up in California, we were told that feminists were women who refused to shave their armpits and were lesbians. But then I got involved in the movement and realized that there were a hundred variations of feminists....socialist feminists, anarcha-feminists, conservative feminists....and it's like, which category d?" And Reverend Jen yelled out, "There's only one kind of feminist, and that's someone who believes women should have the same rights as men. Whether they shave their armpits or not." Awesome comment!
Saturday, March 10, 2007
end of the cold!
good news is, I feel hopeful, and I'm finally getting free after several days of menstruation and stress, big time. So I've been working super hard and under loads of pressure. That demo took so much out of me and was exhausting grunt labor. It's such a struggle to get the world to acknowledge feminist issues beyond abortion rights or workplace sexual harassment, and even those topics are an uphill battle. Someone made a remark about a media blacklist on feminist issues, although cameras did show up. That's so exciting. And I realized, my activism is as a performing artist. I want to cheer, I miss it. I hope to go down to DC for the war march and I believe wholeheartedly in what I do. I express myself by jumping and screaming and channel my anger into that, which I believe creates such a better atmosphere than the negative confrontations at demonstrations. Never mind that people don't take us seriously and either bombard us with comments and pictures or else, like these women I demonstrated with, rolled their eyes and dismissed us as frivolous because we wear short skirts and even say we set the women's movement back. Well, that's bullshit. These women don't experience the backbreaking work that goes into cheering. They haven't stayed up til 5AM coming up with moves or doing exercises. But what can I do? Never mind that it's also a struggle to get them to acknowledge sex workers' rights beyond this kind of knee-jerk emotion of, prostitution is exploitation and has to be done away with, which, because of the "sex slave" argument that systems like the German one only trap women further, includes keeping it illegal? Or else they praise the Swedish model and...well, I've been on this topic before.
That said, though, I have great faith in Redstockings and this demonstration. I believe there's hope, and I believe there will be a new kind of protest, rather than just trying to re-create 1968 or something like that. Although sometimes I feel I was born in the wrong era. I am a warm weather person and my high school years were spent lounging around the parks in the city.
So, on that topic, I want to go to Colombia, a lot. But people keep telling me it's too dangerous and over and over I hear how I'll be kidnapped as soon as I get off the plane and even people from there tell me not to go. I wouldn't, except that I'm intrigued by it and the Spanish spoken there. Others say it isn't as bad as its reputation. The other place was South Africa.....so it'll happen it just wasn't the right time. I miss England, too. The men there, in the whole UK and Ireland, are all gorgeous and when I go there I actually get turned on but I just am aching to get away. For now, it'll probably be Miami, again. I loved it down there last year so I keep that in mind, when the wind stabs at my bare skin again.
That said, though, I have great faith in Redstockings and this demonstration. I believe there's hope, and I believe there will be a new kind of protest, rather than just trying to re-create 1968 or something like that. Although sometimes I feel I was born in the wrong era. I am a warm weather person and my high school years were spent lounging around the parks in the city.
So, on that topic, I want to go to Colombia, a lot. But people keep telling me it's too dangerous and over and over I hear how I'll be kidnapped as soon as I get off the plane and even people from there tell me not to go. I wouldn't, except that I'm intrigued by it and the Spanish spoken there. Others say it isn't as bad as its reputation. The other place was South Africa.....so it'll happen it just wasn't the right time. I miss England, too. The men there, in the whole UK and Ireland, are all gorgeous and when I go there I actually get turned on but I just am aching to get away. For now, it'll probably be Miami, again. I loved it down there last year so I keep that in mind, when the wind stabs at my bare skin again.
Friday, March 09, 2007
today
more like yesterday. I'm really tired and stressed right now but I want to say this before it leaves my mind. The demo went well; it was so uplifting to see that we're not alone; there are so many women who feel the way I do and have the same problems. It can feel like you're alone, like no one is suffering like you are, although I know there are those with worse problems. But it's hard to connect with people regardless.
So that makes moments like this very fulfilling. It's also very informative. I drink all this literature up, and I learned a lot as well. One activist, when we were in the cab later said, the FBI probably has files on all of us, because we're activists.
ok I'm fading now, but before I forget....I ran into someone I've known, a guy, for about ten years, a friend of my ex, who is a cop. His personality is very atypical....he is funny, smart, goofy....and from what I've heard he doesn't get along with other cops and they hate him. Anyway, he was telling me, "They [his higher ups] wanted me to lock people up....for stupid stuff....for being homeless, and I would argue with them...."and he went on to say he was subsequently demoted, to a different station. I met a woman at a Social Wage meeting who was a prosecutor, with a particular interest in prostitution, which she saw as wrong and harmful. She said she would refuse prostitution cases...in other words didn't want to lock people up for that. She never came to another meeting, though, that I know of.
So that makes moments like this very fulfilling. It's also very informative. I drink all this literature up, and I learned a lot as well. One activist, when we were in the cab later said, the FBI probably has files on all of us, because we're activists.
ok I'm fading now, but before I forget....I ran into someone I've known, a guy, for about ten years, a friend of my ex, who is a cop. His personality is very atypical....he is funny, smart, goofy....and from what I've heard he doesn't get along with other cops and they hate him. Anyway, he was telling me, "They [his higher ups] wanted me to lock people up....for stupid stuff....for being homeless, and I would argue with them...."and he went on to say he was subsequently demoted, to a different station. I met a woman at a Social Wage meeting who was a prosecutor, with a particular interest in prostitution, which she saw as wrong and harmful. She said she would refuse prostitution cases...in other words didn't want to lock people up for that. She never came to another meeting, though, that I know of.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
Join Us At the UN March 8, 2007 12:39 PM
Hope to see you there!
NY: Feminist Speak Out at the United Nations, NYC
(Ralph Bunche Park, 1st Ave & 43rd St)
On International Women's Day, Thurs March 8th 12:30pm
FL: Feminist Speak Out, Gainesville FL
(Hoggetowne Middle School, 3930 NE 15th St)
On International Women's Day, Thurs March 8th 6pm
(more info at the bottom)
Redstockings will expose and protest the myth that U.S. women are the most
liberated in the world. On March 8th, International Women's Day, at the
United Nations in New York City, women will testify from personal
experience on the true conditions we face here, and join ranks with women
of the world to fight for women's liberation. Feminists with the National
Organization for Women and Gainesville Women’s Liberation will hold a
sister action in Florida to join Redstockings’call for exposing this "Myth
of America" and demanding for us what most countries in the world already
have.
Women in the U.S. are supposed to be thankful to be the "freest." U.S.
women don't have it all, we do it all: long hours of paid work, and the
unpaid care work in the home.
The U.S. is one of only five countries out of 173 surveyed recently by
Harvard and McGill Universities that does not guarantee some form of paid
maternity leave. Fathers are granted paid paternity leave or paid parental
leave in 65 countries, including 31 offering at least 14 weeks of paid
leave. Many countries have public quality childcare available to all
residents. Every other industrialized country in the world has a national
health insurance system, taking health care coverage out of jobs and
marriage. These advances make women less dependent on men and employers
and it spreads the work of caring for the next generation and those who
need long-term care across the whole society.
Our government doesn't guarantee any of these programs. In the U.S., our
society runs off the backs of women underpaid or unpaid.
Send a donation to help us continue spreading the word and building the
Women’s Liberation Movement.
To support our work, please send a donation:
Gainesville Women’s Liberation
(Attn Women’s Liberation Task Force for National Health Care)
P.O. Box 2625
Gainesville, FL 32602-2625
Contact us to find out how you can join the Women’s Liberation Task Force
for National Health Care: womensliberation.org
646-285-1723 or 352-262-6234
redstockingsfeminism@hotmail
Join us in NY or Florida or tell us about a speak out you are organizing.
******************************
Redstockings Speak Out in NYC:
Thursday March 8th, 12:30-1:15
Across from the UN, Ralph Bunche Park, 1st Avenue & 43rd Street
For More Info: Contact Allison Guttu at 646-285-1723 or
redstockingsfeminism@hotmail
www.womensliberation.org
******************************
Feminist Speak Out on International Women’s Day in Gainesville, FL:
Thursday, March 8, 2007, 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Hoggetowne Middle School
3930 NE 15TH Street
Free dinner and childcare provided
Contact: Natalie Maxwell 352-262-6234 or Jessica Livingston 352-335-0320
Email: ga_now@juno.com
Speak Out Sponsored by: Gainesville Area NOW, Gainesville Women’s
Liberation, & the Women’s Liberation Task Force for National Health Care
www.gainesvillenow.org
www.womensliberation.org
www.redstockings.org
Sunday, March 04, 2007
dream, dream
Really haunting, this one. I'm at this guy I know Kevin's house. I meet some other guy, younger, who is a friend. I start hanging with this guy, and we end up going to a hotel upstate with some other people. But he's running or hiding from someone, and we keep agreeing to meet but we see other people in what look like animal cages, but are actually 'hotels." The police are everywhere, and I'm attracted to this guy, I like him, but he's elusive, always running, in some kind of trouble. I also am back at my father's house for a while, talking to him. But then they guy takes off, telling me to meet him or follow him, but then he's gone. So I'm back in the hotel this time with some young people. I get on a roller coaster with some people, a huge one, with a terrifying climb and drop. A voice says, this is you and David. I start screaming because I don't like roller coasters. We're climbing back wards and I see the drop is massive; I'm screaming because I don't want to drop, but we do, and I'm still screaming, we're up and around..... then I'm back in the hotel, which is a skyscraper. The walls, bedspread is yellow. The police are everywhere, and people are telling me and others, leave now. Suddenly the young people in the hotel with me are taking their suitcases and climbing out the window. Some are crying. The police are outside. I ask, what is going on? Someone says, they want us to come with them. People are going down the fire escape, and jumping long distances down, throwing their luggage down. A woman cop says, come out now, don't try to escape. I'm thinking, what will they do to us? We're trapped. Then I woke up, thinking, thank God that was a dream.
Decriminalization: Why?
"feminist" negation similar to antifeminist division of women into good/bad categories
"rescue" operations used to harass and jail prostitutes
fear of assault/arrest
harassment/violence from police, customers
having no protection, virtually, from violence, no voice under the law, invisibility
discrimination against women?
no job protection, health insurance, well....any of the usual benefits
fear of discovery; parents, friends, police
constant condemnation and judgement, even from women who call themselves feminists; being considered immoral, degenerate.....much of this given ammunition from the popular image of hookers as deranged, abused, drug-addicted and disease-ridden, ect. ect.
being treated by "crisis centers" or even organizations that purport to support them as victims or "sinners"with a kind of almost punishing attitude; of "Let's get you out of this asap...."
I guess I can't emphasize enough what I said about women who say they are even radical feminists who say they are on the side of the underdogs, who would even scream out at every chance their support of sex workers who, when confronted with these women face to face, insulted and pretty much damned them.
Several thousand dollars are spent virtually every day to arrest prostitutes: which in turn can stigmatize them for life and even destroy their lives; why isn't this money spent on basic needs such as health or child care?
Finally, it's one of the ways women can earn independence from men and employers; set their own hours, choose their own customers, and have more free time for other pursuits
it's hard work. Women's work is always undervalued
"rescue" operations used to harass and jail prostitutes
fear of assault/arrest
harassment/violence from police, customers
having no protection, virtually, from violence, no voice under the law, invisibility
discrimination against women?
no job protection, health insurance, well....any of the usual benefits
fear of discovery; parents, friends, police
constant condemnation and judgement, even from women who call themselves feminists; being considered immoral, degenerate.....much of this given ammunition from the popular image of hookers as deranged, abused, drug-addicted and disease-ridden, ect. ect.
being treated by "crisis centers" or even organizations that purport to support them as victims or "sinners"with a kind of almost punishing attitude; of "Let's get you out of this asap...."
I guess I can't emphasize enough what I said about women who say they are even radical feminists who say they are on the side of the underdogs, who would even scream out at every chance their support of sex workers who, when confronted with these women face to face, insulted and pretty much damned them.
Several thousand dollars are spent virtually every day to arrest prostitutes: which in turn can stigmatize them for life and even destroy their lives; why isn't this money spent on basic needs such as health or child care?
Finally, it's one of the ways women can earn independence from men and employers; set their own hours, choose their own customers, and have more free time for other pursuits
it's hard work. Women's work is always undervalued
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