The Clothesline Project 3/26, 12-6, Transitions

The Clothesline Project is actually a series of clotheslines displaying thousands of tee-shirts, each made by a sexual assault survivor or survivor ally. The shirts bear witness to both the pervasiveness of sexual violence in our nation and the extent to which violence harms physically and psychologically. Walking among the shirts, reading the stories, I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of shirts--so many testimonials of pain, anger, and strength. Today, our class will visit the Clothesline Project. Please take as much time as you can so that you can fully experience the point of the Project. You are also welcome to make a shirt if you feel so moved. Information about campus and community resources on sexual assault prevention, education, and support will be available. This event is sponsored by Residence Life and UHC's Student Wellness & Outreach.

Assignment: By Monday, 3/29, at 5:00 p.m., please post a reply to this blog entry that will serve as your commentary for next week. Your commentary should draw a connection between your experience of the Clothesline Project and one of the assigned essays from Chapter 10, "Resisting Violence Against Women." Your commentary must quote the essay as per the usual commentary assignment. Your commentary may either advance an original idea or respond to one previously posted here.

Unwanted Touching, Race, and Gender

Allison Keye's essay on National Public Radio, "Keep Your Hands Off the Hair," is about the frequent and strange compulsion of others to touch her hair. An African American who does not chemically straighten her hair, Keyes seeks to understand and explain the relationship of a 400-years-old racialized history of assumed permission to her recoil. The essay does not discuss the aspect of gender as another assumption of free access to her body, but it surely exists and is germane to our recent discussions in class.

Gandhi Center Internship for Fall 2010

The Mahatma Gandhi Center for Global Nonviolence at JMU invites rising Juniors and Seniors (and exceptional rising sophomores) with strong leadership and academic backgrounds to be part of affecting change at the local, regional, and national levels through promoting nonviolence understanding, appreciation, and practice. Application materials and details are on the Center's website.

Busting the Media Myth that Feminism Is Finished

Susan J. Douglas's new book, Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism's Work is Done is reviewed and excerpted on National Public Radio's website this week. I hope you'll take a look because Douglas considers the same questions we've been asking lately in our class--on women's under-representation in the upper echelons of the work force and in government; and on whether women who choose to be objectified in media representations are actually exercising autonomous sexual power. Plus, Douglas is wickedly funny. Her tone is imminently readable while simultaneously reminding female readers of the dangers of sounding dumb.

First Step Shelter Benefit Show 3/22, 7pm, TDU

Support the local domestic violence shelter with donations and non-perishable food items. See JMU and local performers. Sponsored by JMU Now. Contact: jmunow@gmail.com. This is an event supported by one of our class groups' community activism project.

House of Privilege: Chandler 3/22-24

In this experiential museum, participants are led through rooms of a house and observe scenes that highlight how privilege creates inequities in our society. Following the 20-minute tour of the house, participants take part in a brief facilitated reflection. Each room also contains “Windows of Opportunity” which share ways participants can act to level the playing field and embrace difference in their own lives.

Group sign-ups guarantee tours of up to 12 people. HOP can split larger groups into back-to-back tours. TIMES: 6 pm to 9 pm with tours leaving every 15 minutes. Pre-arranged group reservations take precedent over walk-ins; upon arrival individual walk-ins will be given a ticket with an assigned time for the nest available tour. Groups of five or more are invited to sign up for reserved times. To sign up for a slot, or to get more information, please contact Greg Meyer, meyergi@jmu.edu, 540-568-6218. To volunteer, click here.

VA Attorney General Bans Anti-Gay Discrimination

This article from the Associate Press continues our class discussion from Friday on legalized discrimination against the LGBTQ community: the Virginia Attorney General recently ordered state universities and colleges to remove sexual orientation from their anti-discrimination policies.