james has created a new web site for the ucd's student union, on it he put up my zine in a none zine format, so all the info is there with out the design or pics, but if anyone didn't get a chance to read it and wants to it is at http://www.ucdsu.net/newswire.php?story_id=62. I created the zine as a project for a class on inequalities on education and it was based on a quote given to us from Paulo Freire.

He put up a few other articles I wrote for the freshers guide so here they are:

Everything but yes means no

Growing up we hear over and over again don’t talk to strangers. We are conditioned to fear the other, the unknown. We are conditioned to fear the lone man walking on the street behind us at night or the possibility of a stranger lurking in the shadows or bushes. What they don’t tell you is that most violence, sexual assault and rape occurs from someone you know, it is not likely to be the stranger at night. Violence and rape is not essentially against women.

At this time in Ireland women report the majority of cases of rape with 9% of men reportedly being victimized this way . The three major myths according the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre when it comes to rape is that the act is a result of overwhelming sexual desire, that victims provoke rape by their dress or behavior and finally that people are usually attacked by stranger.

Statistics say that up to 85% of rape is committed by someone that the survivor knows. At the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre 66% of their clients are seeking assistance based on an experience from someone who they know. The term ‘date rape’ or ‘acquaintance rape’ has been coined to talk about this experience, regardless of the term the definition stays the same; it is “non-consensual sexual intercourse by a friend or acquaintance” and it is an act of violence, a method of control over another’s person.

Rape cannot be seen singularity as a result of overwhelming sexual desire. Although there is a large sexual aspect to the violence and as a result a rape can affect the future of ones sexual experiences and their relation to their body, themselves and others. At the same time there can be a deeper analysis of objectification that goes beyond ones sexuality to levels of attempting to silence the voice and take away the autonomy of the person. Rape should be seen not as a result of overwhelming sexual desire but as a way to control another person by using sex as the form of violence for this control.

Feminists have worked to debunk the myth that women ask for it, that they want to be raped and that a women’s outfit or history is excuse enough for the act of sexualized violence. Although this has become a common understanding the root of the problem has not necessarily been addressed. In an interview conducted by Bikini Kill (American Riot Grrl Band) they ask a guy how a woman asks for it. He says in the way they act, not in the way they dress since that is their own personal choice. This response shows that, although through popular education it has been normalized that women should be allowed to have some level of autonomy over their bodies, at the same time blame is still directed at the women for the act of violence that occurs to them. This idea of blame can be so pervasive that many women or men still blame themselves when they experience acts of sexualized violence and the closer the attacker is to the person the smaller the chance that the survivors will report it or even acknowledge the severity of what happened to them.

Although most self-defense classes are generated from the construction of fear of strangers, there are feminist self-defense classes, which address assertiveness in intimate relationships to help prevent all forms of control, manipulation and violence. Regardless of the type of self-defense class offered, the confidence developed through knowledge that one can protect themselves is priceless. Fighting back when attacked can be the difference between an attempt of rape and becoming a survivor of sexualized violence. According to WAVE, a women’s anti-violence education group, 61% of women who screamed and 68% of women who used physical force of any kind escaped and avoided getting raped .

The word non-consensual is the defining word of rape. In the past it was assumed that rape could not happen within marriage since the women by saying her vows has consented to please the man’s sexual desires. Slowly the legal system came to understand what most women already knew that they are in control of their own bodies and that what rape expresses is not sexual desire but rather control of another being through a violent act that is deeply violating one’s self.

Groups doing work around the issue of sexualized violence and date rape have worked towards normalizing the idea that NO means NO, but what does that really mean. Does a person have to say NO! for the act of sexual violence to not be consensual? What if her judgment had been altered due to too much drinking or being drugged with “date rape” drugs? What if she has been coerced or pressured by manipulation or fear? What if she has said ‘I have a boyfriend/girlfriend’, ‘I’m tired’, ‘I don’t feel like it’, ‘I have a headache’? What if she changes her mind? What if she stays silent?

I think within our collective consciousness we can agree that if she was drugged and if she was threatened, even if she said yes in those cases that consent had not been reached and the experience was an experience of rape. What is more important to talk about and fully understand is the headaches, the change in mind and the silence. We have to realize that for consent to be reached one has to say YES!! And everything but yes is no. Excuses for not reaching consent have been uttered such as it is not sexy to ask first. But what is less sexy: making sure that your partner wants to have sex with you or to engage in sex with an unwilling partner and violate this person in a deeply embodied way.

Entering college life is an explosion of freedoms and promise

Entering college life is an explosion of freedoms and promise, some of us move to Dublin from smaller towns, others move out of our parents’ homes and all of us enter a new larger community with so many possibilities. There are parties, societies and so many opportunities to meet like-minded people and to have a great time. One is bombarded throughout there first few weeks with the number of events and posters for parties that dominate the college landscape. Yet one can’t help but notice that these events are directed at a certain student: the straight male.

From the first day one can notice that the designs of the posters for the events have the straight male’s sexuality in mind. The posters depict women as objects and ask men to come and consume the events and take part in their societies. The societies and parties themselves are open to all genders and sexualities and if questioned they would assure you that the events are in no way sexist or heterosexist. Yet one has to wonder what level of safety and comfort someone who identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer would feel entering those events, let alone feminists of all genders. For example how included would a LGBTQ student feel at events that had males performing as strippers and did not allow any males in the audience or societies that had posters that said ‘everything that you want from a society’ and had several “sexy” women in bikinis surrounding a single guy. Somehow that is not what the majority of students are looking for in a society.

Many people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer don’t feel a level of safety to “come out” when they were still in high school. Homophobia is alive and strong in the high school environment, especially in the catholic school system. Many LGBTQ students may have been closeted within their family and social circles and find that college is a safe space to come out. Yet the general feel of the college is that it is not a safe space. Although there is the LGBTQ society; unless you want to be ghettoized you don’t want that to be your only outlet to be “out”!

Last year, in order to tackle this problem of heterosexism at UCD and the possibility of feeling ghettoized into a marginal society, there was a joint effort between the LGBTQ rights officer and the LGBTQ society called the Positive Space Campaign. This initiative encouraged lecturers and university staff to place a ‘positive space’ sticker on their door or other visible space. The goal of this project was to create an environment at UCD where issues of sexual and gender diversity were at the forefront, where discussions both personal and academic could legitimately take place. The hope was to create a sense that LGBTQ students could be “out” and be themselves in all aspects of their college life.

A package that contained an explanation of the campaign, definitions of terminology used, resources to further educate themselves on Dublin’s LGBTQ community and services and a sticker to place where they say fit was delivered to all staff. Although I would say that the campaign was a success, it did not go down with out any hitches. Services and administration were concerned that these stickers would be permanently adhesive to the university structures, which was the point!! They seemed to want to support anti-discrimination campaigns but had little understanding of the need we felt for a permanent transformation of the college environment to create and maintain safe spaces for those who are outside the heteronormative matrix.

There was also some blatant homophobic response from some of the staff who received the packages; you would think that we were trying to have them engage in gay sex. Perhaps they felt that if we let LGBTQ students feel safe in their offices and classrooms that somehow this would lead to them being “converted” to homosexuality. However, for every negative response, we got 10 positive responses from staff and hundreds from students.

Perhaps you will see one of these stickers still around from last year and perhaps you won’t. Don’t assume that because your lecturer doesn’t have one outside their door, they are homophobic. We have to realize that the heterosexist environment that is created through the events and posters resonates through all levels of the college. Those working in the college may also not feel safe within their departments to put up such a sticker and others may have been in academia for so long that they forget that it is a place for politics and would rather their space stay ‘objectively’ free of any political material, as if it is possible to be neutral and apolitical in such a space. We hope that this campaign will continue this year and more staff will get involved. Look out for a positive space campus.