2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the editor
Vagina Monologues
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: Forum
Rape: a term that is thrown around on our campus and in society as if it has no effect on the people surrounding you. It is referred to in numerous contexts: "I just raped the shit out of that sandwich," "Yea man, we're gonna rape some bitches tonight," or my personal favorite, "Ok boys, let's rape the other team tonight, it is our chance to win."
Every time I hear someone use the phrase "rape" in an offensive manner, my memory reverts to what happened when I was a child. It took me a long time to realize what exactly had happened. I was 6 years old and on almost a daily basis I was raped. It lasted for 3 years. This word is easy to throw around yet is mentally abusive to the one in six American women who have been raped.
The Vagina Monologues last weekend hit home like nothing has before. For the first time I realized there were other people who had a similar crime happen to them. It was most satisfying to see men who were members of the monologues and those in the audience. I became aware that men were in fact disgusted by, at times, what their gender has done to assert power over females.
The activism on our campus seems to run in spurts. When something bad happens we are ready to fight, protest, put signs up, yet once it blows over everyone goes back to their Guilford bubble lives, and I include myself in this category. What I figured out last night was that this is a perfect chance to get something going on our campus. Brothers: wouldn't you want your sisters to have the support from her college community?
Since The Vagina Monologues have ended I feel that as a community we should not allow ourselves to push rape into our subconscious and let the conversations end.
Just as The Vagina Monologues provided solidarity for me, our community should provide solidarity for each other. I am suggesting we continue these conversations around our campus and prompt more awareness of the up and coming Gender and Sexual Wellness Resources Center that has been proposed for our campus.
Indeed, it is a touchy subject but awareness and activism should be linked; we should form a place where victims and non-victims can talk about unwanted sexual encounters and what can be done to prevent them from happening.
I ask that we once again, as with the Bryan Incident, unite as a community, stay a united community, and fight violence against women, children, adolescents
Every time I hear someone use the phrase "rape" in an offensive manner, my memory reverts to what happened when I was a child. It took me a long time to realize what exactly had happened. I was 6 years old and on almost a daily basis I was raped. It lasted for 3 years. This word is easy to throw around yet is mentally abusive to the one in six American women who have been raped.
The Vagina Monologues last weekend hit home like nothing has before. For the first time I realized there were other people who had a similar crime happen to them. It was most satisfying to see men who were members of the monologues and those in the audience. I became aware that men were in fact disgusted by, at times, what their gender has done to assert power over females.
The activism on our campus seems to run in spurts. When something bad happens we are ready to fight, protest, put signs up, yet once it blows over everyone goes back to their Guilford bubble lives, and I include myself in this category. What I figured out last night was that this is a perfect chance to get something going on our campus. Brothers: wouldn't you want your sisters to have the support from her college community?
Since The Vagina Monologues have ended I feel that as a community we should not allow ourselves to push rape into our subconscious and let the conversations end.
Just as The Vagina Monologues provided solidarity for me, our community should provide solidarity for each other. I am suggesting we continue these conversations around our campus and prompt more awareness of the up and coming Gender and Sexual Wellness Resources Center that has been proposed for our campus.
Indeed, it is a touchy subject but awareness and activism should be linked; we should form a place where victims and non-victims can talk about unwanted sexual encounters and what can be done to prevent them from happening.
I ask that we once again, as with the Bryan Incident, unite as a community, stay a united community, and fight violence against women, children, adolescents
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