No One Is Free While Others Are Oppressed ~ SlutWalk Philadelphia Speech
August 12, 2011
“What’s the Right Message?” asks Aishah Shahidah Simmons in her SlutWalk Philadelphia Speech”
“Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference – those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older – know that survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to stand alone, unpopular and sometimes reviled, and how to make common cause with those others identified as outside the structures in order to define and seek a world in which we can all flourish. It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths.”
— Audre Lorde, Sister Outsider —
Black. Lesbian. Feminist. Mother. Warrior. Poet. Audre Lorde’s written words taught me that my silence will not protect me, and that silence is not golden. I am a Black feminist lesbian who is a survivor of incest and rape. When I was ten, my paternal (step)grandfather molested me over a period of two years; and when I was 12 the eldest son of a family friend fondled me. My rape happened when I was a soon to be 20 year old sophomore in college. I was on a study abroad program and broke all of the university-enforced rules to go out, very late at night, with the man who would become my rapist. In spite of my having second thoughts about going out with this new acquaintance, I was both afraid to articulate them and to turn around because my friends were covering for me. In the hotel room, for which I paid, I told my rapist “I don’t want to do this. Please stop.” I didn’t “violently” fight back. I didn’t scream or yell to the top of my lungs” because I was afraid. I didn’t want to make a “scene.” I blamed myself for saying, “Yes”…for breaking the rules…for paying for the hotel room.
The morning following my rape, I went back to where the school housed us and lied to my friends. I didn’t tell them that I was forced to have sex against my will. In an effort to both deny what happened on the night of my rape and to be in control of my body, I had consensual sex with another man that evening. When it was time to return home to the United States, I was pregnant and didn’t know which of the two men was the biological father. I was fortunate to have a safe and legal abortion at the Elizabeth Blackwell Health Center for Women in Philadelphia, PA.
And, before I continue, I want to be explicitly and unequivocally clear that I am NOT a lesbian because I was molested and raped. I am a lesbian because I’m attracted to and love women. So, please do not walk away making the homophobic and heterosexist comment “Oh, that’s why Aishah is a lesbian. It’s because she was molested and raped.”
WRONG.
If molestation and rape made women and girls lesbians, then most of the girls and women in the world would be lesbians. Just check the global statistics on molestation and rape.
I share what some of you might view as personal, private—and perhaps—seemingly unnecessary because the personal is directly related not only to the political but also the professional in my life.
Now, I admit when Executive Organizer Hannah Altman invited me to be a speaker at SlutWalk Philadelphia, I was very, very apprehensive. However, after quite a bit of thought and deliberation; and in spite of my many conflicting feelings as a Black feminist lesbian whose contemporary reality and ancestral lineage has been rooted in the legalized name calling/marginalizing/denigration of mind/body/spirit for centuries without too much recourse, I accepted the invitation to be a speaker.
I am here today because I want to see an end to the victim-blaming in my lifetime, and I’m 42-years old. No, victim-blaming is not going to stop because we are all here participating in SlutWalk Philadelphia. If only it were that easy. However, I believe it is important that the faces, voices, and perspectives of women of color (inclusive of all sexualities) and trans people of color are seen and heard. Documented herstory and contemporary reality has shown us that more often than not, it is our bodies that catch the most hell not only by the State but also by people in and out of our communities (however we define them). It is our bodies that have a demonstrated track record of being on the frontlines of the movements to end all forms of oppression.
I believe words are very, very powerful. At the same time, I really struggle with many who are hostile to the “SlutWalks” because they say it gives the wrong message. What is the right message? I think about Take Back the Night, which was founded in the early ’70s, when I was a toddler. As strange as it may seem today, especially now that Take Back the Night has become an “acceptable” movement throughout this country and globally, I know there was resistance. I’m sure some, if not many people took the position, ‘What do you mean take back the night? You shouldn’t be out at night!’
Personally, I do not embrace the word Slut at all… And, at the same time, I will not say or subscribe to the patriarchal and misogynistic thinking that “we can’t do this or that type of behavior; or wear this or that type of clothing and not expect to get harassed, fondled, and/or raped.
There are some places in the world that would say that presently, I’m not properly covered in what I view as very modest attire (by most US standards). There are many in the United States; and throughout the world who believe I should be raped, assaulted, and/or harassed for the mere fact that I’m an unapologetically OUT Feminist Lesbian.
Where do we draw the lines of who can and can’t be rape, assaulted, harassed, and/or called vicious and vitriolic names? Why are we okay with RAPE being the penalty for ANY type of behavior (including heterosexual women having multiple sexual partners) or for wearing ANY type of attire of clothing (including thongs and bustier? ). This line of thinking is inhumane, egregious, wretched, and should be unacceptable.
Sexual violence is one of the only crimes where the victim behavior’s determines if a crime happened or not. I could be in a drug-infested neighborhood with a lot of money on my person and even bragging about my money and showing it off. If someone steals my money, they are a thief, plain and simple. Yes, one could say “Aishah, what were you doing with all that money in that neighborhood. Are you crazy?” And yet, at the same time, it would be clear that I was robbed. If I left my macbook pro in Starbucks and someone stole it, we may think I was dumb for leaving it there, but that doesn’t take away the fact that someone stole my macbook pro.
How can we have more empathy for the loss of money or even the loss of a computer than the (hopefully, temporary) loss of one’s body for a few seconds, moments, hours, or even days? Why do we tend to be clear about the impact of the loss of material possessions in ways that we don’t want to be clear about the impact of the loss of the right to ones own body. For too many, rape has become a word, almost devoid of the horrifying experience from which too many of us never ever fully recover.
There is something very disturbing and painful that there is this widespread (as in global) notion that material possessions are worth more than a woman’s body… There is something wrong that too many of us believe that a woman doesn’t have the right to show or flaunt her body, if she desires… That a woman doesn’t have a right to agree to one form of sexual activity and not agree to another form of sexual activity. That she doesn’t have the right to say “yes,” and then have the courage or even the audacity to change her mind and say “no.” Whose body is it anyway? Contrary to global belief, it’s not the perpetrators body. And yet, too many of us defend the perpetrators RIGHT to violate the body of another.
When will we stop treating boys and men as if they are wild beastly animals or innocent toddlers (not sure which one) who can’t control their words and/or actions? When will we put the blame on the perpetrators? When will we stop saying “Well, women have to take some responsibility?” Take responsibility for what, men and boys being unable to control themselves resulting in them violating a woman or girl’s body because of what she said, wore, and/or did?
Really.?!
Again, I ask where do we draw the lines of who can and can’t be assaulted, harassed, and/or raped? As long as there is any group of people including but not limited to adolescent and teenage “fast” girls, women, trans people, queer people, and sex workers who are marginalized, then all of us are vulnerable both because it’s all subjective; and the lines of the margins shift all of the time. Who’s acceptable today may not be acceptable tomorrow.
We must stop subscribing to this notion that rape is the justifiable penalty for ANY type of behavior or attire of clothing that we may not like or even disapprove of.
We must centralize the margins of the margins of the margins of society so that ALL of us are free from assault, harassment, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. No One Is Free While Others Are Oppressed. NO ONE IS FREE WHILE OTHERS ARE OPPRESSED.
Aishah Shahidah Simmons is the producer/writer/director of NO! The Rape Documentary., the internationally acclaimed, award-winning feature length film, which examines the international atrocity of rape and other forms of sexual violence through the first person testimonies, scholarship, activism, and cultural work of African-Americans. You can follow her on twitter, connect with her on Facebook, and/or read her AfroLez®femcentric blog.
Philadelphia Weekly Covers SlutWalk Philadelphia
August 12, 2011
Philadelphia Weekly Excerpts Part of Aishah Shahidah Simmons SlutWalk Philadelphia Speech
“When poet and speaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons addresses the crowd, she comes on like a lion. “History has shown it is our bodies that catch the most hell,” she says.” Though she does not identify as a poet, Simmons most definitely spoke with passionate fire about ending all forms of sexual violence.
The Philadelphia Weekly was one of few media outlets (WHYY, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Philadelphia Gay News being the others) who gave SlutWalk Philadelphia appropriate coverage.
Click here to view Philadelphia Weekly’s “Philly’s SlutWalk Photo Gallery”.
Rape Survivors Should Not Take The Weight of Shame & Blame
August 12, 2011
Aishah Shahidah Simmons Believes Perpetrators Should Carry Responsibility for Rape, NOT the Victim/Survivors
On the eve before the SlutWalk Philadelphia, Aishah Shahidah Simmons expressed absolute clarity about who is responsible for sexual violence ~ the perpetrators.
In an August 5, 2011 WHYY NewsWorks article, Simmons said “Shame or blame should never be on the survivors. It should be put on the perpetrator. Words like slut and whore should not play a role in how we view women who have been raped or assaulted. That’s what happens: she’s a slut, she’s a whore, she deserves what she gets. For me it’s really challenging, this name-calling.”
Click here to read “‘SlutWalk’ Protest set for Saturday in Philadelphia” in its entirety.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/24345
Aishah Shahidah Simmons talks about SlutWalk with Journalist Akiba Solomon
August 12, 2011
The Relevance of SlutWalk for Black Feminists: An Interview with Aishah Shahidah Simmons by Akiba Solomon for ColorLines
On August 5, 2011, the eve of the SlutWalk Philadelphia, journalist Akiba Solomon really explored the relevance of the SlutWalk movement for Black feminists in America in her “Is the SlutWalk Movement Relevant for a Black Feminist,” article for ColorLines. Part of Akiba’s exploration features an interview with filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons about her involvement with the SlutWalk movement.
Here’s what Simmons had to say:
One of the common critiques of SlutWalk is that it isn’t racially inclusive. How did you get involved with the Philly march?
The organizers reached out to me and asked if I was willing to be one of the speakers. [At first] I was indifferent to the SlutWalk movement. I kind of cringed at the title. But the more I read about it, the more I was like, ‘Yeah!’
What bothered you about it?
Well, black women have been called sluts, whores and skank whores from the beginning. So I wondered why we would embrace the term ‘slut’ [without] any kind of analysis about what it means for all women, but especially women of color. Also, I just wasn’t sure if this was a multiracial movement. But it’s grown a lot; there’s a SlutWalk in the works in Malaysia, a Muslim country where a lot of the women are covered!
Click here to read Akiba Solomon’s article in its entirety.
http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/08/since_late_may_various_people.html
Aishah Shahidah Simmons featured guest on WHYY’s Radio Times
August 12, 2011
Aishah Shahidah Simmons & Rebbecca Traister talk about SlutWalk with host Marty Moss-Coane on WHYY’s Radio Times
On August 4, 2011, award-winning filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons and noted journalist and author Rebecca Traister engaged in a very lively dialogue with host Marty Moss-Coane and callers about the SlutWalk movement on WHYY’s Radio Times. Philly hosted their first SlutWalk on Saturday, August 6, 2011.
Many of the poignant issues raised and discussed on the program are very relevant to anyone interested in addressing and ending all forms of gender-based violence globally.
Click here to listen to this very provocative program.
http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2011/08/04/slut-walk-feminists-fight-back-against-rape/
SlutWalk Philadelphia
July 24, 2011
Aishah Shahidah Simmons joins SlutWalk Philadelphia Stage with Stephanie Gilmore and Qui Alexander
Recently, I was invited to be a speaker at SlutWalk Philadelphia, which will be held on Saturday, August 6, 2011. After quite a bit of thought and deliberation; and in spite of my many conflicting feelings as a Black feminist lesbian whose contemporary reality and ancestral lineage has been rooted in name calling/marginalizing/denigration of mind/body/spirit for centuries without too much recourse, I accepted the invitation to be a speaker. I accepted the invitation because I want to see an end to the victim blaming in my lifetime. No, victim blaming is not going to stop because I agreed to participate in SlutWalk Philadelphia. If only it were that easy. However, I believe it is important that the faces, voices, and perspectives of women of color (inclusive of all sexualities) and trans people of color are seen and heard. More often than not, it is our bodies who catch the most hell not only by the State but by people in and out of our communities (however we define them). It is our bodies who have a demonstrated track record of being on the frontlines of the movements to end all forms of oppression.
I?m absolutely positively thrilled and honored to share the SlutWalk Philadelphia stage with Stephanie Gilmore who is a radical feminist scholar/activist and Qui Alexander who is a radical trans activist/educator of Color. These two individuals have a demonstrated track record of tackling those issues that very few of us want to tackle and address. I believe that SlutWalk Philadelphia’s invitation to each of us shows their understanding of and commitment to ensuring that both this ?Walk? and the issues addressed are not seen as only relevant to mainstream (read White and heterosexual) feministS. It is not until the margins of the margins are centralized that any of us will truly be free.
No One Is Free While Others Are Oppressed
Aishah Shahidah Simmons & NO! featured on Ms Magazine Blog
July 24, 2011
Rape Is Still Rape, And No Still Means NO!
On May 19, 2011, Black feminist writer and professor Jennifer Williams, Ph.D., wrote on the sobering prevalence of rape, sexual assault, and other forms of gender-based violence in the United States for the Ms. Magazine Blog. Using NO! The Rape Documentary as the backdrop to this peace (piece), Professor Williams delved into the victim blaming coverage of the Cleveland, TX gang rape of an adolescent girl, the growing incidences of sex trafficking; and the successful ?feminist campaign to get colleges, universities, and K-12 schools to take take preventative measures against sexual violence.
Following is the excerpt of the article…
“It took filmmaker and activist Aishah Shahidah Simmons 13 years to fund, produce, direct and release her inspirational and defiant NO! The Rape Documentary. NO! brings together archival footage, testimonies of rape survivors, performances and interviews with activists and scholars to examine rape in African American communities through a black feminist lens. The international acclaim for the film?it?s been screened in Africa, Asia and Europe as well as South and North America?confirms that black women?s stories resonate across all borders. In spite of differences in culture and language, many women see NO! as telling their own stories.
NO! isn?t a new film?it came out in 2006?but in a climate in which rape makes daily headlines as a tool to subjugate and terrorize women, it?s as timely as ever. When DOXA invited Ms. magazine?s global editor, Robin Morgan, to guest curate a film for this spring?s festival in Vancouver, Canada, she immediately chose NO! And when the Spring issue of Ms. magazine challenged the FBI?s dangerously narrow definition of rape in bold neon letters, I too thought of NO! and Skyped Simmons to talk about her groundbreaking film, the FBI?s archaic definition of rape, the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl in Cleveland, TX, sex trafficking and many other issues.
‘NO! gives voice to the experiences that the majority of us have had ?and I speak as a victim and survivor of acquaintance rape,’ said Simmons during our conversation…”
CLICK HERE to read the article in its entirety.
http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/05/19/rape-is-still-rape-and-no-still-means-no/
Aishah Shahidah Simmons on Cocoa Mode with Shawna Renee
July 24, 2011
Aishah Shahidah Simmons’ take on Rihanna’s ‘Man Down’ music video
On June 9, 2011, Aishah Shahidah Simmons was the featured guest on Shawna Renee’s “Cocoa Mode” radio program, which is hosted on SiriusXM Satellite Radio 128. During the 45-minute interview, Shawna Renee and Simmons discussed the controversy surrounding Rihanna’s ‘Man Down,’ and NO! The Rape Documentary. The interview ultimately turned into a wonderful opportunity to really engage in an in-depth dialogue between Ms. Renee and Ms. Simmons; and with calls from listeners about gender-based violence.
CLICK HERE to (re)view Rihanna’s music video and to listen to the archive of the radio program.
http://cocoamode.podbean.com/2011/06/14/icymimandown/
Aishah Shahidah Simmons and The Consensual Project
July 24, 2011
Aishah Shahidah Simmons on Consent
“How have you explored discovering and understanding your own pleasure in your life?” ~ The Consensual Project
“As a survivor of incest, molestation, and rape, discovering and understanding my own pleasure has been and still is a work-in-progress. For the most part, throughout adulthood, I?ve been fortunate to have partners who I was able to consensually explore my own and their own pleasure. This has occurred through talking about pleasure and what that means in the context of being a survivor, where certain acts can trigger me. My understanding my own pleasure occurred during consensual trial and error to see what worked and what didn?t work.” ~Aishah Shahidah Simmons
This interview was conducted in May 2011, which is ancient in this fast paced social media world. However, the fundamental human right to consent is still viewed as rocket science. Therefore, this interview and more importantly, The Consensual Project is as relevant as ever.
CLICK HERE to read the interview in its entirety.
NO! The Rape Documentary | Ford Foundation | JustFilms Collection
April 11, 2011
NO! The Rape Documentary included in the
Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Collection
In February 2011, the Ford Foundation launched JustFilms, which is both a new initiative; and new online archive of social justice films that Ford has supported over the past 30 years. NO! The Rape Documentary is included in this prestigious collection, which represents the Foundation’s “commitment to groundbreaking documentaries that inform, inspire and advance change.”
The goal of the archive and new initiative is “to advance social justice worldwide through the talent of emerging and established filmmakers.”
For more information about JustFilms, please click HERE
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