Sexism https://www.morningsidecenter.org/ en Liz's Story: A Colleague on her Experiences as an Asian Woman https://www.morningsidecenter.org/stories-voices/lizs-story-colleague-her-experiences-asian-woman <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Liz&#039;s Story: A Colleague on her Experiences as an Asian Woman</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span>Laura McClure</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-04-12T15:05:22-04:00" title="Monday, April 12, 2021 - 15:05">April 12, 2021</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> Mon, 12 Apr 2021 19:05:22 +0000 Laura McClure 1573 at https://www.morningsidecenter.org https://www.morningsidecenter.org/stories-voices/lizs-story-colleague-her-experiences-asian-woman#comments Intersectionality: What Is It? How Can It Help Us? https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/intersectionality-what-it-how-can-it-help-us <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Intersectionality: What Is It? How Can It Help Us?</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><h4>To the Teacher:<br> &nbsp;</h4> <p>Feminism was Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Year for 2017.&nbsp; The dictionary’s definition of&nbsp;<em>feminism</em>&nbsp;is twofold:</p> <p>1. “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes”</p> <p>2. “organized activity on behalf of women's rights and interests.”&nbsp;</p> <p><em>Intersectionality</em>&nbsp;was another word recognized by Merriam Webster in 2017. Merriam Webster called it a “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/intersectionality-meaning">word we’re watching</a>.” The Merriam Webster definition of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intersectionality">intersectionality</a>&nbsp;is:</p> <p>“the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap or intersect especially in the experiences of marginalized individuals or groups.”&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>The word was added to the dictionary in April of 2017, even though it’s been around since the late 1980s, when civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term in a paper to help explain the oppression of black women. While all women are oppressed as women, Crenshaw argues that it is important to recognize that some women’s oppression is compounded by racism.&nbsp; This compounded oppression, moreover, disproportionately places women of color in the ranks of the working class and poor.&nbsp; Crenshaw and others have argued, as a result, that race and class must be central to the movement of women’s liberation if it is to be meaningful to women who are most oppressed.&nbsp;</p> <p>Of course intersectionality was a lived reality before Crenshaw coined the term in 1989. But creating a term for the interconnected and compounded oppressions of gender, race and class and allowed the dynamic to come into focus and be discussed in ways it hadn’t before.<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4><br> Gathering<br> &nbsp;</h4> <p>Write the word intersectionality on the board.&nbsp; Ask students if they’ve heard of the term.&nbsp; Do they know what it means? &nbsp;Consider taking it apart into “inter” and “section.”&nbsp; Consider what an intersection in the road is.</p> <p>Elicit and explain that intersectionality refers to the “complex, overlapping effects of multiple forms of discrimination, such as racism, sexism, and classism.”&nbsp;</p> <p>The term was coined in the late 1980s by civil rights advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw to help explain the oppression of women of color, as different from the oppression of women in general (including white women), and different also from the oppression of people of color in general (including men of color).&nbsp; Crenshaw and others since her have pointed to the compounding oppressions experienced by women of color.<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Video Clip: Explaining Intersectionality<br> &nbsp;</h4> <p>Show the following Teaching Tolerance video clip to introduce intersectionality to your students:&nbsp;</p> <p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6dnj2IyYjE">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6dnj2IyYjE</a></p> <p>Invite students to turn to a neighbor to discuss the video using some or all of the following questions:</p> <ul> <li>What are your thoughts and feelings about this clip?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How did Kimberlé Crenshaw come to coin the term “intersectionality?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>What are your thoughts about the term?&nbsp; Why do you think it’s important to have words to describe people’s experience?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>According to the video “intersectionality refers to the reality that we all have multiple identities that intersect to make us who we are.”&nbsp; What are some of the identities portrayed in this video?&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How do these intersecting identities work out for Jerry, Fatima and Gretta?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>According to the video “intersectionality” gives us a way to talk about the “oppressions and privileges that overlap and reinforce each other.” &nbsp;Why could this be useful?&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How does it relate to the video we just watched?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How do you see intersectionality relating to the people in your life/the people in your community?</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Intersectionality &amp; the Women’s March in 2017 and 2018</h4> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Reading 1</strong><br> <br> <br> Distribute the first handout and invite students to read it. (<a href="/sites/default/files/files/Handout%201%20Womens%20March%202017.pdf">Download the pdf handout here</a>, or see it below.)&nbsp;</p> <p>Split your class into small groups of 3-5 students and invite them to discuss the handout after reading it, using some or all of the following questions:</p> <ul> <li>What are your thoughts and feelings about the article you just read?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How does it relate to the notion of intersectionality we’ve been exploring today?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>What does the article say about feminism?&nbsp; White feminism?&nbsp; Black feminism?&nbsp; Intersectional feminism?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How did different women feel unwelcome or excluded from the march?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>What does the article say about longer-term goals of the march?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>What does the article say about solidarity and unity?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>What does the article say about opportunities for learning and growth?</li> </ul> <p>Reconvene the class and ask students from each group to share their responses to some of the questions. Clarify any misconceptions you can, and record any questions that need further exploration.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Reading 2</strong></p> <p><br> Distribute the second handout and invite students to read it. (<a href="/sites/default/files/files/Handout%202%20Womens%20March%202018.pdf">Download the pdf handout here</a>, or see it below.)&nbsp;</p> <p>In the same small groups of 3-5 students, invite them to discuss the handout after reading it, using some or all of the following questions:</p> <ul> <li>What are your thoughts and feelings about the article you just read?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How does it relate to the notion of intersectionality we’ve been exploring today?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>How does the article compare the Women’s March on Washington from last year with the Power to the Polls chapter of the movement this year?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>What does the article say about feminism?&nbsp; White feminism?&nbsp; Black feminism?&nbsp; Intersectional feminism?&nbsp; Do different groups have different responsibilities?<br> &nbsp;</li> <li>What does the article say about strategic organizing?<br> &nbsp;</li> </ul> <p>Again reconvene the class and ask students from each group to share their responses to some of the questions. Clarify any misconceptions you can, and record any questions that need further exploration.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Closing</h4> <p><br> Ask students to turn to a partner to discuss what they learned about intersectionality today.&nbsp; Ask a few students to share out.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>Handout 1:&nbsp;<br> The Women’s March, January 2017</h4> <p><br> The notion of intersectional feminism received increased attention early in 2017, as energy around the Women’s March on Washington picked up. The march, which began organically as a grassroots effort on Facebook, was criticized almost immediately for failing to include women of color among its organizers.&nbsp;</p> <p>This changed as a more diverse team of women stepped up to help coordinate the effort. After the initial criticism, organizers took care to highlight the experiences of women of color and undocumented immigrant women.</p> <p>But all this opened up discussions about race, racism, and the often unexamined privileges that white women enjoy. What would true solidarity and unity in the women’s movement really mean?</p> <p>The march, which took place just one day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, brought up strong feelings, especially among women of color, about the fact that 53% of the white women who voted, had voted for Trump. A vocal segment of black feminists questioned the march organizers’ call for solidarity across racial lines, when white women hadn’t made enough of an effort to even win over a majority of their own ranks in the election.&nbsp; And where was the solidarity when, in the words of Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garcia, “our people are being killed in the streets, jobless, homeless, over-incarcerated, undereducated”?</p> <p>The discussion and debate caused some white women to voice discomfort. But the march’s national organizers saw the conversation as an important one that needed to be had.</p> <p>“This was an opportunity to take the conversation to the deep places,” said Linda Sarsour, a march organizer who is Muslim and who heads the Arab American Association of New York. “Sometimes you are going to upset people.”</p> <p>Said Anne Valk, the author of “Radical Sisters,” a book about racial and class differences in the women’s movement:&nbsp;</p> <p>If your short-term goal is to get as many people as possible at the march, maybe you don’t want to alienate people… But if your longer-term goal is to use the march as a catalyst for progressive social and political change, then that has to include thinking about race and class privilege.<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>Despite the changes in the march’s leadership and stated focus, the 2017 march was still seen by many as centering mostly on cisgender, straight, white, middle-class women and their issues. These issues include breaking the glass ceiling in corporate America (that is, getting more women promoted to executive positions), and getting a women elected President. &nbsp;(Note: the word “cisgender” or “cis” refers to people who exclusively identify with their sex assigned at birth. The term is used to call attention to the privilege of people who are not transgender.)</p> <p>Said Juliet Williams, a professor of gender studies at UCLA:</p> <p>In times like this, there is a real danger that feminism itself can function in an exclusionary manner by marginalizing less powerful and less privileged women and allies – the very people who most need feminism today.<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>That said, the 2017 women’s march on Washington, and sister marches around the country, packed a massive punch of resistance.&nbsp; Along the way, there were opportunities for learning, for growth, and for harnessing the power of that punch in the run up to the 2018 women’s rallies and marches that followed.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>&nbsp;</h4> <h4>Handout 2:<br> The Women’s March &amp; Power to the Polls, January 2018</h4> <p><br> Throughout 2017, Women’s March organizers worked to keep the momentum going and make the movement more inclusive.&nbsp; That momentum was helped along by the powerful #MeToo movement, which caught fire in October 2017, leading millions of women across the world to expose and demand an end to sexual harassment and abuse.</p> <p>The 2018 Women’s March events, which once again drew masses of people into the streets in cities across the U.S. (and beyond), called not only for an end to sexual abuse and violence against women, but also for reproductive rights, LGBTQIA rights, worker’s rights, civil rights, disability rights, immigrant rights, and environment justice.&nbsp; Women of color once again led the way. “This is a movement where we're trying to get people to understand that we must follow women of color, where trans folks and indigenous folks and other marginal people must be at the center,” said Women’s March co-chair Carmen Perez. “It can be hard for the people used to being in charge to step back.”&nbsp;</p> <p>The events also kicked off the next chapter of organizing, which activists called “Power to the Polls.” The aim: to get women and their allies out to vote in the 2018 midterm elections to support progressive candidates running for seats in the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives, and state and local government.&nbsp; (The mid-term elections include primary elections in each state, followed by a national general election on November 6, 2018.)</p> <p>Women’s March organizer Linda Sarsour told Elle: “<a href="http://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a15755101/power-to-the-polls-one-year-after-the-womens-march/">We’re working</a>&nbsp;on a ten-city tour of voter engagement and registration to bring training, momentum, and capacity building to local communities.”&nbsp; The goal, she said, “is to see headlines on November 7 reading … ‘It was women's political strategy that won back the House and the Senate.’” &nbsp;She added: &nbsp;"We are going to the polls to support progressive candidates who uphold our platform and values. Everyone will be held accountable to that progressive platform … even Democratic women.”</p> <p>For strategic reasons, the main event this year was held in Las Vegas, in the key battleground state of Nevada. &nbsp;The Women’s March organization sponsored a “Power to the Polls” rally in Las Vegas on January 21, 2018. Organizers said they aimed to mobilize disenfranchised communities in other battleground states like Nevada. Speakers at the event, including Black Lives Matter co-founder Alicia Garza and Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw (who coined the term “intersectionality”), emphasized the particular struggles of immigrants, members of the LGBTQIA community, and women of color.</p> <p>“Stand up for me, white women. Come to my aid,” Women’s March leader Tamika Mallory said in a speech. “You say you want to be my friend? I don’t want to hear it from your mouth. I want to see it when you go to the polls at the midterm elections.”</p> <p>And so as people marked the anniversary of the historic Women’s March on Washington, intersectional feminism took center stage in events across the country.&nbsp; Women of color took charge and led the way.&nbsp;</p> <p>Said Sarsour:&nbsp; “We need all tactics, all strategies, all hands on deck. And this is a moment where we have to all come to the place that, unity is not uniformity. But we can all still be aligned by mission, and hopefully we'll meet on the other side where there's justice.”</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span>Sara Carrero</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2018-01-28T09:30:44-05:00" title="Sunday, January 28, 2018 - 09:30">January 28, 2018</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> Sun, 28 Jan 2018 14:30:44 +0000 Sara Carrero 1147 at https://www.morningsidecenter.org Environments That Encourage Harassment ... and How to Change Them https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/environments-encourage-harassment-and-how-change-them <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Environments That Encourage Harassment ... and How to Change Them</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><h4>To the Teacher:</h4> <p>The&nbsp; news about Harvey Weinstein, a powerful Hollywood film producer who has been accused of harassing and assaulting women over many years, raises important issues for young people to consider.<br> &nbsp;<br> Be aware that this subject may bring up strong emotions, especially for students who have personal experience with harassment or abuse. The activity below does not directly elicit students’ own experiences with abuse; it focuses on the Weinstein case and the wider issues it raises. Nevertheless, consider whether this subject is one your students are prepared to discuss. If you are concerned that sensitive issues may come up in discussion, you might ask a counselor or social worker to be present.&nbsp; Please also read&nbsp;<a href="https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/teaching-about-controversial-or-difficult-issues">these guidelines</a>&nbsp;for teaching about controversial or upsetting issues.<br> &nbsp;<br> In this activity, students consider, together and in small groups, what kind of environment allows sexual harassment and abuse to persist –&nbsp; and what we can do to challenge such an environment.<br> <br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>A Backgrounder for the Teacher<br> &nbsp;</h4> <p>It was an open secret in Hollywood.&nbsp; The rumors of film producer Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct had been doing the rounds for decades.&nbsp; He was said to prey on young women—actresses and models wanting to get into the industry and assistants working at the Miramax and Weinstein companies. &nbsp;He allegedly lured them into a hotel room or other private space, then appear naked or in a bathrobe, cajoling them into giving him a massage or trying to force himself on them in other ways.&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> According to reports, many people knew about Weinstein’s behavior, but the producer was too powerful to be outed.&nbsp; For years, it seemed he was invincible.&nbsp; But all that changed on October 5, 2017, when &nbsp;the New York Times finally broke the story.&nbsp; Journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey published an article titled&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/us/harvey-weinstein-harassment-allegations.html" target="_blank">Harvey Weinstein Paid Off Sexual Harassment Accusers for Decades</a>.&nbsp; Five days later, Ronan Farrow followed with a well–researched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/from-aggressive-overtures-to-sexual-assault-harvey-weinsteins-accusers-tell-their-stories" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;in the New Yorker, in which "multiple women share[d] harrowing accounts of sexual assault and harassment by the film executive."&nbsp; It quickly became of the biggest scandals in Hollywood history. More than 30 women have come forward with charges of sexual harassment against Weinstein.<br> &nbsp;<br> Sixteen former and current executives and assistants at Weinstein’s companies told Farrow that they witnessed or had knowledge of unwanted sexual advances and touching at events associated with Weinstein’s films and in the workplace. All sixteen said that the behavior was widely known within both Miramax and the Weinstein Company.&nbsp; According to Farrow, Weinstein got away with his behavior for so long because he had a web of enablers around him.&nbsp; They helped him lure young women into what Farrow called "professional meetings that were little more than thin pretexts for sexual advances."&nbsp; They paid off these same women and intimidated them into silence.&nbsp; In this way they insulated Weinstein from the repercussions of his behavior.<br> &nbsp;<br> According to the reports, people had kept silent about Weinstein’s behavior for years because they were afraid of retaliation. Weinstein was powerful enough to ruin your Hollywood career, make you an outcast in the business. &nbsp;When Hollywood insiders talked with reporters about what they knew, they made sure to keep his name out of it.&nbsp; In an article in Variety in 2015, Actress Ashley Judd famously talked about a studio mogul sexually harassing her in the late 1990s.&nbsp; She now says that this was Weinstein, but back then, she was a afraid to mention him by name.<br> &nbsp;<br> Once the reports about Weinstein’s abuse were made public, a number of men in the entertainment industry came forward to say that they had long known about the producer’s behavior, but had failed to speak out against it.&nbsp; Some expressed regret&nbsp; for this failure to stand up against sexual harassment and abuse.<br> &nbsp;<br> But behind the scenes, women had tried to warn other women about Weinstein in what are known as whisper networks. "We have to do that."&nbsp;<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/oct/13/harvey-weinstein-allegations-hollywood-enablers" target="_blank">Emily Best</a>, a film producer, explained. &nbsp;"The law doesn’t protect us.&nbsp;The culture doesn’t protect us. So we have to protect ourselves."&nbsp; These unofficial information networks have always existed, used by women to warn other women of men like Weinstein, who abuse their power to prey on young women.<br> &nbsp;<br> On a couple of occasions, the whispers and rumors about Harvey Weinstein made their way beyond Hollywood. In 2013 comedian Seth MacFarlane, when revealing the Best Supporting Actress nominations for an Oscar, quipped "Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein."&nbsp; In 2012, the show 30 Rock, also contained references to Weinstein’s predatory behavior.&nbsp; The character of Jenna claims she "turned down intercourse with Harvey Weinstein on no less than three occasions."&nbsp; In an episode later that season, Jenna shares "Look, I get it. I know how former lovers can have a hold of you long after they're gone. In some ways, I'm still pinned under a passed–out Harvey Weinstein and it's Thanksgiving." &nbsp;And as far back as 2005, singer Courtney Love was caught on camera giving advice to young women in Hollywood.&nbsp; She hesitated for a moment, saying "I’ll get libeled if I say it" but then continued "If Harvey Weinstein invites you to a private party in the Four Seasons, don’t go."&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> Love claims she was shunned by powerful Hollywood agents after speaking out in this way. This is a common experience for women who speak publicly about sexual abuse: They often face shaming and disbelief.&nbsp; They might face a social backlash and often pay a price professionally as well.&nbsp; In many cases, the men accused face no consequences. According to Laura Bates, who created the&nbsp;<a href="https://everydaysexism.com/" target="_blank">Everyday Sexism Project</a>, "When women do report sexual harassment, the outcomes are terrible. Over two–thirds of young women are experiencing sexual harassment in the workplace now, today. Eighty per cent of them felt unable to report it, but three–quarters of the ones who did said that nothing changed afterwards, and 16 percent said that the situation got worse."<br> &nbsp;<br> But in the Weinstein case, after a flood of on–the–record allegations of sexual abuse and even rape, things have changed: Weinstein was fired from his company and expelled from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. &nbsp;He has been ostracized by longtime&nbsp;friends and collaborators in the&nbsp;entertainment industry. Police in New York and London have opened up criminal investigations into the allegations of his sexual misconduct.&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> All this comes on the heels of accusations of alleged sexual misconduct and assault by other public figures in media and entertainment like actor Bill Cosby, Fox host Bill O’Reilly, and Fox CEO Roger Ailes. According to the New York Times, O’Reilly paid $32 million in a single settlement with a woman he had harassed at Fox.&nbsp; The network did not at that point fire O’Reilly; instead they renewed his contract for $100 million. It was only after the Times exposed the settlement – and many other charges and cases against O’Reilly – that Fox fired their top host.<br> &nbsp;<br> Last year, Donald Trump also became embroiled in controversy over sexual harassment after a tape was released of then–candidate Trump boasting about his sexual aggression against women. At the time, several women came forward with allegations against Trump.&nbsp; They described encounters in which Trump groped them, kissed them without consent, and put his hand up their skirt.&nbsp; Trump and his team responded by belittling the women who came forward and calling them liars.&nbsp; Trump threatened to sue them and the organizations that reported on them, calling their allegations "fake" and "total fabrication."<br> &nbsp;<br> The stories about these men have an eerie familiarity to them: successful, powerful men whose predatory behavior has been allowed to go unchecked for years; in some cases millions of dollars in payoffs and legal threats to silence potential whistleblowers, and rumors that circulate to warn and protect, when the larger culture does not.<br> &nbsp;<br> In the wake of the Weinstein story, many women in Hollywood – and far beyond Hollywood – have demanded an end to the culture that tolerates sexual abuse.&nbsp; Many women and men have spoken out against this culture.&nbsp; A sexual harassment awareness campaign, #MeToo, inspired millions of women to post their own stories of abuse, shining a light on the &nbsp;pervasiveness of sexual harassment and sexual assault in our society.&nbsp; In an ABC News–Washington Post poll,&nbsp; 54%&nbsp; of women reported experiencing unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances.&nbsp; Of these, 80% said it rose to the level of sexual harassment, and one–third said the behavior went beyond harassment to sexual abuse.<br> &nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4><br> Gathering</h4> <p>Invite students to look at the following tweet and/or read the Scott Rosenberg Facebook quote below.&nbsp; Together these two social media posts touch on how women who speak up about sexual harassment are often treated and how the bystanders and witnesses tend to keep quiet. These behaviors help perpetuate an environment in which women are abused and then are not believed or are shunned if they speak up about it.<br> &nbsp;<br> <br> <strong>Tweet by "Sarah": </strong><br> &nbsp;<img alt src="/sites/default/files/pictures/lessontweet.png" style="width: 481px; height: 214px;"><br> &nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>Invite student reflections on this quote.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</li> <li>What news story is it referring to?</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> <strong>Facebook post by actor Scott Rosenberg:</strong><br> &nbsp;<br> "Let’s be perfectly clear about one thing.&nbsp; Everybody ... knew.<br> ...<br> In the end, I was complicit.<br> I didn't say s—.<br> I didn't do s—.<br> Harvey was nothing but wonderful to me.<br> So I reaped the rewards and I kept my mouth shut.<br> And for that, once again, I am sorry."<br> &nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>Invite student reflections on this quote.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li>What news story is it referring to?</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>What Keeps Women from Coming Forward?</h4> <p>&nbsp;<br> Invite students to read Handout #1, which is about why often women do not come forward to accuse men like Harvey Weinstein of abuse.&nbsp; (The handout is at the bottom of this lesson.)<br> &nbsp;<br> Next, discuss with students some or all of the following questions:</p> <ul> <li>Why do you think "K" says that it is disheartening to see the comments blaming women for not speaking up?</li> <li>What might be the consequences for women of speaking up?</li> <li>What is "cognitive dissonance"?&nbsp; How does it apply to blaming women for their own persecution?</li> <li>Discuss the last sentence, or send have a go–round so that everyone has a chance to share:&nbsp;</li> </ul> <div class="rteindent1">"It is not the women's job to monitor men's behavior. We are doing the best we can with what we have to survive in a world that depends on our subjugation."</div> <p>&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h4>What is the Environment that Allows Sexual Harassment and Abuse to Persist?</h4> <p>&nbsp;<br> Split your class into six groups of between three and five students. Give two of the groups Handout #2; give another two of the groups Handout #3; and give the remaining two groups Handout #4. &nbsp;&nbsp;If the math isn’t quite right for your class, just make sure that each of the three handouts is read by at least one small group.&nbsp; These handouts are included at the end of this lesson.<br> &nbsp;<br> All three handouts explore the environment that allows sexual harassment and abuse to persist.&nbsp; Invite students in their small groups to read their handout, then discuss the questions that follow.&nbsp; After about 10–15 minutes, bring the groups back together.&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> Have the group(s) that read Handout 2 share what their reading was about and what they discussed.&nbsp; Ask the other two groups to do the same.&nbsp; &nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>&nbsp;<br> What Does the Environment Look Like and What Can We Do to Interrupt It?</h4> <p><br> Next, ask students to get back into the same small groups, and give all students Handout #5 (which is at the end of this lesson).&nbsp; Ask student to read the handout in their small groups, and then discuss the questions that follow.<br> &nbsp;<br> Back in the large group, facilitate a discussion about what was shared in the smaller groups, using some or all of the questions above.&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4><br> Closing</h4> <p>&nbsp;<br> What is one thing you’ll start doing, stop doing or keep doing as a result of today’s lesson?<br clear="all"> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>&nbsp;</h4> <h4>Handout #1:&nbsp; What Keeps Women from Coming Forward?<br> &nbsp;</h4> <p><em>Many people commented on the New York Times’ expose of Harvey Weinstein’s serial sexual abuse, published on October 10, 2017. Many of those who commented blamed his victims for not coming forward about the abuse they had suffered. In response, "K" from Brooklyn <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/us/gwyneth-paltrow-angelina-jolie-harvey-weinstein.html">wrote</a>:</em></p> <p>&nbsp;<br> It is disheartening to see so many comments already blaming women for not "speaking up." Please count yourself lucky that you've never had your career on the line based on whether or not you sleep with your boss. It has nothing to do with fame and riches; this happens to women making minimum wage in retail as well as women who fought through it to become CEOs.<br> &nbsp;<br> The psychology behind this kind of thing is not that complex, so please spare a moment to consider: Not only are these women made to feel humiliated and embarrassed, but in some cases if they had come forward, they not only would never work again, they also would be seen as whiners and "too sensitive."<br> &nbsp;<br> Both&nbsp;[actors Angelina] Jolie and [Gwyneth] Paltrow fended him off. Imagine if they made a big stink about it. They would have been ripped apart in the media! "Oh for goodness' sake, a dirty old man came on to you. You rejected him and moved on, why the fuss?"<br> &nbsp;<br> But, of course, now we insist on blaming them for "perpetuating" Weinstein's behavior. Please. The amount of cognitive dissonance* it must take to blame women for their own persecution is astounding. Note that the comments have not centered around Brad Pitt's not saying anything, though he knew about it with not one but TWO romantic partners.<br> &nbsp;<br> It is not the women's job to monitor men's behavior. We are doing the best we can with what we have to survive in a world that depends on our subjugation.<br> &nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> * cognitive dissonance: &nbsp;a psychological conflict resulting from a person holding opposing, incompatible beliefs and attitudes at the same time.<br> &nbsp;<br> <br clear="all"> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>&nbsp;</h4> <h4>Handout #2</h4> <p><br> <strong>Environments That Permit or Facilitate Sexual Harassment and Abuse&nbsp;</strong><br> <strong>for Group 1</strong><br> &nbsp;<br> When popular culture and media use misogynistic* language, objectify* women’s bodies, and glamorize sexual violence, they help create a society that can more easily disregard women’s rights and safety, allowing for an environment that normalizes and excuses sexual harassment.<br> <br> This culture is all around us. "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the–intersect/wp/2017/10/07/when–did–you–meet–your–harvey–weinstein–thousands–share–workplace–sex–assault–stories–online/?utm_term=.667114114887">It permeates our politics</a>, our entertainment, our walks to school, our job interviews, our families, our social circles.<br> <br> In this culture, we ask victims of harassment and assault what they were wearing before asking the perpetrator why they did it. We ask how much someone’s had to drink, why they didn’t quit toxic jobs or report creepy teachers, or why they didn’t rearrange their lives to escape the pattern they managed to get themselves into.<br> <br> We remind people that "boys will be boys," or worse: that real boys and men aren’t victims of harassment, abuse and assault themselves; they are pressured into silence by a standard that uses dangerous sexual norms to measure one’s worth. &nbsp;This culture thrives on what we decide is "normal," reminding anyone who has suffered at the hands of it that they did something wrong.<br> <br> Challenging these norms can be frightening. But by verbalizing, communicating and supporting each other, we can call attention to it and get others to do so as well.<br> &nbsp;<br> <u>Definitions</u><br> * misogyny: a hatred of women&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br> * objectify: to treat as an object<br> &nbsp;<br> <strong>Discuss:</strong></p> <ul> <li>What are your thoughts and feelings about this piece?</li> <li>What, if anything, do you recognize in this piece?&nbsp;</li> <li>What, if anything, can you relate to in this piece?</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>Handout #3</h4> <p><br> <strong>Environments That Permit or Facilitate Sexual Harassment and Abuse&nbsp;</strong><br> <strong>for Group 2</strong></p> <p>&nbsp;<br> When popular culture and media use misogynistic* language, objectify* women’s bodies, and glamorize sexual violence, they help create a society that can more easily disregard women’s rights and safety, allowing for an environment that normalizes and excuses sexual harassment.<br> &nbsp;<br> "Lacking physical evidence, adjudicating* accusations [of sexual harassment and abuse] is a murky business for journalists." <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/11/the-cosby-show/382891/">Ta-Nehisi Coates</a> writes, in an Atlantic article about the many charges of rape made against actor Bill Cosby. "But believing Bill Cosby does not require you to take one person's word over another—it requires you take one person's word over 15 others." Coates notes that powerful people become targets of all kinds of accusations—truths and lies.&nbsp; But when we tune out the women who accuse these men, we are ourselves guilty. &nbsp;He argues that it’s hard to believe that these men are serial abusers because it doesn’t just indict them, it indicts us.<br> &nbsp;<br> Writes Anna North in <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/10/10/16454954/harvey–weinstein–enablers">Vox</a>: "Ultimately, stopping sexual harassment, assault, and rape ... around the country isn’t just about denouncing Harvey Weinstein or other men accused of abuse, as many in Hollywood have already done. It’s also about dismantling the networks of silence that can keep abusers safe from consequences for decades. And to do that, those who have witnessed or survived abuse will need networks of their own."<br> &nbsp;<br> <u>Definitions</u><br> * misogyny: a hatred of women&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br> * objectify: to treat as an object<br> * adjudicate: to make a formal judgment or decision about a problem or disputed matter<br> &nbsp;<br> <strong>Discuss:</strong></p> <ul> <li>What are your thoughts and feelings about this piece?</li> <li>What, if anything, do you recognize in this piece?&nbsp;</li> <li>What, if anything, can you relate to in this piece?</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;<br clear="all"> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>Handout #4</h4> <p><strong>Environments That Permit or Facilitate Sexual Harassment and Abuse&nbsp;</strong><br> <strong>for Group 3</strong><br> &nbsp;<br> When popular culture and media use misogynistic* language, objectify* women’s bodies, and glamorize sexual violence, they help create a society that can more easily disregard women’s rights and safety, allowing for an environment that normalizes and excuses sexual harassment.<br> &nbsp;<br> We "can take steps to encourage bystanders to take action," writes <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/george-b-cunningham-301204">George B. Cunningham</a>, Faculty Affiliate of the Women's and Gender Studies Program at Texas A&amp;M University. &nbsp;He writes that we can train people to speak up, encourage bystanders to do something, establish direct and anonymous lines for reporting sexist incidents ... "[People] should not fear negative reprisal or gossip when they do report harassment."<br> &nbsp;<br> "Finally," writes Cunningham, "bystanders are more likely to intervene in organizations that make their refusal to tolerate harassment clear. For that to happen, leaders must assert and demonstrate their commitment to harassment–free workplaces, enforce appropriate policies and train new employees accordingly.<br> &nbsp;<br> Until more people take a stand when they witness sexual harassment, it will continue ..."<br> &nbsp;<br> <u>Definitions</u><br> * misogyny: a hatred of women&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br> * objectify: to treat as an object<br> &nbsp;<br> <strong>Discuss</strong></p> <ul> <li>What are your thoughts and feelings about this piece?</li> <li>What, if anything, do you recognize in this piece?&nbsp;</li> <li>What, if anything, can you relate to in this piece?</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4><br> Handout #5:&nbsp;</h4> <p><strong>What does a culture that allows sexual harassment &amp; abuse look like?&nbsp;</strong><strong>What Can We Do to Interrupt It?</strong></p> <p><em>from <a href="http://www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual–assault/rape–culture/">Marshall University’s Women’s Center website</a>.</em></p> <p><br> <strong>Characteristics of a culture that allows sexual harassment and abuse to exist:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Blaming the victim ("She asked for it!")</li> <li>Trivializing sexual assault ("Boys will be boys!")</li> <li>Sexually explicit jokes</li> <li>Tolerance of sexual harassment</li> <li>Inflating false rape report statistics</li> <li>Publicly scrutinizing a victim’s dress, mental state, motives, and history</li> <li>Gratuitous violence against women in movies and television</li> <li>Defining "manhood" as dominant and sexually aggressive</li> <li>Defining "womanhood" as submissive and sexually passive</li> <li>Pressure on men to "score"</li> <li>Pressure on women to not appear "cold"</li> <li>Assuming only promiscuous women get raped</li> <li>Assuming that men don’t get raped or that only "weak" men get raped</li> <li>Refusing to take rape accusations seriously</li> <li>Teaching women to avoid getting raped instead of teaching men not to rape<br> &nbsp;</li> </ul> <p><strong>How we can combat such a culture:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Avoid using language that objectifies or degrades women</li> <li>Speak out if you hear someone else making an offensive joke or trivializing rape</li> <li>If a friend says she has been raped, take her seriously and be supportive</li> <li>Think critically about the media’s messages about women, men, relationships, and violence</li> <li>Be respectful of others’ physical space even in casual situations</li> <li>Always communicate with sexual partners and do not assume consent</li> <li>Define your own manhood or womanhood.&nbsp; Do not let stereotypes shape your actions.</li> <li>Get involved! Join a student or community group working to end violence against women.&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;<br> <strong>Discuss</strong></p> <ul> <li>What are their thoughts and feelings about what’s in this handout?</li> <li>Which out of these characteristics are familiar to you?</li> <li>What actions have you taken to combat the kind of culture we’ve been discussing? &nbsp;&nbsp;</li> <li>Which actions can you commit to taking in the future?</li> <li>What might get in the way of taking these steps?</li> <li>Can you think of ways to overcome these obstacles?&nbsp;&nbsp;</li> </ul> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span>fionta</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2017-10-30T13:54:01-04:00" title="Monday, October 30, 2017 - 13:54">October 30, 2017</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> Mon, 30 Oct 2017 17:54:01 +0000 fionta 297 at https://www.morningsidecenter.org Trump Tape: Teachable Moment on Sexism https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/trump-tape-teachable-moment-sexism <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Trump Tape: Teachable Moment on Sexism</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><h3>To the Teacher:</h3> <p>The presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on October 9, 2016, raised some important but difficult issues about sexism and sexual assault.</p> <p>Many students either watched the debate or have heard about it.&nbsp; This creates a teachable moment - though a challenging one - in our classrooms. How can we use these events to increase students’ awareness of and sensitivity to sexism and sexual assault? How can we encourage students to stand up to it or speak out about it?</p> <p>Below are several activities to open up discussion in your classroom. In the first activity, students hear about and discuss the video and the debate. Then, students read and discuss excerpts from First Lady Michelle Obama's speech responding to the video. Students then share their thoughts and feelings in a "listening circle" and brainstorm ways we can increase our level of respect for each other.</p> <p>Before discussing this issue, you may find it helpful to review&nbsp;<a href="http://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/teaching-about-controversial-or-difficult-issues">these guidelines</a>&nbsp;for addressing difficult or controversial issues. This lesson does not include explicit language or detailed discussion of sexual assault.. However, be aware that some students may feel particularly sensitive about this issue. You may want to alert students to this before you begin the discussion.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <div align="center">&nbsp;</div> <hr> <h3><br> <strong>Introduction</strong></h3> <p><br> Ask students if they saw the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on Sunday, October 9, 2016.&nbsp; If students didn’t see the debate, did they hear about it?</p> <p>Tell students that one issue that came up in the debate was a video from 2005 in which Donald Trump made offensive comments about women. We’ll be discussing this issue today.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><br> The Debate</h3> <p>Read aloud or summarize the following information:</p> <p>On Sunday, October 9, 2016, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton had their second televised debate.&nbsp;(A transcript is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/10/us/politics/transcript-second-debate.html?_r=0">here</a>.)</p> <p>The debate opened with a question from a voter about whether the campaigns were setting a good example for the nation’s youth. This quickly turned into a discussion about a 2005 video of Trump that had recently been released by the Washington Post.</p> <p>The 3-minute tape was recorded while Trump and NBC host Billy Bush rode a bus to the set of Access Hollywood. In the video, Trump boasts about how, because he is a "star," he can grope and grab women whenever he likes. He disparages one woman that he "moved on," but who refused to have sex with him.</p> <p>The video touched off a firestorm of controversy. Dozens of Republican politicians formally renounced Trump.&nbsp; House Speaker Paul Ryan said he was "sickened" by Trump’s comments,&nbsp;and would no longer defend him.</p> <p>In the debate, moderator Anderson Cooper asked Trump about the video: "You described kissing women without consent, grabbing their genitals. That is sexual assault. You bragged that you have sexually assaulted women. Do you understand that?"</p> <p>Trump responded: "I didn’t say that at all. I don’t think you understood what was said. This was locker-room talk."</p> <p>Cooper pressed further: "Just for the record, though, are you saying that ... you did not actually kiss women without consent or grope women without consent?"&nbsp; Trump denied that he had done this, adding, "I have great respect for women. Nobody has more respect for women than I do."</p> <p>Ask students:</p> <ul> <li>Why do you think Anderson Cooper called Trump's actions "sexual assault"? Help students understand that sexual assault is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault">defined</a>&nbsp;as "any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient."</li> </ul> <p>In her response, Hillary Clinton said: "What we all saw and heard on Friday was Donald talking about women, what he thinks about women, what he does to women. ...&nbsp;We have seen him insult women. We’ve seen him rate women on their appearance, ranking them from one to ten. We’ve seen him embarrass women on TV and on Twitter. We saw him after the first debate spend nearly a week denigrating a former Miss Universe in the harshest, most personal terms."</p> <p>For many women, the controversy brought up memories of having been groped or assaulted themselves. On Twitter, author Kelly Oxford invited women to "tweet me your first assaults." Within several days over 27 million women had tweeted about their experiences, using the hashtag #notokay. The responses underscored how common these experiences are. An estimated&nbsp;<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/19/study-sexual-assaults-greatly-underreported-/3648197/">80%</a>&nbsp;of sexual assault incidents go unreported.</p> <p>Ask students:</p> <ul> <li>Why do you think the great majority of sexual assaults go unreported? (<a href="http://www.umd.edu/ocrsm/files/Why-Is-Sexual-Assault-Under-Reported.pdf">Reasons&nbsp;include</a>&nbsp;a victim's fear of retribution, shame, or worry that they will be blamed for the incident.)&nbsp;</li> </ul> <p>Meanwhile, professional athletes expressed anger at the idea that comments like Trump’s were commonplace in men's locker rooms: "Just for reference. I work in a locker room (every day)... that is not locker room talk. Just so you know..." tweeted Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley. He later tweeted, "If that's the talk you hear around you, then be the place where change begins. Regardless of this election let's be a better people."<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><br> Michelle Obama’s Response<br> &nbsp;</h3> <p>First Lady Michelle Obama spoke out against Trump’s behavior in a speech in Manchester, NH, less than a week after the tape was made public.&nbsp; Below are three segments from that speech.&nbsp;</p> <p>Ask volunteers to read the segments out loud. Pause after each to reflect on and discuss the questions that follow.</p> <p>(These segments are taken from <a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/10/13/497846667/transcript-michelle-obamas-speech-on-donald-trumps-alleged-treatment-of-women">this transcript</a>&nbsp;of the speech. You can&nbsp;view the tape&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ45VLgbe_E">here</a>.)</p> <h4><br> Segment 1:</h4> <p>"The fact is that in this election, we have a candidate for president of the United States who, over the course of his lifetime and the course of this campaign has said things about women that are so shocking. So demeaning... I simply will not repeat anything here today. And last week we saw this candidate actually bragging about sexually assaulting women. And I can't believe that I'm saying that....</p> <p>It would be dishonest and disingenuous for me to move on to the next thing like this was just a bad dream. This is not something we can ignore. It's not something we can sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election season. Because this was not just a lewd conversation. This wasn't locker room banter. This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behavior ...."</p> <p>Invite students’ thoughts and feelings about this quote.&nbsp; Then ask some or all of the following questions:</p> <ul> <li>How does Michelle Obama refer to the kind of remarks that Trump made on the Access Hollywood bus?&nbsp;</li> <li>Do you think "bragging about sexually assaulting women" and "speaking about sexually predatory behavior" is an accurate description?&nbsp; Why or why not?&nbsp; Do you have better/more accurate language to describe this kind of behavior?</li> <li>How does Michelle Obama feel about ignoring such comments?&nbsp; What do you think about this?</li> </ul> <h4><br> Segment 2:</h4> <p>"I feel it so personally. And I'm sure that many of you do too. Particularly the women. The shameful comments about our bodies. The disrespect of our ambitions and intellect. The belief that you can do anything you want to a woman. It is cruel. It is frightening. And the truth is, it hurts. It hurts. It's like that sick sinking feeling you get when you're walking down the street minding your own business and some guy yells out vulgar words about your body. Or when you see that guy at work that stands just a little too close, stares just a little too long, you feel uncomfortable in your own skin."</p> <p>Invite students’ thoughts and feelings about this quote.&nbsp; Then ask the following questions:</p> <ul> <li>What does Michelle Obama say about feeling this personally?</li> <li>Can you relate to the experiences and feelings that she describes?</li> </ul> <h4><br> Segment 3:</h4> <p>"This is disgraceful. It is intolerable. And it doesn't matter what party you belong to ... no woman deserves to be treated this way. None of us deserves this kind of abuse. And I know it's a campaign, but this isn't about politics. It's about basic human decency. It's about right and wrong. And we simply cannot endure this, or expose our children to this for any longer - not for another minute...&nbsp; And how is this affecting men and boys in this country? Because I can tell you that the men in my life do not talk about women like this. And I know my family is not unusual. And to dismiss this as every day locker room talk is an insult to decent men everywhere.... And like us, these men are worried about the impact this election is having on our boys, who are looking for role models of what it means to be a man."</p> <p>Invite students’ thoughts and feelings about this quote.&nbsp; Then ask some or all of the following questions:</p> <ul> <li>What does Michelle Obama say about exposing children to this kind of talk and behavior?&nbsp; What do you think and feel about this?</li> <li>What kind of role model does Michelle Obama think young people should have?<br> &nbsp;</li> </ul> <hr> <h3><br> Listening Circle</h3> <p><br> Listening circles give people a chance to say what they are thinking and feeling and can help engender mutual understanding and support.</p> <p>Ask students to seat themselves in a circle. Provide some guidelines: Each person will be invited to speak for up to two minutes about whatever is on their minds (in response to a prompt). When one person is speaking, the others should pay good attention but not comment. Participation is completely voluntary - anyone can pass if they choose.&nbsp; What people say in the circle should be kept confidential.&nbsp;</p> <p>Begin the first go round with this prompt:&nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>What thoughts or feelings do you have about the controversy we’ve just heard about? Allow more than one go-round if students seem to have more to share.</li> </ul> <p>Next, ask students: &nbsp;</p> <ul> <li>Have you ever felt pressured to say disrespectful things, or things that could be considered sexist? What was your response and how did you feel?</li> <li>Imagine that you heard someone saying disrespectful or sexist things. &nbsp;What do you hope you might do or say in response?</li> <li>What positive change do you hope might happen as a result of this controversy?</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <div align="center">&nbsp;</div> <h3>Brainstorm</h3> <p>Ask students to think about ways we or our friends have felt disrespected based on gender.</p> <p>What experiences have we had or heard about? Chart students' responses. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Ask students to break into small groups. Give each group a blank piece of chart paper and markers. Explain that their task is to brainstorm ideas for improving the way we treat each other. How can we increase the level of respect we have for each other and promote gender equity?</p> <p>Remind them of the rules of brainstorming:</p> <ul> <li>They will have a limited amount of time to come up with ideas: five minutes—you’ll time them.</li> <li>During that time they need to come up with at least five ideas (more would be even better).</li> <li>They shouldn’t discuss or criticize any ideas, though they can ask clarifying questions if they don’t understand</li> </ul> <p>When the five minutes is up, the recorder from each group presents their ideas.<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h3><br> Closing</h3> <p><br> How do the students feel about the ideas they came up with? Ask for a couple of volunteers to share their thoughts with the group.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span>fionta</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-10-11T16:15:03-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 11, 2016 - 16:15">October 11, 2016</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> Tue, 11 Oct 2016 20:15:03 +0000 fionta 376 at https://www.morningsidecenter.org Carry That Weight: Addressing Campus Sexual Assault https://www.morningsidecenter.org/teachable-moment/lessons/carry-weight-addressing-campus-sexual-assault <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span>Carry That Weight: Addressing Campus Sexual Assault</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><h4>To The Teacher:</h4> <p>On September 2, 2014, 21-year-old Columbia University student Emma Sulkowicz began a performance art piece called Carry That Weight. The project is a response to what she calls the university’s and the New York City’s Police Department’s mishandling of her sexual assault case. Ever since the performance piece began, Sulkowicz has carried around a mattress with her wherever she goes. The mattress physically represents the emotional burden carried by survivors of sexual assault. It also represents an effort to bring into public view matters that are often left private.</p> <p>Sulkowicz calls the act an "endurance piece" and says she is committed to carrying the mattress until graduation, or until the person who raped her, a fellow student, is no longer attending Columbia University. Sulkowicz’s project has drawn international interest, refocusing attention on the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses in the United States.</p> <p>This lesson consists of two student readings. The first reading profiles Sulkowicz’s performance art, explains what it is meant to represent, and gives students a chance to discuss the artist’s creative approach to raising awareness. The second reading addresses the wider issue of sexual assault, particularly on college campuses. Questions for class discussion follow each reading.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>Student Reading 1:<br> Performance Art and Awareness of Sexual Assault</h4> <p>On September 2, 2014, 21-year-old Columbia University student Emma Sulkowicz began a performance art piece called Carry That Weight. The project is a response to what she calls the mishandling of her sexual assault case by the university and the New York City Police Department. Ever since the performance piece began, Sulkowicz has carried around a mattress with her wherever she goes. The mattress physically represents the emotional burden carried by survivors of sexual assault. It also represents an effort to bring into public view matters that are often left private.</p> <p>Sulkowicz has indicated that she will carry the mattress until the person who raped her, a fellow student, is no longer attending Columbia University, or until she graduates. She calls the act an "endurance piece" and says she is committed to carrying the mattress until graduation. Sulkowicz’s project has drawn international interest, focusing attention on the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses in the United States.</p> <p>In a September 4, 2014, interview with <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/09/columbia-emma-sulkowicz-mattress-rape-performance-interview.html"><em>New York Magazine</em>,</a> Sulkowicz discussed her project and explained why she believes university administrations need to do a better job of addressing sexual assaults:</p> <p class="rteindent1"><strong>Q: How did you get this idea initially?</strong></p> <p class="rteindent1">A: Over the summer, I was lucky enough to get into the Yale Norfolk Residency, and I worked on a video where I had to move a mattress out of the room. The idea of carrying a mattress got stuck in my head the way a song gets stuck in your head, and I unpacked why carrying a mattress is an important visual for me. I thought about how I was raped in my own bed at Columbia; and how the mattress represents a private place where a lot of your intimate life happens; and how I have brought my life out in front for the public to see; and the act of bringing something private and intimate out into the public mirrors the way my life has been. Also the mattress as a burden, because of what has happened there, that has turned my own relationship with my bed into something fraught...</p> <p class="rteindent1"><strong>Q: How have students responded?</strong></p> <p class="rteindent1">A: So far students I have never met before have helped me carry it. As I was walking across campus last night I heard someone shout, "Go, Emma!" and I’ve gotten such an overwhelming positive response on the internet. One girl seems to be organizing some sort of website that will allow students to organize and figure out how to help me carry it to all my classes...</p> <p class="rteindent1"><strong>Q: What do you see as the main issue that campuses, both students and administrators, face in handling these crimes?</strong></p> <p class="rteindent1">A: Right now the policies are defunct. Columbia just released a new policy, but in the new Columbia policy it is even harder than it was before to try a serial rapist, and have him expelled. Now they have explicitly stated that each case will be treated separately until the first one has closed. If one person rapes three girls in one night, those girls won’t be able to testify at each other’s cases, the way it currently stands. That to me is really sickening. In my case, the biggest problem is there is no retroactive motion to open closed cases and to get our rapists off campus, which would be admitting that they’ve done wrong, which is what they need to do right now.</p> <p class="rteindent1"><strong>Q: Do you think that the college is capable of handling these cases?</strong></p> <p class="rteindent1">A: ... It is going to take an administration that is willing to admit that they have done wrong, and make real tangible changes.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>As she notes in the interview, Sulkowicz has received much support from fellow students. Classmates often assemble to help her carry the mattress. Others held a public demonstration urging the Columbia administration to reform its policies concerning sexual assault on campus. The student activists delivered a letter to the administration outlining the reforms they would like to see instituted.</p> <p>On October 29, 2014, students around the country participated in a National Day of Action inspired by Sulkowicz’s work. They carried mattresses or pillows around their campuses in a show of solidarity for sexual assault survivors. <a href="http://www.alternet.org/activism/why-college-students-nationwide-are-carrying-mattresses-around-their-campuses-today?akid=12416.6311.dLdAH6&amp;rd=1&amp;src=newsletter1025119&amp;t=11"><em>AlterNet</em></a> associate editor Alyssa Figueroa described the demonstrations in an October 28, 2014 article:</p> <p class="rteindent1">Thousands of students from more than 100 campuses are taking part in National Carry That Weight Day of Action to support survivors of sexual assault....</p> <p class="rteindent1">At Columbia, there will be 28 mattresses carried throughout the day to symbolize the number of students who have filed a Title IX complaint against the university. A rally will begin in the afternoon, with sexual assault survivors joined by public figures like NYC public advocate Letitia James.</p> <p class="rteindent1">"We really wanted to stress showing support for survivors and trying to start conversations in communities," said Allie Rickard, one of the event coordinators and founder of Carry That Weight Together. "We wanted to create a space where survivors feel like they can talk about their experiences and they know that there are allies there for them."</p> <p>The article explains that activists at Columbia University have created an organization called No Red Tape, which is advocating for better policies around sexual assault:</p> <p class="rteindent1">Their pressure on the administration has made national headlines and has seen some success.</p> <p class="rteindent1">For one, the university opened a second rape crisis center. The center, which used to be run by mostly student volunteers, now has six new professional staff members. In addition, No Red Tape successfully waged a campaign pressuring Columbia to offer free emergency contraception. The university also is hoping to launch mandatory sexual assault education programming for all students....</p> <p class="rteindent1">"I felt such a deep connection with it because Emma really was one of those people that lifted the weight off my shoulders," [Zoe] Ridolfi-Starr [one of No Red Tape’s founders] said. "She was one of the first people to say, ‘That’s not right. It was not your fault for drinking. Your experience counts.’ All of those things I wish someone would have said to me before. And now I have the opportunity to say those things to people."<br> &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>For Discussion</strong></p> <p>1. &nbsp;How much of the material in this reading was new to you, and how much was already familiar? Do you have any questions about what you read?</p> <p>2. &nbsp;Why does Sulkowicz call her art project an "endurance piece"? How does this and the piece's title, "Carry That Weight," relate to its purpose?</p> <p>3. &nbsp;Do you think art pieces like this one are good ways to raise awareness of an issue? Why or why not?</p> <p>4. &nbsp;What are some advantages to using an artistic project to make a political statement rather than using more conventional forms of advocacy? What are some disadvantages?</p> <p>5. &nbsp;How does Carry That Weight relate to groups like No Red Tape? How do you see the different roles of these projects?<br> &nbsp;</p> <hr> <h4>Student Reading 2:<br> Combating Sexual Assault on College Campuses</h4> <p>Sexual assault is an issue on campuses across the country. Sulkowicz’s performance piece has drawn attention to widespread problems in how universities handle reports of sexual assault. Eighty-five universities are currently under federal investigation for their handling of sexual assaults, under Title IX - a federal law mandating gender equity on college campuses. These include prestigious colleges such as Amherst College, Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, and Brown. As a result, many colleges are reviewing and reforming their sexual assault policies.</p> <p>In an August 26, 2014 article, <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/ronan-farrow-daily/college-sexual-assault-campus-campus-report-card"><em>MSNBC </em></a>reporter Meredith Clark wrote:&nbsp;</p> <p class="rteindent1">One in five women will face sexual assault while attending college, according to a government report. But beyond that rough estimate, there is so little reliable information about the prevalence of sexual assault and gender-based violence. In April,&nbsp;the White House released a list of 55 colleges and universities under federal investigation for possible violations of Title IX, the 1972 federal gender equity law that requires schools to investigate all reports of sexual assault. [Another 30 colleges have since been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/15/colleges-federal-investigation-sexual-assault_n_5990286.html">added</a> to the list, bring the total 85.] The Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is facing separate lawsuits from students, which, as of August 8, includes 76 schools.</p> <p class="rteindent1">As students prepare for the fall semester, MSNBC asked schools currently facing investigations to make public any changes in policy regarding the handling of sexual assault complaints.&nbsp;...&nbsp;</p> <p class="rteindent1">[S]ome measures are notably absent from proposed changes: climate surveys, which are designed to elicit honest responses from students about assault and harassment on campus, and consistent transparency about how schools punish students found responsible for sexual assault. Some schools are providing online information in plain language but others continue to rely on complicated legal wording to explain how sexual assault cases are handled. And while all schools emphasize a commitment to eliminating sexual violence on campus, that commitment will be put to the test when survivors come forward seeking help.</p> <p class="rteindent1">Dana Bolger of the survivor activist group Know Your IX told MSNBC the current spotlight has to intensify for real progress to take shape. "A lot of schools aren’t feeling the heat and aren’t feeling the urgency to change," Bolger said.&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <p>On September 28, 2014 California adopted a new law stating that only "an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision" qualifies as consent, as <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/usanow/2014/08/28/california-bill-yes-means-yes-sex-assault/14765665/"><em>USA Today</em></a> journalist William M. Welch explained in a September 29, 2014 article:</p> <p class="rteindent1">Rather than using the refrain "no means no," the definition of consent under the bill requires "an affirmative, unambiguous and conscious decision" by each party to engage in sexual activity....</p> <p class="rteindent1">The proposal requires all colleges taking student financial aid funding from the state to agree that in investigations of campus sexual assaults, silence or lack of resistance does not imply a green light for sex, and that drunkenness is not an acceptable defense, the <em>San Jose Mercury-News</em> reported earlier in August....</p> <p class="rteindent1">"With this measure, we will lead the nation in bringing standards and protocols across the board so we can create an environment that's healthy, that's conducive for all students, not just for women, but for young men as well too, so young men can develop healthy patterns and boundaries as they age with the opposite sex," de Leon said before the vote.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In an October 10, 2104 article <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/health/2014/10/10/3578502/yes-means-yes-consent/"><em>ThinkProgress </em></a>Health Editor Tara Culp-Ressier elaborated on the potential impact of the policy change:</p> <p class="rteindent1">[T]he policy doesn’t necessarily change the way that the vast majority of people are already interacting with each other. When it comes to sexual assault cases, a "yes means yes" standard just ensures that the line of questioning is centered on the perpetrator’s behavior (did you get consent?) rather than on the victim’s behavior (did you withdraw your consent?). Outside of the adjudication process, however, it isn’t actually a dramatic departure from the way that people have sex.</p> <p class="rteindent1">"Anyone who has had sex knows what a yes is," [feminist activist and co-author of the essay collection <em>Yes Means Yes</em> Jessica] Valenti pointed out. "Grabbing someone closer and moaning, that’s a yes. Lying there and doing nothing with a blank look at your face, that’s a no. I think that we all know that. We have a certain amount of sexual literacy."</p> <p class="rteindent1">"It’s being sold as this legalistic thing, where you have to get a signature for everything at each step — and it’s just not like that," [co-author of <em>Yes Means Yes </em>Jaclyn] Friedman said. "It’s a basic human standard. If you can’t show up for your partner, if you can’t stay present during sex and make sure that your partner is actively into what’s happening between you, then you don’t have any business having sex with another human being."</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>On the heels of the new California law, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/nyregion/cuomo-orders-suny-to-overhaul-its-sexual-assault-rules.html?_r=">charged</a> the State University of New York (SUNY) with reforming its sexual assault policies to incorporate affirmative consent. Cuomo said that this policy change should eventually be instituted across the state.</p> <p>Although these recent changes show progress in altering campus culture and policies around sexual assault, reports are still coming out about university administrations that are hostile or indifferent to reports of sexual assault on campus. &nbsp;As federal investigations progress, student activists continue advocating for further reforms.&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;</p> <h4>For Discussion</h4> <p>1. &nbsp;How much of the material in this reading was new to you, and how much was already familiar? Do you have any questions about what you read?</p> <p>2. &nbsp;What positive reforms might colleges make to their policies on sexual assault, according to the reading?</p> <p>3. &nbsp;Can you think of other constructive changes that student groups and university administrations might call for to reduce incidents of sexual assault?</p> <p>4. &nbsp;According to the reading, what is affirmative consent, also called "yes means yes"? How does it differ from a "no means no" policy? What might be the benefits of this new policy?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><em>-- Research assistance provided by Yessenia Gutierrez.</em></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> <span>fionta</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/user/templates/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--teachable-moment-lesson.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2014-11-14T09:12:23-05:00" title="Friday, November 14, 2014 - 09:12">November 14, 2014</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/system/templates/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'core/modules/node/templates/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap/templates/system/links.html.twig' --> Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:12:23 +0000 fionta 503 at https://www.morningsidecenter.org