Women's Center

Last night (3/19), I had the opportunity to see writer, blogger, and women’s rights activist Jessica Valenti speak at Bryn Mawr. I first heard of her a friend of mine mentioned the blog that Valenti had started called feministing.com. The blog’s aim was to create an informative and communal web space, focused on feminism and building off politics, personal experiences, popular culture, etc. What makes feministing.com remarkable, however, is the fact that it is staffed by and targets young women and approaches the topic of feminism far less formally, to dispel the myth that all feminists are ugly old women, who hate men and refuse to shave. The daily tidbits on the blog are there to simply make you stop, think, and react – whether it is through laughter, anger, confusion, or, as Valenti hopes, some personal form of activism.

Overall, 30-year old Valenti was funny, disarmingly self-aware, and walked the line between informative and unpretentious with much grace. She covered it all: from rape culture, to purity balls, from political legislation to anecdotes, recounting her own personal experiences growing up. She closed with a reading from her new book, The Purity Myth, in which she explores the newly emerged moral panic over young girls’ sexuality and what it will really mean for the future generation of women.

with your help we build up our clothesline project and speak out against sexual violence with a stronger voice

Dear friends,

April is the national Sexual Assault Awareness Month. To raise awareness about sexual violence, the Womens Center organizes an annual Clothesline Project (CLP) made of submissions from Haverford students. This is a national project, and you can read more about it here  www.clotheslineproject.org). It is a visual display of t-shirts made by survivors and friends/family of victims speaking out against rape and sexual assault. Our clothesline will be strung across Founders Green.

The CLP website explains: The concept was simple – let each woman tell her story in her own unique way, using words and/or artwork to decorate her shirt. It acts as an educational tool for those who come to view the Clothesline; it becomes a healing
tool for anyone who makes a shirt – by hanging the shirt on the line, survivors, friends and family can literally turn their back on some of that pain of their experience and walk away; finally it allows those who are still suffering in silence to understand that they are not alone.

*** We are calling for submissions. You can design a t-shirt with anything on it: feel free to use markers, fabric, paint, or whatever other materials you would like (note: try to make sure your shirt is rain-proof!). You can include images, words, or both. All shirts will be anonymous.

***While the traditional Clothesline Project was designed for women, our display is open to survivors of all genders. We will supply you with a shirt, and we have permanent markers in the Center if you would like to use them. Please come by during our open hours (Sun-Fri:1-5pm, Sun-Thur: 7-11pm), or contact  womenctr at haverford.edu for more information.

PLEASE SUBMIT SHIRTS BY TUESDAY MARCH 31st (Campus Center room 209).

Yours,
The Womens Center

Questions:  womenctr at haverford.edu

What is it like to be a woman of African descent on Haverford’s campus?

This Wednesday, several black women from the community–students, faculty, staff, and alumni–will gather together for a panel discussion on this very question. We invite everyone on campus to come listen to what they have to say. Maybe you’ll be surprised – interested – confused – moved – angered – maybe you’ll just get to hear some stories from a friend.

It’s a busy week for everyone at Haverford going into Spring Break, but we hope anyone who feels like they can spare the time will take a break and come out. And a special reminder that *everyone*, all genders (this means men!), are more than welcome at all Women’s Center events.

Soo, information recap:

Experiences in Black – Hearing voices of black women on Haverford’s campus

This Wednesday, March 4 * 5:00-6:30 p.m. * Multicultural Center, Stokes

We hope to see you there!

Yours,

The Women’s Center Staff (Lauren, Jessie, Cara, Misha, Steph, Karina, Annie)