Eventhough the Blank Noise Project had been started from a long time, only yesterday I had a chance to go through their blog and read about it. I went there from Annie's blog. (BTW, checkout her post about Shit, well, manual scavenging. She raises some valid concerns over the manual scavengers which happen to be mostly women. The issues of being a woman, dalit and poor. Also she writes about the need for public sanitation for women. Check out the post).
And then I went to Blank Noise (hereafter referred to as BNP) and it is about eve-teasing. Read about it in their blog. And I was stuck on their header design because it explains what is BNP all about.
It says,
NO -
Leching - Okay
Touching - Okay
Staring - Needs to be discussed
Groping - Okay
Passing Remarks - Okay
Pinching - Double Okay
Stalking - Okay
Looking - Needs to be discussed
Now let's go through their FAQ page here. Read the following:
Street performance
* Why R U looking at me? In this intervention, each woman wears one alphabet around her neck and we spell out the sentence on busy sidewalks, at traffic lights, in a mall, in any public space. And it's done silently. No-one speaks, no-one answers. There's only one probing question being asked – why are you looking at me?
* One Night Stand: this intervention needs women, by the numbers. We are on the street, on specific sites, significant to each city and simply, STARING. it will reverese the situation. there is power in numbers. this is experiential for both the performers and the public in the site. This performance is implicit. all participants are asked to dress in clothes they would not otherwise.
When I read this, what came to my mind was some cheap publicity stunt that some people put. Yes. Thinking that eve-teasing will be eradicated if they wear alphabets asking "Why are you looking at me" on their T's and walking and staring at people in the night. And more importantly wearing "clothes they would not otherwise". Isn't this provocative? Suppose if I see a woman like the one in the body-tight blue tops in this link, regardless of day or night, I would definitely look straight at her tops than her face. And I might even pass a comment (to myself though) "man, what boobs!". Is that wrong of myelf? I don't think so. I am not saying the eve-teasing happens only because of the provocative dressing (when it comes to dressing, it has more to do with knowing how to dress in public - Be it MEN or WOMEN), but the way BNP handles the issue. I smell an urban, feminist, anti-male agenda here.
To me, the BNP stunt looks like they are fighting for the right to walk at night with "wearing whatever they want". Its not a fight against eve-teasing. Taking the pictures of the guys who look at you when you wear whatever you want. What's the point ladies???
If you really want to stop eve-teasing, travel in the buses and crowded trains, go out on the day of a crowded festival in your town (or come to Thrissur Pooram where, I think, the biggest eve-teasing or ass-pinching goes on). See what you can do there. Talk to those women, or school-going girls, who have to commute everyday in crowded buses or trains. Start working for the day time commuters first. See what you can do to make them aware of their rights or how to respond to those ass-pinchers. Make them make the noise. DO THAT FIRST.
Looking is ok...but ogling isnt. It really pisses me off!
Keshi.
>Jo[Suppose if I see a woman like the one in the body-tight blue tops in this link, regardless of day or night, I would definitely look straight at her tops than her face. And I might even pass a comment (to myself though) "man, what boobs!".]
That's so genuine. I appreciate it.
Well said Jo! Many disturbed by the way the other wear the cloths.
BNP is a losers' campaign to grab eyeballs. There is nothing wrong in 'eve teasing' as long as it is not physical, violent and of course psychotic in nature like stalking.
I got so pissed off reading a post today that I had to write something on the project, seriously.
BTW, I agree with many of your points here like staring at the tops than the face in such an event.
One thing the Blank Noise Project did was to talk about something that every woman faces and ocasionally cribs about but collectively never thinks of. I participated in the blog-a-thon and it brought something to light that I don't think about simply because...I felt there was nothing I could do about it. That's changed though.
Talking about something is the start of solving the problem. Rome wasn't built in a day.
Jo: I understand what you are trying to convey. But my view is that, most of the physical harassment happens only after some "visual inspection". I think this is an attempt to nip things in the bud.
And besides, I think there is a subtle difference between "looking" and "staring", but I am sure you cannot fault these women for feeling violated, since for every 1 "looker", there seems to be 10 "starers".
the eternal struggle of the devil and goodness in u and me.
I am getting psyched; I find myself agreeing with a lot that you say. BTW do you think pepper spray will work in kEraLa?
>> Keshi: I understand your point Kesh. But see, in India, the worst form of eve-teasing happening in the worst forms, crowded places, in the day time itself. BNP seems not looking into it and considering the issues as in US. Here in India, things are different and requires a more realistic approach.
>> Roji P Thomas: Thanks, I hope the people read what I wrote in the right sense. :-)
>> Jeevan: Provocation is not the major thing of eve-teasing, but that also is a factor.
>> Beau Peep: Got your point. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. :-)
>> IdeaSmith: What change did blog-a-thon contest brought into light? Just wondering.
>> Anantha:
most of the physical harassment happens only after some "visual inspection".
NO. Just watch those guys. They don't first do a visual inspection. For them, even looks dont matter. Age dont matter. They just do it straight. Regardless of... err.. anything!
And the BNP ways against eve-teasing is just a stunt. Look at the ways they have for this.
>>The devil thats me : I've been scratching my head for the past 5 minutes, but couldn't figure out what you really meant.
>> Frog in the well: Are you gettng psyched because you find yourself agreeing with what I say? :-) In what context you mentioned Pepper Spray? To try on eve-teasers or on-lookers?
1. It wasn't a contest, it was an event that had several participants.
2. Eve-teasing is something that annoyed and disturbed me but it never occurred to me that since every woman I know faces it, its a collective problem. Reading the other posts showed me how lucky I've been.
3. Some posts weren't just experiences but also suggestions on how to handle such situations.
4. Having written about it and having read so many other people who raised their voices against street harassment has given me more confidence to speak up when it does happen to me.
5. There were some men participating in the blogathon and also several men who commented later. A lot of them said that they hadn't even understood exactly what the victims go through and that it was an eye-opener. The reactions of some of the others showed me that its not a gender war and that there are enough men who are sufficiently outraged by street harassment to fight against it.
I really don't want to sound nasty but maybe you'll find some answers if you actually read the blog instead of just forming an opinion based on one post and writing it off.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Just to let you know, I went through several posts of theirs before writing this post. But my post is based on their ways of implementing the action against eve-teasing. To me, their ways of implementation seems just a publicity stunt for the reasons I explained in my post. I don't want to repeat it here.
Now as for your blog-a-thon event:
The main victims of eve-teasing are ordinary women/girls who have to travel in the crowded buses or trains. How many of them read the blogs, do you think? Leave the metros. (or even in the metro cities, how many people do you think read blogs or aware of blogs?? Ask a few, and they will ask back "what is blog?") So if you think you're making a huge change by blogging about this, you are wrong.
Perhaps this is working in the countries like US, because Internet is a very popular medium there. In India, it is still a baby. So if you only want to make a noise, keep organising more blog-a-thons. Or if you really want to make some change, do some action on ground. BUT not the publicity stunts like BNP puts on with their "one-night-stands" or "clicking".
Wait for a few months, I am preparing two podcasts (for my Malayalam podcast) with 2 women who works on the ground for the betterment of the ordinary women. They do not belong to any so-called elite feminist groups, and they are from the coastal area in Kerala, and doesnt speak English or don't know how to make publicity noise, so nobody knows about them. Perhaps, BNP will have something to learn from them about "action" than "noise". I will put an English translation here when I am done with the interviews.
Here is another very interesing post that echoes my thoughts: http://retributions.wordpress.com/2006/09/28/204/
I meant pepper-spray as a weapon for self-defense against eve-teasers, of course. Not everyone may be bold enough to use it but I guess there will be atleast some willing to give it a try.
froginthewell Hmm... If you are dared to go to any extent of the results afterwards, you can use it. A normal eve-teaser would just get away with that, but some goonda/criminal minded psychos may react very badly.
As someone who used to support BNP in its early days (though I was never sure that blogging by itself can change the society), I am dismayed at the turn of the events. BNP has passed into the realm of ridiculousness. If you don't believe it, see this post.
>> Mahout: Yeah, "its sickening" as they say. Not the poor guy in the picture, but them behind the BNP.
The way they have exhibited the pictures of poor and uneducated looking guys as if they were criminals just because they looked at them.
Can poor people who have had a rough life facing abuse all their lives comprehend that a woman from another strata can suffer abuse by people just looking at them.
Ideasmith is a male hater just read her blogs . Geez! stay away from her. She just loves to diss men.