Activism Log IV

Rachel Miles
Jeannina Perez
WST 3015 (Introduction to Women’s Studies)
7 March 2010

Activism
Tabling started this week. I had planned to go, but migraines and unexpected group meetings kept me busy. I did get a copy of the petition sheets, and I have already collected a few signatures from friends.

Reflection
This week continued our discussions and readings on violence against women. I also did my discussion-leading this week on Morales’ article “Radical Pleasure: Sex and the End of Victimhood.” It took me a read-through or two to completely understand what she was discussing, but once I got it, I really enjoyed it. She raised an interesting point with the victim-survivor trap that I, for one, hadn’t considered before reading her article. It’s true that “victim” and “survivor” are both social categories, and as such come with sets of rules for those individuals and the people who interact with them to follow that allow the trauma experienced to be adequately recognized. Those rules are, as Morales describes, incredibly limiting, largely because they inhibit people from making any real progress toward reclaiming themselves and identities separate from and not defined by the trauma they have experienced. In some way, I think the rules aspect holds true for activism, as well. It seems to me that activists come in two types: optimistic but naïve and jaded but determined. In any case, people have some idea of what to expect from activists, and activists have rules to follow if they want their movements to receive social recognition as even semi-legitimate. Unfortunately, playing by those rules often means playing roles that turn people off of your efforts. I see this a lot outside Student Union: people promoting a cause are ignored by other people walking by who just want to get to class. It’s incredibly frustrating because it limits both the public’s chance to participate in activism and activism’s chance to fulfill its goals and incite change. I really hope our project can overcome this obstacle.

Reciprocity
Although I didn’t go to tabling this week, I heard it went well. I collected some signatures on my own, and I was very pleased with the support my friends have shown for my involvement in this project. I know I’ll need to do tabling coming back from spring break, but to be honest, I’m not entirely looking forward to it. Public speaking and attention-grabbing have never been my strongsuits, so I know I’ll be nervous the whole time I’m out there. Still, this project is designed to push the limits of my comfort zones, so we’ll see how it goes.



Works Referenced
Morales, Aurora Levins. “Radical Pleasure: Sex and the End of Victimhood.” Women’s Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. Ed. Gwyn Kirk and Margo Okazawa-Rey. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 283-284. Print.