Denim Day by Blogger Rhaina

To me, Sexual Assault Awareness Month means a chance for my community to show support to survivors. At Mississippi State University, there are several annual events associated with sexual assault awareness and prevention. One such event is Denim Day.

Denim Day began in 1999 when an Italian supreme court overturned a rape conviction based on what the victim was wearing—tight blue jeans. Members of both foreign and U.S. Congress protested the ruling by wearing denim jeans to work. Today, across the nation, agencies with dress codes ask their employees to donate money towards sexual violence prevention, and in return the employees can wear jeans to work for a day. Politicians, students, and others may wear jeans to symbolize solidarity against sexual assault.

At MSU, the student body is asked to donate blue jeans to the Health Education and Wellness Office. These jeans are then donated to local causes such as Safe Haven, Inc., a shelter for abused women which also operates a rape crisis hotline. MSU celebrates Denim Day in a unique way—if you would like your campus or your community to do something similar to show their support for this event, getting involved is easy!

Denim Day 2015 is on April 29^th, and there are currently over four million registered participants. If you would like to participate, there are several things you can do. Sign up on www.denimdayinfo.org, ask your employers or professors if they would consider joining in, donate jeans to a local shelter, or simply wear blue jeans to show support.

Participating in Sexual Assault Awareness Month doesn’t always mean being bold, or loud, or hosting an extravagant event. You don’t need a lot of money, or a large group of people, or any special skills. You can help raise awareness for sexual assault by doing something as simple as changing your outfit. As Michelle Obama said, “Don’t ever underestimate the importance that you have, because courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” This April, make a small change. Stand up for something. Let your courage and your hope be contagious, and be a light for others and a call to awareness. That’s what this month is all about.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month: What You Can Do At SLU by Saint Louis University blogger Abigail

Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Kind of a mouthful, right? It’s a mouthful, but it’s an important one for students to understand and recognize.

Here at SLU, we live in a fairly sheltered environment. A bubble, if you will. The words, “That happens, but it doesn’t happen here” are uttered constantly around campus about issues like racism, sexism and sexual assault.

The problem is, it does happen here. Sexual assault happens everywhere, so much so that it’s estimated 1 in 4 women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month is important because it starts conversations and shines light on the fact that there are issues everywhere. No one is immune to sexual assault, and the first step to preventing it is acknowledging that sexual assault exists.

Luckily, there are groups at SLU, in St. Louis, and around the country that have organized events during the month of April to talk about sexual assault. I’ve complied a list below that I’m sure is not completely comprehensive, but is a good place to start.

·      Project Not Asking For It – This project hits on the fact that no matter how you’re dancing or what you’re wearing, you’re not asking for sexual interactions. Here's the link to the Facebook event. It’s located SGA Student Lounge today (April 8) from 11-1, tomorrow (April 9) from 4-6, and Friday April 10 from 11-1, sponsored by SLU Wellness and SLU TV.

·      A Walk in Her Shoes – An interactive presentation by Safe Connections about sexual assault. Here's a link to the Facebook event. It’s located in BSC 253 B&C at 7:00 pm on Monday April 13^th, sponsored by Una, the Feminist Voice of SLU.

·      Denim Day – Take a stand by wearing jeans in solidarity on April 29^th against a 1999 court case that declared jeans were the reason a woman was raped. Here's the link to the Facebook event, brought to SLU by Una.

·      Take Back the Night – A night of performances, dialogue, food, community and a vigil to join forces against sexual violence. Here's the link to the Facebook event. It’s hosted by Una and takes place from 7-10 pm on Thursday, April 30^th.

·      Stroll to Heal the Soul – A run/walk to bring awareness to sexual violence. Here's the link to register. Takes place just outside of St. Louis on April 25^th at 7:00 am.

Keep an eye out for other events coming up this month, remembering that it’s up to us to start the discussion about sexual assault.

Speak Up and Help Spread Awareness by Karly Sacco

To me, sexual assault awareness month is something that needs more attention. It is unfortunate that there has to be a month to make awareness to such awful acts that occur in the first place, but what we can do now is raise consciousness to those who want and need to know more about sexual assaults. We as human beings need to start making a big difference in the world and participate in showing our community that we can make a change. No matter if it is just writing a blog, attending sexual assault awareness events, or giving speeches at your college, work, or community gatherings. 

            Just getting the word out there about how serious this issue is will make a difference in the long run. This month to me means that people are continuing to suffer and go through struggles, but on the positive end it also means that we are creating change and are helping those who have and are suffering. I go to a small private university, where some people are completely either unaware, or just don’t seem to care about the seriousness of sexual assault awareness month.

            I want to become more involved with spreading awareness on this serious topic, and I feel like creating a safe environment at my school for those who feel it is important or have suffered from sexual assaults to come and talk and share stories would be a great first step within my university's community. I feel that my generation sometimes gets caught up in issues that are so individualistic that they forget about helping others. We need to make a change for the future generations to follow.

We the equals - by blogger Snehal

Achieving gender equality requires the engagement of women and men, girls and boys. Its everyone’s responsibility - Ban Ki-moon

To all the misogynist men in the world I would like to put it straight. Feminism is not about hating men. It speaks of striving for gender equality that women have been deprived of for centuries together. March is Women’s History month; so I take the privilege of penning a few thoughts about Gender equality. The global scenario depicts that male dominance has been deep rooted in the society for centuries together. The emergence of the feminist era has broadened the social horizons thus paving way for the rising of women to their appropriate prominence. As a result the beautiful day will arrive when the whole world will recognize the harmony between man and woman.

Gender inequality refers to the difference in the status, prestige, power, opportunities, decision making rights and identities that the women are subjected to in comparison to men in a society. This is a global issue.  For instance: In some countries of the world women are restricted from driving cars while in others women do not have the basic right of education too.   Many a time’s women are paid less for the same work as men while in few countries house work is only vested with the women and not the men. Female infanticide and female foeticide are alarmingly rising in many countries. This is mainly because boys are considered to be the ones who shall carry forward the lineage of a clan. Women are deprived from inheriting the property too in various cultures and religions. These are only a few instances to name. The list is extremely long. Can a reasonable person recognize these instances as equality? We are women but we are humans too. We are not slaves or maids to receive such ill-treatment.  Why is this simple aspect forgotten?

I agree men are physically stronger and more aggressive by nature whereas women are construed to be the embodiment of inner dignity and subtleness.  In many cases this soft attitude is considered to be the weakness. In reality, subtle inner dignity is much stronger than the aggressive outbursts.  The true liberalization of both the sexes would be when both the sexes forget their respective egos and work in harmony for the betterment of mankind as a whole. Both the sexes should strive hard to bridge the gap of inequality.  Men should use their aggressive and dominant nature to good use whereas women should use the subtle nature not to portray weakness but power, motivation, understanding and intelligence.

Most of you may still pose the question, why this movement is still termed as Feminism and not Equalism or Humanism? Well, a simple answer to this is that we are still waiting for the beautiful day to arrive when women are considered equal in each and every field and in all walks of life.  That is when this long struggle of striving for equality shall end and then probably we can rephrase the term from Feminism to Equalism or Humanism.

Pasos Pequeños a Progreso Gigante por el blogger Emily

Desafortunadamente, tengo la habilidad atlética de un panda de bebé. Pero, cuando llega la hora del partido, encuentro el esfuerzo de un equipo de fútbol entero, luchando para ganar el último partido contra sus enemigos.



Me gusta pasar tiempo afuera jugando deportes, y me cría con dos hermanos, quien muchas veces me dijeron, “tires como chica.”




Cuando corrí a mi casa, sintiendo triste y faltando confianza en mi mismo, mi madre me dirigía a otra actividad más femenina, como jugar con muñecas.




Esta secuencia de eventos ocurre frecuentemente: una chica quiere hacer una actividad históricamente masculina, se pierde su confianza a causa de las palabras y actitudes de otros chicos u otras chicas, y se revierte a una actividad más clásicamente femenina.




Para obtener igualdad de sexo en la sociedad y encontrar un equilibrio entre los géneros, tenemos que quitarnos de nuestras vidas frases negativas como, “se tire como chica,” “ella probamente está menstruando,” o “se hace como chica.”




Yo sé que soy culpable de decir estas frases. Me había pedir disculpas para estar llena de emocionas, dando la culpa a mi sexo. Cuando un amigo o miembro de mi familia se está quejando le digo “eres tan como chica.”




Estas frases llegan de nuestras bocas tan frecuentemente que no pensamos en como se hacen daño. ¿Eres una chica? Este frase implique que la palabra “chica” y la palabra “irritante” o “débil” son los mismos. La frase, “ella probamente está menstruando” atribuye la expresión de emociones o pensamientos irracionales al género femenino.




Quizás no puedo tirar una pelota, pero este no significa que tiro como chica. Tengo tantas amigas quien pueden tirar perfectamente, y, al otro lado, tengo tantos amigos quien no pueden tirar.




El desequilibrio de género en nuestra sociedad es como una balanza con dos lados. Estas frases y actitudes, aún pequeños, son como piedras, pesando muchísimo juntos en un lado de la balanza. Tenemos que parar el uso común de ellas, porque aún parecen pequeñas, son poderosas juntas. Cuando las eliminamos de nuestras vidas, la balanza pueda encontrar equilibrio.

Little Steps Toward Big Progress by blogger Emily

I was unfortunately blessed with the athleticism of a baby panda bear. But, when it’s game time, I muster up the heart of an entire underdog high school football team and try my best.




I like to spend time outside playing sports and grew up with all brothers, often finding myself benched because I “threw like a girl.” Even some of the neighborhood girls who were more athletic than me would chime in on the ridicule.




When I ran back into the house, feeling discouraged and left out, my mom would comfort me and reroute me to a more gender-suitable activity like playing with Barbie dolls.




The aforementioned sequence of events is a common occurrence: a girl attempts to partake in a traditionally male activity, is discouraged by her male or female peers and then falls back on a more traditionally female activity.




In order to stand up for equal rights and garner a more gender-balanced society, we have to start small, ridding our lives of negative nuances like “she throws like a girl,” “she’s probably PMSing,” or “quit being such a girl.”




I’ll admit that I’m guilty of saying phrases like this. I’ve apologized for being emotional, blaming my gender for it. When a friend or family member complains about something, I’ve told him or her to “quit being such a girl.”




These phrases shoot out of our mouths so frequently that we don’t think about how they tear women down. Quit being such a girl? This phrase directly correlates annoying or weak behavior with the female gender so that “girl” becomes synonymous with “weak.” The phrase, “I’m probably just PMSing,” assumes that irrational thought processes or emotions are something unique to those with a uterus—which, believe me, are not.




I may throw poorly, but that does not mean I throw like a girl. I have plenty of female friends with incredible arms and on the other hand, I know plenty of men who throw poorly as well.




Picture the social gender imbalance like an old fashioned scale with two sides. These little comments and phrases are like rocks, weighing down one side of the scale. We have to stop saying them and stop passively agreeing with them. While they may seem trivial or passing, they are small pieces that add weight to the male side of the scale, creating an imbalance for women. By eliminating these phrases from our lives, we slowly start to level this out. As my dad always said, “Inch by inch, it’s a cinch. Yard by yard, it’s hard.” Little efforts like avoiding these phrases will have big long-term effects on the social gender imbalance.

“Girls get competitive, as though there’s only one spot in the world for everything, but that’s not true.” –Zooey Deschanel by blogger Rhaina

With this sentence, Ms. Deschanel perfectly summed up the struggle of young women today. We constantly pit ourselves against the next woman, aiming to be better; smarter; stronger. And if we can’t, we tear her down until we’re convinced we’re above her. When we do this, not only do we hurt ourselves by weighing ourselves down with negative thoughts, but we also contribute to a culture that consistently claims women are weak because they cannot rise above personal feelings to focus on more important matters. Each time we tear another woman down instead of building her up, we play into a divisive social structure.

Maybe it’s because for every five famous men we learn about in history and literature and science, we only learn about one woman. Maybe it’s because the few women we see in legislature rarely work together towards any end, while the men continue to make cohesive decisions regarding women’s issues. Maybe it’s because of films like The Duff or Clueless that claim a woman’s priority is her rank on the scales of likeability and attractiveness. Whatever it is that makes women feel that we can’t appreciate and uplift each other, it has to change.

As a woman, it’s often difficult to remember the truth in Deschanel’s statement—that there is more than one spot in the world for everything, and there is not one type of girl who fits into that spot. We think of words like smart, pretty, and successful as locks, and ourselves as the keys that must fit neatly into them. But the truth is, inside these words, these categories we use to define ourselves, there is room for everyone. This idea may not be reinforced by the media or taught in our schools, but it’s valid. It’s real. And if we could just stop playing into these ideas and stereotypes about ourselves, we could all see that. Then we could begin to change.