25.06.11

Wax drips onto watercolour paintings,
Distorting colour and ordered lines,
Geometric shapes oozing through the fabric of the paper.
Picasso wouldn't mind, I suppose-
"Artistic licence" - making something new,
Instead of ruining a classic.
Dali's clocks already melted,
Butter-smooth over wicker branches,
Lazy arms of a dying oak,
Like a banquet waiter, cloth over forearm,
"Anything else, sir?"
Dripping wax like clocks and soft sugar spills,
Butter melting in the sun.

15.06.11

I tiptoe on the edge of life,
Pirouette en pointe between the white and yellow lines
As the train burrows like hot blood through the veins underground,
An arabesque on the cliff's edge, live bait dangled to the darkness below,
And in one wrong move I could be snapped up by the dark.
But as I bend to take my bow, an acknowledgement to my imaginary audience,
The white knight catches my waist, moving me,
And we waltz away from danger, spinning through the forest,
Escaped from a tragic jewellery box entrapment.

NO MEANS NO.

"However we dress, wherever we go, yes means yes and NO means NO!"


Yesterday, I was one of the five-thousand voices chanting in unison in a march against victim-blaming in cases of sexual assault.


"Slutwalk" was sparked by a comment made by a Canadian policeman in January 2011 that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order to prevent being victimised." Following this, in February, whilst presiding over a rape case, the judge noted that on the evening in question "sex was in the air," and the victim's behaviour and outfit (a tube top and heels) may have given the "wrong impression". Furthermore, the fact that the victim was wearing makeup and had been drinking was also called into question. Although the defendent was found guilty, he was sentenced to two years' probation and was required to write an apology letter to the victim. The typical sentence for a rape crime is at least three years in prison, yet in this case the defendent was not considered a threat to society, merely "insensitive" to the fact that the victim may have been unwilling, and thus served no jail time.


This case caused a massive public outcry and led to the founding of Slutwalk. The co-founders used the word "slut" because that was the word that the Canadian officer originally used to describe women's attire, and because of its negative connotations and frequent offensive usage. It  has historically and consistently been used as a derogatory term to describe sexually promiscuous women, but in context is often merely used as casual insult, perhaps even aimed at those with a non-existent sexual history. The organisers stated that women "are tired of being oppressed by slut-shaming; of being judged by our sexuality and feeling unsafe as a result. Being in charge of our sexual lives should not mean that we are opening ourselves to an expectation of violence, regardless if we participate in sex for pleasure or work. No one should equate enjoying sex with attracting sexual assault."


The original Slutwalk march took place in Toronto on 3rd April 2011, with over three-thousand participants, and then spread internationally to major cities in the US, India, Australia, Africa, Asia and Europe. Yesterday, on 11th June 2011, I took part in the London Slutwalk as one of the five-thousand protesters marching through Piccadilly, chanting slogans such as "However we dress, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no," "My dress is not a yes," and "Clothes don't rape people, rapists do." Other chants were more specific, such as "We are all chambermaids!", an allusion to the alleged IMF rape of a chambermaid at a Manhattan hotel.


Some protesters, both men and women, dressed in stereotypical "slutty" attire, wearing fishnets, heels, and some only in their underwear, whereas some took the opposite approach and covered themselves as completely as possible, scarves wrapped around their faces and wearing dark sunglasses. Others merely dressed in ordinary clothing, but the message was nevertheless the same; women can be raped no matter how they dress or how they behave. Some held signs bearing their own slogans: "It wasn't my fault," "slut pride" and "just because I dress like a hussy, doesn't mean I want you near my pussy."


As we passed through Piccadilly Circus, construction workers paused in their digging, residents leaned out of windows, and pedestrians stopped in the street to watch the procession. Many of them showed their support by cheering, thrusting their fists in the air, and clapping as we marched past. Once we reached Trafalgar Square, the entire procession assembled to listen to the inspiring yet heartbreaking series of speeches by organisers and representatives, including members of the English Collective of Prostitutes, Women Against Rape, and the Black Women's Rape Action Project, among others.


Although each speech discussed different views, the general idea was altogether the same; speaking out against those who say that women who get raped are "asking for it" by the way they dress, the way they walk or if they were flirting or under the influence of alcohol. Against cuts to rape crisis centres, and virginity tests forced upon asylum-seekers to determine the "good" women from the "bad" ones. Supporting women who are disbelieved in court due to their sexual history, sexual orientation, skin-colour or social class; women who are disbelieved because they are less attractive than their alleged rapist; women who feel they cannot come forward for fear of deportation of arrest; women who lose the power of speech and are unable to report the crime.


Slutwalk, for me, was an eye-opening, truly inspirational experience, and I urge women and men everywhere to stand up for the human right to feel safe in their home country, with a police force who protect them and a government who supports them. Speak out and stand up- NO-ONE deserves to be raped.