Smile, Baby

For the most part I try to keep this blog pretty neutral, but a lot of bloggers have been talking about the topic of sexual harassment, something that I feel I need to speak up about. This article talks about the horrors of sexual harassment.

"In San Francisco last year, a man stabbed a woman in the face and arm after she didn’t respond positively to his sexually harassing her on the street.  In Bradenton, Fla., a man shot a high school senior to death after she and her friends refused to perform oral sex at his request. In Chicago, a scared 15-year-old was hit by a car and died after she tried escaping from harassers on a bus."

I'm sure every woman, and some men, who are reading this have experienced unwanted sexual harassment at one point or another. I hate it when people, especially other girls, say that someone "deserved" to be cat-called or sexually harassed because of what they're wearing. Clothing is a form of self-expression, not an invitation for unwanted eyes. Though, I found that it doesn't matter what I'm wearing, I've gotten cat-called in sweats, going to the bodega to buy milk. I'm happy that people are finally speaking up about this issue and in some cases fighting back. There is an emerging art movement that is dedicated to women empower themselves against the men who objectify them on the street.

These pictures are from a cool street art project done by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh called Stop Telling Women to Smile

Hannah Price, a philly-based photographer, has started taking pictures of men who cat-call her. Here is an interview she did on NPR about it.

Some other cool websites to take a look at are:
I holla back, where women around the world can share their stories
Stop Street Harassment