the vaginas are here.

for the past two weeks, I've been walking around campus wearing a shirt with the words 'the vaginas are coming.' I'm not the only one...it's one of our novel ways to get people at this college in the know about the events of the week. with three days done (and the busiest three days, at that), I've just realized that in all of my attempts to make more people aware about the prevalence of violence against women, that some of the men that I personally know do not have any inclination to make themselves aware of these issues. I often think that once those around me -- my family members, friends, classmates, flatmates -- see how much time and energy I put into an issue, how important a cause is that I will put it before me (as has been the case in the last several weeks; don't even ask about my dietary or sleeping habits. you'll only be disappointed.) that they might take some time to read some of the literature or attend an event.

I've just left the union after nine hours of setting up, putting on, and cleaning up an event geared to allow people to learn about a variety of issues. not just violence against women, but other issues surrounding women, how they are treated as a whole in society, their bodies, et cetera. afterwards, I sat down with a male friend to discuss an idea that he has about putting together a forum to discuss u.s. foreign policy towards the middle east. only at the end of the conversation did I realize that he and one of his friends have absolutely no idea what the entire week is about, what it's mission is, though it's been posted on countless posters and flyers and the fact that I sat there telling them a bit about it. there was little one point where the tone was aggressive and even questioning the relavance of these issues being put on in such a manner.

this is the case of someone that I've known for six months. but this made me wonder, what do some of the closest males in my life, those who have had significant impacts on me, think of these issues? do they know that one in five women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime? more importantly, do they care? when I think of these issues, I always put it into the context that I have five sisters. if more men -- those specifically who think that we (feminists, the goldsmiths women's society, vday organizers, whatever group is classified under this broad umbrella) are overreacting when we talk about these stats -- put these issues into the context of five women in their lives (their mothers, their sisters, their partners, their daughters, their friends, et cetera), would they then realize the importance of these issues? do the men that I hold dear in my life realize the importanc of these issues? it's almost at this point of contemplation that I feel a small wave of despair come over me. if these people close to me aren't aware of the issues that women face in our own small communities and around the world, where has my mission began? and has it failed before it's really even began? large questions and hopefully not too pessimistic, but this week of staging events has made me conscious of the fact that, as flabbergasted as I may at the statistic that a woman in the U.S. is raped every 90 seconds, other people may not have that same reaction.

this is not to leave the sentiment that this week has been disappointing; not at all. (I'll summarize at the end of it all, when I have more energy and time.) it's more of an open question/reflection to all of you, but specifically the men.

love to all. and a happy belated international women's day!