Spending a Week Taking Back the Night

Author: Lanford Beard

Last week, Feminist Action at Middlebury (FAM) hosted the annual Take Back the Night Week as part of Sexual Violence Awareness Month. A few of the goals of this event were to promote ongoing awareness of the serious issues that women face, ranging from media exploitation to sexual assault policies, as well as gaining both individual and unified voices.

FAM president Elizabeth Brookbank '04 explained, "Schools and communities all around the country hold different events for Take Back the Night Week, all of which are centered around raising awareness of sexual assault and providing support to survivors."

The fact that the event has no specific date and is held on different dates for different campuses and communities across the nation reveals that the issues highlighted in Take Back the Night Week must continually be confronted and evaluated.

The week kicked off on Monday, April 22, with a Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) demonstration in Mitchell Green Lounge. Given the recent review of the College's sexual assault policy, this choice for the opening event could not have been more appropriate.

On Tuesday, two events centered on different aspects of the woman's experience in comtemporary society. This night featured both pressing issues and lighthearted fun.

At 7:30 p.m. there was a screening of 1997's "Dreamworlds 2: Desire, Sex, Power in Music Video." The hour-long film was directed by the week's keynote speaker Sut Jhally and won the 1997 San Francisco International Film Festival Certificate of Merit in the category of Film & Video — Media & Society.

Tackling the overly sexual depiction of women in contemporary music video, the film features clips from predominantly heavy metal and rap videos with voice-over commentary by Jhally in lieu of music.

As the images continued, Jhally began to intersperse pictures of a violent sexual assault scene from 1988's "The Accused" until the music videos and the movie were indistinguishable. Jhally sought to express the dangerous and powerful effects that male fantasy and sexual objectification can have on women.

Later that night at the Gamut Room, Courtney Brocks '01, Tori Sikes '03, Emma Kuntze EX, Charlotte Carlson '05 and Cherine Anderson '04, among others, took part in the more festive Chick Jam.

Brookbank mentioned, "Chick Jam was our second most attended event, and everyone had a great time, myself included as I'm a huge Courtney Brocks fan."

The most emotionally touching and empowering event of the week perhaps came on Wednesday when survivors of sexual assault shared their experiences in Hepburn Lounge's Speak Out.

This event emphasized the overwhelming importance of openness and a vital support system as women's issues today are continually faced, bringing together through identification rather than dangerously tearing apart.

On Thursday, Jhally again spoke about today's media representations of women and girls in his lecture "Virgin & Slut:The Media's Catch-22 for Women and Girls."

Brookbank commented that Jhally "was an amazing speaker, and it was so refreshing to hear a man being so passionate about these issues." For more information see Lindsey Whitton's article on this page.

Finally, the week finished with a barbecue, candelight vigil march and rally starting from Chellis House at sunset.

While the week began with an emphasis on individual awareness, the events drove quickly to the ideals of identification and unity through the common bond shared by all people, not just women.

Overall, Take Back the Night Week focused across the country on the importance of unity between groups and individuals and of universal identification through empathy, sympathy and shared experience.

Not solely a week for women to share together, Take Back the Night Week was a welcome experience for all Middlebury students to come together and form the all-important support network that will keep our community moving forward.