Witchs' night
May. 20th, 2003 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janestarzLast night around seven-thirty I met up with TC, who had run into Manuela at Utrecht CS. It was good seeing her again, and we hugged. I really felt really tall and 'sloom' around them, both being giddy, energetic not-so tall women.
sloom, pronounced slohm; meaning to be not so fast in body or mind
TC and I then walked to the ACU, a left-wing bar in the heart of Utrecht. We sat there for a couple of hours talking about this and that, mostly about things we women could do for women all over the world, for feminism and against breast cancer.
After that, more and more women walked in for Hexennacht, "witches' night". The flyer said: "During the annual witches' night on May 19, women in Utrecht go out in the streets to protest against the fact that women should be scared of 'creepy men' at night. Against the fact that they should be scared to be raped, abused, or sexually intimidated. We protest against the idea that women, to prevent these things, should not go out at night and that they certainly should not be outside more quiet, darker area's of town. And to protest against the fact that if women, if they want to be safe, should stay inside.
We protest against sexual violence in the streets and elsewhere. Most cases of sexual violence are being committed by people the victim knows, within a relationship, within the family or at work and in [asylum shelters ?] and other closed shelters. We demand the street for all women, and we demand an end to sexual violence in any form, anywhere.
Hexennacht=vrouwenkracht! [witches' night = women's power!]"
So, the idea was great, and as women we felt really strong. TC was walking around with a videocamera, to make a report for Ladyfest, and I, after taking a few pictures of our mob, handed out leaflets and flyers at the front. We made a hell of a lot of noise using whistles, our voices, trumpets and rattles. We sang songs and shouted "Wherever we are, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no" (A concept one of my friends, sadly, still has some trouble understanding).
There was only one little detail I didn't quite understand, namely, that men were not allowed at all! So when the feminist men (and yes, you bet they're out there) wanted to walk with us, they would be sent away. Somehow I can partially understand that some men might want to take advantage of being in such a group of women (by groping …if he was willing to be molested for it), but I was sad. There was a drag queen present in the group, and she was 'tolerated' if not quite accepted. Wearing a skirt and high heels, walking on crutches and I must say I had to look twice to see it was a person in drag. It raised the question with Tc and me, "What does it take to stop being a man?" [and be allowed to participate].
This was my first real demonstration and though we made a lot of noise and some fretboyprick emptied a bucket of water on the group, it was all quite peaceful. There's something to be said for fifty women just being out in the streets trying to get their voices heard. There was some press present, a photographer and a radio-man.
Afterwards there would be a disco but TC and I had to go-go-go…trains you know. And though we really felt safe outside at first (I had no trouble to leave the group for a while to hand out flyers in the street); now that we were just two women going to the station and passing the people doing heroin and other drugs in the mall, we felt unsafe. Like any second now, some man could come up to us and say "wanna pet Willy" or "weren't you with those women back there?" and make us pay for getting our voices heard.
I really feel good though. That I was there, that I was a part of this. There is so much still to be done for the feminist movement, and most people just don't understand. I feel kind of guilty that I have a hobby like larp that just takes away a lot of time and money that I can also pour into work for Bunnies on Strike or Ladyfest or anything similar.
sloom, pronounced slohm; meaning to be not so fast in body or mind
TC and I then walked to the ACU, a left-wing bar in the heart of Utrecht. We sat there for a couple of hours talking about this and that, mostly about things we women could do for women all over the world, for feminism and against breast cancer.
After that, more and more women walked in for Hexennacht, "witches' night". The flyer said: "During the annual witches' night on May 19, women in Utrecht go out in the streets to protest against the fact that women should be scared of 'creepy men' at night. Against the fact that they should be scared to be raped, abused, or sexually intimidated. We protest against the idea that women, to prevent these things, should not go out at night and that they certainly should not be outside more quiet, darker area's of town. And to protest against the fact that if women, if they want to be safe, should stay inside.
We protest against sexual violence in the streets and elsewhere. Most cases of sexual violence are being committed by people the victim knows, within a relationship, within the family or at work and in [asylum shelters ?] and other closed shelters. We demand the street for all women, and we demand an end to sexual violence in any form, anywhere.
Hexennacht=vrouwenkracht! [witches' night = women's power!]"
So, the idea was great, and as women we felt really strong. TC was walking around with a videocamera, to make a report for Ladyfest, and I, after taking a few pictures of our mob, handed out leaflets and flyers at the front. We made a hell of a lot of noise using whistles, our voices, trumpets and rattles. We sang songs and shouted "Wherever we are, wherever we go, yes means yes and no means no" (A concept one of my friends, sadly, still has some trouble understanding).
There was only one little detail I didn't quite understand, namely, that men were not allowed at all! So when the feminist men (and yes, you bet they're out there) wanted to walk with us, they would be sent away. Somehow I can partially understand that some men might want to take advantage of being in such a group of women (by groping …if he was willing to be molested for it), but I was sad. There was a drag queen present in the group, and she was 'tolerated' if not quite accepted. Wearing a skirt and high heels, walking on crutches and I must say I had to look twice to see it was a person in drag. It raised the question with Tc and me, "What does it take to stop being a man?" [and be allowed to participate].
This was my first real demonstration and though we made a lot of noise and some fretboyprick emptied a bucket of water on the group, it was all quite peaceful. There's something to be said for fifty women just being out in the streets trying to get their voices heard. There was some press present, a photographer and a radio-man.
Afterwards there would be a disco but TC and I had to go-go-go…trains you know. And though we really felt safe outside at first (I had no trouble to leave the group for a while to hand out flyers in the street); now that we were just two women going to the station and passing the people doing heroin and other drugs in the mall, we felt unsafe. Like any second now, some man could come up to us and say "wanna pet Willy" or "weren't you with those women back there?" and make us pay for getting our voices heard.
I really feel good though. That I was there, that I was a part of this. There is so much still to be done for the feminist movement, and most people just don't understand. I feel kind of guilty that I have a hobby like larp that just takes away a lot of time and money that I can also pour into work for Bunnies on Strike or Ladyfest or anything similar.
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no subject
Date: 2003-05-20 06:39 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2003-05-20 06:41 am (UTC)There's a tiny piece on www.focus-in.nl as well. More neutral.
no subject
Date: 2003-05-21 07:21 am (UTC)Sure, things are better now than they were, but still, how many female mininsters do we have? How many women are top managers?
I am not saying that every woman should try to be a top manager, just like not every man should try to be a top manager or a minister, but there should be some balance.
And there is still a lot to be done about sexual violence, rape, and sexual intimidation. Still a lot of people don't take these items quite as serious as they should.
So yay for witches night.
But don't feel guilty about larping and not doing as much for feminisme as you think you should. I too sometimes feel that I should do more in my free time for other people. Like I really should do something for abused children, join some group or something. I really think I should, because that's a subject that really bothers me, and is really important to me.
And I will do that.
But I feel I need something for myself too, and larping, however unimportant to the world, is important to me, and I really need that.
Don't feel guitly about that.
Re:
Date: 2003-05-22 02:19 am (UTC)Thanks.