Beyond Domestic Violence: Taking Back Night and Day

Take Back the Night. Each year, this national week of activism dedicated to raising awareness about sexual violence inevitable evokes the same old cheap shots. Cynics, low grade comedians and devil's advocates are all bound to snidely inquirer: Who owns the night in the first place?

Yesterday evening, the annual Take Back the Night (TBTN) rally which culminates the week's events provided an opportunity for survivors of violent sexual attacks to speak out and reclaim their sense of safety and comfort from the personified, albeit symbolic, "owner" of the night. This amorphous Mr. Danger, he who lurks in the shadows between blue light phones, also keeps my grandmother up at nights. He, (sorry guys, but this is definitely not a gender-neutral character) could be disguised as the charming preppy boy at the party who innocently offers you a sweet-tasting drink. While some critics contest the number, at least one survey has shown that one-fourth of college women are victims of date rape.

The multi-faceted violence that participants at last night's event sought to resist does not always prevail upon women. The candlelight vigil was intended to liberate the long-silenced victims of sexual abuse and violence. In addition, participants--both men and women--were encouraged to take an aggressive stance against the violence that has pervaded our society. Littleton, Colo. Enough said.

But, traditionally--and this week's full schedule of activities, films, dinner-discussions, speakers and rallies prove to be no exception--Harvard's TBTN week has evolved to serve as a crucial consciousness-raiser on campus. Female students are empowered to "take back" the symbolic night from an internal sense of danger.

The most obvious danger is a woman's own passivity toward her situation. Silent consent. In this post-feminist age, the politics of elaborating and emphasizing differences are unfashionable. Most women at Harvard would hesitate to label themselves feminists, a term which connotes bra-burning radicals and militant man-haters. And of course, feminists never wear lipstick or shave their legs.

But we have not succeeded in securing complete gender equality, a fact that most of us "emancipated" women usually do not speak of.

The two cases of sexual assault that appeared before the Administrative Board and the full Faculty this past year along with the activism of the Coalition Against Sexual Violence have catalyzed discussion and debate about rape, violence and relationships in general. TBTN week continues the comeback of heightened awareness. Small-group discussions have tackled issues such as on-line privacy for women (redefining stalking laws in the Internet age), international women's rights abuses, and local resources for battered women.

"This is a week where we have a voice," said TBTN organizer Jennifer L. Fines '99. "Issues about women's violence, defined very broadly, come to the fore."

In addition to finding our voices, TBTN has aggressively encouraged women to reclaim our bodies. Tuesday's "eat-in" provided an opportunity for women and men to indulge guiltlessly in pizza, ice cream and soda (diet not allowed). This event was a direct attack on '90s pop culture figures such as Ally McBeal--the feminist icon of our times, according to People and Time magazines--and Kate Moss. These women's ridiculously unattainable bodies often motivate an extra 10 minutes on the treadmill and create the will power to continuously decline dessert.

The desire to change one's genetically endowed proportions and to actively conform to an ideal body type is a tremendous concern for both men and women on campus. According to Shauna L. Shames '01, who organized the eat-in, Harvard students are especially prone to eating disorders and obsession with dieting and exercise because of their perfectionist proclivities. Indeed, the eat-in, where hundreds of type-A control freaks treated themselves to an unrestrained feeding frenzy, was certainly a sight to behold.

TBTN's activities are not limited to aggressive attacks on the social sources of violence evidenced by silenced voices and grumbling stomachs.

During many of the activities, popular culture and its advertising engine ultimately emerged as the villainous culprits of the night. Striking against the Gap, L'Oreal, Gillete and other companies that play to female image insecurities in order to sell products, students met on Monday to create anti-advertising murals. Over 20 women defaced the super-thin, scantily clad models on the covers of Glamour and Cosmo, devising their own sardonic captions, such as "from the files of the incredible shrinking woman."

"Women are socialized from day one to value their looks," said one mural-maker. However, almost everyone agreed that the evil advertising monolith does not discriminate between male and female victims. Instead, it tricks consumers into thinking that you can package and commodify self-confidence. Advil can cure your headache as well as your loneliness. "No brainer." And Levi's Jeans alone can jumpstart a pathetic sex life.

So, who are we taking the night back from? On the one hand, Take Back the Night succeeds in its original mission, aggressively protesting sexual violence against women.

The reading of names of domestic violence survivors and the puffy-painted T-shirts hung out in the Yard served as shocking reminders of this pressing social problem at Harvard and definitely in the world beyond. In the time you have taken to read this column, 12 women will have been victims of physical, emotional or verbal abuse from husbands, boyfriends and lovers--every 15 seconds a woman in America becomes a victim of domestic violence, according to a panelist at a Tuesday night TBTN panel.

But, furthermore, TBTN has identified and raised awareness the more subtle sources of violence, endangering women and often men. The past week's events showed that these often hidden dangers are slowly creeping into the day.