A March Against Women’s Oppression

this is a piece on Inside New York's blog

http://insidenewyork.com/2012/03/07/a-march-against-womens-oppression/

A March 10 march aims to stop oppression against women fueled by porn, says Sunsara Taylor

The flyers that Sunsara Taylor handed out at the Athena Film Festival display a photo of a girl holding a sign that said “porn fuels rape” and call for people to join in a “protest and march against sites of women’s oppression.”  The fine print describes a march that will take place on March 10; the route includes St. Patrick’s Cathedral, strip clubs, U.S. Military Recruiting Centers, and “Crisis Pregnancy Centers” whose mission is to dissuade women from having abortions.  Upon first glance, the flyer was overwhelming to me; proclaiming that pornography and patriarchy were intrinsically bound seemed similar to saying that opposing stem cell research went hand in hand with opposing gay marriage. “What about the non-misogynistic porn that women are trying to reclaim as empowering?” I wondered.  What about the scientific studies that found that states with increased access to the Internet—and therefore porn–actually experienced a decrease in sexual violence?  I was by no means convinced that “ending” porn, as the flyer called for, would liberate women– but I was intrigued.

My friend and I met up with Taylor and her colleagues at Times Square on Friday night in order to tour the “adult stores” that they are protesting.  We were planning on covering many locations but were so disgusted by the first one we walked into that we nixed the rest of the itinerary.  The shelves were packed with DVDs arranged into categories: “Lesbians,” “Asians,” “Teens,” etc.  There was nothing subliminal or apologetic about the blatant racism and violence depicted on the covers of these videos; DVDs featuring girls, drugged by chloroform, being gang raped lined the walls.  Some of them boasted women being knocked out “over and over and over again!”  It was clear that reclaiming these particular movies in the name of empowerment would do nothing for women in terms of sexual liberation.

After we left the store, we sat down to discuss what we had seen.  Taylor emphasized that her goal is not to lead a crusade against sex; she supports erotica—a distinction she makes from porn.  The difference can be found in the etymology of the words: porn is derived from the Greek word “porne” which translates to “prostitute.”  Erotica, on the other hand, comes from the Greek “erotikos” and means “caused by passionate love.”  As Taylor explained, porn is only one of the numerous ways that our patriarchal society objectifies women.  Other components include conservatives working to take away abortion and birth control rights, as well as the sexual violence that women in the military face.  Taylor is working towards a revolution that she hopes will change our culture’s mindset in regards to gender and sexuality as a whole.  She welcomes everyone interested to join her on March 10 as she begins what she hopes will become a revolution.  To learn more about Taylor and her work, visit her blog follow her on Twitter or check out the Stop Patriarchy website.

-Luna Adler

My Thoughts on the Secular Student Alliance Conference

Last weekend I got to spend a couple days at the http://www.secularstudents.org/ conference. Anyone who has checked out the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic (Draft Proposal) from the Revolutionary Communist Party – with its emphasis on really promoting science, intellectual ferment, atheism, and the unfettered search for the truth (as part of an overall economic and social system that is meeting people's most basic needs and overcoming past oppression and inequalities) – should get pretty readily why communists would value a group of critically-thinking, religion-bucking, science-promoting students like this. Add to that the fact that Christian fascism is a real and growing force in this society right now and it seemed especially important to be in the midst of this secular gathering.

Challenging the authority of religion, exposing the non-existence of god(s), creating a community where atheists are not shamed or isolated or bullied, taking on the encroachment of religion into the state, defending and fighting for the scientific understanding of evolution, thinking critically and enabling others to learn how to do the same... these are but a few of the things that the SSA is involved in that are both significant in their own right and have significant implications for the success of any revolution worth making.

One of the main things I did at the conference was promote Bob Avakian's new book, Basics. Not surprisingly, there were many misconceptions about communism but also much concern about the state of the world, the environment, and whether there could be a better future. Shout out to everyone who got a copy. We do not have to accept a world in which the vast majority of humanity is locked in ignorance and squalor! But whether or not we get out of this world depends in no small part in whether or not people get into BAsics; You can't change the world if you don't know the BAsics!” To lift just one quote from BA that is particularly relevant to the question of religion:

“The notion of a god, or gods, was created by humanity, in its infancy, out of ignorance. This has been perpetuated by the ruling classes, for thousands of years since then, to serve their interests in exploiting and dominating the majority of people and keeping them enslaved to ignorance and irrationality.

“Bringing about a new, and far better, world and future for humanity means overthrowing such exploiting classes and breaking free of and leaving behind forever such enslaving ignorance and irrationality.”

WHO ATTENDED?

The students who turned out were from all across the country, but it was particularly interesting how many of them came from more isolated areas – small towns and campuses in Kansas or Ohio or Alabama or Minnesota. They are sticking their necks out to publicly disclaim belief in god. Many of the students told stories of tremendous bigotry they have encountered not only from other students but also teachers and administrators. Some are estranged from their families.

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