4.16.07

I. Am. So. Mad. That

I am willing to violate Rule #1 of this website.

Image: from a Take Back the Night flyer, circa 2000. I think it’s a copyright violation. Oops.

A few years back, I was an organizer for the Champaign-Urbana version of Take Back the Night. For those unfamiliar with TBTN, it is an international event designed to protest violence against women. It dates back to 1977, and is celebrated in virtually every major city in the US. Specific details vary from place to place, but for the most part, the occasion includes a rally followed by a women-only march through the streets. While Champaign-Urbana has historically stuck to this format, this year’s organizers are, much to my dismay, allowing men to march.

Is a women-only event exclusionary? Yes. Is there a reason for it? Yes. The march is an opportunity for women to walk the streets after dark without the presence or protection of men. The value of this experience is immeasurable, because we spend our lives with the ever-present fear of walking alone at night. While it’s statistically true that most sexual assaults are committed by persons known to the survivors, this doesn’t minimize the constant fear women experience of stranger rape. It certainly doesn’t prevent us from being warned from childhood on against venturing out at night - because, you know, if we do, we’re “asking for it”.

Given this reality, it makes perfect sense that a march like Take Back the Night would be empowering for those of us who fear gender-based violence on a nightly basis. It also seems obvious that adding men to the equation contradicts the basic premise of the event. This isn’t to say that men don’t have a place in eliminating and protesting violence against women. They do, and are absolutely essential to the movement. To this end, there are plenty of opportunities for men to get involved. I have attended workshops and seminars on the topic myself, and there are literally scores of organizations devoted specifically to the issue. There are even national conferences in which participants dissect every possible angle of every possible role for men in ending gender-based violence. On the local level in Champaign-Urbana, a group called Men Against Sexual Violence came into existence in part to educate men on the need for a women-only TBTN, and to provide alternate activities for men during the march. In short, there are a whole 364.9 days out of the year in which men can plan a myriad of activities combating violence against women, as well as an existing community already engaged in the struggle.

Given the ample opportunity and vast network of support for men wishing to fight the good fight, you’d think the guys would leave us alone, right? Guess again. Every year, the same thing happened. First, the school newspaper would 1) publish a bunch of articles, editorials, and letters expressing outrage at the exclusion of men, and give us a tiny bit of print space to balance things out; and 2) send a male photographer to cover the march, despite a politely phrased request in writing to respect the women-only nature of the event. Second, the community would be abuzz with can-you-believe-the-audacity-of-those-women chatter, despite public comments, press releases, and a clearly worded website posting.

Third, and most disturbing, was the yearly Lone Ranger. This was a guy who was utterly livid that he could not march, and who would not back down following any amount of discussion or, eventually, avoidance. He would emerge from the pack of men who started out mad, but eventually calmed down after understanding the point of the event. In contrast, the Lone Ranger would endlessly assert that he was OUTRAGED that we would dare to question his commitment to ending violence against women, and that we were DISCRIMINATORY, and SEXIST, and OPPRESSIVE, and OMG HE COULDN’T BELIEVE WE WOULD TREAT HIM SO BADLY WHEN HE JUST WANTED TO SHOW THE WORLD HOW DEVOTED HE WAS TO EMPOWERING WOMEN. He was always very angry, usually in a threatening and abusive manner. He never saw anything ironic about his tireless devotion to questioning the boundaries set by a group of women concerning their own perceptions of safety. He also consumed copious amounts of energy that would have been better applied to organizing, or, well, to almost anything else.

The point is that excluding men from Take Back the Night is important to me. Most men are fabulous, and I know many who are amazing supporters of a variety of feminist causes, but this is a place for women. Freedom from the notion that one is only safe with a man present cannot occur with a man present. It’s that simple. Therefore, I am deeply disappointed that this year’s C-U TBTN organizers have overturned decades of empowerment and strength by allowing men to march. Congrats - you’ve got the Lone Ranger in your ranks now, along with a crew of guys who might have been better educated had they been challenged to think harder about women’s experiences with gender violence. Who don’t you have? Rape survivors who feel uncomfortable and unsafe marching with men.

6 Responses So Far

1. 1

   calcspar said,

   April 17, 2007 @ 12:48 pm

   I don’t know when I first understood this.

   I read your post and I immediately thought of this poem entitled “Those Tears” (which I was very glad to be able to find).

2. 2

   Brooke said,

   April 17, 2007 @ 7:43 pm

   Right the fuck on Janna!

   Your fellow “Take Back the Night Bitch”

3. 3

   Kate Grimes said,

   April 18, 2007 @ 1:29 pm

   “Take Back Take Back the Night”?

4. 4

   Allie said,

   April 18, 2007 @ 6:53 pm

   I am SO with you on this.

   I won’t say much else or I’ll get pissed off. But I feel you, sister.

5. 5

   ruxandra said,

   May 31, 2007 @ 5:05 am

   arrrgh. i can’t believe it. it’s so disappointing, and really it comes as quite a blow to me right now because i’m super involved with organizing the first tbtn in romania (at the beginning of october), and of course i have been mentioning the champaign-urbana marches a lot, all in glowing terms. it’s not particularly heartening to have to say that these days the marches there are no longer women only… that that’s what we can “look forward” to eventually. makes me so sad all around. arrgh arrgh arrrgh.

   speaking of the yearly lone ranger, i think the 2003 dispute from the daily illini is one of the best illustrations of that whole dynamic you described, janna. here is part of it recovered from the web archives: the traditional “woe is us, guys are not allowed at tbtn” song-and-dance from the di and then the lone ranger attacks, people answer him in different ways: 1, 2 and 3, to which he responds with this, then someone else reacts
   and finally there’s a letter from us, the organizers. sigh.

   i mean, sure, the pressure to include men in the march was always there. but i truly never thought it would come to this in c-u. my question is, why organize a tbtn at all if you’re going to make it not about taking back the night?

   but anyway. with maximum sadness and frustration,
   another fellow “take back the night bitch”.

6. 6

   janna said,

   May 31, 2007 @ 11:31 pm

   Wow, Ruxi, you did some archive-digging! You’re right, these links perfectly represent the conflict. Argh.

Say your words