This is my first year at Ohio University, and this will be my first year attending a Take Back the Night rally. I’ve been looking forward to this for the entire school year. When I went to a planning meeting with the Women’s Affairs Commission from Student Senate, I got even more excited, since this year’s event is being made inclusive for the first time in OU’s history.
But the rhetoric that I’ve been hearing around campus about Take Back the Night has been nothing short of disappointing.
Ohio University is a progressive campus. We are looked to by other universities, not just in Ohio but around the country, for our proactive leadership. Jaclyn Friedman even complimented this school on its commitment to social justice during her visit in February.
That is why the letter from Devin Aeh, the counter-event being held by F--kRapeCulture and the general backlash toward TBTN being inclusive this year is so disheartening. We are better than this. The voices of a few bigots are being heard over the masses that are ready for progress.
Devin doesn’t seem to realize that TBTN is not about “women’s empowerment;” it’s about standing up to sexual violence and assault. It’s about reclaiming the spaces that not only women, but people of all genders and sexual orientations, don’t feel safe in.
But I’m not sure she even realizes the importance of this event for people who do not identify in the gender binary or trans* folks. In fact, 64 percent of trans* people have been sexually assaulted; is it not important that we acknowledge their experiences? Should they not be allowed to take back the night?
I know quite a few people on this campus who do not identify as men or women; they have expressed concern for possibly being targeted by groups like F--kRapeCulture, who plan to hold a counter-event at the actual Take Back the Night march on Thursday. What if they are mistaken for being cisgender men and asked to stand on the sidelines, instead of marching themselves, something FRC is planning to do?
Which brings me to my real point: Why shouldn’t anyone who is a survivor not be allowed to march? Sure, statistically men do commit 99 percent of sexual assaults and are only 10 percent of victims — but we all know these statistics are outdated (they are from the ’90s) and that men are not reporting. Because of the stigma associated with men being sexually assaulted, they do not report. Men are made to feel like their masculinity will be taken away from them if they do report — not to mention the amount of ignorance they will probably face if they do (many people don’t even think men can be raped). The real statistics are a lot higher than 10 percent. The more we try to silence these survivors, the more we are contributing to rape culture.
These narratives of “women are raped and men are rapists” are very problematic and untrue. I am a survivor of incest that was perpetrated by a female family member. I am sad to say that stories like Devin’s are exactly the reason I’ve been silent for so long.
So the question is: Are we really willing to accept this narrative for our own Take Back the Night? I myself am not. I am ready for inclusion; I am ready to open this event to survivors of all identities.
Are you?
Erin Fischer is a freshman studying women’s and gender studies.
