February 2012
4 posts
Love is not this. Nor that...but it is... *trigger...
President Obama sent out a Presidential Proclamation that February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month.
Chris Brown had been asked to perform on the Grammy’s and was welcomed back after a three year hiatus. According to the Grammy’s, it was punishing *them* to not have him perform.
In another part of the Internetaverse, tweets have been posted in which...
Here's my Valentine's wish to you...
Dearest Hearts:
Today is a very good day for some people. And a really crappy day for others. I have mixed feelings about Valentine’s day myself. I like the idea of celebrating my Love for the people in my life but I don’t like the whole ‘enforced’ atmosphere around it. Spontaneous acts of affection mean much more than something scripted, right?
So treat this as my...
One by one, you'll fall like dominoes as I cheer
I used coconut scented conditioner the other day. Actually, I’ve been using coconut scented conditioner because I’ve been a lazy butt and haven’t bought the kind I usually use.
This is a big deal.
Way back in the day, when I was with the boyfriend-rapist, he would use coconut scented shampoo to wash his hair. You can about imagine how the scent has triggered me for *years*.
...
January 2012
3 posts
Open Mic night-and a poem
Hey, everyone!
Tomorrow night, we’re hosting an open mic night at Minnehaha Free Space. This is our second open mic night and we are so excited to see those who choose to participate and those who are there as supporters of the rest of us.
We can ensure that it will be a safe, supportive, caring environment for you. You will be respected and believed and heard.
I wrote a poem for the last...
Paper Lions- *possible triggers*
You know how life is.
You’re going along, minding your own business and then, it like attacks you and swallows you whole and then, sometime later (eons later) you emerge to go, oh, hai there!
Hai there!
I haven’t abandoned this blog. Between Fall semester, setting up the usual arrangements for life as I know it, and raising two awesome sons, it’s been awhile since I’ve...
Another point of view on the men as potential...
A couple of weeks ago an article was making the rounds among some of my friends on Facebook that discussed how men can prevent rape. While it did offer some valuable insight into many scenarios in which rape and sexual assault often occur, a lot of people seemed to find the article sexist and offensive to men. When I say that this article discussed how men can prevent rape, I mean that it...
December 2011
1 post
Content Warning
In this blog, we sometimes talk about sensitive subjects relating to rape and sexual assault.
We understand this could trigger unpleasant emotions and/or memories.
Please use your own judgment and decide if you wish to read the blog post or would rather wait until another time or not at all.
Though we discuss these difficult topics, we hope to encourage dialogue on the Rape Culture in a safe...
November 2011
1 post
To the young gentlemen...
I know I’m going to cry as I write this but that’s OK.
There have been plenty of reactions to the whole Penn State fiasco. But for me, as a survivor, my first thought wasn’t of the Head Coach or the University President or anyone else.
My first thought was of the young gentlemen, the eight boys, who were survivors of assault.
And my second thought was for their families.
...
October 2011
1 post
So there was this little thing called 'SlutWalk...
Wow.
Just…wow.
I don’t know if I could find words to articulate how I felt on Saturday when I saw all those people.
I mean…we’re talking people of all colours, of all sexualities, of all ages. Families. Teens. Older folk. Suburban moms and urban dads. Dogs with happy wagging tails.
And the smiles. The hugs. The mingling of all these people who were so excited to be in...
September 2011
8 posts
Guest blog post....'Slut'...yup, THAT word! but...
Hey, everyone! I want to introduce you to our PR/Media Person, Beth, who wrote this blog post. She has some things to say about the word ‘slut’, our goals, and a couple other things. Enjoy!-
Kimberia
“Why on earth would anyone want to co-opt the word ‘slut’, especially in a campaign to rid the world of sexual violence? It’s a disgusting and degrading word.” I hear comments like...
Trigger *this*
Hi, everyone!
I want to talk about this, and I’m going to be honest (not that I haven’t been ever since I’ve started writing this blog).
This is really hard. I absolutely feel this is the right thing to do. I know that SlutWalk Minneapolis resonates with so many people, and it hits me right in the gut. It’s just that…well…
It opens doors in my head, and...
1 tag
We're down to the wire now...please help!
We have two days left.
Two days to raise the total amount of $1,735.
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we have almost $700 in donations right now. How awesome is that?
But we have to have it by Tuesday, September 20th.
We really really need you to spread the word. We need you to ask your friends to donate.
We estimated that if every one of our Walkers donated $5 a piece, we’d...
College campus outreach-Help wanted! :)
Hey, everyone!
One of the things we’re doing is reaching out to colleges in the area, and making connections with their different groups and with the students. We have a College Campus Chair who is overseeing all of our campus outreach people.
We are looking for some more people to spread the word about SlutWalk Minneapolis, about our events, our fundraising, and all that good stuff.
If...
We have events busting out all over the place!
Seriously, it’s like my calendar is so full of Event goodness coming up, I can hardly plan anything else. But that’s OK. It means that awesome stuff is going down, and I’m thrilled!
Here’s what’s going on, for those of you who haven’t been checking out the Events page on the website (seriously, you should, cos I update that in a New York minute, you know?) or...
Man, I hate asking but...
Hi, everyone!
Wasn’t it just yesterday that the weather was 90 degrees and steamy? Now today, the weather is chilly, there’s a definite nip in the air, and I’m sitting in my bed with the electric blanket on, fighting off this stupid cough viral thingie that’s been making my life miserable for the past week or so. (I sound like Winnie the Pooh)
The SlutWalk Minneapolis...
This was not the post I was going to do...
Hi, everyone!
I have a couple of awesome posts to make, cos there’s so much goodness to update you on, but I have decided I needed to make a detour.
Do ya’ll know what a Drama Llama is? This term was introduced to me by one of my closest friends, and I have used it ever since. A Drama Llama is a person who just can’t live without Drama in his/her life. Someone who just has to...
August 2011
2 posts
31 flavours...
I had been talking to my oldest son about sexuality. He had mentioned that he’d ‘heard’ (meaning he and his friends were talking, and he decided to run it by me so he could go back and give them the REAL deal) some stuff, and was curious.
I said, ‘go for it.’ And he asked about the different kinds of sexuality, and he wanted to know a little bit about the word...
Update! :)
As we get closer to the middle of August, I take a look at the clock and remind myself that there’s a lot to do before the Walk in October.
And even though it feels like we have oodles of time, we really don’t.
Here’s what’s happened thus far:
We received Approval for the SlutWalk Minneapolis event.
We created a new Invite on Facebook.
We got our website up and running...
Being respectful of artists...
When I started putting the website together, I wanted a picture of the Stone Arch Bridge as that’s a part of the SlutWalk Minneapolis route. I also thought it would be cool to have the skyline in the background.
I did my google-fu and found a breathtaking photo of the Stone Arch Bridge and the skyline. I went to the photographer’s website and looked at all the wonderful photos that he...
SlutWalk Minneapolis Website!!! →
I’m so excited!!!
After a lot of work, invaluable, priceless input from my Committee, and the graphic art work from Timothee, we have a website that has ALL the details for SlutWalk Minneapolis.
I hope you like it!
-Kimberia
July 2011
8 posts
Flu, thou art my bane...
Hey, everyone!
I’m so happy that we have the official approval for SlutWalk Minneapolis.
Our awesome Committee met and we talked about a LOT….a three and a half hour meeting which covered A to Z.
And my aim this week was to get our website up and running because there’s so much goodness to share…
And then, I got sick. I missed school and work today and will probably...
Volunteer Open Houses!!!
Now that we have our official approval, we’re ready to get this show on the road! :)
Please join us for one of our Volunteer Open houses…you will get to meet our awesome volunteer chair, and hear about the opportunities available.
Here’s the info:
Tuesday, August 2nd
7:30 pm to 9 pm
Brookdale Library- 6125 Shingle Creek Parkway, Brooklyn Center
Meeting Room...
When is this happening?
It would be helpful if you posted the event date and time in a place where people could easily see it! I can’t tell when this is taking place.
A: Hopefully, we’ve answered your question by posting the NEW Event Invite on Facebook. We’ve posted the link to a previous blog post!
Thanks for asking!
SlutWalk Minneapolis Committee
In other words, hell hath no fury like...
Colour me amused and feeling particularly fierce!
I read all the stuff about ‘SlutWalk Minneapolis’ that is out there on the internets. I use Google Reader to pull articles and I read them all. Some of them are very positive and they make me smile. I often comment a ‘thank you!’ to those.
And then we had an article that was so totally not cool, it had me catching my...
New invite up on Facebook!!! Yae!! :)
Hi everyone!
Please spread the word that we have the official new invite up on Facebook for everyone to RSVP to for the Walk.
Here’s the link to the new Invite: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149784915098195
We look forward to seeing you at the Walk! :)
SlutWalk Minneapolis Committee
Freedom of Expression! Not Freedom of "asking for...
Here’s a post from another of our awesome men allies. Check it out!
If a woman dresses provocatively in public, is she “asking for it?” ABSOLUTELY NOT! She is showcasing herself as a sexual being. And THAT is worth applauding! For too long we’ve condemned women into a rather ugly double bind. Slut or Whore.
We’ve defined women who want something in exchange for...
June 2011
6 posts
To all our Tumblr followers....
Ya’ll are freaking amazing!
I’ve taken a peek at your tumblrs and oh my god…the talent and the rawness and the REALness.
You rock.
And you’re following US. Holy mackerel! We’re so honoured.
Now, I feel like I should get dressed all fancy whenever I sit down to write a blog for SlutWalk Minneapolis, cos I feel like I need to be…oh, hell….I’ll...
Still processing this...
So I have been a busy bee the past couple of days, and not in a good way.
I knew the time would come when trolls would grace us with their presence on the SlutWalk Minneapolis page and invite Walls, and say whatever was on their minds.
Well, folks, the time is now, and it has been quite the experience. I knew there’d be pushback on the word ‘slut’. I knew that people would...
Internalizing the good...working on it!
Yesterday morning, before I went to Pride, I had a flashback to one of my rapes.
I laid in bed, gripping the sides tightly (it helps to keep me in the *here* and not so much in the then), and endured what I would say was one crappy movie trailer.
It is, thankfully, more like watching a movie trailer now. The ‘highlights’ of the rape, as opposed to going from beginning to end, with...
PRIDE!!! Yeah, baby! :)
Today was a magnificent day. Not just cos it was Pride celebration, here in Minneapolis. Not just cos the state of New York made gay marriage legal. It was awesome in so many ways, so let’s start from the top!
Thanks to traffic and to my own misguided sense of direction, I arrived at the Dunn Bros. coffee shop later than I was supposed to, fliers in hand. Waiting for me were three lovely...
T shirts for SlutWalk Minneapolis are available!
I can’t tell you how excited I am about this.
One of our wonderful SlutWalk Minneapolis supporters has set up a site where you can order an official SlutWalk Minneapolis t shirt…there are two choices, and both are awesome!
Half of the profits goes towards funding SlutWalk Minneapolis, and the other half goes to SlutWalk Minneapolis’ co sponsor, Minnesota NOW. Caroline, who is...
On Being a Male SlutWalker
If you go back several entries on this blog to one that was posted on May 15, you’ll notice that it was said that four committee members would be contributing to this blog. One of those names is Thomas. That’s me. Yes, I am a man on the committee of an event called SlutWalk Minneapolis. I know it’s not that unusual for a man to participate in a SlutWalk, and I’d like to...
What's been going on thus far...
Hi everyone!
I thought it would be a good idea to let you know what’s been going on with the planning of the SlutWalk Minneapolis.
I apologize for any frustration, anger, and confusion you might be feeling, as we haven’t posted a lot of “concrete” information.
Here’s the deal, lads.
We won’t post anything unless it’s rock solid, absofragginlutely...
Thank you!
Thank you for reading this blog.
Thank you for adding this blog to your read list.
Thank you for posting posts that you really like on your OWN blog.
We are humbly appreciative of each and every one of you.
Slutwalk Minneapolis Committee
May 2011
15 posts
The cake is a lie.
When I told my male friends that I was organizing a SlutWalk in Minneapolis, I had many different reactions. Some of my friends were like, ‘cool! More power to you!’ and others were like, ‘Ok…are you going to be safe?’ and others were like, ‘What??!! Why would you do that??’
Another snapshot: reading a comment on another blog about the SlutWalks in...
My Wish List
….is that the Slut Walk Minneapolis would be all inclusive - gender inclusive of men, non-binary, trans*, genderqueer, everyone.
My wish list...
I had to think about this for a little bit, because I know my last post was a bit of ranting and some flailing about…but hopefully, what I wanted to get across was this: let’s not be about us vs. them and talking AT us. Let’s be about talking WITH us, and knowing that we are on the same side.
Honestly, I want that communication because it’s only going to make the Walk that...
Round two! *ding ding*
Dealing with network executives is like being nibbled to death by ducks.- Eric Sevareid
But this .. this, this, this is like being nibbled to death by .. what are those Earth creatures called? Feathers, long bill, webbed feet .. go ‘quack’?” “Cats.” “Cats. I’m being nibbled to death by cats.”- Exchange between Ambassador Londo Mollari and his...
White supremacy and the Walk...
I’m going to start out by saying I’m not in the best headspace right now.
I am, frankly, bone tired. I work, go to school full time, and right now, things are going at a very fast pace. That’s OK…but I’m exhausted physically, and mentally, I’m kinda fuzzy, and emotionally…well, that will be a post for another time.
So, I’m going to write about...
riahrahrah asked: Can you please enable anon questions. I have something I'd like to submit about this slutwalk that is too personal for me to put my name.
A rose by any other name...
One of the biggest contention points with SlutWalk is not the Walk part. It’s the S word.
If anyone has been keeping up on the news, the media has gone wild over the title, frothing at the whole “SLUT!!!” whoa…did I just say that? Yeah, I did! “SLUT!!!” *giggle*
*sigh*
Here’s the thing, lads.
I understand that people are equating using the word...
Why you should walk with us...
Hi there. :)
I’ve been reading the blogs from the other Satellite cities, and I’ve also been following the debates about the SlutWalks.
There are a number of great items pointed out, which were unintentionally not thought out thoroughly enough, and there were some assumptions that people had about the nature of these Walks.
I have to plead leniency ahead of time, when it comes to...
Just so you know...
One of the items we discussed at the Committee meeting was about writing in this blog.
Up to this point, one of us has been writing, but we think it’s a good idea to have the Committee members write as they can, so that there is a diversity of voices speaking in this blog.
We will sign our names at the end of the post, so you know who is writing.
As of now, the following Committee...
Exciting stuff accomplished today!
Hi everyone!
We had the first meeting of the SlutWalk Minneapolis Committee and boy oh boy, was it fun! We were able to talk about a number of items, make some crucial decisions, and get the ball really rolling on the Walk.
We clarified our Mission Statement for the SlutWalk. We wanted to be crystal clear what our intentions and goals are, and we spent a great deal of time discussing and...
eh-paz asked: Do you have a response to this http://tothecurb.wordpress.com/2011/05/13/slutwalk-a-stroll-through-white-supremacy/ ?
This is a serious issue, in intention of the movement, and which communities this walk seeks to represent.
This is a serious issue, in intention of the movement, and which communities this walk seeks to represent.
In the wise words of Obi-Wan Kenobi...
“the many truths you cling to depend greatly upon your point of view…”—Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi
There has been many discussions about the responsibility of rape. To take another famous Star Wars quote: “your lack of faith is disturbing.” Or, in other words, what?
It’s well known that there are plenty of people who believe that if a woman wears seductive...
