Take Back the Night? First Take Back the WRC

The evening of Saturday, December 4, a Take Back the Night rally sponsored by the Women's Resource Center is scheduled on the SLU campus. Strangely, the event will feature a banner made by the massively homophobic and anti-abortion (as anyone privy to their list-serv knows) MASV ("Men Against Sexual Violence"-- a bold stand for those young Christian knights. Perhaps they could next be convinced to condemn child abuse or something equally controversial).

The march after the event will feature chanting around campus. However, the groups will not approach any fraternity houses or even bars, both sites of likely sexually assault. Why? The party-loving co-eds of the Women's Resource Center wanted to keep the event "non-political." Indeed, the rally neglects (well, worse than "neglects"-- see below) that the right to abortion/privacy should be counted among the rights afforded to women.

The Women's Resource Center rejected a speaker for the event, declaring her "too political." The speaker, an employee of Planned Parenthood, wanted only to briefly lecture on reproductive rights in light of the younger Bush's reelection. (Or perhaps his first election.)

When we first wrote about this, many WRC "feminists" were extremely upset. For any readers new to the issue, we can gladly provide the following links to our articles tracking the controversy:

Women's Resource Center? Define "Resource"

Recent Challenge to Reproductive Rights

A Reply to My Critics-- Part I

A Reply to My Critics-- Part II-- When Did Feminism Become "Politically Neutral"?

We encourage all our readers to attend the rally and remind the ladies of the Women's Resource Center that the lack of abortion rights (to use our more accurate term, "forced pregnancy") is a brutal form of sexual violence featuring a 6-9 pound object being forced out of a woman's vagina without her consent, indeed a very bloody act.

Wear your "Roe v. Wade" shirts, make signs reading "Forced Pregnancy = Sexual Violence" and do whatever you might to make the rally attendants understand that the right to abortion is an integral part of the continued campaign against sexual violence. It is sad that the students of the Women's Resource Center, ostensibly the SLU home of feminist politics, so deeply kowtow to the religious Right.

After this, our dear readers, please march and chant around the frats and bars.

Update (12/4/04, 1:15 p.m.)--
Dear radicalfeminist--

Have I mentioned how ironic your name is? I laugh every time I see it.

By listing off the "accomplishments" of the WRC, you've made my point for me. The whole of the WRC's contribution to campus has been to take the money they were given by the administration and give this money to people who wanted to go to Massachusetts and Washington.

You mention these trips regarding my "criticism that the WRC does not support education of abortion" (your clunky words). Quite the contrary. The WRC has always been willing to involve itself in the issue of reproductive rights, especially when the involvement features free vacations to Massachusetts and Washington.

I appreciate that the WRC is "working against an unreceptive community." (Listen, toots-- if you think you have it tough, try having the administration hold secret meetings to uncover your identity so they can expel you.) But I have yet to see any attempts "to educate the campus on a number of issues," unless you count WRC "Lock'n'Loads" and "White Trash" themed parties as education. Even your Take Back the Night programming panders to the lowest common denominator of the religious Right.

Speaking of which, MASV is donating a banner to the Take Back the Night rally. Did you have to assure them you wouldn't mention anything about abortion? The fact that the WRC does not consider forced pregnancy to be sexual violence and backs away from any (even potential) controversy about reproductive rights suggests that you ladies would play very nicely with the contrite little virgins of MASV. Maybe the two groups can have a dance together and then go steady and exchange class rings and kiss on the lips without any tongue. And if any controversy does arise, you can always bury yourself in your boyfriend's letter jacket.

Call me when you learn what it means to be a feminist.
--CE