Everything You Need to Know about That's What SHE Said!:
The Name of the blog
I chose That's What SHE Said as the name for my blog because it can be taken two ways:
I am a woman who is saying something. Something about sexuality. Something about gender. Something about culture, theology, and the church. I write from my own social location, having been enculturated as a thin, blonde, white female Christian in the United States of America. I write to connect the dots between beliefs about women and behaviors toward women.
Assumptions & Scope
That's What SHE Said! operates on the assumption that objectification, marginalization, sexual harassment, exploitation, and rape of women is unacceptable in every sphere, and should be particularly unacceptable to those who embrace the ethics of the Kin-dom of God. It is an artistic format that gives voice (my voice) to responses to systems of gender-based oppression. My posts tend to relate to one of the following areas:
Methodology
Writing is art. Art demands a response from the reader. Llike a stranger who brazenly squares her face in front of yours and hawks a loogey all over it, or like a lover who silently tip-toes up behind you and ever-so-gently makes the silky hairs on your neck dance under his blow, art is an experience that evokes response.
I employ a number of genres in my writing, including free verse poetry, slam poetry, spoken word, limerick, theological reflection, essay, and satire. My art space is honest and confrontational. If it makes you mad, offended, or causes you to cry, think, laugh, or question, then it has served its purpose.
Because the subject of sexual violence against women and gender-based oppression is, by nature, offensive and engenders a myriad of emotions, this blog is not for those who are not ready to hear from a woman’s perspective about what that feels like. I suppose most people would have no problem agreeing that anger is a natural response of a woman who has been, say, forcibly groped by a man. That would probably make anyone angry, fearful, and a number of other unpleasant emotions. What my blog does is give words to that anger (or fear, sadness, sense of injustice, etc.) through writing. The words I choose are neither haphazard, thoughtless, or careless, but very specifically chosen to convey how serious and offensive the issues at hand are.
The Swearing
Occasionally, I employ swear words in my writing. Typically, those swear words are directed at a sexual offender. The swear words often fall onto the page like a broken string of pearls dropping onto the floor. The swear words are angry. They are my knee-jerk response to experiencing sexual harassment or assault. I have never once cussed anyone out face-to-face. However, when a male sexually harasses me, I feel like doing so. The feeling is one of intense rage mingled with fear. I believe it is important for people to know how I, and many other women, feel in the terrifying, humiliating, and horrific moments of sexual assault/harassment/objectification. Those horrible actions cause horrible reactions, but we cannot denounce what we refuse to name. I may not remain in the land of angry swearing, but I must journey through it in order to get to the other side. We like to rush to the other side and gloss over or make vague our unpleasant and unbecoming responses so that we can come across as composed, articulate and empowered. This blog gives a space to linger in the unpleasant, name it, own it, and tell you about it.
I chose That's What SHE Said as the name for my blog because it can be taken two ways:
- Sexual connotation
- A woman has said something
I am a woman who is saying something. Something about sexuality. Something about gender. Something about culture, theology, and the church. I write from my own social location, having been enculturated as a thin, blonde, white female Christian in the United States of America. I write to connect the dots between beliefs about women and behaviors toward women.
Assumptions & Scope
That's What SHE Said! operates on the assumption that objectification, marginalization, sexual harassment, exploitation, and rape of women is unacceptable in every sphere, and should be particularly unacceptable to those who embrace the ethics of the Kin-dom of God. It is an artistic format that gives voice (my voice) to responses to systems of gender-based oppression. My posts tend to relate to one of the following areas:
- A call to end sex trafficking – “What I Am For” (July 2014); “Three Doors Down” (August 2014)
- Theological reflection – “Primogeniture and the 5 Landed Women of the Conquest / Joshua 17:3-6” (October 2014); “The First Blood Shed in Scripture” (March 2015); “The Women, Good Friday, & Paul McCartney” (April 2015)
- A call to end gender marginalization perpetrated by the Church – “My ministry has a public policy that I do not dine alone with a woman, even very public settings” (June 2014); “Breasts, Chapel, & Shirtless Man Running” (September 2014)
- A call to end sexual harassment and violence against women in the culture at large – “Slate Grey Chevrolet: A Slam Poem” (May 2014); “My Rapist—reader discretion advised” (February 2015); “Occupying Public Space” (August 2015)
Methodology
Writing is art. Art demands a response from the reader. Llike a stranger who brazenly squares her face in front of yours and hawks a loogey all over it, or like a lover who silently tip-toes up behind you and ever-so-gently makes the silky hairs on your neck dance under his blow, art is an experience that evokes response.
I employ a number of genres in my writing, including free verse poetry, slam poetry, spoken word, limerick, theological reflection, essay, and satire. My art space is honest and confrontational. If it makes you mad, offended, or causes you to cry, think, laugh, or question, then it has served its purpose.
Because the subject of sexual violence against women and gender-based oppression is, by nature, offensive and engenders a myriad of emotions, this blog is not for those who are not ready to hear from a woman’s perspective about what that feels like. I suppose most people would have no problem agreeing that anger is a natural response of a woman who has been, say, forcibly groped by a man. That would probably make anyone angry, fearful, and a number of other unpleasant emotions. What my blog does is give words to that anger (or fear, sadness, sense of injustice, etc.) through writing. The words I choose are neither haphazard, thoughtless, or careless, but very specifically chosen to convey how serious and offensive the issues at hand are.
The Swearing
Occasionally, I employ swear words in my writing. Typically, those swear words are directed at a sexual offender. The swear words often fall onto the page like a broken string of pearls dropping onto the floor. The swear words are angry. They are my knee-jerk response to experiencing sexual harassment or assault. I have never once cussed anyone out face-to-face. However, when a male sexually harasses me, I feel like doing so. The feeling is one of intense rage mingled with fear. I believe it is important for people to know how I, and many other women, feel in the terrifying, humiliating, and horrific moments of sexual assault/harassment/objectification. Those horrible actions cause horrible reactions, but we cannot denounce what we refuse to name. I may not remain in the land of angry swearing, but I must journey through it in order to get to the other side. We like to rush to the other side and gloss over or make vague our unpleasant and unbecoming responses so that we can come across as composed, articulate and empowered. This blog gives a space to linger in the unpleasant, name it, own it, and tell you about it.