Feminist Self-defense: No God! No Master!

[sam]

Found this during my bi-monthly sojourn into the manarchist land of Portland Indymedia and thought it worth sharing.

http://portland.indymedia .org/en/2008/06/376435.shtml?discuss

* El Libertario published in its 51st edition (Venezuela, Novermber - Dicember 2007) a text compilation that expresses important aspects of what anarchism proposes may be done to face the growing problem of gender violence.

This society bases itself on a sexual hierarchy that socializes women in fear, consent, obedience, adaptation-resignation and total surrender to others. The assumption of this submission has devastating effects on our self esteem, and makes us blame ourselves for the discomfort and the frustration that we feel in our lives. Whether we assume these roles or we fight against them, we feel guilty, and that's were the trick is. This feeling provokes certain attitudes of passivity and victimization that blocks our rage, so necessary for change. The obedience to some forced roles lead to failure.

To fight against this obedience that kills our autonomy, alienates and forbids us to defend ourselves at the same time it favors the established social order, we propose the feminist self-defense which consists of the following:

- To be aware of how fear and submission has built up in our lives will let us build our confidence, physical and emotional self-esteem, and the security us women have, both collectively and personally, to face a system that ignores and submits our lives to patriarchal and capitalist interests. By "physical self-esteem" we mean the recovery and application of the tools our bodies supply us through work out (constant or specific), that will let us to respond to an attack when this one suggests a threat to our physical integrity. This self-esteem generates the confidence and security in ourselves that will allow us to be calm, situate ourselves and decide with clarity how to react to a situation in the best possible way, because it's not always necessary to have physical confrontation. Besides, this will provide us with the emotional comfort to break the established physical barriers.

- To adopt an attitude that prevents, protects and allows an answer to violence. To acknowledge fear and accept it, liberates anger and prepares us for action. Therefore we claim for rebelliousness as the mechanism of protection and action necessary to step up against anything that threatens us.

- Mutual support. We cannot trust or rely that the institutions (judges, police officers, soldiers, politicians... ) will resolve patriarchal violence because they are the ones that practice it, need it and legitimize it. The moral and legal authority blames the victim (rape, harassment, abuse... ), criminalizes liberties (abortion... ) and forbids freedom in our own lives. From personal and collective conscience as women in this society, we want to overcome individualism and develop mutual support as a way to relate to one another. Because we look for ways that offer a more efficient resistance, as well as a creative organization of or intense realities.

- Feminist, distinguishing it from the feminine self-defense that limits itself to self-defense without affronting or questioning the cause of such violence.

Against patriarchal terrorism... Feminist self-defense!!!

[This was extracted from Spanish publication MUJERES PREOKUPANDO, Valencia, 2004]

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º Ideas you can use when you're walking alone in the streets or find yourself in any situation that makes you feel insecure or threatened:

You can always carry any self-defense object such as PEPPER SPRAY. When this Spray is applied over the eyes, it causes momentary blindness. It's sold in a variety of laces, and it usually comes in a spray bottle so small it easily fits your pocket and it has a security button that controls whether the gas can be sprayed or not. The spray is very effective but it can be very dangerous if it is not used with the necessary precautions for its effective use. Never use the pepper spray indoors or when the wind blows against you, because the gas expands 10 feet around and it can harm you. When you're going to apply it, fully extend your arm so you reach close to the aggressor's eyes and move away from the place. If you have to remain there, use a handkerchief to cover your nose and mouth so you don't inhale the gas. Do not show it, pull it out just when you're sure you'll use the spray it, because the aggressor might use it against you if he notices you're carrying one. If you plan on advising someone about the use of pepper spray never forget to mention this information.

With a STICK or an EMPTY BOTTLE in hand, angry drivers and pedestrians fear for their security and their car's, because they can suppose you're drunk.

Ride a BIKE. Riding a bike gives us a sense of autonomy and because it doesn't pollute the air it provides us with good health. Besides, there's a huge difference between going through a place alone at night walking and in a bike. You can always go by places you feel are insecure faster when you're riding a bike.

KEYS. If you have to hit the aggressor, hold the keys with you closed fist and place one of them between the middle finger and the ring finger so that it sticks out.

SCREAMING. Don't ever be embarrassed to ridicule your aggressor exposing him in public and making people notice that he's bothering you.

SCREAMING, FIRE! If we ask for help common sense is very cruel to women y usually we don't receive any help. Fire generally awakes more curiosity en people and the fear of some of their property burning makes them react and help quicker.

If you find yourself in an abuse situation in a car that's running KEP YOUR WINDOW A LITTLE OPEN. When facing any violent situation you can open the glove box in front of the front seat and take all the legal documents and threaten to throw them out of the car. You can also use these documents as a source of information about your aggressor so you can denounce hem. Another place where these papers are usually kept s in the back of the seat mirror of the front seat and in the pocket on the driver's door.

If you plan to hitchhiking, never go out with a pocket knife under your sleeve, which the police could easily assume to be part of camping equipment.

MAKE UP AN STD. when the aggressor begins to talk to you about sex and becomes persistent and insinuating about it, you can tell him that since you got ill you do not have sexual intercourse with anyone, and probably, because of prejudices, ignorance and social exclusion towards people who have STD's, the aggressor will no longer talk to you about that subject, and will be afraid to touch you.

º To different kinds or aggressions, different reactions.

If you know the attacker:
-Say NO!
-Don't stay still or silent while you're being abused. If you can't do anything because you're afraid of being hit o simply because something inside paralyzes you, at least be aware of what's happening to you.
-Don't shut. Even if it's crying, make the aggressor know what's on your mind, that what he's doing to you is wrong.
-Find someone to talk to that you trust. You are not guilty or have any responsibility. You did not provoke what's going on, the abuser should be the one who feels guilt and shame.

Nobody deserves to be abused of.

-There is no motive that justifies the aggressor actions.
-Silence or trying to forget that you were abused, are not a solution. On the contrary, not bringing the pain, guilt, shame and anger out of your body and mind will only get you sick.
-Don't think this will be the last time, don't give your aggressor another opportunity. Violence is a form of communication that once it begins to be used, will not stop. So give it up as a way to communicate yourself.

If you do not know the aggressor and your in public:
-Screaming fire (in most cases asking for help is not useful, so instead screaming fire will awake more fear and curiosity in people that are nearby. This was explained further in the beginning of the text).
-You can always ring the bells of houses around you, go inside nearby stores or pretend that you know someone that's walking by at that moment by saying hello or simply beginning a conversation.
-if your not left with any other option but to punch who's attacking you, try to aim for areas n the body that hurt a lot, or won't let him/her move and may even provoke fainting. These places are:
- The testicles (kicking them with your foot, knee or simply punching them)
- The eyes (stabbing something in them... )
- The Adam's apple (punching it, hitting it with your elbow, or pushing it inside with your fingers.)
- The ears (hitting with both your fists at the same time, biting them... )
- The Nose (punching it upwards, biting it, stabbing it with some object or simply shoving something up... )

If you feel that you're being harmed, any reaction is valid. From running, screaming, and punching to even intoxicating the person that's molesting you. Choose the way that's more effective and suitable for you. Be conscious that violence can carry itself to extremes that your life or the other person's life is in danger.

[Taken from the Self-defense for women brochure, available (in Spanish) at El Libertario's text section at the website http://www.nodo50.org/ellibertario]

[MaggieH]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing this, Sam.

[delphyne]

Thank you for posting this Sam. I like the way it places violence and self-defence in a political context.

We're conditioned women as to be silent and allow things to happen to us, something that actually goes against our animals instincts (although it is possible to freeze) so I think an article like this with alternative suggestions is very helpful. Being prepared to shout very loudly and not worry about the social consequences is actually quite a useful skill as is being willing to run away before a situation gets even more scary or threatening. I've also done the ringing bells thing when I've been followed. It's better than being attacked.

[delphyne]

I see the article is getting a negative response at IBTP. This might be the unspoken guide for posting anything at that forum:

Perhaps I would be less offended by the "suggestions" (albeit I still agree that they are a bad idea) if they were more tentative

Women! Equivocate! Never state your opinions strongly lest you offend someone! Jeez.

It's funny, the times where I have had to defend myself, not too directly but to frighten off predators who were circling, I've had to be quite unequivocal in my reaction. I once had to pretend I was basically bonkers to scare off two men who were joking and leering at me on an empty train carriage and were clearly thinking about taking it one step further. I made them back off and leave me alone. It feels like the strength I have to express my opinions and the strength I had to protect myself never minding any social reaction like "she's mad" (in fact making them think I was mad was what protected me) came from exactly the same place.

Very good point over there about women being told to give in to rape so they "don't get hurt", being a complete lack of acknowledgement that being raped is a very big hurt, Sam. Patriarchal thinking is insiduous.

[elfeminista]

Recently i have seen Women i n the NYC subway acting very belligerent and aggressive as if they were testosterone fueled crazy males. I don't know what this means, but it bothered me that I am seeing more women acting insulting and pushing and menacing people.

I think martial arts training is good because it gives people physical capability and at the same time self control.

weapons can be good if handled properly. I could see attackers skewered by women using medieval weapons.

[sam]

delphyne, obviously I share your opinion. The trained passivity of women is a huge problem. It's the same manipulated emotion that makes us feel bad for saying "no" even in nonthreatening contexts. Women have to learn how to say "no" in so many situations where we currently suck it up until the suppressed anger and resentment chews our bodies from the inside.

Here's my slightly modified post and some pertinent info from a book I posted there.

**

The advice might possibly go down better with some hedging. Cautious language has its uses and shouldn't be wholly derided as "women's speech" just because women use it more, but the spirit of the essay is a radical call-to-arms against women socialized to accept men's abuse so using hedges would be tend to seem somewhat off theme.

We certainly can know something of how attackers respond to various reactions. It is not necessary to qualify that every attacker will not react the same way, but learning trends can save lives. From the book The Female Fear comes this information:

p. 120

Rape may be especially fear-inducing because of the widespread belief that it is nearly always linked to gratuitous violence (in addition to the rape itself), and that it is nearly impossible to resist successfully. Both of these positions reflect media coverage but are contrary to fact. The statistical profile of rape derived from the National Crime Survey indicates that despite the common presence of more than one offender or the use of a weapon, most victims actively resist or attempt to escape.1

Two recent studies comparing women who were raped with those who managed to deflect an attack found that successful resisters were those who from the moment they realized they might be in danger used a combination of self-protective strategies, for example, physical resistance, screaming, and trying to flee, and the like.2 Active, forceful fighting at the onset of an attack rather than passive pleading or screaming appears to be more successful in warding off attackers.3 In addition to thwarting the assault, resistance appears to help many women preserve their self-esteem and lessen the psychological damage done by rape.4 However, in the presence of weapons such as knives or guns, such struggling may be ill advised, so it is unwise to advocate any specific action as the best for all situations.

A third study of four thousand cases of rape survivors in the National Crime Survey data from 1973-1979 differentiates between forceful (hitting, kicking) and nonforceful (screaming, running) resistance in stranger-to-stranger rapes and robberies.5 In those cases, too, women who resisted were much more likely to avoid being raped than nonresisters. "Women who resisted without force (e.g., screaming) were least likely to be raped and nonforceful resistance had little effect on the risk of injury...However, women who forcefully resisted were 24% more likely than those who offered no resistance to be injured." Most of the injuries take the form of bruises, cuts, scratches, and black eyes, rather than more severe stabbings or capricious beatings that most women imagine.

1. Hindelang and Davis 1972; McDermott 1979; Block and Skogan 1982.
2. Bart 1981; Bart and O'Brien 1985; McIntyre, Myint, and Curtis 1979.
3. Bart 1981; Sanders 1980; see also Carter, Prentky, and Burgess 1988.
4. Janoff-Bulman 1979; Sanders 1980.
5. Block and Skogan 1982. This study excluded persons killed in the course of their attacks.

[sam]

I'm a nonfiction writer who occasionally forays into poetry. Sometimes I think about trying my hand at fiction because I've been inspired by feminist writers who can distill complex emotions into a story, but it's not a compulsion that flows organically and I won't settle for the mediocrity that results from forcing the muse.

That's why I was so happy to see the following fiction clip from Nicola Griffith's book Always posted by Amy at Feminist Reprise. Just as news stories are often "hooked" on an individual who personifies the larger issue in order to make it more human-seeming than statistics allow, fictional personalities created by a skilled writer can humanize facts.

http://www.feminist-reprise.org/wpblog/ ... for-women/

“Could you kill someone to save yourself?” Therese said.

“Yes.”

“You sound very sure.”

“If you decide to hurt someone to save yourself, you need to commit to it completely.”

“Do or don’t do, there is no try,” Nina said in a Yoda voice.

“Something like that,” I said over the nervous laughter. “But about whether or not learning this is necessary, think of all the other things you learn that you’ll probably never need. Like fire drills. It’s unlikely that you’ll ever need to scramble from your workplace at three in the afternoon because of a massive fire, but you learn the procedure just in case.” But fires weren’t directed personally at their target, they didn’t sneer and call you bitch, and if you got burnt, your friends didn’t think it was your fault. Women weren’t reared from infancy to fear fire.

“So,” I said, “the knee, the eye, the throat. The knee is a good target, difficult to protect against one of those kicks we just learnt. The eye is extremely vulnerable.” Tonya made a pecking motion. “The throat is more complicated. There are two targets. The larynx, or voice box, which you can feel if you tilt your head up and run your finger down your windpipe until you feel a bump, your Adam’s apple…It’s easier to find on a man. If you hit that bump hard it will fracture and swell. The windpipe closes.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Pauletta said.

“It is.”

Easy did not mean fast or clean. Suffocation takes minutes, and when the victim clutches at his swelling throat it grates, like a knife point dragging along a brick wall.

“It sounds easy, but how many of you think you could do it?”

They looked at one another.

“You need to know you can do it. You need to know it will work. We ended last week with Christie saying that feminine means vulnerable. And that’s what we’re told, yes, but here’s a question. If an average man attacks a woman, intending to rape her, what do you think will happen if she struggles?”

“It’ll just make things worse,” Jennifer said. “He’ll get mad and hurt you worse.”

“No, not according to Justice Department statistics. Their latest available figures say that women fight off unarmed rapists successfully seventy-two percent of the time.”

They were quiet.

“But what if he has a knife?” Jennifer again.

“Then she’ll fight him off fifty-eight percent of the time.”

“A gun?”

“Fifty-one percent.”

“More than fifty percent, even with a gun?”

“Even with a gun. Government statistics.” The media wouldn’t say that, though, because fear is what sells papers and commercial spots. “And we’re talking about untrained, unarmed women. Even before you set foot in this class the odds were in your favor; if you fight back, you’ll probably win. Most stranger attackers, even serious ones who have planned their attack extensively, rely on the attack being fast and quiet. An attacker will watch you: read your body language. Depending on the situation they will test you, to see how easy you’ll be: they’ll spin some story about needing your help. They’ll flatter you, flirt with you. They imply that you’re being unreasonable or not nice or impolite or illogical. You have been brought up–programmed, if you like–to respond to these suggestions.”

“Those fuckers,” said Suze.

“You have been trained to seek approval, to please, to not draw attention to yourselves. It’s powerful training. Don’t underestimate it. I can teach you to snap spines with your bare feet, to break free of a stranglehold, to fracture a larynx with the side of your hand, but if you’re too worried about a stranger’s disapproval to even tell him you want to sit by yourself on a park bench, you won’t be able to use any of it…”

“People who lie expertly with their words give themselves away with their bodies. And your body knows that. It’s a language clearer than English. If words and actions conflict, believe the body…So next time you’re in a situation like that, ask yourself what you’d do if it was your daughter sitting there, or your frail, elderly mother. If you’d be willing to risk embarrassment for their sake, why not your own? And then ask yourself this: what’s the worst-case scenario if I act on my belief?”

“You’re totally wrong and end up feeling like a dork,” Christie said.

“Right. But then ask yourself: what’s the worst-case scenario if I don’t act on my belief?”

Silence, then “Huh,” said Pauletta.

I nodded. “Right. I end up dead.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Katherine said, “like it was a…a…”

“Cost-benefit analysis,” Tonya said.

“That’s what it is. When you go home tonight, get out your list and add another column: Feeling like a dork. Compare that to how it would feel to be dead, or be raped, or having both arms broken, or your cat tortured or your car stolen, and make some decisions.”