6.25.2009

For those of you in the Foggy Bottom area...

Here is some information on a self defense class that was given to us... sign up if you have a chance!

Hi all! Hope you are well. Here are few updates. --Lauren

Here's what you'll find below

Workshop for LGBTQI people is THIS Saturday...
Then one for teens going to college ...
Check out the workshops for the fall: Middle-Schoolers & Moms; Guns, Knives & More; and Intro for Women/Girls 16+
Where we've been
"I said no and I am proud"
Thought-provoking news

Self-defense basics for the LGBTQI community
Join us to learn: How to prevent and avoid harassment, attack, and abuse...How to stop a threatening situation with words...Moves to use against common attacks. We'll address the range of situations you might encounter, including hate crimes and abusive relationships.

Saturday, June 27, 11 am - 2 pm
For anyone who identifies as LGBTQI or an ally, ages 18 and up
Downtown DC at MCC (Metropolitan Community Church) (near Mt. Vernon Square/Convention Center on the Yellow and Green Lines)
$37 before June 19, $43 after. Sign up with a friend/family member and get $5 off each

Get ready for college: Self-defense for rising high school seniors and first-year college students

We'll address the range of situations you might encounter, including unwanted sexual attention (including rape), and use of alcohol/drugs and technology to violate boundaries.

Saturday, August 1, 1-4 pm
In Bethesda near Cedar Lane
$39 before July 15, $57 after. Sign up with a friend/family member and get $5 off each

Coming up

Intro to self defense for middle-schoolers (and moms): a Saturday in September
Guns, knives, and more (for those who have taken some self defense): a Saturday in October
Intro to self defense (for women and girls 16+): a Sunday in November

You can now pay for classes with Paypal. For more info or to register, contact me at 301-608-3708 or lauren@defendyourself.org. Limited scholarships for low-income people.

Where we've been

Some of the places we've presented in the past few months:

Achievers Club/Rockville Community Center
Akridge
Black Gay Pride Town Hall on Intimate Partner Violence
Discovery Communications
Go Girls!/ YMCA Youth & Family Services
SISTERS/Family Support Center (several elementary, middle, and high schools in Montgomery County and DC)
Teen Life Clubs/Children's Hospital
Temple Shalom
WIN (Women's Information Network)/Women Opening Doors for Women
World Bank
Younger Women's Task Force

Did you know Defend Yourself offers customized workshops? We will come to your workplace, community group, gathering of family/friends, Girl Scout troop, bowling or book club... you name it! The workshop can be as short or long as you like, and located conveniently for you.

No comments:

Post a Comment

You CAN handle the truth:

"Violence is but one means by which men as a class enforce conformity of women as a class. Moreover, it is not necessary for all men to engage in violence against women, since the very threat of violent censure is constantly with women. Violence against women, then, is indeed a "classic" form of hate crime, since it too terrorizes the collective by victimizing the individual. In so doing, hate crime against women reaffirms the priviledge and superiority of the male perpetrator with respect to the female victim" (Perry "In the Name of Hate," 2001:83).

"Harassment becomes a frequent response to women's invasion of male bastions. It is a means to simultaneously create a particular masculinity and enforce a particular exclusive femininity...Men often perceived sexual harassment of women as a well-deserved response to their economic and professional advances. Their encroachment into male realms interferes with, indeed calls into question, men's ability to prove themselves to be men" (Perry "In the Name of Hate," 2001:91).

"Sexual Harassment allows for the reassertion of masculinity and femininity, and especially the 'natural' differences between the two...it reassures men that they are at once heterosexual and empowered, and [reminds] the women that they are sexual objects." Many women do not report harassment and simply stay away from the harasser/place of harassment instead of seeking out justice (Perry "In the Name of Hate," 2001:91).

"'Prejudice' is a hostile attitude directed specifically toward the members of an outgroup" (Jack Levin, "The Violence of Hate," Page 1)

"Gender-motivated violence is a mechanism that perpetuates the marginalization of women, gay men and lesbians. Moreover, gender motivated hate crime also provides a very useful resource for doing gender, especially for accomplishing hegemonic masculinity." (Barbara Perry, "In the Name of Hate," Page 5)

A bit radical but still resonates truth: "From prehistoric times to the present...rape has played a critical function. It is nothing more or less than a conscious process of intimidation by which all men keep all women in a state of fear." (Brownmiller 1975:14-15 in McPhail, B. (2002) in Perry, "Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader," Page 267)

"Although not all women are raped, most women fear rape. (Gordon & Riger, 1989). Women alter their daily lives in numerous ways to avoid the violent behavior of men. Choundas (1995) noted, 'While potential victims of racial, ethnic, or religious violence might attempt to avoid certain neighborhoods in which prejudice might run particularly rampant, women remain safe from street harassment and violent assault only by straying out of those areas known as public' (pp1090-1091). And yet, even in "private," women are not safe from the hands of intimate partners. Again, this intimate relationship often cloaks the reality of the violence" (McPhail, B. (2002) in Perry, "Hate and Bias Crime: A Reader," p271).