In Response to “Activism and Self-Promotion”: I was extremely frustrated as I read Ben Gitkind’s article in the Voice this week, and find myself passionately sitting down to write a response immediately. I have been actively considering the so-called “women’s issues” for many years as a feminist, and even longer simply as a woman. I was hugely impressed with the way Vinnie Angel, a man, was able to talk about menstruation so comfortably that I didn’t have to blush and squirm. I think it is nearly impossible for any guy to understand the significance of this feeling for me.
As Vinnie said (I quote from memory), “menstruation is the lowest form – guys can talk about pooping, but not a woman’s period.”
The question of why he did not address the issue of sexual assault more directly is certainly a valid one, but Vinnie’s answer made a world of sense to anyone who has ever tried to have an HONEST conversation about these issues with someone who is not an elite liberal arts college student already expecting a “dialogue.”
Vinnie, a self-proclaimed “guy’s guy,” knew that putting a grand issue name to his effort would automatically close the ears of people who don’t want to hear it, or felt they already had.
“If women and men can talk honestly about menstruation, maybe somewhere down the line we will be able to talk openly about sexual violence” (again, a paraphrase). You make think you can already do this, Ben, but if you can, you are among a very very slim minority of men AND women who can. Most women who have been assaulted are ashamed to even tell someone, let alone discuss it.
The fact that Vinnie is now making some profit off of his art and his efforts should not negate the great thing he has begun. He is an artist by profession, and not all artists have to starve. I would gladly pay $5 for a true conversation, and I admired Vinnie because he was a MAN speaking about things that I as a woman don’t always have the courage to discuss.
Through humor and art and sincerity, he connected with me and gave me a feeling of hope and empowerment as I left the room.
I don’t believe I am the only one who felt this way.
