The topic this week was ‘SL protest: is it effective?’
We first shared experiences we had of being involved in SL protests and what we felt had been achieved.
These experiences ranged from demonstrations over the bombing of Gaza to a protest against a contents thief.
Plot Tracer has written an article for the RL journal Red Pepper which includes details of protests carried out by SLLU and comments on their effectiveness.
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Left-unity-in-Second-Life
Some of the observations and questions :-
:it seems to be important to have a clear objective
:getting attention in RL seems to be a key
: I wonder . . . is it more important to be disruptive?
: or more effective to be imaginative?
:maybe disruptive enough just to get attention but not enough to be considered harassment?
: just the feeling of being able to do something with likeminded people may be enough
:not feeling like a lone voice in the wilderness can help prepare you for further action sometimes too
:a tool to get info out
: also about recruitment
There was a view that the other thing sl can be great for is getting info out to a large blogging community which can then get picked up more widely and that new media gives us lots of opportunities for awareness raising. We discussed the special opportunities offered by sl e.g. being able to create whole ‘theme parks’ or virtual museums
(We were diverted into an interesting discussion about the offer made to the woman who had recently given birth to 8 babies being made an offer to work in the porn industry.
http://www.womanist-musings.com/2009/02/now-porn-comes-calling-for-nadaya.html
Which led to musings about whether women in sl working as ‘escorts’ should form a Union.)
When we discussed the possibility of protesting about the rape sims in SL the whole debate around this issue was aired again. There were genuine differences in views about how effective such a protest would be. There are also differing views about the freedom in sl to enact any sexual fantasy. (See notes of previous meetings for more on this debate)
While not all were keen on the idea of an actual protest at a rape sim there was agreement on the need to air the issue and to try to provide information on the emotional risks involved.
Scylla has done a lot of work and a great job drafting information for female newbies in the form of a Survival Kit. We discussed the best format for presenting this. Everyone is encouraged to add to and comment by going to:-
http://womensresourcehub.wetpaint.com/page/Survival+Kit
Oh and thanks to Ellie we now have a peaceful garden, should we add a hot tub?
We didn’t have time to agree a topic for next week but it is International Women’s Day. Maybe this could be our topic for the meeting on the 8th March at 12 noon SLT.
Showing posts with label action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label action. Show all posts
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Monday, 2 March 2009
Meeting 4 - Feminism
No topic was decided upon at previous meeting. A few suggestions were considered and we decided to opt for discussing feminism itself :)
To help start things off we watched the video linked to below, entitled 'What is feminism anyways':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3kk0kRD8C8
We spoke initially about perceptions of feminism and how the word -and it's true meaning - has been appropriated by, for example, right wing groups and is often perceived as a perjorative term.
Everyone in the group then had an opportunity to give insight into their journey/entry into feminism, which included:
discovering a name for something they had always known;
exploring alternatives to what was happening in our own lives;
experiences of inequality and discrimination - often in the workplace;
witnessing what women around us had been through;
dissatisfaction at life and options;
positive family influences;
through educational opportunities;
working in feminist organisations;
anger at injustice
Our words..
"..It was a gradual thing for me. I just realized nothing I was doing was for me and I was unhappy. And just seeing how much every woman I know has been through.."
'..I had to deal with "I can't hire you because you may get married and leave "...'
'..Those kind of things wake you up. I was told that they weren't sure about hiring me, they wanted to know if I had a responsible babysitter..
We spoke for a time about anger and how difficult that can be for women to express and how to try and use it positively. Some of us spoke of our wish not to be angry but to aim to work for consensus and cooperative working.
Some comments from the discussion:
"Anger as a motivator is good. As a modus operandi, it's probably counterproductive"
"i do not think it should be repressed more than anything if it is NOT a temper tantrum but logically and passionately presented"
The positive aspects of feminism in our lives were apparant:
"..powerful feminist role models"
"..I have been a NOW Chapter president for a number of years"
"..Not having to be a doormat.."
Some of us talked about the work we had been involved in as part of the women's movement, in Women's Shelters doing research, organiser for NOW groups, Women's Studies, Rape Crisis Centres.. Others talked of their desire to get more involved in feminist activism.
There was some consideration of how we might use the potential of SL to undertake activism, and utilise the possiblilites allowed by bringing women from all over the world together. It was noted that SL can be used to reinforce positive behaviours and practices, and that there are other social justice groups with whom we can work together. Following on from previous discussions about practical tasks (info kiosks etc) we can do here, we had a group member volunteer to start putting together a vendor with useful information/guides/support etc..
We ended by testing out some anti griefing toys (sending an unfortunate av into the skies!)
To help start things off we watched the video linked to below, entitled 'What is feminism anyways':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3kk0kRD8C8
We spoke initially about perceptions of feminism and how the word -and it's true meaning - has been appropriated by, for example, right wing groups and is often perceived as a perjorative term.
Everyone in the group then had an opportunity to give insight into their journey/entry into feminism, which included:
discovering a name for something they had always known;
exploring alternatives to what was happening in our own lives;
experiences of inequality and discrimination - often in the workplace;
witnessing what women around us had been through;
dissatisfaction at life and options;
positive family influences;
through educational opportunities;
working in feminist organisations;
anger at injustice
Our words..
"..It was a gradual thing for me. I just realized nothing I was doing was for me and I was unhappy. And just seeing how much every woman I know has been through.."
'..I had to deal with "I can't hire you because you may get married and leave "...'
'..Those kind of things wake you up. I was told that they weren't sure about hiring me, they wanted to know if I had a responsible babysitter..
We spoke for a time about anger and how difficult that can be for women to express and how to try and use it positively. Some of us spoke of our wish not to be angry but to aim to work for consensus and cooperative working.
Some comments from the discussion:
"Anger as a motivator is good. As a modus operandi, it's probably counterproductive"
"i do not think it should be repressed more than anything if it is NOT a temper tantrum but logically and passionately presented"
The positive aspects of feminism in our lives were apparant:
"..powerful feminist role models"
"..I have been a NOW Chapter president for a number of years"
"..Not having to be a doormat.."
Some of us talked about the work we had been involved in as part of the women's movement, in Women's Shelters doing research, organiser for NOW groups, Women's Studies, Rape Crisis Centres.. Others talked of their desire to get more involved in feminist activism.
There was some consideration of how we might use the potential of SL to undertake activism, and utilise the possiblilites allowed by bringing women from all over the world together. It was noted that SL can be used to reinforce positive behaviours and practices, and that there are other social justice groups with whom we can work together. Following on from previous discussions about practical tasks (info kiosks etc) we can do here, we had a group member volunteer to start putting together a vendor with useful information/guides/support etc..
We ended by testing out some anti griefing toys (sending an unfortunate av into the skies!)
Meeting 3 - stalking in SL
This was the third meeting of the SLLU Feminist Network and again it was really well attended. The topic for discussion was stalking in SL.
Experiences were shared. These ranged from unwanted attention, persistent ‘spying’ from neighbouring parcels, appearing in homes without invitation, fear of alts being created to continue ‘spying’ undetected, attempts to restrict contact with others to threats of distributing rl photos and information.
One issue was the pressure women were sometimes under to give out more information about rl than they were comfortable with including email addresses, skype names and using voice.
There just wasn’t enough time to recount everyone’s experiences.
It was clear however that these experiences were both common place and at times emotionally distressing. Some women have left SL as a result or have ditched their avi and started all over again.
The ‘mechanics’ of SL were discussed. The ability to ‘hide’, be ‘invisible’, track people’s on line status, muting, home security systems, radar systems etc. In some cases bans from sims had worked and in others abuse reports had been used but with little success.
It seemed that the most important factor in dealing with these events was having someone to talk to and being believed. In some cases it was only the intervention of a third party which helped put an end to the stalking activities.
The ‘official’ advice from Linden is to collect evidence, use the Abuse Report System and then avoid and ignore the stalker.
******************************************
The following suggestions were made:-
-a support group for people being stalked
- something that seems more "official"....so and so has sought the intercession of the Feminist Network. We have a report on your actions. You are being asked to cease and desist
- a forum to come and share experiences (and a blog) with personal narratives is also important so as to make it visible and raise awareness
-help in producing abuse reports
-also on the technical side to increse privacy and security of citizens inworld
-join other groups working for increasing 'invisibility'
-writing a post on stalking might be a small but important thing to do
-what if we put together a sort of kit? if we had a kit what should be in it?
-information on how do things like file an abuse report, where to get radar, things like that
-an advice notecard
-a kiosk at some place like orientation island
-tell them that people hang out at the slave silk store....tell them what slave silks are and let them know it's ok to say no and what to do if the person persists with info in a notecard that just said...IT'S OK TO SAY NO ...they may not run into a problem till they've been here a bit. But they might remember that notecard they got
*****************************
So ... we need help with this
Send us anything you think will be useful in a support kit
Send us your stories if you are happy to share them (no names of course)
Send us details of any other support you know about
Come to next Sunday’s meeting, same time (12 noon) same place.
( That reminds me ... can any premium members who could donate tier please contact Plot Tracer... we need this to keep our space here ... thanks)
More info here:-
http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/phorum/read.php?22,98427,98427#msg-98427
http://secondlife.com/newsletter/2006_05/html/police_blotter.html
http://www.wiredsafety.org/gb/stalking/
*************************************
The meetings are fun too ... not all doom and gloom ....
: hiya :) how's you?
:Got a bad cough :C
: oooh snap
: me too
: coughs germs everywhere
: I have an antivirus programme that takes care of those
: sl seems short of hankies
:There must be sneezing anims?
: It's what we really need to make SL complete. Gestures for illnesses
: skins with spots
: ewww
: I have seen gestures for barfing
: lovely
: someone gave me an apple once
: And you made the fatal mistake of trying it?
: it wasnt pretty
: I bet not. You weren't living with 7 little men at the time, were you?
: I think I may have heard this story . . .
: if only ...i have only found 6 so far :)
: The seventh is under the bed. They always are
: be good if they did some cleaning while they were there
: Well, that's the good thing about them. They collect dustbunnies
: You just need to shake them out the window
: i knew there was a use for men
: always a good way to start a Feminist meeting ...jokes about men :)
And a final PS
A friendly guy was working nearby and kindly moved further away so we could talk in private. He popped back to say goodbye.
Him: hey girls
Us: we're still in a meeting :)
Him: I'm going home...
Him: seeya another time
Him: pretty preety you are...
Him:think .... if you were not feminists
Us: lol
Him: lol
Him: good night
Us: was that a compliment?
Us: I need an eyerolling animation . . .
Him: kisses for all
Us: mind you ...we do all look pretty good ..so he does have a point :)
Us: so we are too pretty to be feminists
Us: I'll work on that. I have an ugly skin somewhere
Us: And big boots
Us: And hairy armpits . . .
Us: You know, the "feminist uniform"
Us: im wearing mine
Us: the boots ...not the arm pits
Us: one has to work to get certain men understand that we're feminists for their sake … that there's something in it for them … like happier women
Experiences were shared. These ranged from unwanted attention, persistent ‘spying’ from neighbouring parcels, appearing in homes without invitation, fear of alts being created to continue ‘spying’ undetected, attempts to restrict contact with others to threats of distributing rl photos and information.
One issue was the pressure women were sometimes under to give out more information about rl than they were comfortable with including email addresses, skype names and using voice.
There just wasn’t enough time to recount everyone’s experiences.
It was clear however that these experiences were both common place and at times emotionally distressing. Some women have left SL as a result or have ditched their avi and started all over again.
The ‘mechanics’ of SL were discussed. The ability to ‘hide’, be ‘invisible’, track people’s on line status, muting, home security systems, radar systems etc. In some cases bans from sims had worked and in others abuse reports had been used but with little success.
It seemed that the most important factor in dealing with these events was having someone to talk to and being believed. In some cases it was only the intervention of a third party which helped put an end to the stalking activities.
The ‘official’ advice from Linden is to collect evidence, use the Abuse Report System and then avoid and ignore the stalker.
******************************************
The following suggestions were made:-
-a support group for people being stalked
- something that seems more "official"....so and so has sought the intercession of the Feminist Network. We have a report on your actions. You are being asked to cease and desist
- a forum to come and share experiences (and a blog) with personal narratives is also important so as to make it visible and raise awareness
-help in producing abuse reports
-also on the technical side to increse privacy and security of citizens inworld
-join other groups working for increasing 'invisibility'
-writing a post on stalking might be a small but important thing to do
-what if we put together a sort of kit? if we had a kit what should be in it?
-information on how do things like file an abuse report, where to get radar, things like that
-an advice notecard
-a kiosk at some place like orientation island
-tell them that people hang out at the slave silk store....tell them what slave silks are and let them know it's ok to say no and what to do if the person persists with info in a notecard that just said...IT'S OK TO SAY NO ...they may not run into a problem till they've been here a bit. But they might remember that notecard they got
*****************************
So ... we need help with this
Send us anything you think will be useful in a support kit
Send us your stories if you are happy to share them (no names of course)
Send us details of any other support you know about
Come to next Sunday’s meeting, same time (12 noon) same place.
( That reminds me ... can any premium members who could donate tier please contact Plot Tracer... we need this to keep our space here ... thanks)
More info here:-
http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/phorum/read.php?22,98427,98427#msg-98427
http://secondlife.com/newsletter/2006_05/html/police_blotter.html
http://www.wiredsafety.org/gb/stalking/
*************************************
The meetings are fun too ... not all doom and gloom ....
: hiya :) how's you?
:Got a bad cough :C
: oooh snap
: me too
: coughs germs everywhere
: I have an antivirus programme that takes care of those
: sl seems short of hankies
:There must be sneezing anims?
: It's what we really need to make SL complete. Gestures for illnesses
: skins with spots
: ewww
: I have seen gestures for barfing
: lovely
: someone gave me an apple once
: And you made the fatal mistake of trying it?
: it wasnt pretty
: I bet not. You weren't living with 7 little men at the time, were you?
: I think I may have heard this story . . .
: if only ...i have only found 6 so far :)
: The seventh is under the bed. They always are
: be good if they did some cleaning while they were there
: Well, that's the good thing about them. They collect dustbunnies
: You just need to shake them out the window
: i knew there was a use for men
: always a good way to start a Feminist meeting ...jokes about men :)
And a final PS
A friendly guy was working nearby and kindly moved further away so we could talk in private. He popped back to say goodbye.
Him: hey girls
Us: we're still in a meeting :)
Him: I'm going home...
Him: seeya another time
Him: pretty preety you are...
Him:think .... if you were not feminists
Us: lol
Him: lol
Him: good night
Us: was that a compliment?
Us: I need an eyerolling animation . . .
Him: kisses for all
Us: mind you ...we do all look pretty good ..so he does have a point :)
Us: so we are too pretty to be feminists
Us: I'll work on that. I have an ugly skin somewhere
Us: And big boots
Us: And hairy armpits . . .
Us: You know, the "feminist uniform"
Us: im wearing mine
Us: the boots ...not the arm pits
Us: one has to work to get certain men understand that we're feminists for their sake … that there's something in it for them … like happier women
First Discussion Session - virtual rape and violence against women in SL
This was the first discussion meeting held by the network and the topic was ‘Virtual Rape ... fact or fantasy’ Eleven people came along for the discussion.
The debate was lively, friendly and interesting and it’s impossible to try and summarise all that was said.
Some of the points made were:-
Searches had revealed that women had experienced ‘virtual’ rape in SL. This ranged from being ‘bumped’ by a male avi with an erect penis, being tricked into clicking on pose balls, descriptions of rape in text to accepting objects which contain hidden rape animations.
There were reports of pressure being applied in role playing sims and other forms of deception.
Some women may laugh these things off and some retaliate or just quit, however others, particularly if they have had similar experiences in RL have suffered emotional distress.
Was there a definition of 'virtual rape'? Did this definition revolve around the question of consent?
There was also a discussion on rape as part of consensual role play (it was noted that rape pose balls were for sale). While feminists have been working on an understanding of the relationship between sexual fantasy and the exercise of sexual power within relationships, there has been research which raises concerns that such role play can impact upon attitudes to rape in RL.
We wondered if it were also possible that role play may give a new insight into the impact of this kind of sexual behaviour and accepted that role play can be both damaging and therapeutic.
We discussed whether it was feasible to expect SL to issue warnings, introduce protection of offer support to particularly newbies who were the most vulnerable.
Self defence workshops are available in SL.
Suggestions made included improved warnings about the nature of some sims, demystifying virtual rape, self-defence strategies and sources of counselling or support for those affected.
It was agreed to work with the Women's Resourse Hub to draft a letter requiring Linden Lab to include warnings in newbie induction processes. (we need to check what is already included)
We ran out of time so it was agreed to continue this discussion next Sunday at the same time.
Ellie was thanked for moderating the discussion.
The debate was lively, friendly and interesting and it’s impossible to try and summarise all that was said.
Some of the points made were:-
Searches had revealed that women had experienced ‘virtual’ rape in SL. This ranged from being ‘bumped’ by a male avi with an erect penis, being tricked into clicking on pose balls, descriptions of rape in text to accepting objects which contain hidden rape animations.
There were reports of pressure being applied in role playing sims and other forms of deception.
Some women may laugh these things off and some retaliate or just quit, however others, particularly if they have had similar experiences in RL have suffered emotional distress.
Was there a definition of 'virtual rape'? Did this definition revolve around the question of consent?
There was also a discussion on rape as part of consensual role play (it was noted that rape pose balls were for sale). While feminists have been working on an understanding of the relationship between sexual fantasy and the exercise of sexual power within relationships, there has been research which raises concerns that such role play can impact upon attitudes to rape in RL.
We wondered if it were also possible that role play may give a new insight into the impact of this kind of sexual behaviour and accepted that role play can be both damaging and therapeutic.
We discussed whether it was feasible to expect SL to issue warnings, introduce protection of offer support to particularly newbies who were the most vulnerable.
Self defence workshops are available in SL.
Suggestions made included improved warnings about the nature of some sims, demystifying virtual rape, self-defence strategies and sources of counselling or support for those affected.
It was agreed to work with the Women's Resourse Hub to draft a letter requiring Linden Lab to include warnings in newbie induction processes. (we need to check what is already included)
We ran out of time so it was agreed to continue this discussion next Sunday at the same time.
Ellie was thanked for moderating the discussion.
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