Take Back the Tech has an excellent post today about taking our actions offline to what we wear, make, and use to tell the world about our experiences. They give very detailed instructions on how to design, stencil, and make your own t-shirt.Another way of taking our activism offline is through Clothesline Projects. According to the Clothesline Project site, this action started in Massachusetts USA in 1990 and has been adopted in many states and countries. Survivors and people who have lost loved ones to VAW design their t-shirts using different paints, markers, threads, and materials. Different colors of T-shirts are used to represent different types of VAW:
- WHITE for victims who have died as a result of domestic violence
- YELLLOW or BEIGE for women and children who have been battered or assaulted
- RED, PINK or ORANGE for women and children who have been raped or sexually assaulted
- BLUE or GREEN for women and children survivors of incest
- PURPLE or LAVENDER for women and children attacked because of their sexual orientation/identification.
In my home town, the Carbondale IL Women's Center has held annual Clothesline Projects where they display t-shirts made by survivors and/or people who have lost or had loved ones deal with VAW. They hang the T-shirts on my university walkway where students must pass to go to and from class and the student center. They also display them in other public places and at VAW and "Take Back The Night" marches and demonstrations during October, Domestic Violence Awareness month . These displays are very stark reminders of VAW and its effects on survivors, families, partners, friends, and loved ones.
They also publish this warning about computer safety for women whose abusers may be monitoring their computer use.
Safe stenciling, clothesline chats, and computing!
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