Spring Break
Until violence against women ends
Sara Gwin
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Forum
This past week I saw something that was absolutely disturbing - no, not the Phoenix Suns trade for Shaq (though that came in at a close second) - the advertising campaign by the Independent Women's Forum against V-Day.
The advertisement features a group of women outside the opening of the "Vagina Monologues," with cupid in the foreground, held back by his ball-and-chain, presumably put on by these "radical feminists" at the play who have destroyed romance.
Its message is summed up best by feministing.com writer Jessica Valenti who said, "Poor cupid, tethered to the unreasonable feminist demand that women not be raped."
The IWF suggests that raising awareness about violence against women is ruining romance.
How about the idea that violence against women is ruining romance?
In the United States today, one in four women will fall victim to domestic violence at some point in their lifetime, one in six will be raped and one in four college women will be faced with an attempted or completed rape.
The costs of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion a year, with $4.1 billion going directly to medical and mental health costs.
Globally, one in three women will experience domestic violence or sexual assault in her lifetime. It has been estimated that four million women and young girls are trafficked annually.
For the IWF and the Clare Luce Booth Institute to insinuate that "Vagina Monologues" has ruined the romance of Valentine's Day by talking about the reality of violence against women is just another attack on survivors.
The success of the play, "Vagina Monologues," became a catalyst for the creation of V-Day by Eve Ensler in 1998 after hearing hundreds of stories of women who have suffered rape, incest, domestic violence and genital mutilation.
Since its inception, it has spread to 76 countries with over 2,700 events each year (and growing!), which has raised $30 million for local non-profits, domestic violence shelters and other important advocacy groups.
The advertisement features a group of women outside the opening of the "Vagina Monologues," with cupid in the foreground, held back by his ball-and-chain, presumably put on by these "radical feminists" at the play who have destroyed romance.
Its message is summed up best by feministing.com writer Jessica Valenti who said, "Poor cupid, tethered to the unreasonable feminist demand that women not be raped."
The IWF suggests that raising awareness about violence against women is ruining romance.
How about the idea that violence against women is ruining romance?
In the United States today, one in four women will fall victim to domestic violence at some point in their lifetime, one in six will be raped and one in four college women will be faced with an attempted or completed rape.
The costs of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion a year, with $4.1 billion going directly to medical and mental health costs.
Globally, one in three women will experience domestic violence or sexual assault in her lifetime. It has been estimated that four million women and young girls are trafficked annually.
For the IWF and the Clare Luce Booth Institute to insinuate that "Vagina Monologues" has ruined the romance of Valentine's Day by talking about the reality of violence against women is just another attack on survivors.
The success of the play, "Vagina Monologues," became a catalyst for the creation of V-Day by Eve Ensler in 1998 after hearing hundreds of stories of women who have suffered rape, incest, domestic violence and genital mutilation.
Since its inception, it has spread to 76 countries with over 2,700 events each year (and growing!), which has raised $30 million for local non-profits, domestic violence shelters and other important advocacy groups.
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