12.9.09

STATUS UPDATE FOR " I NEVER ASK FOR IT "



Sept 4 to 11th witnessed several Action Heroes change their facebook profile photo and status update messages.

The list below is a compilation of facebook status messages. The event asked participants to be Action Heroes by changing their profile photo to any of the ones shared here and their status message to a statement that questions the premise "she asks for it" .

Add in yours and or send us what you found on your friends status message.

For those of you who missed it you can catch up right here.

Action Heroes and their status message:

Tanvee.Rujuta Nabar.Vaidya- I'm a very loud person and often end up drawing attention to myself in public because in my madness. I NEVER ASK FOR IT

Pooja Gupta - "What is his problem? Can't he see that i am not interested ?"

Pooja Gupta- "Why can i not loiter on the street without reason ?"

Jasmeen Patheja-" is an unapologetic hot hudgi. I never ask for it."

Kinshuk Surjan - " I stared at a girl today. Am I an eve teaser ? "

Apoorva Bhandari- " No matter what time of the day or night I am out , I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'

Annie Zaidi- Nobody goes 'asking for it'.

Apurva Mathad- I saw someone being whistled at near the Sony world junction. She did not seem to like it..

Mina Hussain- wears what she likes to the bazaar. I never ask for it.


What did you say on facebook ? Tell us QUICK!




The facebook event was designed by Tanvee Nabar and Pooja Gupta. The sign Hot Hudgi Here has been created by Neha Bhat. Blank Noise did a 2 week workshop with the team and this work emerged from this process. Tanvee and Pooja continued to work with Blank Noise after the 2 week workshop; hence the event!


Here's what Tanvee and Pooja have to say:

The basic idea was to spread the idea of ' I NEVER ASKED FOR IT'.

The reason for using Facebook is mainly because we noticed that there is a disconnect between a blog or a website and people who are not 'looking' for this blog or website. Whereas with Facebook, we are sure that people will see the message.

The question was - "How can we get lay-people (people not having an active interest already), both men and women, to engage with this idea of 'not asking for it' in particular and Street Sexual Harassment in general?"

The reason we picked this was because we were both surprised by the extent to which we have ourselves internalized ways to be safe and thought that safety should not be a negotiated circumstance.

Pooja felt that that this requirement for women to internalize or be blamed for the ‘consequences’ worried her.

Tanvee felt that she wanted to concentrate on not street sexual harassment but the attitude that it was received with, which often led to blaming the woman.

So we felt that through this concept of ‘I never ask for it’ we could introduce to a public this view point of it not being the woman’s fault.

The answer was - Facebook. A popular social networking site that thousands use every day.

What interested us in particular was STATUS MESSAGES and how Facebook 'friends' can comment or 'like' your status message and how this could be harnessed for public debate.
It may bring different friends, who don’t already know each other in contact, creating an awareness of the universality of these problems.

We see it as a neutral space for public debate and not a male-bashing event.

HOT HUDGI HERE was created by Neha Bhat. Tanvee and Pooja appropriated it for the facebook event by creating variations of the same such as ; HOT PATAKA HERE, HOT ITUM HERE, HOT MAAL HERE etc.


Here's what Neha Bhat has to say:

The sign is a reaction to a recent case of violence against women in the city of Bangalore, which I had a close encounter with.

A group of drunk men forcibly entered a house occupied by young, college-going girls and boys in the late hours of night and demanded, “ Hudgi, Hudgi, yelli?”, in kannada,or ‘Girl! Girl, where is girl?” in their drunken stupor. Physical violence towards whoever the men encountered there followed and ended, only when some helpful neighbors physically intervened.

To mark the site of this type for violence and harassment against women, what if the sign ‘Hot Hudgi Here’ was blown up to a size of around ten feet and installed there?

Another idea would be to make every woman on a particular street wear a T shirt with the Hot Hudgi sign printed on it. Everyone woman on the street would declare that she was ‘hot’.

This type of a methodology inverts the nature of the victim, by saying, “Yes, I’m hot. Here, I tell you I’m hot. I invite you to look at me. Now what?”




43 comments:

Marjorie said...

Marjorie Barboza "I was felt up in a bus" - I NEVER ASKED FOR IT

shivantika Kanoria said...

Shivantika Kanoria - While walking on the road with a friend I was whistled at. I Never 'Ask For It'

Smita said...

So i come back home late AND i live alone. I still NEVER ASK FOR IT

Unknown said...

Anubhav Pradhan- "Scratching crotch in public is injurious to mental health. Men, go find a loo!"
Thurs at 18:42

Comments:

Jonathan George: Not to mention the peeing away to glory in public.
Thurs at 21:29 ·
Manu Pande: the cute little game of pocket billiards u mean..
Thurs at 23:38 ·
Rajendra Parihar: forgiveness should be practiced on a day-to-day basis!
But yes, anubhav your plea for public morality will open many minds, and eyes too!! :(
18 hours ago ·

Subha Sundaram said...

Here is my face book status message -

Its high time to educate our fellow country-men to respect the women / girls / children... Blank noise is creating a great awareness to the society... All we can do is to support it with a chorus - "No one ever asked for it" and "Mind your business.. and let others mind theirs...". Isn't that what we got independence for?????

aarthi ajit said...

Why does he waggle his eyebrows at me? I never 'ask for it'.

hasina hasan said...

I never ask for it. No!

UDITA SHARMA said...

"This goes out to all those people who take eve-teasing in their stride and to tell them that we have to give up on this 'chalta hai' attitude. and for all those males who think we're objects, who think we were made to 'use and throw', who think that all girls are their property and who think we ask for it by the clothes we wear. Breaking news. We're not!19 hours ago clear

Preeti Bose said...

"Preeti Bose said, "Just because I am confident, forthright, and friendly, does not mean I am asking for it.""

Sindhu Thirumalaisam said...

"I NEVER ASK FOR ANYTHING except chocolate cake.
A thing of beauty is a toy forever (?)."

Anu Puma said...

"So: there is difficulty but I surmount it."
The true fact is-I am not your burning candle, to subside limply in a stiff pool of wax; nor yet your electric bulb, so tender of filament and short lived as the moth that seeks it out. Neither a...m I made of your common shoe-leather nor should I spring any leaks. I Shine! I walk! I Float...
BUT I NEVER ASK FOR IT.

Anita Sriram said...

"We may be beautiful but we never ask for it!!"

Grishma Rao said...

is free and unapologetic / will wear anything I like / will go anywhere I want / he felt me up, I hit back. I never ask for it.

LinZi said...

I took your main quote as I liked it and put it as my status message:

"No matter what I’m wearing, I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'.
No matter what my body type or size is, I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'.
No matter where I am, I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'.
No matter when I am out, I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'.
No matter the fact that I was alone, I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'.
No matter what language I’m using or my skin colour, I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'.
Street sexual harassment, violence, or eve teasing is an unwanted experience "

Unknown said...

I proudly wear the clothes I like.I never ask for it.

Vandhana Mohanraj

Neeru said...

Neeru Malhotra:

I never asked for this - http://actionheroes.blanknoise.org/2009/04/blank-noise-action-hero-neeru-malhotra.html

stop asking me to "be careful" I NEVER ASK FOR IT

no matter what decisions I take in my personal life.. I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'!

I need a t-shirt which says "Talk to the face!" - I never ask for it!

got wet in the rain today and loved it, but I never ask for it!

why do people get perturbed when I stare back, don't I have the right to stare as much as they do?

Jasmine Singh - no matter who i hang out with...I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'

Aanchal Jain : No matter what I’m wearing, I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'.

Ruchika Chanana said...

what you think of me is in your mind. I never ask for it

sanjana shekhar said...

My smile is not an invitation to touch me. I NEVER ASK FOR IT

Evan Hastings said...

"Alright fellas, lets make a commitment to ending street harassment and sexual violence, since the vast majority of the time, it's men who are perpetrating: http://bnguy.blanknoise.org/"

little boxes said...

Bedatri D Choudhury: No matter what time of the night i choose to travel in, I NEVER ASK FOR IT.

jasmeen said...

is an unapologetic hot itum. I NEVER ASK FOR IT

aegle said...

i'm a girl. apparently thats reason enough. I NEVER ASK FOR IT.

Dineke Los said...

"Dineke Los loves to live..'I never ask for it'."

Pallavi Singh said...

``Good or bad, pretty or ugly, i do not want to know. Let life be, let humans be themselves.''"

Anita Sriram said...

"We may be beautiful but we never ask for it!!"

harsimar kaur said...

No matter what I’m wearing, I NEVER 'ASK FOR IT'."

Katheeja Talha said...

I rarely wear a dupatta. I never ask for it.

dianne sharma-winter said...

sometimes when men harrass me on the street i think THEY ARE ASKING FOR IT and slap them HARD!

Anupama Gupta said...

"So: there is difficulty but I surmount it."
The true fact is-I am not your burning candle, to subside limply in a stiff pool of wax; nor yet your electric bulb, so tender of filament and short lived as the moth that seeks it out. Neither a...m I made of your common shoe-leather nor should I spring any leaks. I Shine! I walk! I Float...
BUT I NEVER ASK FOR IT.

soumya c shekhar said...

i wear sarees, short skirts, and if i feel like it, a bikini or a burkha.. i am a shadi shuda bharatiya naari and I NEVER ASK FOR IT

Pavan Soni said...

I never use the footpath! Id rather have a car run me down than someone who walks past and grabs my ass. Do me a favour. Pls honk.

dana roy said...

Dude, I'm happy today, let me smile without worrying if I'm asking for it. I NEVER ASK FOR IT

Natasha Hemrajani said...

i KNOW how short my skirt is. So? I NEVER ASK FOR IT.

river slant said...

I NEVER ASK FOR IT

n.aka.zephyr said...

Hi,

My facebook status said -

Women get blamed and they often blame themselves for the street sexual harassment or eve teasing but they NEVER ask for it.

ruSh.Me said...

Rashmi Gupta asks whether a crowded bus gives you all the freedom to grope me.. Well, I NEVER ASK FOR IT. PERIOD.

roopa rathnam said...

"Roopa Rathnam - Whatever I do and however I am, I NEVER ask for it."

MEGHA BHAGAT said...

I said

1. "only because i am walking on the street with a cigarette in my hand doent mean i asked for it"

2. "only because a woman works hard and partys harder with men as friends doesnt mean she asked for it"

3. "only because i sit in a park wearing a skirt doesnt mean i asked for it"

Mohnish said...

Nursery Rhymes taught @ Bhartiya Perv Paatshaala.

Jaggu, Jaggu,
Bol Baap
Eve Teasing again?
No Baap
Telling lies?
No Baap
Open your mouth
“Hay kya nakhre hai meri rani. Ek nazar idhar bhi daal kya khoob hai teri quatil jawani. Kya maal hai, kya chaal hai kuch bhi bolt u ‘item’ bemisaal hai"

Off the record Jaggu’s Baap hugged him and said “Tune sabit kar diya tu mera beta hai. Aaj agar teri maa zinda hoti to phir se mar jati”

And Jaggu lived happily ever after … :)

n.aka.zephyr said...

Hey,
Came across this article in the Guardian about sexual harassment against women in Tokyo underground.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/sep/17/japan-tokyo-police-commuter-gropers

Seemed interesting, so posting the link.

nainy sahani said...

Nainy Sahani - Why ruin my day with a revolting comment of "tu cheez badi hain mast!?" Thats what I get for wearing a skirt on a deserted walk-over bridge. India shone?! I NEVER ASK FOR IT!

Dimplicious said...

I never ask for it!!For details,check this facebook link!!

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