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Showing posts with label Blank Noise. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blank Noise. Show all posts
16.11.17
Action Hero Narratives: Blank Noise and its Action Heroes At 14 Years
14.10.17
Action Hero Work Jam
Sign up for our next Work Jam , kindly hosted by Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore, on Friday the 20th of October between 6 and 9 pm. Bring your laptop , charger, notebook and your Action Hero self. Work Jam agenda includes preparing for the next Meet To Sleep intervention, from strategizing, coordinating, campaigning for December 16th. Efforts continue to end victim blame, through the I Never Ask For It mission. Skills required towards research, archiving, communication. Show up if you signed in to volunteer, intern or participate this year or the last!
Yours truly,
Blank Noise Team
Location: Max Mueller Bhavan
Time: 6 pm - 9 pm photos from #WorkJam
Host our Work Jam
We'd love to work with different partners, who can host Blank Noise for 5 hours for the Work Jam, once a week, and only ask for electricity, internet and some chairs! ( some tea would be a bonus). We are looking for venues across parts of Bangalore city, so that Action Heroes spread across can access it.
If you would like to host us, or know someone who can, please connect at actionhero@blanknoise.org
3.2.15
Laugh Like An Action Hero • Hahaha Sangha • March 1st
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1st March, your neighbourhood park sign up: blurtblanknoise@gmail.com |
5.12.10
Beyond the Digital Series- Maesy Angelina
Maesy Angelina got in touch with the Blank Noise Team earlier this year. She was interning at
the Center for Internet and Society Bangalore as a part of her MA thesis. Her research involved the activism of 'digital natives' ; understanding the involvement of youth in online campaigns in India from the perspective of the youth involved.
Action Heroes who have participated include Aarthi Ajit, Hemangini Gupta, Jasmeen Patheja, Dev Sukumar, Apurva Mathad, Neha Bhat, Tanvee Nabar, Rhea Daniel, Pooja Gupta, Kunal Ashok, Laura Neuhas and Ravindra Gutta.
Maesy's research with Blank Noise is part of the HIVOS-CIS Digital Natives Knowledge Programme. We will be sharing a series of posts written by her over the week.
Maesy submitted her MA thesis at the International Institute of Social Studies and graduates in 10 days! Congratulations Maesy!
Beyond the Digital Directory. First posted here
7.12.09
SUNDAY DEC 13. BN MEET UP IN YOUR CITY. CALLING ACTION HEROES!
Hello Blank Noise!
BN Action Heroes across the country are meeting this Sunday, Dec 13th!
We hope that this meet sparks off a series of events and actions from Jan 2010. You can make it happen and be an Action Hero.
We hope to see you there in true Action Hero spirit.
To attend a meet, email us at blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com with your phone number and city name. You can also share it on the facebook events wall if you see your city/ town/ place listed. Don't forget to bring along an interested friend, colleague, family member, neighbour if street sexual violence/ 'eve teasing' is every person's issue- every body is welcome.
BN Action Heroes across the country are meeting this Sunday, Dec 13th!
We hope that this meet sparks off a series of events and actions from Jan 2010. You can make it happen and be an Action Hero.
We hope to see you there in true Action Hero spirit.
To attend a meet, email us at blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com with your phone number and city name. You can also share it on the facebook events wall if you see your city/ town/ place listed. Don't forget to bring along an interested friend, colleague, family member, neighbour if street sexual violence/ 'eve teasing' is every person's issue- every body is welcome.
List of cities and venues for the next BN meet up
Bangalore: Ulsoor Lake Cafe 11 am
Bhopal: Cafe Coffee Day, Maliviya Nagar near New Market 6 pm
Bombay: Prithvi Cafe 3 pm
Dehradun: Cafe Coffee Day, Rajpur Road 3 pm
Delh: Central Park. Connaught Place. 3 pm
Calcutta: . Dakhinapan 3 pm.
Chennai: Gandhi Mandapam 11 am
Guwahati: Brown Bean Cafe. Uzan Bazar 11 am
Hyderabad: Lawns by Eat Street 3 pm
Jaipur: Cafe Coffee Day, Gaurav Towers, Malviya Nar 2 30 pm
Lucknow : India Coffee House. Hazrat Ganj 3 pm
Pune: NCC Canteen. Senapati Bapat Road 4 pm
Allahabad location and time yet to be confirmed
Cochin location and time yet to be confirmed
Chandigarh location and time yet to be confirmed
Jalandar location and time yet to be confirmed.
If you would like to have a BN meet in your city, get in touch with us asap.
e: blurtblanknoise at gmail.com
twitter : http://twitter.com/blank_noise
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=204917024696
Stay tuned. More details to follow!
Yours truly
BN Team
(email us with your city name and contact details and we will add your name to the list below)
Chennai Action Heroes:
Katheeja Talha, John Kingsley, Ruhi, Prithi, Vandana Mohanraj, Vivek Rao, Radhika , Sathya, S Vivekanand +
Bombay Action Heroes :
Trushant, Amit, Rizwan,Mohnish,
Mithila Vaidya, Nainy Sahani, Mohnish Moorjani, Shohini Sen, Manu, Annie, Sharmistha, Dharam Dhutia , Koel, +
Delhi Action Heroes:
Megha Bhatia, Chandrashekhar Bhattacharya, Abhishek Baxi, Bedatri , Purba Sarkar, Sonia Singhal , Inla Imti, Prabhleen Tuteja , Varsha, Ridhima, +
Dehradun Action Heroes:
Aviral Singhal, Aakar, Priyam Bhargava, Amit Das , Dhruv , Prabal, Hema, Rizwan, Satendra,
Saahil, Samiksha+
Hyderabad Action Heroes:
Sunayana Sitaram, Nandini, Ramya (+ friends), Nandini Raja, Samir Gandhi +
Bangalore Action Heroes:
Mayur, Naksha, Vibha, Nina, Itisha Apurva Mathad , Meghna Rajamane, Shalini Nair, Manasa +
Calcutta Action Heroes:
Saptarshi, Mandy +, Sunayana Roy, Bhablet, Parmeet, Rupam, Kamal, Pavan +
Lucknow Action Heroes:
Himika Malik, Nabila Zaidi, Shinjini, Siddarth Misra,Vaaruni Pathak, Vinita Jaiswal +
Bhopal Action Heroes:
Harshika + , Utkarsh
Guwahati Action Heroes:
Abhishek Bora, Kasturi +
Jaipur Action Heroes:
Vivek Kakkar +
Pune Action Heroes:
Smitha, Nilankur,Anita Iyer, Javits Rajendran, Arpita UK, Somitra Chatterjee, Gullika
26.6.09
Step By Step Guide to Unapologetic Walking tees are ready!
Blank Noise supports the Pride by walking wearing 'step by step guide to unapologetic walking' tee shirts.
These tee shirts can be worn anywhere anytime, they have The Step by Step Guide To Unapologetic Walking on them.
A big thank you to Anwesha , Nimi, Chitra, Soumya, Mohnish, Siddarth, Sanhita, Shreyasi, Paige, Hemangini, Jasmeen, Aarthi, Noopur, Saptarshi, Sunayana, John, Rashida, Neha, Natasha,Rashmi, Vishaka, Shravanthi, Pranav, Lalitha, Kirtana, Aarti, Payal, Nabila, Aparna, Shivangini, Ragini, Tinnie, Saraswathi, Smriti, Oindrilla for being the first to wear them on!
(A fresh new set of tees goes to print in the next 2 weeks!)
credits:
The Step By Step Guide to Unapologetic Walking had existed in the form of a poster prior to this- a big thankyou to BN member/ volunteer Shreyasi Kar for making the idea wearable!
To all those Action Heroes who made it to the street actions and other Blank Noise events- your insights created the Step by Step Guide to Unapologetic Walking.
18.2.08
REACTIONS
How have you felt every time you ignored a stranger's eyes stripping you naked?
How often have you been a mute witness or spectator to street sexual violence?
How often have you whistled, passed remarks, leched, intimidated a female stranger, just for 'fun'?
By sharing testimonials of participating bloggers and members archived at the Blank Noise blog I am not speaking of poor 'victims' and outsiders as a minority. Every woman, girl, young or elderly, from any socio economic background, any skin colour, any body type, 'pretty', 'fair', 'fat', 'ugly', 'slutty', 'modest', 'bitchy', 'smart', 'over-smart', 'shy', 'scared', 'bold' has experienced it. She could be walking alone, in a group, with her parents. It could be 6 am, 7 am, 9 am, 12 noon, 4 pm, 8 pm, 10 pm, and it could happen in your neighbourhood, right outside your house, in the outskirts of town, in the heart of the city. She could be dressed in a salwar kameez, a school uniform, a sari, a pair of jeans and still experience it. Blank Noise clothes campaign " I did not ask for it" has been receiving clothes worn by women at the time of sexual violence. Each sender is taking a stand when she sends in the garment- she says, ' I did not 'ask for it'.
As much as incidents of sexual violence that shock and make news call for an alert alarm, one cannot deny the fact that sexual violation on the streets takes place ever single day by almost every woman in a variety of different forms. It is accepted and normalized because it is 'expected'.
How does the public react to reported incidents of streets sexual violence/ 'eve teasing?' Does this mean more rules for the average Indian male's wife? daughter? sister? Or does this information manifest itself in the financially secure/ independent women incubating themselves in private transport, paying an extra fee per month to block unwanted phone stalkers, carrying pepper spray in bags, mobile phones and being on hyper alert each time they leave home?
Is the public ready to see women as autonomous citizens that can access public space, unapologetically? While I understand and am framed in the cultural construct of being someone's daughter, sister etc I also choose to see myself as a citizen, as a member of public as a non 'victim'. Is society also reinforcing belief systems of men as beings to fear and women as victims that need to be protected?
Protected from whom? Who are the offenders? Violators? Criminals? Perpetrators?
By 2004, 6 months into starting Blank Noise I was able to lift my camera to the 'perpetrator's' face and photograph him. There was a range of encounters. Not only was the camera a defence mechanism/ tool but also the point of dialogue and engagement with the 'offender'.
Since then I have photographed men from different socio economic background for a wide spectrum of 'eve teasing/ molestation' incidents.
At a traffic signal around noon, I see a man making 'sexual gestures' with his tongue towards me from his car window. Shocked, a few seconds later I begin to photograph him. He continues to make gestures, this time suggesting that I am 'mad' and drives off.
While distributing pamphlets in Majestic bus depot one evening, a hand comes to grope. Am already in the 'Blank Noise mode' and the camera is out. I reach out for his collar, pull him, get pushed in return but manage to photograph him. He disappears like most others into the crowd.
Sipping coffee in a café, I can feel someone's eyes on me. I return the look with a glare and ask him if he has a problem. He smiles, nudges his friend and says ' nothing, nothing at all'. This continues for 15- 20 minutes, at the end of which I hand him a Blank Noise pamphlet and photograph him. I spend the rest of the day answering his phone calls. " Sorry. It was only a crush. I liked your eyes. I am not the 'sexual' type of man. It was only a crush." I have to admit, he was not sexually intimidating, he was annoying.
While addressing street sexual harassment it is important to understand the context and the nature of the offence. While interviewing men on the streets of Delhi I got familiar with one kind of 'eve teaser'. He was the hopeless/ helpless wooer. There were a range of responses to the question " how have you approached a woman you are attracted to on the street", many people had responses that would be categorized as ' stalking, and 'unsolicited conversation'. From their point of view they had not committed an offence. A shopkeeper at Sarojini market said I will keep following her and approaching her " kabhi na kabhi toh hasseena maan jayegi". Another young man said he walks upto women and introduces himself, for which he has been slapped on several occasions( his peers added). Likewise one is familiar with love revenge stories behind the acid attacks. Once I met a girl whose throat had been slit for saying NO to a man who desired her. What are the cultural wooing references? With the idea and image of masculinity evolving what are the kind of men and male behaviour our society is creating?
This post has been published at blogbharti for their spotlight series.
YOUR TURN NOW: THOSE RARELY ASKED BURNING QUESTIONS-
Mail any question for Blank Noise to blurtblanknoise@gmail.com or please leave it in the comments section at this post
How often have you been a mute witness or spectator to street sexual violence?
How often have you whistled, passed remarks, leched, intimidated a female stranger, just for 'fun'?
By sharing testimonials of participating bloggers and members archived at the Blank Noise blog I am not speaking of poor 'victims' and outsiders as a minority. Every woman, girl, young or elderly, from any socio economic background, any skin colour, any body type, 'pretty', 'fair', 'fat', 'ugly', 'slutty', 'modest', 'bitchy', 'smart', 'over-smart', 'shy', 'scared', 'bold' has experienced it. She could be walking alone, in a group, with her parents. It could be 6 am, 7 am, 9 am, 12 noon, 4 pm, 8 pm, 10 pm, and it could happen in your neighbourhood, right outside your house, in the outskirts of town, in the heart of the city. She could be dressed in a salwar kameez, a school uniform, a sari, a pair of jeans and still experience it. Blank Noise clothes campaign " I did not ask for it" has been receiving clothes worn by women at the time of sexual violence. Each sender is taking a stand when she sends in the garment- she says, ' I did not 'ask for it'.
As much as incidents of sexual violence that shock and make news call for an alert alarm, one cannot deny the fact that sexual violation on the streets takes place ever single day by almost every woman in a variety of different forms. It is accepted and normalized because it is 'expected'.
How does the public react to reported incidents of streets sexual violence/ 'eve teasing?' Does this mean more rules for the average Indian male's wife? daughter? sister? Or does this information manifest itself in the financially secure/ independent women incubating themselves in private transport, paying an extra fee per month to block unwanted phone stalkers, carrying pepper spray in bags, mobile phones and being on hyper alert each time they leave home?
Is the public ready to see women as autonomous citizens that can access public space, unapologetically? While I understand and am framed in the cultural construct of being someone's daughter, sister etc I also choose to see myself as a citizen, as a member of public as a non 'victim'. Is society also reinforcing belief systems of men as beings to fear and women as victims that need to be protected?
Protected from whom? Who are the offenders? Violators? Criminals? Perpetrators?
By 2004, 6 months into starting Blank Noise I was able to lift my camera to the 'perpetrator's' face and photograph him. There was a range of encounters. Not only was the camera a defence mechanism/ tool but also the point of dialogue and engagement with the 'offender'.
Since then I have photographed men from different socio economic background for a wide spectrum of 'eve teasing/ molestation' incidents.
At a traffic signal around noon, I see a man making 'sexual gestures' with his tongue towards me from his car window. Shocked, a few seconds later I begin to photograph him. He continues to make gestures, this time suggesting that I am 'mad' and drives off.
While distributing pamphlets in Majestic bus depot one evening, a hand comes to grope. Am already in the 'Blank Noise mode' and the camera is out. I reach out for his collar, pull him, get pushed in return but manage to photograph him. He disappears like most others into the crowd.
Sipping coffee in a café, I can feel someone's eyes on me. I return the look with a glare and ask him if he has a problem. He smiles, nudges his friend and says ' nothing, nothing at all'. This continues for 15- 20 minutes, at the end of which I hand him a Blank Noise pamphlet and photograph him. I spend the rest of the day answering his phone calls. " Sorry. It was only a crush. I liked your eyes. I am not the 'sexual' type of man. It was only a crush." I have to admit, he was not sexually intimidating, he was annoying.
While addressing street sexual harassment it is important to understand the context and the nature of the offence. While interviewing men on the streets of Delhi I got familiar with one kind of 'eve teaser'. He was the hopeless/ helpless wooer. There were a range of responses to the question " how have you approached a woman you are attracted to on the street", many people had responses that would be categorized as ' stalking, and 'unsolicited conversation'. From their point of view they had not committed an offence. A shopkeeper at Sarojini market said I will keep following her and approaching her " kabhi na kabhi toh hasseena maan jayegi". Another young man said he walks upto women and introduces himself, for which he has been slapped on several occasions( his peers added). Likewise one is familiar with love revenge stories behind the acid attacks. Once I met a girl whose throat had been slit for saying NO to a man who desired her. What are the cultural wooing references? With the idea and image of masculinity evolving what are the kind of men and male behaviour our society is creating?
This post has been published at blogbharti for their spotlight series.
YOUR TURN NOW: THOSE RARELY ASKED BURNING QUESTIONS-
Mail any question for Blank Noise to blurtblanknoise@gmail.com or please leave it in the comments section at this post
18.10.07
BLANK NOISE ACTION HEROES: SHOUT IT LOUD
Blank Noise Action Heroes are women in public who face threat and feel fear but devise unique ways to confront it.
www.blanknoiseactionheroes.blogspot.com was created in March 2007 during international women's day to archive your stories of dealing with fear.
We would like to kickstart this process once again, starting now!
An Action Hero is a woman who has dealt with street sexual harassment by confronting and challenging it. Her final response might have been to choose to ignore the harassment, but she will have chosen to do so, not failed to notice it. (You can also be an Action Hero by participating in our city specific street actions).
Different kinds of sexual violence/harassment take place on the street - ranging from the hapless wooer to the aggressive sexual bully. Women in public across the world have their own unique strategies and capabilities of dealing with threat. This blog collects a range of such empowered actions from across the world.
You could also be the agent- the one who collects stories from your city/ neighbourhood/locality/ school/ college/ friends/family/ colleagues/. Ask the domestic help/ vegetable vendor/ flower seller/ woman bus conductor/ anyone!
This means that men are also invited to share stories of women whose response has amazed them! Go ahead... ask all the women you know!
Shout out loud! Tell us how and when you felt fearless.
You are an action hero not by the magnitude of what you did but how it made you feel. Write in. blurtblanknoise@gmail.com.
6.2.07
Bangalore. Feb 11!!
Bangalore/ Sunday/ Feb 11/ the group meets at rest house road at 4 :15 pm.
Please call Blank Noise at 98868 40612 and confirm. Get out! Get it started!
Action Heroes include:
- Paige Trabulsi
- Surabhi Kukke
- Soumya C. Shekhar
- Yamini Deen
- Manisha Sharma
- Kunal Ashok
- Naina Brahma
- Amrutha Bushan
- Ahaana
- Archana Srinivasan
- Sanjana Janardhan
- Anusree M. Jois
- Laura Neuhas
- leslie
- Madhu Krishnan
- Isha Manchanda- Video Documentation
- Chris
- Vishal Talreja
- Arati
- Tharunya Balan
- Chinmayee Dutta
- Sujata Bhatt
- Mahima
- Gayatri
- Priya
- Suman
- Smita Kalburgi
- Vivek
- Nivedita Kalburgi
- Sneha Singh
- Nishank Pathak
- Nisrin Azeez
- Sathish
- Navneethan_+
- Amit Belani
- Vasudha Chandrashekhar
- Naini
- Anees
- Aparupa
- Manasi
- Urmila
- Uditi
- Lara
- Swati
- Ramya
- Seema
- MunMun
- Mallika
- Kalavati
- Priya
- Neeti. G
- Nandini C
- Tanuja Mukherjee
- Sargam
- Priyanka Chaurasia
- Myrthe
- Spriha
- Priyanka K
- Huda
- Sowmya
- Pushpi
- Tanvi
- Dipti
- Nilisha
- Sira
- Divya
- Sadhvi
- Rutika
- Sharvari
- Sanaa
- Honey
- deepika arwind
- anna joseph
- prachi murarka
- nida shabbi
- Sharath V
- Pallavi
- Anamika Mukherjee
- Chitra Badrinarayan
- Shravanya
- Smriti Chanchani
- Vishal Thacker
- Sumati + 10
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