Creating Action Heroes : Change The Way We Create and Perceive Women's Experience With Violence

The images above are frequently used by the press in India to report violence against women. The images are unwanted.
Because it perpetuates the narrative of victimhood
And closes a conversation.
Because it is stale
And reinforces a reality we need to change through the power of our imagination.

Above images researched by Mihika Row, Maria George, Madhulika Mohan and Nikhila Nanduri. Students from the Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.


Do you have a personal, desired, imagined, or lived ‪'Action Hero' response to experiences of sexual violence?

Make a sketch. Bring on its colours. Send it to blurtblanknoise@gmail.com 

It could be witty. angry. sad. calm. thoughtful.

Be you - unfiltered. This is your song.

Revisit a scenario. Imagine a response.

Guidelines and parameters:
It could include text saying NO and or I Never Ask For It .

Your visual response to building Action Heroes could take the form of a comic strip, poster, a series of facebook profile photos, gifs, stickers.

Blank Noise will host the archive. 
You are the author and creator.

What are the desired possible future of this project:
i) Select images could be a gift to press stock images, so that 
they can use these images instead of the 'crouched shamed victim' - the story that is told and perpetuated. 

ii) Making new imagery could inspire new narratives.
This is your script. Imagine. Desire. Create.
Assert. Insert. Occupy. Action Hero Imagery.
Hosted on the blank noise page/ website/ blog
Select imagery could be on t shirts, posters, walls.

It will be a reference and archive of desired responses

iii) We can ideate more possible desired futures of this project together. Send in your thoughts)

Guidelines to consider

* Definition of 'Action Hero'?
- Believes there is no excuse for sexual violence. 
- Refuses victim blame; to blame or be blamed.
- Takes agency and collective ownership to end sexual violence
- Fights fear
- Negotiates risk
- Is self confrontational- questions her/ his/ their bias and values.
- Seeks peaceful, non violent ways of tackling sexual violence.

Deadline. March 3rd. 2016

Submission requirement:
Medium- no restriction
Size- . (not strict but preferable 6 + inches width, 300 DPI, RGB Mode).
Format- JPEG / TIFF
Add a title
Add your name : Action Hero ____
Email : blurtblanknoise@gmail.com

With love,
Blank Noise Team

For your reference:  Showcasing Action Hero Rhea Daniel contribution from 2010. Her work has inspired and triggered this call for action. 

#INeverAskForIt Network-Nominate an 'Action Hero'!

Know someone or a group that does some incredible work on tackling‪#‎sexualviolence‬? Admire an actor, dancer, teacher, gynaecologist, programmer, rapper, singer, filmmaker, poet, neighbour, best friend for their zero tolerance for victim blaming? It even could be you!

Nominate them- or yourself- for the global ‪#‎INeverAskForIt‬ campaign. We'll be getting in touch with all nominees to build actions through which we can all say, #INeverAskForIt.

* Form designed by Action Hero , Rishita Nandagiri

New logo please? Thank you.

our current logo

Hello Action Hero,
We turn 10 years old this August 2013!
And in the midst of much looking back, looking ahead steps we also seek a new logo.
So sketch. think. scribble. free associate. send in something that shares the spirit of Blank Noise
We're here if you want to talk with us about it- go back and forth on the design etc.
Please send in your logos to blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com by March 6th
In spirit,
Blank Noise Team

NEW LOGO ?

Happy Birthday Blank Noise Action Heroes/ BN Guys!

We are 9 today! Congratulations to all of you for the innumerable ways in which you have been involved and built conversation about street sexual harassment

Amongst a million things we hope and strive to achieve we think its about time we took time to
create a *NEW LOGO* ( and website).  We would LOVE to have YOU design it.

• Your submission/s will be shared here  . 
• You are welcome of course to submit more than 1 or a variation. 
• Attach a brief note about the design.
• Send in your logo by August 31 -blurtblanknoise at gmail .com subject titled BN LOGO
• The new logo will be selected by both your popular vote and a BN core team.
• There are no guidelines. Encouraging you to send in questions- compiled faqs will be published.

The selected logo designer will get an Action Hero goody bag and ofcourse will always be referred to as our logo designer.

Do share this far and wide.

Dhanyavaad -Shukriya- Tumba Thanks- Thank you- Danke Chon- Arigatoh

amidst fathers brothers husbands and unclejis

A big thank you in advance for reflecting, confronting and articulating responses to the questions below. Your responses will be published on the Blank Noise Guy blog in March (date to be announced). Incase you do not wish your name to be published, please provide us with another name. You can also fill this form here. For any questions, clarifications, suggestions- we're at blurtblanknoise at gmail.com . And another thank you in advance for taking these not so comfortable conversations home :)

Yours truly,

BN Team

I NEVER ASK FOR IT

I NEVER ASK FOR IT
clothes collection drive
bangalore koramangala
bangalore mg road 1, mg road 2
calcutta camac street park street

things to do at home over a hot summer afternoon
reporting to remember

new news:

women in revealing clothes blamed for earthquakes

I NEVER ASK FOR IT : CALCUTTA

Action Heroes include: Shibani Roy, Shruti Agarwal, Ismail, Debapriya, Aloka Chatterjee, Kavita, Hiyaas,

Location: Camac Street, Park Street. Calcutta

TWEET NOW Feb 17-27 #INEVERASKFORIT

feb 17- 27 choose your twitter page backdrop


@blank_noise

• tweet what you wore when you experienced any kind of sexual harassment with #ineveraskforit. (feb 17-27)
• retweet the message above

CALL FOR ACTION:
clothes collection drive- bangalore feb 20
clothes collection drive- delhi feb 27


thank you for linking!
STOP STREET HARASSMENT

your attention please:

• report here if you experienced it. tell us how you dealt with it. would you deal with it any differently today?how did you become an action hero in your own eyes.

• report here if you witnessed it. tell us what made you help someone. tell us if you didn't come forward to help and why.

• report here if you're male/ man/ boy/ guy and thinking about the issue of street sexual harassment.

about "blank noise guy" : street sexual harassment is as much a male issue as it is one concerning women because it is influenced by male behaviour, attitude and expression. With this thought we announce "Blank Noise Guy" : inviting males to share their experiences on being in public.

Thoughts on the body, boundaries, behaviours
[flirting, 'teasing' , 'harassing',' intimidating', 'having fun', 'just looking'?]

It could range from the fear of being seen as a perpetrator; how you
approached a female stranger (if you ever did); being attracted to a stranger and what you did or witnessing harassment and introspecting on your response. Welcome.

I made a little wish in a big park:

Saraswathi:

This was one of the 'whacky',creative things to do and I enjoyed every bit of it:)

Secondly, this felt like 'self-assertive' feminism, simply trying to claim one's space and one' spersonal freedom in public places. No man-hating or blaming others.
Third, this was quite action oreinted and 'being there' . Participating in person is a differently empowering experinece altogether as compared to discussing or talking about things (those are important too however).

I was doing much more service to myself than a social service or changing atttitudes of others. I was breaking free of my own inhibitions and questining what is 'appropriate' in public-like dancing in public without music; or what is appropriate because I am a woman-like lying on a park bench without meaning to 'get laid'.

I was changing my own attitude. I gained a little more confidance and trust within myself.
There are some things I do anyways-like pouting etc. Now I would feel less guilty or responsible if some man stares at me for it. I just like to do it and I accept myself for it!

Apurva: It seems such a simple thing for me to go to the park and sit or read or sleep out there that I never even think about and take it for granted, . It seems to be a traumatic experience for you. I do not think I can ever understand or really connect to your experience in public places. Somehow, talking about it and seeing it happen before you are different things, I guess. I feel that we need to capture these situations in more than words...

Soumya: I distinctly remember that about 2 years ago i traveled through Cubbon park to office and craved to spend a lazy morning and afternoon just lolling about in the grass. The practical answer i would give myself was that i had to go to work... but somewhere i also knew it was because i didn't want to "invite" creeps or any "incidents". Today when I sat in the park and did nothing but watch people go by, enjoyed the feel of the grass and even dozed off for a bit, I wondered... why did i have to wait for being a part of blank noise to do this? what has changed in me for having done it?

Shreyasi:When I told my friends that so I’m spending my Saturday afternoon at a park, just lying down staring at the sky, oblivious to the people around me and listening to music, they thought that I had lost it. The most common reaction being a very sarcastic “yeah right”. Then someone said “Dude, Cubbon park isn’t really the safest place you know… there are strange creepy men so will you take care please”.

I think that was the reason why I wanted to do this. It is my space too… so why should I have to think thrice (read a zillion times) before I go there and do something that is only very normal to do in a park. Moreover, I didn’t know for sure. It was only assumed that the park, like any other public space, was going to be filled with letchy men trying to make you regret having come there in the first place. I was happy that my assumptions were wrong. Maybe so because I had my own set of guardian angels in the park who I knew were looking out for me. Maybe because I wasn’t subjected to the usual doze of comments and stares. Maybe because I was so engrossed in doing what I was, that I was oblivious to them, if they were there. But the best part was that I was relaxed enough to let myself get that oblivious!

I wore a kurta with a deep back. I wore a mask. I sat on a park bench n read. And somehow doing something as small as that felt like being free. Then soon enough it was time to challenge that... push it a little bit. I laid down on the park bench and put on the music. I allowed myself to shut my eyes. I could not allow myself to fall asleep! I think it was just the fact that no matter how comfortable I got I still was in a public space and I have learned to not trust them.

things to do at home:

mongan iruna nayinte thalayil thenga veenathu pole
malyalam
is like a dog who was waiting for a coconut to fall on its head.
(sent by Aathira)

agar mittha samne hai toh makhi toh zaroor aasi

How would you say it in your language?

"I NEVER ASK FOR IT"

I NEVER ASK FOR IT.

(in Deutsche):
contributed by Ulrike Syha
Ich habe nie darum gebeten.
or
Darum habe ich nie gebeten.
I would prefer the latter.


(in French) :
contributed by Roselyne Titaud and Barret Clemence
je n'ai jamais demandé ça



(in Malyalam) :
contributed by Nandini Raja
njaan aavashyapettilla = I never ask for it.

contributed by Farid Jalal
jyaan teere athinnu choichitilla = I have never asked for it.



(in Oriya) :
contributed by Snigdha Sahoo
mun kebe bi e sabu chaanhi na thili - i never ask for it


(in Gujarati):
contributed by Niyati Patel
hoon kyarey magti nathi - i never ask for it
me kyarey aa magyu nathi - i have never asked for it
mane aa joytu nathi - i dont want this

(in Bangla) :

contributed by Sunayana Roy

Ami to chai ni -- I did not ask for it
Ami kokhunoyi chai na -- I never ask for it
Ami e shob chai na -- I don't want all this

(in Marathi):

contributed by Poonam Vaidya
मी कद्धी नाही हेचा साथी विचारल : mi kadi nahi hecha saathi vicharal= I never ask for it

(in Tamil) :

contributed by Miruna Varadarajan
naan varavazhaipadu alla = i do not invite
naanketpadu alla = i do not ask for it

contributed by R. Jai Krishna

naan ketkamataen = I never ask for it

(in Assamese) :
contributed by Arundhati Banerjee
"Moi ketiao chowa nai"......I never asked for it

(in Punjabi) :
contributed by Jasso Rani
mein maaf karna. eh kade meri galti nahin si= excuse me but it wasn't my fault.
mein kadey mangya nayi = i never ask for it

mein bilkul pasand nahi= i absolutely dislike it
akhir gur da ki kasoor= but why blame sugar? ( in reference to jithe gur uthe makhi* check image)
istey meri ki galti= why are you blaming me?


contributed by Gujan Chugh
Main eh taanh nahin si mangya= I had not asked for it

How was it implied in your language?

"She 'asked for it'?"

could be proverbs, statement, sayings from everyday conversations

"She 'asked for it":

1. Aap theek ho toh sab theek hai. (hindi) = if you are okay, then everything is okay.

2. ladki agar santo key beech par jayegi to santo toh bharka gain na? (hindi)= a girl can provoke the saints too.

3. agar mittha samne hai toh makhi toh zaroor aasi ( punjabi) = agar meethu sammey paduy che to makhi chokase avse( gujarati) =
if there's something sweet , then it is obvious that the flies will be there too.
gujurati version sent by Darshana Panchal

4. pennorumbettaal brahmanum (malayalam) = if a women wishes so, even Brahma cannote escape her advances.
sent by Suman

5. ila chennu mullil veenaalum mullu vannu ilayil veenalum kedu ilakkaanu =this is actually kind of cautionary stuff for all mallu girls of all generations. if the leaf falls on the thorns or the thorn falls on a leaf, whatever may be, it is the leaf that gets torn off.

(well actually a warning kind a.hey girl, do not go and do things, and then later on complain about it. whether you do it or they do, you are the one to suffer. hence, make no room for any such incidents only)
sent by Suman


6. ladki ki izzat kaanch ke jaisi hai. joh toot jata hai judta nahin hai = a girls modesty/respectablity is like glass. once broken it cannot be fixed.
sent by Nita Patheja

7. "Dangling a carrot in front of a donkey".
sent by Annie Zaidi

8. Juttu vippokoni gattiga navvey aada daani, yennadu nammoddhu!

old telugu saying = never trust a woman who laughs loudly with her hair open

sent by the much harassed Vijay Sai

9. streeche paul vakde padle ki samajacha naash suru hoto (marathi)= the moment a woman steps out of line (breaks social mores), the social decay begins.
sent by Pranav Joshi

10. andaman ki baarish aur aurat ka koi bharosa nahin hai= they say this in the andamans if they feel betrayed by women= the rains in andaman are unpredictable just like women.
sent by Rani Kamal

11. ek miyan mein doh talwar= 2 women in a house will always create havoc.
sent by Rani Kamal

12. jithe doh auratan hon uthe bhande kharakde hi hain= 2 women in a house will always create noise/ fight/ make trouble
sent by Indri

13. "Beware of the 3 Ws in life- women wine and wealth"
sent by Rani Kamal

14. aurtan ni gallan te nahin aana chahida. punjabi. statement = dont get into what women say.
sent by Rani Kamal

15. "Ela estava mesmo a pedi-las" Portuguese for "She was really asking for it", commonly used when, say, a rape is associated to the clothes the girl / woman was wearing at the time of the assault.

sent by Joao Lemos

16. "woh muchh hi kya jise fera nahi jaata; woh ladki hi kya jise chheda nahi jaata."hindi= ('what is a moustache that can't be curled up, what is a girl who is not teased.')

sent by Mohnish

17. "Shei orokom meye" is the sense of nudge, nudge, wink, wink, you know, she's that kind of girl. sent by Sunayana Roy

18. "Jithe Gur uthe makhi"= where there is gur/ jaggery- there will be flies.

19. "mongan iruna nayinte thalayil thenga veenathu pole"

this is a colloquial saying in Malayalam which literally means this(situation) is like a dog who was waiting for a coconut to fall on its head.
sent by Aathira

Bombay. March 15.

photo credits. Punit and Yamini


Yamini Deen reports:

After so many Blank Noise interventions, the street in my head is like a laboratory of delicious experiments- those of provocation, the test of limits .

The street tells so many stories of wooing , of harassing, of hookers , of control, of sexuality .

SO Gateway Sunday was one such experience.

I walked up and down the promenade for a while. I went and politely handed the letter to anyone who responded to me in some way-lewd, curious,anything.

Some men would look at me up and down in the lewdest way possible and get completey flabbergasted if I went up to them, smiled and handed a letter.

Guilt? Fear? Something they didn't expect?

One man came to me and said
''So you think I am eve teasing you''?
''Why did you only give me the letter''?

He later told a male friend.
'If a girl walks ''that way''..you know one assumes she is asking for sex.'

But Gateway is also a space where they pick up men/women for sex. is the line between being unapologetic and sexually overt so thin?

But I am by now extremely unapologetic about my walking.

Anyhow, in the corner right in front of a gateway of India stood a pretty white woman in a short yellow dress. When I first spotted her, men collected in a line , at a 'safe' distance and stared.

She fiddled with her phone.I handed her a letter and left.

After a while, I went there and noticed that men were taking turns to take pictures with her.

(This while she was holding our letter)

She was smiling. The crowd thickened. Rumours flew like sparks and at other parts of the promenade, fellow blank noise members overheard conversations

about Preity Zinta or 'some' celebrity being there.

(A photo op for random loiterers, is that the new hobby of celebrities?)

Well.,after a while, about 40 men had crowded around her taking turns to take a picture with her.They helped themselves to her waist while holding her.



And she was smiling , mostly, slightly embarrassed , occasionally uncomfortable.

And maybe behind all mobs, there are a few complacent cops standing at a corner.

We asked the cops why they didn't stop anyone.

They said it was because she agreed to have her picture taken.

I was wondering then if in my mind I allowed the thought that she might have actually enjoyed the attention.And NOT in a negative way- not in a she deserved it sort of a way.

We asked her and she said 'Now , ask them to go.'

It was like a constant seesaw between comfort and discomfort for her.She never really looked threatened, to me atleast.

The only thing that worried me was how the mob gathered so fast, and mobs being mobs, can go out of control.

Which again brings me to the question of when attention is threatening, when it is mildly irritating, when it is flattering and when it can make you bawl.

Action Heroes include: Yamini Deen, Pranav Joshi, Kismet Nakai, Punit, April.

Next event: Blank Noise Bombay on March 29th. Sunday.

CALLING ACTION HEROES. REPORT AT blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com

REPORTING TO REMEMBER

Starting with the most recent Mangalore pub attack we would like to build a list of incidents involving attacks on/threats to women under the pretext of culture, tradition and religion.

1-political parties/ religious groups/ individuals

2-nature of attack- who they attacked. why they attacked. you could also send articles/links explaining that.

3-when.date

4-location.region.

You can add to this list by adding in the comments section below or by emailing us at blurtblanknoise at gmail dot com

or if you are on facebook you could add it here:
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/readmessage.php?t=1002230751699&mbox_pos=0#/event.php?eid=103986081520

Nandini report:

December 28, 2008:

Bajrang Dal activists attack a bus ferrying
students on a study tour to Mysore, saying girls and boys from
different religions can't travel togetherlinks: http://www.worldproutassembly.org/archives/2009/02/karnatakas_comm.html
Mohnish Moorjani reports:
Jan 29, 2009
Ram Sene
'Amnesia' Pub. Mangalore


Feb 14, 2006Shiv Sena
Nallasopara, BombayA mob of 60 Shiv Sainiks, armed with hockey sticks and rods, descended on a private party at Nallasopara on Tuesday and beat up women and children, ripped off their clothes, stole their jewellery and mobile phones and sent a few of the men to hospital.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1416850.cms
http://blogofindia.blogspot.com/2006/02/shiv-sena-disowned-nallasopara-vandals.html
http://www.expressindia.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=63063
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1420117,prtpage-1.cms


Anivarn Chatterjee reports:

1. Bajrang Dal and the World Hindu Council

2. Human rights activists Angana Chatterji and other female members of the Indian People's Tribunal on the Environment and Human Rights threatened with rape and disrobing, as they take deposition of stories about attacks on minorities. Chatterji later threatened with rape, murder, dismemberment for speaking up.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/23/MNG7ADDAE11.DTL
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2005/07/12/does-rss-have-any-moral-standards
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1156238.cms
http://www.thehindu.com/2005/06/15/stories/2005061506381200.htm

3. June 14, 2005

4. Bhubaneswar, Orissa




Anubhav Pradhan reports:

14th Feb,2006
http://www.hindu.com/2006/02/15/stories/2006021523280300.htm
The Shiv Sena staged a protest against Valentine's Day in Kamla Nagar, Delhi "dubbing the Valentine's Day as a marketing gimmick".
The state unit of the National Panthers Party had come out against the Sena, and representatives of the same went around armed with chilly powder. There was sign of trouble in Connaught Place as activists of the two groups came face to face outside Wimpy's but timelpy police intervention prevented any untoward incident.
11th August, 2008
http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/11/stories/2008081161540300.htm
Mr. Ram Dev Yadav killed his wife Geeta and her alleged lover neighbour Jitendra in the Dabri area of Delhi. The crime, committed on 29th July, came to light when the couple's 5yr old son Vicky narrated the gruesome incident during trauma counselling.
nandini raja reports:
October 30, 2008: Bajrang Dal activists attack two
undertrials in Mangalore district sub jail; sixth such attack after
its chief Mahendra Kumar's arrest on September 20.

December 12, 2008: Aggressive posturing at Baba Budangiri by parivar
leaders and Hindu pontiffs

December 27, 2008: Hoysala Sene attacks Fuga bar in Bangalore, alleges
illegal activities

December 28, 2008: Bajrang Dal activists attack a bus ferrying
students on a study tour to Mysore, saying girls and boys from
different religions can't travel together




January 6, 2009: B.V. Seetharam, editor of Mangalore-based newspaper
Karavali Ale, who followed a strong anti-parivar editorial line,
handcuffed and arrested in alleged extortion case. Prior to his
arrest, parivar elements vandalise paper's office.

January 7, 2009: Laddoos distributed in some schools across the state
on Vaikunta Ekadashi. Congress demands biriyani should be distributed
on Ramzan.

January 19, 2009: An arrested dacoit reportedly confesses links with
radical Hindu groups and admits to carrying out the Hubli district
court bombing before the May assembly elections

January 25, 2009: Sri Rama Sene activists attack pub in Mangalore and
molest and beat up women

January 25, 2009: Bajrang Dal activists attack a private party in Mangalore

October 2009- Feb 2010- gangs of men from various right wing Hindu groups such as Sri Ram Sene, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Rashtra Sena, Hindu Jagaran Vedike in Mangalore , Karnataka, assault Hindu women dating Muslim men. They also attack Muslim men and accuse them of waging a 'love jihad'; that is, according to them, a strategic love plan to convert the hindu girl to islam.

The Hindu reports
recommended report- Tinku Ray for the BBC
bbc report also shared here