Last class, we studied theories of resistance and self-defense, two very important yet also contentious concepts to talk about under the framework of sexual assault. Many feminists argue that emphasizing women's self-defense is enabling a victim-blaming culture that focuses on women's behaviour and choices as being some sort of causation of sexual violence. While I agree with the notion that we must always avoid falling into any type of victim-blaming framework, I do think that self-defense is a concept that isn't inherently problematic. We live in a culture infiltrated by aggression and dominance based on gender-based power dynamics. The result of this, as we all know, is rape culture. As we all fight and work together to resist this power struggle, along with many other feminists all over the world, sexual assault remains a serious threat, and appropriate responses must be made to that threat. I think that self-defense could potentially be an active response. When I say "response", I do not mean a preventative measure that women should feel obligated to take part in. One of the ways that self-defense courses can be heavily stigmatized is by somehow holding women responsible for taking these classes, and thus must remain completely voluntary and completely personal. Fear mongering does not belong in such spaces.
Self-defense courses bring women together in more ways than just teaching us to defend ourselves, I think it can be a way to achieve affirmation in our own personal agency, as well as bring communities together to create safer spaces. All of this being said, creating a self-defense class that is inclusive, safe, and doesn’t provoke a victim-blaming attitude can be tough. While many people have had very positive experiences in self-defense classes, many have felt triggered, isolated, or even somehow responsible to always be ready and prepared to defend themselves. After taking a course like this, no one should ever feel like they are obligated to even apply any of the skills they have learned.
Although self-defense courses do impose a certain level of contentiousness, I do believe that there are strengths to this type of community-based healing. In the pursuit of the best self-defense class, I have thought of a number of different questions that have helped me contextualize what needs to be addressed. As I finish up this post, I will leave them with you to ponder about, as well. Please let me know if you feel anything else that I may have left out needs to be considered.
- What kind of feminism should we be using as a framework in the design of a self-defense class? What feminist principles are most important to keep in mind?
- What kind of strategies would be effective in making a self-defense class inclusive to gender expression, races and abilities?
- How can the police play a role in the construction of an effective self-defense class? How do we address very problematic self-defense courses that have been previously held by police?
- What makes a self-defense class safe and accessible for people who have experienced sexual assault? How do we deal with the triggering content that could exist in these classes?
- How can we work together to resist the idea that we are ever accountable for sexual assault, or should have to take any precautionary steps to prevent sexual violence from occurring? How can a self-defense class exist under this framework?
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteI am going to sort of branch off of this important question you pose: What kind of feminism should we be using as a framework in the design of a self-defense class? What feminist principles are most important to keep in mind?
I am going to begin by reflecting on my initial responses to self-defense workshops in our group discussion on Thursday, as we were both in a group together and I feel your questions are very relevant to what we all discussed. When we began talking as a group some of my gut responses were to analyze self-defense as a risk prevention strategy gleaned from a rather neoliberal rhetoric of personal responsibility. Upon further reflection, I think that although a neoliberal analyses can be a beneficial tool to analyze self-defense strategies, perhaps that analyses is only part of a wider spectrum. And, as you say in your blog post, “self-defense courses do impose a certain level of contentiousness, I do believe that there are strengths to this type of community-based healing.” Accordingly, Toni made us aware of her positive experiences taking the feminist self-defense courses offered by the GBVPP last year. We learned, from a recollection of Toni’s experiences, that self-defense courses can importantly teach people new forms of embodiment that go beyond traditional gender narratives. Taking a neoliberal analyses as a whole seems to be a rather privileged assumption (on my part) that covers over many of the benefits that a particular type of feminist self-defense course can offer.
While I agree that there are strengths to this type of community-based healing, this brought me to question the type of feminism that would best infiltrate a self-defense course. As a group, we reflected on the fact that feminism means a variety of things to everyone and that many types feminisms have been known to be particularly exclusionary. For example, feminisms that don’t take race, class, (dis)ability, sexualities and other intersections of oppression into account. We concluded with the thought that if a self-defense course is to be beneficial, then it must be accessible to these various intersections. Going beyond individual risk-prevention strategies, then, would create a sense of community through (inclusive) feminist embodiment workshops.