Wednesday, March 20, 2013

[guaqszgt] Steubenville solidarity video

The Steubenville perpetrators and bystanders uploaded videos of their victim to social media, attempting to cause her a lot of harm by shame.  Was their attempt to shame her successful?

Consider a viral movement expressing solidarity with the victim in which a great many ordinary people voluntarily film themselves reenacting the videos as if they were art and publicly post them.  (Somewhat inspired by Harlem Shake.)  Their message is, no, you should not be ashamed of your body, of sexuality, of being exposed -- a message directly in opposition to what the perpetrators and bystanders were trying to accomplish by uploading.

Would you participate in such a video, or would you give pause, unsure or unwilling to have your own body exposed?  If the latter, then, to answer the original question: yes, their attempt to shame her was successful, on you.

A lot of harm happened in Steubenville, and some of the perpetrators have been convicted.  However, the harm of shame is not something that is purely the perpetrators' doing; it also requires the willing complicity of the rest of society.

No comments :