Many thanks to Erika Mikkalo for bringing this to our attention:
Yes Means Yes!
Co-editors Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti are seeking submissions for their anthology on rape culture, Yes Means Yes!
Imagine a world where women enjoy sex on their own terms and aren’t shamed for it. Imagine a world where men treat their sexual partners as collaborators, not conquests. a world where rape is rare and swiftly punished.
Welcome to the world of Yes Means Yes.
Yes Means Yes will fly in the face of the conventional feminist wisdom that rape has nothing to do with sex. We are looking to collect sharp and insightful essays, from voices both established and new, that demonstrate how empowering female sexual pleasure is the key to dismantling rape culture.
Potential essay subjects could include:
• Revamping how public sex education is taught, and to whom.
• The new backlash against rape survivors (i.e., media obsession with drinking, Girls Gone Wild culture being to blame for assault)
• Bringing men back into the conversation, making men leaders in the movement to end rape culture
• Thoughts on “enthusiastic consent”
• Taking Back the Porn: How changing the pornography industry can stop rape
• The power of language (naming rape for what it is, or the new myth of “gray rape”)
• A primer for men on sexual assault
• How good sex (where women’s pleasure is central) can mean an end to rape culture
• Rethinking sexual interaction as a private joint performance, as opposed to as an exchange of a commodity or service
• On pulling out the invisible lynchpin of rape culture: homophobia
• Creating accurate media representations of rape
Women and men, published and unpublished authors, are all encouraged to submit essays. Be creative, be forward-thinking, be funny! Perhaps most importantly, we are seeking essays with a pro-active bent that offer new and insightful thoughts and actions on how to dismantle rape culture. No more “Means No,” let’s think “Yes Yes!”
ABOUT YOUR EDITORS:
Jaclyn Friedman
Called “the hardest-working woman in feminism” by Michelle Tea, Jaclyn is a writer, performer and activist. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College and has received a 2001 Cambridge Poetry Award, a 2004 Somerville Arts Council Artist Grant, and a recent fellowship from the Vermont Studio Center. In her work as the Program Director for the Center for New Words, she programs and produces a 50 plus event-per-year series of author discussions, as well as writing workshops, open mics, political discussions, music concerts, book groups, and special events. She is Co-Founder and Co-Chair of WAM!, CNW’s conference on Women, Action & the Media.
Jessica Valenti
Jessica Valenti, 28, is the founder and Executive Editor of Feministing.com and the author of Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman’s Guide to Why Feminist Matters. Jessica has a Masters degree in Women’s and Gender Studies from Rutgers University and has worked with national and international women’s organizations, including Planned Parenthood, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization. She is also a co-founder of the REAL hot 100, a campaign that aims to change the perception of younger women in the media, and a contributing author to We Don’t Need Another Wave and Single State of the Union.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
Please submit your essays to yesmeansyes2008@gmail.com no later than March 1, 2008.
Essays should be from 2000 to 5000 words, double spaced and paginated. Please include your address, phone number, email address and a short bio.
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