Join director Nancy Schwartzman and Men Can Stop Rape on Thursday, July 22nd for the Washington, DC premiere of the documentary film THE LINE!

THE LINE is a 24 minute documentary that explores the intersection of sexual identity, power and violence. How do we negotiate our boundaries as sexually liberated women? How much are we desensitized to sexual violence? Through conversations with football players, educators, survivors of violence, sex workers at the Bunny Ranch, and attorneys, this personal film explores the “grey area” and the elusive line of consent.

Following the screening, THE LINE director Nancy Schwartzman, AEquitas and Men Can Stop Rape will facilitate discussion on how to use the film as a teaching tool among advocates, prosecutors, and college men.

THE LINE is the first film to join the Men Creating Change (MCC) Film & Speaker Series. Men Creating Change is the nation’s most comprehensive strategy to engage college men in creating sustainable programming on campuses to create cultures free from violence against women.

THE LINE Washington, DC Premiere & Discussion

• Thursday, July 22, 2010  |  6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
• Center for Education on Violence Against Women
• 801 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 375 | Washington, DC 20004

RSVP is required! Space is limited: RSVP ASAP!

Send full name and organization affiliation by 7/21 to nbates@ncjfcj.org.

Light refreshments will be provided.

Follow the event on Facebook |  Learn more about THE LINE and Men Creating Change.

Tweet This: Join @mencanstoprape & @thelinecampaign on 7/22 for DC premiere of THE LINE http://tinyurl.com/linedc #THELINEdc

Sponsored by:

The Center  for Education on Violence Against Women is a partnership between National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, made possible by TA Cooperative Agreement Award Number 2007-TA-AX-K016.

As the new editor of this blog, I want to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who responded with such fire to our call to action. We’re stronger now, and here comes the tidal wave: we’re going to be introducing all of our new bloggers and exploring the power of our voices throughout this week.

We asked YOU, in all corners of the USA- and beyond- the same question: where is your line?

And you told us:

It’s common-fucking-sense.

Flying Broom kicked off its 13th year with an elaborately staged feminist (?) version of Macbeth. Much of this was lost on me, but I was transfixed by the smoke, and the actresses moving around the stage and the unapologetically political opening speech. The festival creator decried the stereotype of “woman as evil” in society. The festival coordinators Bilge Taş and Irina Inostroza were fantastic. Some tweets collected from the event:

Flying Broom opened w/famous actors playing Macbeth and three witches subverting the plot. Live drums. Capes. Brooms. #weird

Director of Flying Broom gave speech about FGM, sexuality rights, political oppression, sexism, & freedom. Not your usual thank u blah blah

Abortion is legal, available and a non-political issue in Turkey *shh we don’t want to jinx it. Its just there, available & not an issue

Flying Broom gourmet Buffet: cheese puffs, cucumbers, yogurt/dill, lamb meatballs, chick pea salad, bread. #heaven

The theme of the festival was “Bad Women in Cinema” with a focus on “Evil”. The filmmakers would continue to ponder the theme throughout the festival. Were they talking about the evils inflicted on women in the name of tradition, culture, patriarchy and religion? Sure seemed that way from the films that were selected. Or did they mean, that we women were evil, according to society? And whose society? I prefer to think of us as “bad-ass” not “bad” women in cinema, riding broom sticks and kicking up our heels.

These bad-ass women included German, Swiss, Dutch and Turkish film directors, academics, cultural presenters and activists, including the wonderful @ClinicEscort who took amazing pictures. We spent the days watching films, drinking beers and wine, discussing international feminism, the German film system v. the American system, dating Turkish men when you’re a feminist Turkish woman, and what films scandalized the Turkish right-wing papers, mainly Baise-Moi.  To make sweeping generalizations: Turkish feminists are incredibly brave and German women are fierce and assertive. A great crowd.

My screening was advertised as “Body Politics” and the translation of the title was “One-night Stand”. We had a full house with 90 minutes of questions, answers, and sometimes 4-part statements. The room was filled with secular men an women, and Muge was my fearless, concise, clear, and skilled translator. It was exhilarating to share the film with such a passionate audience, to out myself as a Jew, a slut, a rape survivor, all of it. In all, during the film, the audience was quiet, no laughter, really, but an audible murmur went through the crowd here, especially when he said: “I’m not trying to put the blame on you, don’t misunderstand me.”

Some questions from the audience:

How do you think about women in the East (Turkey, Jerusalem) who are considered “precious”, so they are covered, but also oppressed, versus women in the West (USA, Europe) considered “free”, so they are liberated, but treated as commodities?

Do you have good sex w/your husband?

How do you think pornography factors into “rape culture”?

Can you describe the physical repercussions of the assault?

That last question made people go nuts. I took it at face value that the man who asked the question was curious about the physicality of what happened. Fair enough. I answered. A woman lept to her feet arguing that he was a “wanker” for asking (poor Muge had to translate the term “wanker”). I countered that the movie is clear and detailed, and I’ll accept it as an innocent question. Turns out, 1. he’s a jerk, the women know him from other events 2. by asking me that question, in that room, in front of the group, he was being pornographic and purposely offensive.

Fascinating, because his question in that context seemed alright, but in my language I would have been more skilled at sniffing out who/why/how that person was asking. Made me wonder if my film is pornographic? I detail sex acts, I film girls at Spring Break? If Baise-Moi had the Turkish press up in arms, why was mine ok?

The Turkish audience was not shy!  They love to talk, debate and argue, felt right at home. I was chided in ways for being too inclusive in the way I answered questions. I try to acknowledge people’s biases around rape and help them along, while a member of the radical feminist organization would have preferred if we had excluded men from the conversation. Throughout the dialogue, I was clear in any discussion of “culture” or “tradition” as a means to excuse behavior, that no matter how violent, sexist, traditional and/or misogynist the culture you come from, each person does make a choice to rape or not to rape, to listen or not to listen, to violate or to respect. Sexual violation is incredibly complex and very simple.  Clearly something we could have kept discussing.

Other amazing films presented:

The Day I Became A Woman, Marzieh Makhmalbaf, (2000) Iran – loved this, beautiful, haunting story of three Iranian women at different stages of their lives. Incredibly moving, with incredible images.

Te doy Mis Oyos, or Take My Eyes, Iciar Bollain, (2003) Spain – I’m going to have to agree with Manohla Dargis here. A sometimes chilling film about a domestic violence set in Spain, but muddled by over-acting and  irresponsible writing. Because we know so little about the protagonist, her psycho-sexual dynamic w/her abuser doesn’t make sense, and confirms the myth that “she likes it”. Considering this story from Spain, possibly did more harm than good.

The Jungle Radio, Susanne Jaeger, (2009) Germany- In heart of rural Nicaragua, deep in the jungle, Yamileth Chavarria has founded a citizens’ radio station with a unique mission: the fight against the all-prevalent domestic violence.  The endemic levels of violence, corruption and sexism women in the village faced was overwhelming, makes our online debates about feminisms seem pretty luxurious. I loved the film and the incredible protagonist, Yamileth Chavarria – everyone should know about her work. *present at festival, official drinking and exploring partner.

Close to You, Almut Getto, (2008) Germany – quirky, polished and sophisticated comedy and love story between dysfunctional German man and blind cello player, featuring a tortoise. It was a breathe of fresh air among all of our heavy, intense films. Almut’s first feature Do Fish Do It apparently had more sex and feminist themes, and I’d very much like to see it. *present at festival, official drinking and exploring partner.

Turkish Films:
Tulay German: Year of Fire and Cinders, (2010) Turkey, Didem Pekun & Baris Dogrusoz- personal documentary about the singer Tulay German and the director. Tülay German was born in 1935 to a rather privileged family. Her choice of career and a relationship with a leftist contradicted the wishes of her parents and their relationship suffered infinitely as a consequence. Taken from the singer’s autobiography: ‘The Black Box of The Plane Which Never Crashed’. Beautiful music – and fantastic archival footage. *present at festival, official drinking partner.

Men on the Bridge, Azli Olge (2009) Turkey -tells the story about the young generation who lives in the suburbs of Istanbul and come to the center of the city, the Bosphorus Bridge, to make a living. The film is a hybrid documentary/narrative, based on real people and characters, but scripted and acted by non-actors. Great film about class, politics, poverty, assimilation, a real window into the lives of people in Istanbul.

Films I didn’t see by fabulous women I had drinks with:

Winter Silence, Sonja Wyss (2009) Holland -experimental narrative film about a widow and her four daughters set in a snowy Swiss landscape. *present at festival, official drinking and exploring partner.

Shortcut to Justice, Sybille Fezer & Daniel Burkholz (2009) Germany – women in rural India take justice into their own hands and start their own courts to serve the community, especially the women. Sybille is a first-time filmmaker taking her skills and experience working for women’s justice and health  at various NGOs and translating into film. *present at festival, official drinking and exploring partner.

This came from a screening of THE LINE at M.I.T.. I would phrase it as a question, and I often asked myself the same thing. When I was filming at the Bunny Ranch I had the same feeling – women negotiate while sober, with the lights on in a room with a safe button, if someone acts out, they are thrown out, and there are thirty women in heels who have your back if a man crosses the line. This isn’t a frat house where your drink is drugged, or bar where men block the door so friends can’t check up on each other. This is a brothel with cut and dry rules. The Bunny Ranch is a very specific place with its own set of challenges, limitations and problems, but it does give you pause.

• Director, Nancy Schwartzman
• Michelle J. Anderson, Dean and Professor of Law at CUNY School of Law
• Neil Irvin, Executive Director, Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR)
• Don McPherson, former NFL football player; current sports announcer and activist
• Meghan O’Connor, NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault

This was our last event with *fantastic* outreach coordinator, Sheila Aminmadani. She brought her experience from the Educational Video Center and the NYC Grassroots Media Coalition to get THE LINE Campaign on everyone’s radar. She will spend the next few months at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival and we will miss her!

My goals were to ask the panel and audience specific questions:

• How to make THE LINE usable for High School students 
(what clips are appropriate, study guide)

• How to make THE LINE part of Sexual Violence Prevention Programs: Fall 2010 and Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2011 – emphasizing sex-positive education and prevention.

• How to make THE LINE part of Freshman Orientation Programs on College Campuses 
(Dept of Justice grant? strategic pairings with other programs?)

• How to make THE LINE part of Law School/Criminal Justice Education

Marilla Li took precise notes of the panelists’ unique perspective and here they are in their bullet-pointed glory. I’m going to intercut them with photographs, to keep you entertained. Panelists from left: Don McPherson, Michelle Anderson, Meghan O’ Connor, Neil Irvin & my hands.

Dean Michelle Anderson discusses the problems with rape law as it stands:

• “Consent”: assumes male initiation and female acquiescence, (this idea that women are the gatekeepers to men’s desires) it is not egalitarian

• “Proof of consent” for a penetrative act means failure to fight back physically ignores non verbal signals, cues and communication

• Doesn’t account for peritraumatic dissociation: paralysis, silence

• Heterosexual men over-interpret what is nonverbal behavior (a smile) to mean consent which is reinforced in the media

• Work on the agreement & desire

• Massive exposure from images creates idea of *automatic* agreement

• Sexual Education in school doesn’t teach negotiation, just plumbing. Think beyond boundaries of what we’re taught -> what is our language for ethical sexuality?

• In law schools, we can use THE LINE as a case study to see how the law would respond, case sets up the idea that vaginal penetration means loss of autonomy

Meghan O’Connor, NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault:

• Alliance works to care for survivors and access to justice

• How to address root causes of violence (comprehensive violence prevention education!)

• How can we use THE LINE with people who are in field – advocates, social workers, nurses, examiners so that they can address their own biases, regarding victim blaming, prostitution, etc.

• Break apart the “perfect victim” stereotype

• Address stigma and silence of sexual violence, stranger rape v. acquaintance rape

• Who are the victims/ who are the perpetrators? -> Anyone. You know them.

• Victim blaming – external, from peers and community and internal, victim’s own inner voice “did I perceive this wrong way?”

• So: first step is prevention, use film to start dialogue, pick apart judgments, untangle desire versus boundaries, investigate individual v. societal boundaries

(Male student calls out “KB” or “Kobe Bryant”)

Neil Irvin, Men Can Stop Rape:

• MCSR works to challenge “Masculinity”: Heterosexism, Classism, Racism make up the foundations of masculinity

• MCSR works primarily with men – programs include: media messaging, youth training and professional training

• Challenging the performance of masculinity in middle school, high school and college chapters

• His audiences will relate to the honesty of the film – these are themes that play out everyday and the facilitator can help give youth language to critique

• Show to parents and PTAs

• For MCSR, working with affluent white males & communities is the most challenging

• Working with men who are survivors, through stigma and victimization. A common myth “If a woman is doing it to you, you should like it” (see below)

Don McPherson, NFL Quarterback, Educator and Activist:

• Negotiating beyond a no “Baby it’s cold outside” song as example

• Challenging narrow masculinity (working in tandem with MCSR)

• Giving a voice to women, refusing to sit on male privilege and be silent

• Having the convenience to sit outside the work and not be consumed by it (versus subject in THE LINE, “my whole reality changed”)

• NFL Athlete, but critiquing Sports culture and “warrior mentality” and “army of one” -> Reinforces Power/Control

• Examining masculinity vs. race

• Insults: “you throw like a girl” and training men not to be women – but that’s it

• Living in a world that perpetuates social narrative of culture

• Madonna is empowered by doing what we want her to do (be sexual) and how “empowerment” becomes commercialized

• How do we make men understand that rape happens everyday? Not stranger in the bushes

General conversation from the panel and the audience:

• Making sure all participants/audience members respond to the study guide

• We must work at multiple levels: move beyond the one-time workshop using both top down and grassroots approaches

• Connect THE LINE to Department of Education, Policymakers, Parents-in-Action, social workers, administrators, guidance counselors, etc. (panelists can help facilitate)

• Michelle Anderson discusses Bureau of Erotic Discourse (B.E.D.), workshops for clarity and consent at Burning Man

• Don’t forget PLEASURE! Emphasizing the collective stake we have in pleasure and healthy sexual relationships

• High school students create PSA (film the dialogue and creative process, then post)

• Make sure these issues are made relevant to queer community (follow up for screenings at LGBTQ Center with the YES program and film)

• Experiment with game-based networking, using web like 11^th Hour or The Yes Men

• Don’t forget faith-based youth, where abstinence is a reality

THE LINE Campaign Ideas and Takeaway (my homework!):

• Host screening and then film audience dialogue with:

LGBTQ Center & Men Can Stop Rape constituents
Post and distribute to show facilitators how the film can be used

• Map out 2010-11 plans with Men Can Stop Rape about using THE LINE in their yearly violence prevention programming

• Work with NYC-Alliance to facilitate a “Train the Trainers” screening for advocates, social workers and policy folks city-wide

• Work with Michelle Anderson about getting THE LINE used in Law School classes as “case study” for criminal law and rape law.

• Continue to cross-promote with Don McPherson and pair up for screenings next year.
• Ensure that the Facilitator’s Study Guide, which we co-write with Media Education Foundation is inclusive, comprehensive and usable!

• Director Nancy Schwartzman
• Michelle J. Anderson, Dean and Professor of Law at CUNY School of Law
• Neil Irvin, Men Can Stop Rape (MCSR)
• Don McPherson, former football player; current sports announcer and activist
• Meghan O’Connor, NYC Alliance Against Sexual Assault

Schwartzman is very much interested in using her own experience of sexual assault to raise awareness, promote dialogue about sexual consent (both desire and personal boundaries), and educate others (especially youth) about expressing their desires and respecting one another’s. In doing so, she’s also started the “Where is your line?” campaign:

I want to reflect on two things: (1) the film and (2) the larger discussion, which informed my own takeaways.

The Film

A one night stand far from home goes terribly wrong. As the filmmaker unravels her experience, she decides to confront her attacker.

Told through a “sex-positive” lens, THE LINE is a 24 minute documentary about a young woman – the filmmaker- who is raped, but her story isn’t cut and dry. Not a “perfect victim,” the filmmaker confronts her attacker, recording the conversation with a hidden camera. Sex workers, survivors and activists discuss justice, accountability and today’s “rape culture.” The film asks the question: where is the line defining consent?  THE LINE was completed in July 2009.

What I think is really great about The Line is that Schwartzman is “not the perfect victim.” The film also follows Schwartzman’s friend (a more “perfect victim”) who experienced stranger rape and was able to find legal justice. Schwartzman, at once, is sharing an experience that is very common but is also incredibly brave for sharing this common experience because she sets herself up to be attacked by victim-blaming.

For me, one of the most interesting parts of the film was the montage of reactions from friends and personal questions of doubt. You hear most of her friends telling her that it wasn’t rape and even one female friend basically saying “that’s happened to me a bunch of times but I never thought it was rape.” And you also hear Schwartman’s own self-questioning, which I found very relateable as someone who’s also been the victim of date rape.

My second favorite thing about the film is that she interviewed sex workers at the Bunny Ranch to have a discussion about defining consent. That scene is ripe for analysis! For the sake of brevity, maybe that’s another entry, but that was fantastic.

My Takeaways

First, I appreciate that the theme of the screening was “Story Leads to Action!” The guest speakers (experts in the field) were absolutely amazing. I attended with my friends Kristen and Gillian so I was fortunate enough to have a “debriefing” with them after the event. We agreed that Michelle J. Anderson was amazing! Dr. Anderson specializes in rape law and feminist legal theory. She brought an important voice to the table in which she clearly defined that there is a spectrum of rape and that the legal system currently ignores the vast majority of sexual assaults in its definition of consent, which is based on very defined gender roles with men being sexual initiators and women agreeing to sexual consent. Furthermore, the current model draws its own line in which once a woman agrees to one sexual act, she agrees to the entire variety of sexual acts. I wish I could keep Dr. Anderson in my pocket or on speed dial when I have to deal with talking to people about sexual assault.

I also found that Neil Irvin and Don McPherson brought amazing perspective. I was very impressed by both of their work as well as their absolute respect for women’s voices. Their models are to teach men and young boys about a positive masculinity that resists patriarchy and respects women. I also very much respected the way in which they allowed themselves to learn from women (and never speak for women). While their work is necessary and important to ending rape/dismantling rape culture (putting this responsibility in the hands of men as the major perpetrators of sexual violence), they made it very clear that they didn’t necessarily want to get pats on the back for promoting a respect for humanity among males; citing the path that women activists paved for them. And Don McPherson often weaved in important relevant issues, including the role of consumer culture. If this was Sassy Magazine I would write a “crush alert” profile on his mind. Read complete post and comments

Folks crowded up to the bar and sat along the wall for cushy seats. We give extra love to those who sat on the concrete barroom floor. Julia Weis and Meredith Villano, of Paradigm Shift hosted the event and got us the Time Out critic’s pick for the night. I was extra nervous to present the film to the home-town crowd, but was rewarded by watching the story work as a catalyst to bring folks together to talk about consent, accountability, and creating a real change in our communities and bedrooms.

After the film, I answered questions – and to my delight – fielded one from the bartender, proving that everyone has a stake in the conversation. He wanted to discuss the socialization of men, and how we applaud male promiscuity, and judge the same behavior in females. I bounced his question to Joe, who could address the work being done by men to challenge male assumptions and socialization.

Joe mentioned that even doing this work personally and professionally, his gut when watching the film, still ran to victim blaming and doubting it ‘was rape’ first.

Even as I KNEW that wasn’t the case, and knew it was socialization, I couldn’t help but go to that place of questioning (you) and getting defensive.

I asked him later about using the film in his work as an educator:

The film helps us frame sexual violence not ONLY as a women’s issue but men’s issue, and it helps us address the nuances of mens responsibility as a whole/group for the violence committed by a not so small small minority of men. My dad (bless him) actually pointed out that I should have also mentioned that we don’t want to ‘other’ violent men, that we are ALL educated/socialized to be violent, and all have that potential.

Erin Burrows explained her work as an activist with SAFER and their unique campus-based perspective:

We can prevent sexual assault through a strong communally shared and agreed upon definition of consent that accounts for a wide range of sexualities, and that a definition of consent must put the onus of obtaining consent on the initiator, and insist that silence, a previous or current relationship or consent to a previous sexual act is NOT consent.

She emphasized that a strong sexual assault policy for a contained community, such as a college campus, must hold people who violate consent accountable through a fair disciplinary process.

Ignacio Rivera really called out the idea of privilege and reminded me that the personal is political. They discussed the importance of harm-reduction, non biased and non judgmental approaches to assessing risk, communication and best practice for sexual health. The concept and practice of Risk Aware Consensual Kink (RACK) and Safe, Sane & Consensual (SSC) were cited as examples, and were new terms for a lot of folks in the room, myself included. Ignacio made clear that we can all learn from the queer, kink and BDSM communities when we talk about consent and sexual behavior.

Melissa Gira Grant asked the question about how we could respond to the topics raised in the film and during the panel that address the needs of the queer community. Erin responded that a movement for sexual assault policy reform must come from a broad coalition of students that is sex-positive, trans and genderqueer inclusive, and accounts for the intersectionality of multiple identities and how that impacts a person’s experience as a survivor of sexual assault. Ignacio underscored their point about taking cues and lessons from the complexities of consent from within the kink and BDSM communities. I chimed in that we’re planning on shooting some short videos to accompany the educational package of THE LINE that will include these discussions and perspectives.

Audience member Kalimah Priforce spoke up:

I am a victim of rape. When I was two years old, my mother was giving me a bath. I slipped and fell, and was bleeding. My father punished her, and raped her. My brother was born of this rape, and I buried him 18 years later. Men need to stop this violence, because we are all effected by it.

After a bleak political week, including an escelation of the war in Afghanistan and the voting down of marraige equality in New York State, hosting and provoking dialogue about creating more sex-positive education, conversations and communities, was a big, bright spot. What are some other ways you’d like to continue this dialogue?

Hi Nancy,

P.S. And I don’t have a blog so here is a post that you can put on the website blog:

Hi, my name is Michelle and I’m a Resident Assistant at Willamette University. Every year, the Office of Residence Life puts on a sexual assault and wellness program, and this year we wanted to show the Line! We had the Director of the Health Center there, as well as a representative from Willamette University Men Against Violence (which, like it sounds, is a male-run social activism group), one from the Gay-Straight Alliance, and I myself am a volunteer for a sexual assault and domestic abuse hotline. Sadly, the turnout wasn’t as large as we had hoped for, but oh well.

We watched the film and then we split into two different discussion groups, one that was mixed gender and one that was female only. We did this for the comfort of the participants, in case there were any survivors who maybe wanted to share experiences but didn’t want to do it in front of guys. I facilitated discussion in the women-only group, and two other people headed up the other group. We asked questions like, “Why is it important to know your own line? How can you know your partner’s and how does perception of gender play into this? What do you think about our justice system and do you agree with the perceptions presented in the film?”

In our group, the discussion focused on rape culture, and how guys who are otherwise nice guys can be saturated with really backwards ideas of how to treat women, and what small things can be done to change this. In the mixed-gender group, they focused on the sexiness of consent, the nature of sexual relationships, and what respect means. One thing that was said was, if you are about to have sex with someone and you say “Do you want to have sex?” And they say, “Yes!” that’s pretty much the sexiest thing you could hear right then. And if they say anything but “Yes,” well, aren’t you really really glad you asked then?

Everyone had a really good time and there were many who suggested that our area do more documentary and discussion style events. Overall, a success!

One thing that was really interesting that someone shared in our group, she was at a party and this guy was talking to her, but just brushing her hand or her shoulder, or lightly brushing his hand across her hair once in a while, and it really freaked her out. It crossed a line for her. She just escaped the situation and shrugged it off, but she wondered, if she had called him out on it, he probably would have gotten mad and found some other woman to flirt with. But what if that next woman had also called him out on it? What if every woman he did that to called him out on it and rejected his line-crossing? It just reminded me that we as women can’t just wait for some guys to be respectful, but as a movement, as a group we have to demand it and not accept anything less.