Friday, September 14, 2007

Reclaim the Day

Well, here's a name I haven't heard in a while. Since graduating from my feminist studies department where we discussed the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas case at some point in most courses, Hill hasn't really crossed my mind.
Today I came across a commentary Professor Hill wrote for the Women's Media Center. Recalling being called "nutty" and "slutty" by author David Brock, Hill writes about the constant debasement of women for monetary gain. After selling millions of dollars worth of books, Brock apologized to Hill, explaining that he has been blinded by financial ambition.
For Hill, apologizing for blatant sexism is not enough.

According to Hill:

Because the debasement of women continues to sell and derogatory terms for women have become part of popular discourse, I’m convinced that we need more than Brock recanting or Imus being fired. We need a movement to counter the verbal assaults on women that flow freely in modern media outlets and that have now crept into our workplaces and are increasing in our schools. In addition to our efforts to “Take Back the Night,” we need to “Reclaim the Day!”

I’m not talking about censoring artists or comics. What I want is positive entertainment and educational programming that replaces or, at the very least, balances the negative.


I like Hill's idea and think that she is going at it from a good angle. She also wants your feedback on organizing this event/day.

2 comments:

amityb said...

Wow, I had no idea about Brock, and no idea that Hill was up to some most-commendable things at the moment. Thnx for this.

amityb said...

PS the link doesn't work to go to her site! I want to give feedback!