(CW for gender-based harassment)
For many women and girls, feminine-presenting people, and queer people, walking to work or school brings with it an inherent risk of being harassed. It’s a disheartening fact of life that becomes difficult to combat when responding can escalate a dangerous situation, and many of us simply accept the risk and go about life as usual. However, recent NYU graduate Sophie Sandberg started a creative and unique public art project in 2016 to bring awareness to street harassment in her city.
Walking through New York City, you might notice colorful chalk writing on the sidewalks and streets, and upon a closer look, see that it’s vulgar and upsetting. This is Sophie’s project to show the public exactly what street harassment looks like.
She accepts stories from different people who have experienced street harassment and writes harasser’s quotes in the exact locations where they were said. Passing pedestrians can see concretely (no pun intended) what takes place in their community, and Sophie posts photos on social media to further spread awareness. In 2018, I joined Sophie for an afternoon to help her chalk, and I was surprised by the number of people who stopped to watch or even to talk about the project. Especially after watching Sophie talk to pedestrians with a wide range of thoughts and opinions on street harassment, I think her project is a really creative way to engage the general public in difficult conversations and get them thinking about a topic that is often too dangerous to confront in-the-moment.
In rewatching Hannah Gadsby’s Nanette for class, I thought a lot about how storytelling can bring about change by challenging people who haven’t experienced certain types of oppression to consider them. I was struck by Gadsby’s ability to confront her audience in an art form that is typically expected to be lighthearted; her directness and passion were really impactful. It seemed to me like her motivation in writing the special was to tell a story she hadn’t been able to tell in full and really make her audience sit with her reality. I think Sophie’s project draws on a lot of the same creativity that Gadsby’s special does. The harassment and hatred Gadsby experienced weren’t palatable for audiences, so she didn’t share it for years of her career. Similarly, as Sophie explains in a New York Times interview, “a lot of people say they haven’t told many people about this before and that they’ve kind of just dealt with it and gotten used to it.” By giving people a platform to share their experiences with street harassment in a way that the public must see, Sophie is helping them claim their own stories in much the same way Gadsby does on stage.
This was really fascinating to learn more about. With sexual harassment prevalent in every city across the United States, it is a super easy and powerful way to communicate the harm and difficulties people who identify as female often face. It is translatable everywhere, and it seems like a great idea to implement across colleges and universities especially. Great job and thanks for spreading the awareness!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a simple yet effective way of confronting street harassment. It's creative and poignant all at once, and I really like your connection to Hannah Gadsby's storytelling. The chalk tells a very clear story and seems like a great way to get the public to talk about this issue. It's cool that you got to experience her work in person!
ReplyDeleteThe ephemeral nature of sidewalk chalk is the perfect medium to capture street harassment — without seeing or experiencing it firsthand, many people are inclined to downplay or deny its existence. I think the connection to Hannah Gadsby’s work is really apt, thank you for sharing Sandberg’s work!
ReplyDeleteI have seen this on social media a lot and feel like the message is so important. One thing that really stood out to me was a post I saw where someone commented that writing these words out was inappropriate for children. I, much like many of those who responded to this comment, remember the first time I was harassed on the street was when I was a kid, and that is certainly not an uncommon occurrence. I think one of the important things that emphasizes that she does is she writes the ages of the people who were being harassed as well. It is all very simple but effective.
ReplyDeleteThis is so so so cool! I have never seen anything like it. I was just thinking about street harassment this morning because I got honked at at 6:25am and I was just contemplating who you must have to be to be harassing women that early in the morning. I think so often people don't realize or think about what's wrong with what they're doing; by forcing them to acknowledge it, Sandberg forces people to confront their actions. I love everyday creativity like this — it is proof that we should never discount "little-C" creativity just because it's not completely revolutionizing a field.
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