PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: TEDxWomen 2012: SESSION 6: THE RISING {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of events and special screenings presented at the Paley Center for Media. Held at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington D.C. and streamed live at the Paley Center in New York, this two-day event is an independently-organized extension of the TED conference series, celebrating innovative, progressive women and their actions. The sixth session focuses on the idea of "rising" and overcoming conventions and obstacles. Host Pat Mitchell (president and CEO, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and thanks several sponsors and associates, then introducing session moderator, playwright, author and activist Eve Ensler. Ensler takes the stage and praises Mitchell's work in creating the conference, and then talks about her project One Billion Rising, in which one billion women around the world, representing the one-third of women who will experience sexual assault or violence within their lifetime, will participate in a "global strike," expressed through dance, to speak out against violence on February 14, 2013.
Ensler then introduces women's health advocate Isatou Touray, who speaks about the group GAMCOTRAP (Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women & Children), of which she is the co-founder and executive director, and its efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation. She explains her own experience with FGM and her memories of excitement at learning she was "going to become a woman," only to learn later in life that the practice has no basis in the Koran whatsoever, despite the claims of some. She then began working against the practice and examined the issue from many angles, explaining that it stems from patriarchal thinking and is often related to domestic violence and other kinds of sexual trauma. Her group uses conversation as well as song and dance to approach the issue culturally, also engaging the help of imams and scholars to spread awareness about the harms of FGM. Though she recently went to prison for her efforts, she states that she plans to continue and will hopefully declare Gambia an FGM-free zone by 2020.
Next, Ensler introduces photographer iO Tillett Wright, who discusses how people often form an immediate "mental resume" upon meeting someone new and place them in a number of categories, suggesting that we reinforce our own life choices by seeking out those similar to us, but that those categories can be extremely limiting. She talks about her own unorthodox upbringing in New York City, explaining that she presented herself as a boy from the ages of six to fourteen, though did not identify as transgender, and that her parents did not ask her to define herself with labels. She mentions Proposition 8 and explains that she has photographed many individuals who were "between the lines" of gender and sexuality and therefore minorities, then deciding to expose the humanity of many LGBTQ individuals through a multi-city portrait project called "Self-Evident Truths." After taking over 2,000 photos, she concluded that there were many "shades of gay" and that most people identified somewhere in the middle, rather than at one extreme or the other, and that labels are often insufficient to describe complex human beings.
Ensler introduces lesbian feminist/humorist Kate Clinton, who describes her experience finding her own sense of humor and opposing the common misconception that feminism is a strictly unfunny school of thought, noting that she used humor as a self-preservation instinct as a child. She touches upon the "tedious binary" between humor and seriousness, noting that men are allowed to casually make jokes about women, but women making jokes about men is seen as "anti-male." Clinton mentions her own "commitment to joy" and comments on the value of women laughing together and deriving power from joy, as well as using humor and lightheartedness to "lift up," rather than to "put down."
Next, Ensler points out that many women apologize for crying, and states that crying is in fact a healthy effusion of emotion, similar to laughter and dancing. She introduces scholar and advocate Meggan Watterson, who discusses her own experience with sexual assault at a young age and the sense of fear is instilled. She then explains that, in Sunday School, upon reading in the Book of Genesis about Sarai "giving" her slave Hagar to her husband Abram, she became upset upon realizing how women's voices are not represented in the Bible even within their own stories. She realized that women's bodies and voices were "not considered sacred" in some faiths, and chose to study the feminine divine in many religions and learning, among other things, that Mary Magdalene was not really a prostitute but an authority figure. She states that she was able to re-validate herself through her studies, and asserts that all women possess an "unbreakable holiness."
Lastly, Ensler introduces educator and spoken-word artist Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes, who performs a piece touching upon "the innate danger of womanhood" and themes of finding one's identity despite oppression and challenges, urging listeners to "resist and rise." The evening closes with a performance by the Anthem Girls, consisting of Tanyaradzwa Ashleigh Tawengwa, Caitlin Witty, Liz Byrne, Dana Kluczyk, Jenny Mollett, Jenna Brooke Scannelli and Sheléa Frazier, who sing "Break the Chain" as the guests and other speakers dance.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: December 1, 2012 6:15 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:33:08
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 109282
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Pat Mitchell … Host
- Eve Ensler … Moderator
- Tanyaradzwa Ashleigh Tawengwa … Performer
- Caitlin Witty … Performer
- Liz Byrne … Performer
- Dana Kluczyk … Performer
- Jenny Mollett … Performer
- Jenna Brooke Scannelli … Performer
- Sheléa Frazier … Performer
- Isatou Touray … Guest
- iO Tillett Wright … Guest
- Kate Clinton … Guest
- Meggan Watterson … Guest
- Asali DeVan Ecclesiastes … Guest