Healing Through “One Billion Rising” Campaign

CT NOW is honored to share these personal thoughts about the One Billion Rising Campaign.  Thank you, Kylie, for your courage and advocacy.  You are the change we wish to see in the world.

Healing Through “One Billion Rising” Campaign
by Kylie Nilan Angell, UConn Nursing student

What does Valentine's Day mean to you? To me and many other feminists, it means a movement called V-Day. Founded by Eve Ensler, playwright of The Vagina Monologues, this movement competes with the chocolate-infused fog that envelops the calendar day of February 14 by encouraging the world to raise its voice in a synchronized and honest manner to say that there must be a definitive end to violence against women.

In the present day, the campaign has grown to include another meaningful component to its arsenal of activist campaigns: One Billion Rising (OBR). With its adage “Strike/Dance/Rise,” OBR transcends geography as its calls for one billion women across the globe to unite and summon attention to the senseless pandemic that prevents women from living in safety.

Many ask what the number “one billion” references. This atrocious UN statistic illustrates the number of women on this earth who will be raped or beaten in their lifetime. In an interview with the British newspaper, The Guardian, Eve Ensler declared, “...with this dancing we express our outrage and joy and our firm global call for a world where women are free and safe and cherished and equal. Dance with your body, for your body, for the bodies of women and the earth.”

Why did I rise this Valentine's Day? Having been the victim of multiple acts of sexual violence as a University of Connecticut student, the past three years have without a doubt been tumultuous and anxiety-ridden, but transformative nonetheless. My transition into an ardent feminist has been seamless, as feminism is the only arena of life where I feel that my rights and views are supported and valued. Feminism told me that I could regain control of my body, and that there was no need to live in shame on the account of someone else's violence. When women come together through movements like OBR, we are empowered and free to shed the societal shackles that suffocate our spirits, the voices around us that say we are sexual objects and nothing more. With the support of other feminists in the V-Day movement as well as my therapist and advocates at the Women's Center, I have recovered my inherent womanly strength and passion. I've slowly sucked out the poison that had built up inside my veins. While I rose up and danced during OBR, the bondage of anger that had weighed me down for nearly three years released into the air. Temporarily I felt free from the heavy and constant fear of sexual violence.

Though this was only the first OBR, the movement is monumental to me because it advocates for spreading love and awareness through the expressive medium of dance. For a few moments on Valentine's Day women were able to envision a world where we are free to dance, and that we do have domain over our bodies, our vaginas, our womanhood. The V-Day and OBR movements weren't asking for chocolates or roses this Valentine's Day. They were demanding an end to rape and abuse against women like me and the other 999,999,999 that are also at the mercy of violence. The assault on women must be stopped and replaced with the love emanating from OBR.

News Clips

Here are some newsclips from the past week.Click the titles to link to the articles.  Happy late evening/early morning reading!

Why Gender Equality Stalled
THIS week is the 50th anniversary of the publication of Betty Friedan’s international best seller, “The Feminine Mystique,” which has been widely credited with igniting the women’s movement of the 1960s. Readers who return to this feminist classic today are often puzzled by the absence of concrete political proposals to change the status of women. But “The Feminine Mystique” had the impact it did because it focused on transforming women’s personal consciousness.

A Tiny Village Where Women Chose to Be Single Mothers
 They had no plan to break barriers or cause trouble. But 30 years ago in this bucolic village in northern Vietnam, the fierce determination of one group of women to become mothers upended centuries-old gender rules and may have helped open the door for a nation to redefine parenthood.

Use of Morning-After Pill Is Rising, Report Says
The use of morning-after pills by American women has more than doubled in recent years, driven largely by rising rates of use among women in their early 20s, according to new federal data released Thursday.

The Jobs With The Biggest (And Smallest) Pay Gaps Between Men And Women
Women are paid significantly less, on average, than men — even when they're doing the same jobs. But the gap varies dramatically for workers in different jobs.

Ending gender violence: who is your inspiration?
Tackling gender violence is a major issue, but who is protecting women and girls? Tell us about the activists who inspire you

How about some self love this V Day!

I just got the below questions in my inbox from the fabulous women at SheNegotiates.  Once a week, they send out a good missive that is filled with good stuff.  Highly recommend you check out their site, here.  Some good things to ponder...  21 dark chocolate questions

So we've traveled through January and the annual resolution dance. Maybe you're on track, maybe not. Either way, we thought it would be a good time to give you the questions we ask our our clients at the beginning of our work together. Our hope is that you take these to heart, open your notebook, and give yourself a bit of self love for Valentine's Day. here you go...     How well do you keep promises to yourself?     How satisfied are you with your level of productivity?     How would you rate your level of health and wellbeing?     How satisfied are you with the relationships in your life and work?     What areas of your life would you MOST like to improve?     What must you accomplish to say you've lived a life of no regrets?     What routinely gets in your way?     What is your ideal work?     When were you happiest in your life and work?      And how are things different now?       What are some of your most satisfying achievements?     What skills do people acknowledge you for?     What skills or talents would you like to be acknowledged for?     Is there something you love to do but have stopped doing?     What are you good at but never get a chance to do?     Are you being paid what you're worth?     Have you been promoted to the level you deserve?     Does your title reflect your level of responsibility?     Are you progressing in your career?     Are you doing work commensurate with your abilities?     Do you feel recognized for the full scope of your contribution?

News Articles

Check out some of these articles from around the web...

India dramatically tightens laws on sexual assault, trafficking after gang rape
India dramatically tightened its laws on sexual assault and trafficking Sunday, with a far-reaching package of measures rushed through to satisfy public opinion in the wake of a horrific gang rape of a young woman in the capital in December.



Editorial: A Good Compromise on Contraception
The Obama administration has proposed a sensible way to provide women who work for religiously affiliated institutions with free coverage of contraceptives while exempting the organizations they work for from financial or administrative obligations to provide the coverage.



Boy Scout families deliver petition urging end to policy banning gays
The Boy Scouts of America's national executive board began three days of closed meetings Monday that are expected to include a discussion of its policy excluding gay members and leaders, and Scouts on both sides of the debate are weighing in.


A list of dudes who oppose the Violence Against Women Act
Welcome to the new Washington, where it’s now perfectly acceptable to take a basic sentiment, like “I think we should make life easier for women who’ve been beaten, assaulted, or raped,” and declare yourself publicly in opposition to it.



The Pro-Life Advantage: Why they hold political power—and how pro-choicers can stop them.
On Jan. 25, hundreds of thousands of abortion opponents assembled in Washington, D.C., for the March for Life. The weather was freezing, but they’re used to that. Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court case that declared abortion a constitutional right, was decided in January 1973. Every year, pro-lifers hold the march to mark Roe’s anniversary and renew their commitment to overturning it. “It might be 20 degrees out here,” activist Ryan Bomberger told the crowd, “but it has not put out this fire.”


Hillary Clinton: The Most Powerful Woman in American Politics
She changed the game irrevocably, and now she’s about to transform it again—by walking away.