Feminism Fights Back

Anna Streetman, Senior Staff Writer

YESbody!, a new campus organization, put on a demonstration in protest for sexual assault victims Oct. 27 through Oct. 31 on the Campus Green.

The display, titled “A Voice for Them,” was made in response to the “Male Students in Peril” conference held on campus Saturday, Nov 1. Sage Gerard, the founder of KSU Men (KSUM), orchestrated the conference.

The demonstration featured several foam cutouts and underwear with the statements of members, friends, family, professors, students, and actual survivors of sexual violence reacting to the idea of “rape hysteria.” Along with these statements, the group displayed bed sheets with statistics on sexual violence and a mattress. These bed sheets and the mattress showed solidarity with Emma Sulkowicz, a Columbia University student who is carrying her dorm room mattress everywhere with her to symbolize the weight she carries being a rape survivor.

At the front of the display, the group has a podium with a binder containing the group’s information, links to “A Voice For Men,” and a section for everybody who saw “A Voice For Them” to respond to the display.

“We wanted to do something in order to let people know that we are not okay with some of the topics being discussed at this conference such as ‘rape hysteria,’” YESbody! co-founder and co-president Sierra Kihlstadius said. “However, this was tricky because the last woman who spoke out against A Voice for Men, the national group attending the conference, had her personal information shared and received a lot of disturbing threats. It was actually my fellow co-president, Carlynn Sharpe, who sparked the idea when she said ‘If only we could protest anonymously.’”

The display was set up on Oct. 26 and took 10 hours to finish. Jessica Fisher, the secretary/treasurer of YESbody! and a volunteer, called the whole experience “super rewarding.” Fisher said: “It has given me a sense of community, and has given purpose to my beliefs. To see the members of YESbody! to come out and do this work, and to see and hear the way that people react…it’s definitely rewarding.”

A lot of fundraising went into the display. YESbody! raised funds through fundraiser website GoFundMe. The original goal was $500, but the group managed to raise $1,200 in just a few days. The group has saved the receipts, and after the conference they will be totaling up the cost of the display and donating anything leftover to support groups for victims of sexual violence.

There was some concern when Gerard, the founder of KSUM and orchestrator of the “Men in Peril” conference, donated the remaining $175 dollars needed to reach the fundraising goal. According to Kihlstadius, the group was concerned that there may be an ulterior motive behind his donation, for they had only seen his videos and read his articles, and didn’t know him personally.

“I do support their free speech rights,” Gerard said in an interview following a feminisim debate, where some from YES!body were present. “I think the protest is misguided, but I do want them to have it.”

“Carlynn and I originally decided to return the money, but before we could inform the person running the fundraiser for us, they had already made a statement about donating the $175,” Kihlstadius said. “This, among other things, caused some tension between YESbody! and Sage. Luckily, Sage agreed to meet with us so we could sort things out. He made it very clear that he genuinely wanted us to use his money for our display as he wanted us to be able to exercise our free speech so we did end up agreeing to use his generous donation.”

Kihlstadius adds that she got the chance to speak to Gerard once the display was up. He thought the display was very impressive and even gave a reaction in the “Add Your Voice” section. Kihlstadius said: “It was very exciting to hear his thoughts on what we had accomplished.”

She also adds that it is never YESbody!’s goal to silence anyone, and that “A Voice For Them” is not meant to prevent “Men in Peril” from happening nor prevent the speakers who are attending from speaking. Kihlstadius said: “’A Voice for Them’ is a response and a way to raise awareness. We firmly believe that everyone’s voice should be heard. Will we always agree? Probably not. However, that’s why it is important that civil conversations take place. Nothing was ever accomplished by a screaming match.”

YESbody! is a student organization that was founded in 2014. Its mission is to promote intersectionality among social issues and educate the general public about the injustice that takes place. The organization’s goal is to educate people about what’s going on in society and what they can do to change it. YESbody! is open to all students and non-students. The organization highly stresses respect and kindness during its discussions in order for those who have questions to be able to ask them without feeling attacked for not knowing.