Clever Blog Title

fuckyeahsexeducation:

becauseiamawoman:

Originally posted by victimblaming (in new post to add on more images). 

These are posters from the Backbone Zone, here is a little from their website about the program: 

For years, prevention has been primarily about victims, and the ways they can and should change their behavior to avoid sexual violence, sexual harassment, and gender-based bullying. More recently, this approach has been seen as putting the responsibility for sexual violence on survivors. Instead, across the country, there is a movement toward ‘primary prevention’- a kind of prevention that seeks to end sexual violence before it begins, and to put the responsibility of doing so on everyone.

The Backbone Zone project is an innovative approach to bystander intervention, and is about helping people recognize the actions that everyone can take to change the world they live in. Recognizing sexist and homophobic language, realizing that it has an impact, encouraging students to choose different words, and giving them the skills to be active bystanders when they hear sexist and homophobic language: these are steps that each one of us can take to end gender-stereotypes, and to help end sexual violence. Everybody has a backbone. The Backbone Zone project is a campaign that speaks directly to students, helping them to find - and use - their backbones.

It’s so much better to say “hey I don’t like that girl because by best friend’s boyfriend cheated on her with her” than say “That girl’s a whore/slut/bitch”. For one, you’re not using gendered language that’s been used to oppress, for another you’re actually explaining why you don’t like someone. Gendered and heterosexist slurs hurt and oppresses, please don’t use them when there are much better ways of expressing how you feel.