This is a visual response to the misogynist comments and online harassment I have faced since posting my injuries at the hands of a man I got into a barfight with last weekend. The story went viral, and I was on CBC Radio as well as in CBC news reminding women of the dangers of fighting back against sexual harassment and aggressive men. After being sexually harrassed several times and standing up for a fellow woman in the bar, I threw a drink on him, he attacked me and choked me, I smashed a pint glass over his head, and he punched me in the face. In the end, I ended up with 6 stitches across my nose, two black eyes, and other bruises and cuts not worth mentioning. I don’t know what happened to him, but I know I cut him badly and there was a lot of blood.
The amount of support I received, especially from strangers, was overwhelming. But so were the opposing comments on the articles posted, and the private messages I received from angry men who saying I deserved it, and worse, and they wish I had been murdered. Many roll their eyes and will say things like, “never look at the comments!” But we do need to look at the comments. They are representative of the darkest corners of humanity that exist beyond the internet. People need to know this is real. These are real people walking around in our daily lives; the guy sitting next to you on the metro, the person you call for your internet tech support, the branch manager at your bank. It could be that cute boy you have a crush on in your class, or that self-proclaimed “nice guy” you just started dating. These are real people typing these things on their keyboards and they represent our real-life problems regarding violence against women.
So when I am in a familiarly dangerous situation where I feel threatened because of my past experiences, there is a good chance my reflex is going to be fight and not flight and that “fight” might just be a pint glass over the head when you put your hands around my throat. Choking someone because they threw a drink on you for continually harassing you and your friends is a disproportionate response. As far as I’m concerned, not listening when a woman says “no” to your sexual advances and failed pick-up artistry is equal to throwing the first punch, and I was sticking up for myself. I have no regrets, despite what my face may look like. The fact I feel like I have to explain all this in my defense is ridiculous.
This piece is an act of activism through art, inspired by recent conversations on the importance of art which results from internet culture, DIY, Molly Soda, and the project I’m currently working on for Così e Così, who is also a big influence of mine in general..
* you can hear my interview with CBC Radio on what happened and what I have to say to women here.
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