This is a guest blog post by De La Salle Academy's Social Justice/Community Service eighth grade class highlighting materials that they have researched and chosen themselves. Circulating materials in this resource list were also put on display at the Mid-Manhattan Library for our patrons to peruse.  

By reflecting on the contemporary events of the #MeToo movement, the students sought to highlight various aspects of discrimination against women and the fight for women’s rights throughout history, locally, and even internationally. After researching through the resources in our collection, both online and at Mid-Manhattan Library, many students had strong opinions and wished to highlight this movement for Library patrons. With regards to the portrayal of women in mainstream media, Jeime, a student of the class wrote, “I feel as though you shouldn’t have to be and model a certain way just to be favored upon society... you should first be able to be confident in who you are …”

Please enjoy and let us know what you think of the students’ selected items! Each selection also has a quick summary or reflection and have been purposefully chosen so that they can be borrowed by all patrons, all New Yorkers.

-Young Adult Services, Mid-Manhattan Library at 42nd St
-De La Salle Academy’s Social Justice/Community Service Project, 8th Grade, 2018

Resource List​

We Wanted a Revolution : Black Radical Women, 1965-85 : A Sourcebook

by Catherine Morris (editor), Rujeko Hockley (editor), Coie Choi (writer of added text), Carmen Hermo (writer of added text), Stephanie Weissberg (writer of added text), and the Brooklyn Museum (issuing body, host institution)

Reflection by Kaljang

The authors who African-American women’s perspectives on the difference between white women and women of color in the fight for women’s rights. The book explains why women of color are unsure about joining women’s rights movements such as the #MeToo movement.

 

The #MeToo Movement Looks Different for Women of Color. Here Are 10 Stories.

via the Huffington Post website
(Back issues of Huffington Post available via NYPL’s Proquest Database)

Reflection by Kaljang

The #Me Too movement helps women speak up against being sexually assaulted and harassed in workplace and make make men who sexually harassed a women be accountable for their wrong doings. Unfortunately not all women feel included in this movement to protect women’s rights. Although women of color face harassment and assault at higher rates than white women, there are not been many reports of women of color being sexually assaulted in the #Me Too Movement. There is not a definite reason to why women of color are not fighting against sexual assault. I think they do not participate in the #Me Too movement because they believe that even if they speak up about this injustice, their voice would not be heard as as much as a white women. They feel that white women are more privileged and their voice will be heard easily. They believe the society will believe the dominant group more than the minorities. For instance, when there’s a young black girl missing from the neighborhood, the parents have fill in a missing person slip. However, when there is a young white girl missing, the case gets more publicity and attention. I think the #Me Too movement is mainly focusing on sexual assault that is occuring in workplaces where it is main compacted with white women. They should also talk about abuses women are facing in all workplaces and other places outside of work. We should pay more attention to the stories of minorities who have been sexually assaulted to prove that their voice matters.
 

Headscarves and Hymens : Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution

by Mona Eltahawy

Reflection by Kledian

In this book, a journalist goes to the Middle East and North Africa to get stories from women who have faced inequality. This book encourages us to speak out against these abuses and why we have to do it.

 

 

 

GTFO

Producer: Ian Park; Editors: Ephraim Kirkwood, Ian Park

Reflection by Esmeralda

GTFO is a documentary about Jenny Haniver, a young female who plays and wins video games. Unfortunately, she faces harassment from men who feel she does not belong in this space; they even go as far as threatening to rape her.

 

 

How Will the #MeToo Movement Impact the 2018 Oscars? 

by Sadie Trombetta, via HelloGiggles, an online magazine from InStyle
(InStyle is available via NYPL’s catalog)

Reflection by Esmeralda

The MeToo movement was started to empower women to stand up after being sexually assaulted. One by one women came out saying that men took advantage of them or advocating the movement. Some men assaulted several women. Not everyone has been justice but it is important that the movement is discussed and publized. It does bring attention to MeToo and give some knowledge to people that may be ignorant about it. One way that the movement has gotten awareness was at the 2018 Oscars. Many attendees wore black to signify their support in the movement. But the Oscars was also affected by the movement. “the movement’s effects have already shown up in the 2018 Oscar nominations. The outing of several powerful men in Hollywood has led to a fallout that is actually impacting the films, stars, and creatives nominated this year.” People who have been accused of being sexual assaulters have experienced affects in their careers. It is great that the movement is being discussed and has so many supporters.

 

Girl in the Woods: A Memoir

by Aspen Matis
(E-book available via Overdrive)

Reflection by Bryanna

After the worst moment of her life, Aspen Mattis crossed the border to find herself and it led to an amazing journey that changed her life forever.
 

 

 

Statistics via the NSVRC (National Sexual Violence Resource Center)

Reflection by Bryanna

Sexual assault is something that affects everybody. Assaults have been reported from men, women, children, teens, adults, and so many more. Statistics show that the most commonly targeted victims of sexual assaults are women and children. According to an article on nsvrc.org, “One in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives.” Looking at these statistics it is easy to understand why many people believe men are always the perpetrators and women always the victims yet one in 71 men are raped. The population on earth is somewhere around seven billion. Up close these numbers seem small but if we zoom out that is still another man raped, another's trust destroyed, and something that in that person's eyes will never be forgotten. At the same time, one in every five women will be raped. That is a horrible and shameful statistic. If we zoom out with that number there are millions if not billions of women to be raped in their lifetime. It is horrible that as a society many of us have simply accepted this and choose to ignore it....The fact is if we choose to do nothing about this number, lives will be lost, trust will be severed, and lives will be ruined.

 

Why I March: Images from the Women’s March Around the World

by Samantha Weiner (editor), Emma Jacobs (editor), Getty Images, Inc. (photographer)

Reflection by Nicola

This book is dedicated to images from Women’s Marches around the world from January 2017.

 

Everyday Sexism

by Laura Bates

Reflection by Dosi

Bates’ book talks about how young women are being exposed to sexual activities. This speaks to the #MeToo movement because it exposes how women are treated as objects.


 

 

Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls (and America too!)

by Carol Platt Liebau (e-book)

Reflection by Dosi

Prude shows how young girls are affected from the tolls of society. Young girls look at books and magazines that are sex seducing. These are activities that the world exposes them to that may not be good or healthy for them. This is essential to women's rights because young girls are being exposed to porn and dominance of males at such a young age… The book also shows about how young girls get discriminated against at such a young age, so it seems as if they are inferior to men. If we can stop young girls from being exposed to things that will hurt them, I think that the rights of women will get bigger because they are not treated as objects anymore. The less society makes things that hurt and abuse women and the more we support them, we can actually make a change and women can feel less like objects and more like real human beings who do the same things that men do. Supporting women and the cause they are working towards can be successful if we do what is right. I think the book, Prude, shows what society does wrong and we can see in which ways we can make it better for everyone.

 

The Princess Diarist

by Carrie Fisher
(E-book available via Overdrive)

Reflection by Jocelyn

Carrie Fisher writes about a variety of experiences that she faced in Hollywood with inappropriate male co-workers. She talks about how she felt uncomfortable and afraid of speaking up because she feared it would ruin her career.

 

Anita: Speaking Truth to Power

by Freida Lee Mock (screenwriter, film producer, film director), Anita Hill (interviewee), and Chanlim Films (production Company)

Reflection by Jennifer

This documentary is a powerful movie about Anita Hill’s case against Justice Clarence Thomas. It discusses her experience testifying against him for sexual harassment and gender inequality.

 

A Place on the Team: The Triumph and Tragedy of Title IX

by Welch Suggs
(E-book is available on-site via NYPL’s catalog)

Reflection by Angel

Title IX was a movement that helped women gain admittance into sports teams and to play in tournaments. A place on the team is the story of the struggle to bring the movement to life and gain equality.

 

The Psychology of Victim-Blaming & Why Women Don’t Report Sexual Harassment

via The Atlantic by Kayleigh Roberts &  via Huffington Post by Margaret Gardiner
(Back issues of The Atlantic are available via NYPL’s catalog and back issues of Huffington Post are available via NYPL’s catalog)

Reflection by Jennifer

A lot of people are sexually harassed or have faced sexual harassment. Most of them do not tell. Why? There are a lot of reasons why a victim does not speak out against sexual harassment or sexual assault, and it has a lot to do with how our society works as a whole. Society prioritises power, which lets people get away with harassing underlings, and tries to believe in the “American Dream” that says that good people receive good things.

...Victim-blaming may be a way to disconnect from the actual tragedy, and it can also be a way to cope with the truth that bad things can happen to anyone...victim blaming then discourages those who actually want to speak out about their sexual assault because of the fear of the backlash if they speak up, which is how people can sometimes get away with it.

Finally, victims may not speak up because they are already insecure about the issue and wish not to have to face it again. Sexual harassment and assault is an invasion of privacy, of respect and of humanity, and it is traumatizing to have to go through. Suffering through the incident is terrible enough, but speaking up may as well be going through and reliving the incident again, which is also very traumatic. If the victim had already come to terms with their sexual assault, speaking up about it again could be devastating, and be a step backwards in term of mental health and acceptance. If someone is speaking up right after their sexual assault, there is also the great terror of if anyone would believe them… or if they were going to get hunted down instead….We need to educate everyone, especially the next generation so that this will no longer need to happen in the future, and that victims are able to quickly say that they were sexually assaulted or harassed and receive the care they need.
 

‘Wonder Woman’ Lynda Carter: This Is My #MeToo Story

by Tim Teeman
(Via The Daily Beast or NYPL’s catalog)

Reflection by Jocelyn

The original Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot, talks in a candid interview with the Daily Beast about how she was sexually assaulted by someone and also how one of the crew members was a peeping tom and drilled a hole into the door of her changing room to peak at her.  She speaks about how she was targeted by perverts and how she had no one to tell except her “girlfriends.” Gal Gadot also spoke about how she and her friends, as well as other girls, would warn each other about people who had targeted them. When asked about whether or not she reported it, she said no because no one would listen.  

I think it is important that these celebrities talk about their experiences now, even if it is late because it educates people. Gal said that when she told her husband, he was surprised. She also said that women had been trying to tell men for a long time now, they just did not listen.  I feel as if this shows how Hollywood is not as it appears to be. Their image only highlights the positive aspects, not the negative. In speaking out about their experiences, these women are telling people that it is no longer acceptable, and that they will no longer keep quiet about it.  With these celebrities speaking out, people around the world and young children are being educated. This helps prevent events like this from happening so often in the future. Reading this article, I felt empowered by the fact that these women were speaking out about the injustice that they faced.