On Thursday, Oct. 9, students may have walked by shirts flowing in the wind sporting statements such as “You deserve to be loved,” “We are with you” and “Keep your filthy laws off my silky drawers” on West Pine near the Center for Global Citizenship (CGC). This was part of an event held to help raise awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault called “The Clothesline Project.”
Professor Aleesha Durfee and students in her violence against women class organized the event (WGST 3800). To prepare for the project, they invited students to make shirts displaying their messages on Sept. 30.
“I saw the post on the Denim Day Instagram, and I [knew] I needed to stop by,” student Laura Stephens said, who stopped by to make a shirt. “I believe in the right to consent, and that you should love yourself and love your body.”
Denim Day takes place on the last Wednesday of April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness month. People around the world wear denim to encourage action and awareness against sexual violence.
These very issues, consent and self-image, are central concepts in WGST 3800. Aayushia Shah, a junior currently enrolled in the class, said that the class’s purpose is to help young people and college students get involved in conversations around how violence against women is perceived and understood.
“It is a criminal justice [and women and gender studies] class. We basically talk about sexual violence, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Our class mission centers around what can we do as part of the community, as college students, to help other people,” Shah said.
In addition to the two events Durfee and her students have organized, they have also been working to collect shirts for donation to local women’s organizations throughout the semester.
“Students have donated many t-shirts over the course of three or four weeks in the beginning of class. They were all donated to a women’s shelter and another shelter that’s 10 minutes away from campus,” Shah said.
Domestic violence continues to be a prevalent issue today. According to the National Domestic Hotline, an average of 24 people per minute are victims of domestic violence. Women and gender studies classes like this one help raise awareness of these problems that continue to persist.
Senior student Jack O’Donoghue said that his first women and gender studies class, WGST 1900, changed his life.
“My eyes have been opened now and I now have conversations in ways that I didn’t think that I could before and I am able to see more diverse perspectives,” O’Donoghue said. “I can’t stand and let misogyny just happen anymore … [The course] impacted how I have conversations, how I meet new people, and how I take what they think.”
“The Clothesline Project” was ultimately a project designed to catch the attention of students who may not have the opportunity to take a women’s and gender studies class, and to help them understand and recognize the many challenges women still face today.
“The purpose of the t-shirt making is just to have a message that you want people to leave this [event] with and be impacted with,” O’Donoghue said.
For more information about the project or how to get involved, contact @slu_denimday on Instagram.
