in school this week, we had workshops about rape each day. today we wrote our real-life stories (of rape, border-crossing, assault, harrassment, etc.) anonymously on paper, put them in blank envelopes. our teacher shuffled the envelopes and randomly passed them out to everyone in class. this monday we will recount the stories we read.

i got a story from one of the boys in my class...i'm not sure who. his experience compelled me to take these photos. i wrote the word SHAME on my body with black paint and black eyeliner and stepped into the shower. after i was done, i washed the blackness from myself and thought about how the survivors of rape want to do that as well -literally and metaphorically.

the marks from the eyeliner pencil remained, leaving the word "SHAME" scraped into my skin even after the black color had gone. i was flooded with emotion and thought.

this is for us, the survivors of rape, molestation, harrassment, or assault.
this is for the families and friends of survivors (and the perpetrators) who must deal with the rocky aftermath.

EDIT (5.23.09): This might be the last edit I do. I'm pretty happy with this piece now.

EDIT (11.22.09): Holy crap, 122 favorites?! Wow, thank you so much to everyone who added this piece to their faves, left a comment, or even just looked at it. I'm really really grateful to you all. Also thank you for spreading awareness about sexual assault and showing support for those who have experienced it.

(c) OLC

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