This post is part of the 2013 Feminist Reads Challenge. To learn more about the challenge or join in, click here.
by Erin McKelle
I’ve worked with Stop Street Harassment as a social media volunteer and a blog correspondent, and as a huge fan of SSH founder and
Executive Director Holly Kearl and her writing, I was counting down the days until 50 Stories About Stopping Street Harassers was published. Since a self-reported 99% of women have experienced street harassment in some form, books like this, that both inspire and direct the reader into taking direct action, are critical to ending street harassment for good.
50 Stories starts out with an introduction to street harassment. Using her own experiences as a frame of reference, Kearl explains what street harassment is and why it’s a problem. She also included tweets from an Everyday Sexism tweet chat on street harassment to illustrate what street harassment looks like from a global perspective. Even someone who has never heard the term “street harassment” will understand it as a problem–the language and tone are very accessible and puts the reader in an active, empowering role (versus some books that just end up preaching at the reader).
50 Stories is very compelling, because it brings you into the lives and scenarios of those who have been harassed on the street and done something about it. All 50 stories showcase either people who were harassed standing up to their harasser or bystanders who witnessed harassment intervening to stop it. The interventions ranger from pretending to know a victim in order to get her away from her harasser to simply assertively telling a harasser to stop. As a woman, I related to all of these stories, and I’m sure other women reading this book will feel the same. As for men, I think that because each story is written in such an honest way, it helps men who may never have experienced street harassment understand why it’s a problem.
The fact that each story comes with an action taken by the author (and the harassed) emphasizes the importance of fighting back. Instead of just reading stories of harassment and feeling sorry for the victim or helpless to do anything about it, this book shows that action is possible (of course, assuming one’s personal safety isn’t being threatened) and that taking action does get real results. Many of the stories ended with the harasser rethinking their harassment, a few even thanking the women for opening their minds and committing to learning more about the issue. That’s very powerful stuff.
The cherry-on-top to this wonderful feminist read is the very end of the book. After the 50 stories, there is a workbook section where the reader can fill out an action plan of what they can realistically do when they are harassed or are witness to it, followed by a pledge for the reader to take, committing them to taking at least one of these actions in the next 6 months. When I saw this, in my head I was singing a hallelujah chorus!
I know that all of us have read a really inspiring book, but then quickly forgotten about it by the next week. This book is doesn’t leave the reader in this position, as it asks the reader to take all that they’ve read and learned about street harassment and how to fight back against it and then come up with their own strategies they themselves can use when confronted with street harassment. It is giving the reader an easy way to apply their new knowledge to the real world, in a very simple and accessible way. I think that’s genius and the key to books changing the world!
As a whole, I loved this book, even though I’m probably a little biased. Holly Kearl and Stop Street Harassment are doing amazing work and this book is just further confirmation of that. Street harassment is a huge problem in our society and our world, but we do have the power to stop it!