V-Day Benefit February 18th!

V-Day Benefit! From 9pm until 2am this Saturday, February 18th, at Belly’s Cafe.

Fundraiser benefit supporting THE HOPE AND HEALING FUND. With special musical guests The Power Bloom, Bentley Massey-Band and Mystic Mountain Revival. Hosted by V-Day Lubbock and Belly’s Cafe.

The Hope and Healing Fund is a local organization that offers survivors of sexual assault confidential counseling sessions with a licensed professional counselor at reduced or no cost to the client.

These counseling sessions provide one-on-one short-term counseling to help survivors of sexual violence work through thoughts and feelings surrounding their victimization, regardless of whether they chose to report the crime or not.

This is a beautiful organization that every city needs, and Lubbock is lucky enough to offer.

We need to have so many bodies at the event that the Fire Marshall flips out!!!

V-Day Lubbock Coalition:

http://vdaylubbock.wordpress.com/
or our FB page at
https://www.facebook.com/vdaylubbock

Belly’s Cafe:

http://bellyslubbock.com/

Bentley Massey-Band:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002404905907

The Power Bloom:

https://www.facebook.com/ThePowerBloom

Mystic Mountain Revival:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mystic-Mountain-Revival/283346868361763

Wear purple and get in free!

V-Men Writing Project

We are asking men to write a short piece (kind of like a blog or journal entry) regarding, broadly, sexual and/or domestic violence.

Some of the topics that we have come up with are below, but we want you to feel free to write about whatever you want.

1. Violence against women witnessed first-hand;

2. The “after effects” of violence against women in your life (even though you never actually witnessed the violence, you have witnessed the repercussions that still exist);

3. If you have been blessed with never experiencing either of the first two, writing a letter to a spouse (or future spouse) making a promise to never inflict violence and to protect her from violence; or

4. Do you know a large group of women in your life who have experiences sexual or domestic abuse? How does this make you feel and what do you want to say about it?

Alternatively, you could use one of the following talking points from the V-Men Workshop to write about.

1. Explore the best and worst things learned from your fathers (or primary role models) about how to be a man.

2. Talk about how each of you thinks about strength, and how this concept affects your approach to masculinity. (Is strength a macho, John Wayne type quality? Is it flexible, cooperative, creative?)

3. What are the qualities of femininity, pros and cons?

4. How do men respond to these qualities in women?

5. How do men respond to these qualities in other men (and within themselves)?

Basically what we want to do is use y’all’s writing to help advertise our V-Men Campaign.  We want to be able to present them at a table on the nights of the performances of The Vagina Monologues (either with your name or anonymously).  We also have hopes of contacting the AJ or Daily Toreador to run a series on the importance of men joining the campaign against violence.

Deadline for Writings: No later than February 10th.  Please submit your writing via email to vdaylubbock@gmail.com or call GeJa to set up alternative plans.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact either Mike Iezzi (Michael.Iezzi@ttu.edu) or GeJa Seeley-Hayle (GeJapeach25@gmail.com).

V-Men Workshop

February 11, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.

Meeting Place – Student Union Bldg., Room TBA

 

Lubbock V-Men Workshop 2012 Beliefs*:

1. Violence against women is not merely a female issue; it is a human dilemma twisting the lives and consciences of men as well; men whose voices needed to be heard in order for the dialogue that began ten years ago with the founding of V-Day to be complete.

2. Men have stories to tell as well. Men whose lives have been affected by the female abuse, who’ve secretly hoisted dark crosses of shame, outrage, guilt even self-loathing — over what they’ve seen, done, not done, not said, throughout their lives, imagining themselves accountable somehow for acts they may not have committed but which implicated them by association – could actually help to shed unique light on the epidemic of violence being perpetrated by members of their sex.

3. With V-Day celebrating its eleventh year anniversary, and the war on female violence nowhere near won, we can no longer afford to keep men’s voices out of the conversation.

4. You don’t have to be a woman to suffer from misogyny. It is far too late in the day for male guilt by association. There’s only one team in the human race.

5. All men can play a vital role in this process by challenging rape-supporting attitudes and behaviors and raising awareness about the damaging impact of sexual violence. Every time a man’s voice joins those of women in speaking out against rape, the world becomes safer for us all.

*Information adapted from Mark Matousek’s V-Men Introduction

Details:

This workshop is about gathering the input and experiences of men for the development of a new performance piece entitled “10 Ways to Be a Man.”

The workshop will be video recorded and each participant will need to sign a release form.

There will be a PowerPoint presentation, and Michael Iezzi will lead the workshop. Here are some of the questions that you will be asked to consider and discuss, so that you get an idea of what to expect.

- What did we learn from our fathers about manhood and masculinity?

- What does it mean to be strong?

- How does aggression play a part in sexuality?

- Do you feel guilt or shame for being a man?

A light lunch or snacks will be provided.  Also, free tickets to one performance of The Vagina Monologues will be given to all participants.

If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact either Michael Iezzi (Michael.Iezzi@ttu.edu) or GeJa Seeley-Hayle (GeJapeach25@gmail.com).

The Vagina Monologues 2012 Season!

V-Day Lubbock Coalition announces its 5th annual production of “The Vagina Monologues” for 2012!

The Vagina Monologues is used as the centerpiece of V Day events for many reasons. It is based on real women’s stories so it allows women who hear the stories to know that they are not alone in their own experience. It helps people who have experienced violence heal. It inspires people – women AND men – to get involved in V Day’s efforts to stop violence against women and girls. It removes the shame often associated with the word “vagina” and the vagina itself and instead celebrates the word, celebrates women.

This year we are proudly raising funds for the Hope and Healing Fund which offers survivors of sexual assault confidential counseling sessions with a licensed professional counselor at a reduced rate or no cost to the client. Statistics show that a vast majority of survivors who experience sexual violence never report the crime. We also know that most people are under the false impression that if they choose not to report the crime that there are no healing resources available to them. These counseling sessions will provide one-on-one short-term counseling to help survivors of sexual violence work through thoughts and feelings surrounding their victimization, regardless of whether they chose to report the crime or not. Our hopes are that people can get the help that they deserve in order to heal from the trauma they have experienced.

Tickets: $10 each
*For Mature Audiences Only*

Dates: February 20th and 21st

Time: 7pm to 10pm

Location: The Legacy at 1500 14th St. Lubbock, TX 79401

Event Pages on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/313027015377973/

https://www.facebook.com/events/297406230277142/

The Love Below – Feb. 10th, 7pm

New information: The Love Below will be on Friday, February 10th (not the 5th) in the Human Sciences Building, Room 169 on the Texas Tech campus. The show begins at 7:00 p.m. and tickets are $5. Donations will benefit the Hope and Healing Fund.

V-Girls!!!

Hi all,

The V-Girls Facebook page is up and running, and the first meeting is set for Saturday, November 12th, at 11am in the O’Neil Building of the YWCA off 35th and Flint. Girls in grades 7th-12th are welcome to attend. And there is an extra bonus – refreshments!!!

There will be two more meetings in December (the 3rd and 17th), and then the spring dates will be announced later.

Here’s a description from the flyer about V-Girls Lubbock:

V-Girls Lubbock is a local branch of V-Girls designed to empower girls in grades 7^th through 12^th grade while helping them to explore issues that matter to them. We will read selected monologues from Eve Ensler’s I Am an Emotional Creature, have occasional guest speakers from the community, and host a celebratory event in March or April.

 

Announcing: The Love Below

We are announcing our collaboration with the Texas Tech Chapter of AAUW on a new performance piece “The Love Below.” Coming Friday, February 5th, 2012, on the TTU campus, this piece focuses solely on black women’s experiences and promises to be one of the BEST performances you have ever seen in our community.

So…mark your calendars!!!