Not Safe For Women
Liz Bergesch
I am exploring the idea of taking content originally posted anonymously via the internet (through mediums such as Tumblr) and creating a selection of printed ephemera with it. The project, titled Not Safe For Women, explores the questions “what do we say to others via the internet, that we should have kept to ourselves? How do we respond when things like this are said to us?” This project not only displays offensive messages from men and possible responses to such messages by women, but also explores the internet in general as a medium for harassment, and why one might feel it is acceptable to send certain messages that they would never say to one’s face. The content selected for my project was written anonymously by men and sent to women, and is generally of a highly sexual nature. Through using this type of communication—taking it out of its original context and putting it on wearable things like stickers or patches or tote bags, or making posters that can be hung or wheat-pasted—I hope to raise questions about the culture of the internet. I would like to ask why men think it is ok to say highly disturbing things to others that they would never say to their face, to show the anger felt by women when these messages are received, and to educate and largely instill a sense of disgust in the viewer.