Guest Post by Kaitlyn Elliott, The Cycle Sisters at St. Mary’s College of California
14 September 2009
A brief twenty-four hours ago we stormed campus, with 350 flyers and two rolls of packing tape in our collective hands. Detailed within are our intentions, goals, and expectations. This is our Manifesta.
As individuals, we each grew frustrated with the lack of support women receive on the St. Mary’s campus. Try as we might, our demands for equality and respect befall deaf ears. For one, the Women’s Resource Center is continually pushed around campus, its current location on the perimeter, out of sight, and our efforts to “Take Back the Night” fail to resonate fully. We are the majority, though we are often forced into the submissive position of the minority. Perhaps one could theorize that the empty tampon and sanitary napkin dispensers are the straws that broke these camels’ backs, but let us assure our critics and our allies: Our bones are unbroken, and until equality is tangible, we will not rest.
Women are ostracized for “bleeding for five days and not dying.” Women are paraded as disgusting examples of human beings when, God forbid, we have monthly emergencies and are unable to secure the cotton products which temporarily stop our bleeding. We are made to feel gross about our bodies, to shudder in horror at our bodily functions, to be embarrassed. We cannot separate our minds from our bodies, so we demand the acceptance and respect of both. We will not be shamed, and we will not live in fear of humiliation.
Popular rumor has it that administrators and primarily male professors found our guerilla campaign completely offensive, inappropriate, and “un-ladylike.” If making bold statements and standing up for ourselves makes us “un-ladylike,” then we should wish to never be classified as “ladies” again. The freedom of speech has long been reserved for men, and our opponents, rather than consider the issue we have presented (and the issues we will present), prefer to demean our liberal methods. “Menstruation” is not a dirty word; neither are “tampons,” “maxi pads,” or “vagina.” Try as they might, the opposition will continue to deny our reproductive cycles, our minds, and our sexuality. Thus, we will work doubly as hard to control our own portrayals and our own bodies. If bleeding is any indication of one’s dedication to a cause, consider us loyal until the end.
Our demands are simple: We expect and require the humanity and freedoms that are continuously and permanently reserved for men. To alter a quote of yore: Hell hath no fury like a woman denied her voice.
We are a sorority of “hysterical” women (we do not fraternize), and we refuse to be quiet until these cycles of oppression are broken.
We are Cycle Sisters.
