Comments on: Let’s Talk about Sex(ual Violence).

By: At Least 18 Young Men Suspected In Gang Rape of 11 Year Old Texas Girl | Clutch Magazine

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 21:07:40 +0000

[…] While we rarely hear about assault cases of this magnitude, a startling number of rape cases involve multiple assailants. Noted scholar and activist Dr. L’Heureux Dumi Lewis states that an estimated 10 to 33 percent of sexual assaults… […]

By: Prescription for Relief | The Feminist Wire

Prescription for Relief | The Feminist Wire — Sat, 19 May 2012 19:02:43 +0000

[…] […]

By: Who Will Revere Us? (Black LGTBQ People, Straight Women, and Girls) Part I [#Feminist Friday] | People Of Color Organize!

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:00:43 +0000

[…] African-American journalists, scholars, activists, and theologians including, but not limited to L’Heureux Dumi Lewis, Kellee Terrell, Mark Anthony Neal, TaRessa Stovall, Rev. Nelson Jerome Pierce, Jr., Denene […]

By: Who Will Revere Us? (Black LGTBQ People, Straight Women, and Girls) (Part 1) | The Feminist Wire

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:06:18 +0000

By: Me Myself

Me Myself — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 15:48:00 +0000

“are we even talking to boys and men about sexual violence?” — excellent blog post and super excellent question. We talk to pre-teen and teenage girls about ‘avoiding strangers’, not walking alone at night, etc. — but most parents of boys don’t say a thing to their sons about how they should behave and/or treat young women. Instead, they get mixed msgs and overt misogynistic commentary from corporate media (endless slasher flicks and belligerent song lyrics). What else would they assume based on the media except that it’s “okay” to treat females this way? I hope your post inspires some heavy parenting.

By: Me Myself

Me Myself — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 15:48:00 +0000

By: Prescription for Relief | The Feminist Wire

Prescription for Relief | The Feminist Wire — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:47:43 +0000

[…] UpTown Notes: Let’s Talk About Sex(ual Violence) […]

By: Henriette Jansen

Henriette Jansen — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:34:00 +0000

Thank you so much for this important post! Sexual violence is everyone’s issue. Indeed, we need more men to speak out about this to their peers. I work on violence against women research and I will share your post with colleagues and friends. Thank you again and I hope to read in due course about B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S.

By: Henriette Jansen

Henriette Jansen — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:34:00 +0000

By: 11-Year-Old in Cleveland, TX Abused On More Than One Occasion | Strollerderby

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 15:20:08 +0000

[…] should read her entire piece, and this piece she’s responding to by Dr. L’Heureux Dumi Lewis about sexual violence, but I’ll quote a few passages here […]

By: Karen Franklin

Karen Franklin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Great essay. Thanks for your candor. I’ve linked to it at my forensic psychology blog:

http://3.ly/5qHd

and also at an international discussion on multiple-perpetrator rape that is currently under way at the discussion forum site of the Sexual Violence Research Institute (an international sexual violence agency based in South Africa) — note that you must register to view this discussion thread:

http://www.svri.org/svriforums/account!default.jspa

By: Karen Franklin

Karen Franklin — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Great essay. Thanks for your candor. I’ve linked to it at my forensic psychology blog:

http://3.ly/5qHd

http://www.svri.org/svriforums/account!default.jspa

By: After Cleveland, Texas: Eight Ways Black Men Can Fight Rape « Sleeping Beauty Slavery

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:58:21 +0000

[…] of New York who frequently writes and speaks about black masculinity and sexual violence. On his Uptown Notes blog, Lewis, who is black, recently revealed how he was “casually socialized into thinking that […]

By: Chicago program uses the arts to end violence against girls and women « News and Resources

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 22:30:40 +0000

[…] Home. Dr. L’Heureux Dumi Lewis, who will be teaching the summer class, writes in his blog, Uptown Notes: If we are going to provide a safe environment for boys and girls as well as men and women, we […]

By: Rebeca del Mar

Rebeca del Mar — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 23:42:00 +0000

Thank you, great article, great point… This is not a problem of race or gender is a society one and need to be address ASAP…

By: Rebeca del Mar

Rebeca del Mar — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 23:42:00 +0000

Thank you, great article, great point… This is not a problem of race or gender is a society one and need to be address ASAP…

By: Weekly Link Round Up: Women, Gang-Rape, Lent, BIG, Yoga, Academia and Spirituality – South Side Scholar

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:33:00 +0000

[…] – Professor R. L’Hereux Lewis discusses the politics of sexual violence within the black community: Let’s Talk About Sex(ual) Violence […]

By: mbry

mbry — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:16:00 +0000

Excellent article. One thing I have never heard mentioned is how male celebrities (both black and white) could step up to the plate and put out public service announcements / advertisements regarding how horrendous rape is and how critical it is to respect a person’s humanity. These people make soooo much money and have such an incredible influence on our young people. I have not seen anyone suggest this but I think it would be wonderful. It would require courage and selflessness on their part though.

By: mbry

mbry — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:16:00 +0000

By: nic

nic — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:54:00 +0000

thank you! i too have posted about this, as a rape survivor myself, i truly appreciate your words. http://www.mybottlesup.com/2011/03/wherein-i-write-another-post-about-sexual-assault/

By: nic

nic — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:54:00 +0000

thank you! i too have posted about this, as a rape survivor myself, i truly appreciate your words. http://www.mybottlesup.com/2011/03/wherein-i-write-another-post-about-sexual-assault/

By: Hamster-based-crime vs Human-based-crime | MKP-Hearts-NYC, Brooklyn Edition

Hamster-based-crime vs Human-based-crime | MKP-Hearts-NYC, Brooklyn Edition — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:33:35 +0000

[…] case and this wretched coverage of it, here’s how it could have been covered, and what educating young men and boys about sexual assault could have done to prevent […]

By: Saran

Saran — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:45:00 +0000

First I need to say “thank you” for this post. You are completely & absolutely on point. I work in the field of sexual violence prevention & we are working to re-frame the issue of sexual violence as not a “woman’s issue” but everyone’s issue. Men & boys must be an active part of the solution. Being silent is part of the problem. We need men & boys to speak out! I’m excited about this work because there are awesome organizations that are dedicated to working with men such as Men Can Stop Rape in DC & A Call To Men (www.acalltomen.com). Thank you again & keep posts like this coming.

By: Saran

Saran — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:45:00 +0000

By: More & Again

More & Again — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:20:00 +0000

Thank YOU, Dumi. I don’t even have much to add, but thank you for this post.

By: More & Again

More & Again — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 02:20:00 +0000

Thank YOU, Dumi. I don’t even have much to add, but thank you for this post.

By: Robert Weller

Robert Weller — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:45:00 +0000

I was brought to believe that rape was wrong. But like most Americans, men and women, I thought rape almost always involved strangers jumping out from behind trees in the dark. I learned as a reporter at the Air Force Academy that most victims know their attacks. Many, if not most rapes, are never reported. Of course rapists should receive the most punishment law allows. But as said above, education is needed. And not just for blacks.

By: Robert Weller

Robert Weller — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:45:00 +0000

By: Nikita T. Mitchell

Nikita T. Mitchell — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:31:00 +0000

Great point

By: Nikita T. Mitchell

Nikita T. Mitchell — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:31:00 +0000

Great point

By: George

George — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:11:00 +0000

First, thank you for this post. As the perpetrators and primary enablers of sexual violence, it is critical for us as men to take initiative in having these conversations. I appreciate that you’re doing so here.

My thoughts on the issues of rape, sexual violence, and power are informed in part by bell hooks’ Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. In that book, hooks discusses (among many other things) the need to transform the way we define power–particularly by rejecting the idea that power must mean control and domination. Instead, she suggests that one alternative is thinking of power as resistance. I think another alternative can be thinking of power as choice.

Redefining power to mean choice and resistance can be instructive for boys and men. For both, this would mean being proactive about looking inside oneself first, to commit to decisions and actions that are responsible and honorable. In addition, exercising this kind of power would mean embracing values that affirm one’s own humanity and the humanity of others, as well as rejecting (resisting) both the norms that encourage men to exploit others and the fear that comes from being judged for choosing to do so.

Choosing to redefine power, and putting that redefinition into practice, could be a significant step in getting beyond sexual violence and the ways of thinking that make sexual violence possible.

By: George

George — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 18:11:00 +0000

Choosing to redefine power, and putting that redefinition into practice, could be a significant step in getting beyond sexual violence and the ways of thinking that make sexual violence possible.

By: Facebook User

Facebook User — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:24:00 +0000

Just a note. In the feminist/womanist blogosphere they’re moving past “no means no” to “yes means yes” and the idea of enthusiastic consent. Because “no means no” doesn’t really cover that the absence of a “no” DOES NOT equal a “yes”.

By: Facebook User

Facebook User — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:24:00 +0000

By: Happy Black Girl Day: March 2011 Edition | The Beautiful Struggler

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:23:34 +0000

[…] girl who was gang raped in Cleveland, Texas, which I wrote about for Clutch today. Please check out Dumi Lewis’s insightful piece about young men and the dangerous group think and peer pressure that can inform their choice to […]

By: bears

bears — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:07:00 +0000

I would like to guess which one of your uncles said “you ain’t no real man till you had some” because I think I already know….

By: bears

bears — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:07:00 +0000

I would like to guess which one of your uncles said “you ain’t no real man till you had some” because I think I already know….

By: Denice

Denice — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:38:00 +0000

Thank you for this. I appreciate the way that you’ve framed the issue of sexual violence as one that we all have the power to address and conversely all have the power to endorse by choosing to be silent.

By: Denice

Denice — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:38:00 +0000

By: metermouse

metermouse — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:11:00 +0000

this post is full of so much win, thank you.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 23:11:00 +0000

this post is full of so much win, thank you.

By: Ili

Ili — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:20:00 +0000

Great post. To say this case is troubling is an understatement. Light needs to be shed on this issue in a huge way. I often question whether sex is being discussed in a mature and informative way with young men at all. Short of the ‘don’t get caught up’ messages about getting girls pregnant, there doesn’t seem to be much conversation going on at all. There is so much that needs to be addressed and corrected in their thinking when it comes to sex and what constitutes sexual violence.

By: Ili

Ili — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:20:00 +0000