In the midst of the #metoo movement, many of us sat in front of our screens and watched in painful, chest-gripping silence, as Dr. Ford recounted her experience of sexual assault. Giving her testimony to a sea of largely white male faces, Ford’s powerful speech act, felt at first to have the might of David’s stone hailing against a very real institution of American Patriarchy. But all too quickly, we were reminded that this Goliath seldom stumbles, let alone falls. Sexual assault and the degradation of women are not only forgivable in our world, they are essential building blocks of our cultural values. “Virile aggressiveness,” Simone de Beauvoir rightly asserted, “is a lordly privilege only within a system where everything conspires to affirm masculine sovereignty.”

This OlioHouse weekend will examine what it means to live in a rape culture. How do we as individuals experience rape culture? How do we confront it? And perhaps, most importantly, how might we be unintentionally contributing to it? We will learn about the history of rape in America, examining it's changing legal status, and its role in building a white supremacist patriarchy. With a close eye on race, class, immigration, and gender non-conformity, we will explore how rape shapes different realities for different bodies/selves. We will also examine the complicated debates within feminist theory regarding the issue of sexual assault.


The weekend will include two Olio lectures, guided journaling, watching a documentary, and small group workshops. All are welcome to attend—women, men, and everyone else. While the goals of this weekend will remain rooted in learning from academic scholarship, participants might find that such scholarship can provide a source of transformation and even healing.

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Rough Sketch of the Weekend:

Saturday

Noon- Arrive at OlioHouse to a communal lunch

1:30pm - Olio with Jamie in the barn

2:30pm - Free time

5:00pm - Olio number two

7:00pm - Dinner at the Lantern Inn

Sunday

8:30am - Breakfast

10:00am - Guided Journaling

Noon train back to Grand Central