Listen now | Julie Smolyansky was born in Kyiv, Ukraine to Jewish parents. Her family immigrated to the United States in 1976 where her father founded the Kefir company, Lifeway Foods in 1986. Smolyansky joined the company in 1997 after graduating from University of Chicago with a degree in psychology.
I actually have even more questions after listening to this. It is my understanding that many universities used to do orientations for entering women; giving them tips on how to protect themselves and not put themselves into vulerable positions if possible. Then it seems there was an outcry that this was a sexist approach and many colleges therefore stopped doing this type of cautionary education. So really there are multiple aspects of this. How to lower the risk of rape in the first place as well as how to handle it when it does happen How to control the insidious social media factors that sexualize children and girls which teach them that popularity and success is based on sex appeal and succumbing to male demands. And realistically, if every young girl was taught how to both physically and mentally fight back, as well as how best to not put herself at high risk in the first place, there would be far less physical assault. This strategy is NOT about blaming women for being attacked, it is facing the reality that exists and giving females the tools and confidence to change the dynamic, directly and personally. You can change policy and reprimand the boys all day long and that will help. But all the policy changes in the world don't do you any good if you can't deliver a swift kick to the balls among other things, and hopefully save yourself. That kind of instant response from the girls themselves is going stick as a real lesson in a way that all of the admonishments from the so-called authorities will not.
A tribal elder from my youth successfull fought off attempted rape by three drunk white men when she was only twelve years old. She was cornered in a barn and she fought them off with a pitchfork and killed one of them. Her parents smuggled her to out of state relatives to protect her from the very real possibility of retaliation by the white man's friends and family members and/or law enforcement. Back then, even if law enforcement ruled it justifiable homicide ( which could have gone either way in that place and time) and tried to protect her, they probably could not have done so. She and her parents did exactly the right thing and she went on to have a truly fascinating and powerful life even in the face of a complete lack of support from the dominant society around her.
Women have been conditioned not to fight back. That to me is an even greater crime. And honestly the mixed trans rights messages we are giving girls now is leaving them even more vulnerable to attack from male predators. We are teaching them to override their instinctual discomfort with male violation of female spaces. Not a very big step from being told you have to accept a large male with a penis next to you in the shower; to feeling you have to let a man sexually violate you.
Hard uncomfortable truths are not popular, but women and girls and boys have been dealing with rape in all it's myriad forms for thousands of years. This is not new. My tribal female ancestors who could not successfully stop a rape; would wait for an opportunity and kill their rapist. Or their male relatives would do the job for her. This was the well known outcome of rapists in my tribe. So hey, rape wasn' t a big problem as you can imagine.
Maybe we cannot be so direct today, but we can certainly make it a priority to train girls how to protect themselves and legally and emotionally support them in doing so. And just a personal gripe here, I wish folks would lose the term 'toxic' masculinity. There is plenty of 'toxic' femininity to go around. it is repetative dangerously harmful and damaging behavior that is toxic, whatever source it comes from, that needs to be addressed.
It is immoral for a university to try to misrepresent the number of assaults on campus, and I don't see it as bad publicity necessarily: the university itself cannot be held responsible for the actions of every student unless they fail to maintain a robust procedure for dealing with serious incidents. If I were a parent considering which university to choose for my child, I would prefer to send them to one with a proven record of protecting students, involving the police where appropriate, rather than one with a suspiciously spotless record. It sends a strong message to students - behave or you will face the consequences - and it tells parents that their child's safety will be top priority. Thank you both. Brilliant interview.
Well, for starters, I'm happy to see that you are still a subscriber to T30 (smile). I know we disagree on a few topics here and there... but we seem to agree on this one.
Yes, there are indeed "multiple aspects" to a remedy for the safety of women and girls on college campuses. And Julie is continuing to lobby on behalf of some effective solutions... as are the young women (and survivors) featured in the documentary, The Hunting Grounds.
And thank you again for your spirited and involved Comments... they are always welcomed and appreciated!
I actually have even more questions after listening to this. It is my understanding that many universities used to do orientations for entering women; giving them tips on how to protect themselves and not put themselves into vulerable positions if possible. Then it seems there was an outcry that this was a sexist approach and many colleges therefore stopped doing this type of cautionary education. So really there are multiple aspects of this. How to lower the risk of rape in the first place as well as how to handle it when it does happen How to control the insidious social media factors that sexualize children and girls which teach them that popularity and success is based on sex appeal and succumbing to male demands. And realistically, if every young girl was taught how to both physically and mentally fight back, as well as how best to not put herself at high risk in the first place, there would be far less physical assault. This strategy is NOT about blaming women for being attacked, it is facing the reality that exists and giving females the tools and confidence to change the dynamic, directly and personally. You can change policy and reprimand the boys all day long and that will help. But all the policy changes in the world don't do you any good if you can't deliver a swift kick to the balls among other things, and hopefully save yourself. That kind of instant response from the girls themselves is going stick as a real lesson in a way that all of the admonishments from the so-called authorities will not.
A tribal elder from my youth successfull fought off attempted rape by three drunk white men when she was only twelve years old. She was cornered in a barn and she fought them off with a pitchfork and killed one of them. Her parents smuggled her to out of state relatives to protect her from the very real possibility of retaliation by the white man's friends and family members and/or law enforcement. Back then, even if law enforcement ruled it justifiable homicide ( which could have gone either way in that place and time) and tried to protect her, they probably could not have done so. She and her parents did exactly the right thing and she went on to have a truly fascinating and powerful life even in the face of a complete lack of support from the dominant society around her.
Women have been conditioned not to fight back. That to me is an even greater crime. And honestly the mixed trans rights messages we are giving girls now is leaving them even more vulnerable to attack from male predators. We are teaching them to override their instinctual discomfort with male violation of female spaces. Not a very big step from being told you have to accept a large male with a penis next to you in the shower; to feeling you have to let a man sexually violate you.
Hard uncomfortable truths are not popular, but women and girls and boys have been dealing with rape in all it's myriad forms for thousands of years. This is not new. My tribal female ancestors who could not successfully stop a rape; would wait for an opportunity and kill their rapist. Or their male relatives would do the job for her. This was the well known outcome of rapists in my tribe. So hey, rape wasn' t a big problem as you can imagine.
Maybe we cannot be so direct today, but we can certainly make it a priority to train girls how to protect themselves and legally and emotionally support them in doing so. And just a personal gripe here, I wish folks would lose the term 'toxic' masculinity. There is plenty of 'toxic' femininity to go around. it is repetative dangerously harmful and damaging behavior that is toxic, whatever source it comes from, that needs to be addressed.
It is immoral for a university to try to misrepresent the number of assaults on campus, and I don't see it as bad publicity necessarily: the university itself cannot be held responsible for the actions of every student unless they fail to maintain a robust procedure for dealing with serious incidents. If I were a parent considering which university to choose for my child, I would prefer to send them to one with a proven record of protecting students, involving the police where appropriate, rather than one with a suspiciously spotless record. It sends a strong message to students - behave or you will face the consequences - and it tells parents that their child's safety will be top priority. Thank you both. Brilliant interview.
Thanks for your time and energy, Jules! I agree... it is indeed immoral for ANY university to misrepresent the numbers of assaults on campuses.
I'm just glad we have people out there like Julie Smolyansky.
Well, for starters, I'm happy to see that you are still a subscriber to T30 (smile). I know we disagree on a few topics here and there... but we seem to agree on this one.
Yes, there are indeed "multiple aspects" to a remedy for the safety of women and girls on college campuses. And Julie is continuing to lobby on behalf of some effective solutions... as are the young women (and survivors) featured in the documentary, The Hunting Grounds.
And thank you again for your spirited and involved Comments... they are always welcomed and appreciated!
Cheers!