“Call Out Rapists. Stop Protecting Abusers:” an Ethnography of Communication Approach to Calling-Out Perpetrators of Sexual Violence in DIY/punk Communities

Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/g445cd474

Abstract

Recent online movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp have not only brought sexual violence into mainstream conversations, it has also illuminated the accompanying practice of “calling-out abusers” as a significant way for understanding alternative approaches to accountability for perpetrators of sexual violence. DIY/punk communities in particular serve as unique sites for studying this practice, having been engaged in this practice long before it reached mainstream popularity. Drawing on theories and methodologies from the ethnography of communication tradition, I will describe and explicate the communicative practice of “calling-out” perpetrators of sexual violence within DIY/punk communities through the SPEAKING framework and cultural discourse analysis. By looking to both the doing of and talking about the practice of “calling-out,” I uncover locally significant meanings around sexual violence, alternative accountability processes, and online settings as an increasingly common space for the enactment of community.

Creator