The New England Women's Studies Association and the Women's Studies Program at the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth are hosting their annual Spring Conference this Friday and Saturday. This year, the theme of the conference is "Performing Activism." The main focus of the conference is defining activism and how it is carried out within interdisciplinary perspectives and the community.
At the conference, Elaine Theodore, Tufts' Violence Prevention Education Coordinator, will be presenting a project focusing on the concept of secrecy as advocacy.
Although the concept of secrecy is an unusual approach to understanding sexuality, Theodore is working to explore ways in which it can be comforting - even liberating.
"My proposal asks, 'Can secrecy about some aspect of one's sexuality be advocacy in some way?'" said Theodore, who has been working at Tufts since August of 2004 on the Campus Violence Prevention Project, which is currently in its fourth year.
Fueled by her background in the performing arts and her interest in women's studies, Theodore's Friday presentation will feature videotapes, monologues and voice-overs of students and community members discussing their once-secret sexual experiences. She has conducted several interviews with various people and said she has received "several interesting perspectives."
These experiences and perspectives range from exploration of one's own sexuality and coming out as gay or lesbian, to sexual abuse and molestation. "I made sure that whoever participates already had some 'healing work' done, so that it's empowering for them to tell their story," Theodore said.
To clarify what exactly she means by secrecy as advocacy, Theodore gave the example of a high school student she knew of who was being molested by her mother's boyfriend. The girl hadn't figured out a way out of the house, but she'd been confiding in her guidance counselor about the situation.
"In this way, her secret was 'safe with someone else,'" Theodore said. "Though she couldn't get out of the house, it was empowering for her to tell her story to someone else."
Theodore also cited examples of young students conflicted about coming out and asked whether, in the interest of safety, it's better for them to "stay in" instead. She places emphasis on the idea of secrecy as gaining control rather than holding back.
Theodore points to a quote by author Sissels Bok in the book "Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation" that says, "Secrecy for plans is needed, not only to protect their formation, but also to develop them, to change them and at times execute them."
"I'm not so interested in the morality piece, but rather the social implications and functions," Theodore said.
She admitted that the concept of secrecy "can be seen as counterintuitive, and isn't necessarily healing for everyone."
"But the concept of intimacy, of no one else knowing, can be powerful in itself," she said. "I think of it as safekeeping, healing, or empowering - for some people, for some time."
The conference is open to students and professors in the New England area who are interested in women's studies. It is taking place tomorrow and Saturday at U-Mass Dartmouth. For more information, visit http://ase.tufts.edu/womenstudies/newsa/conference/.
