22-year-old Karmenife Paulino was raped during her freshman year at Wesleyan College. The assault colored the rest of her college experience, destroying a place she’d hoped could be a haven.
“…she found herself crying in class, avoiding her rapist, poring over the university’s sexual misconduct policies, filing reports and attending hearings until, finally in her junior year, the man was expelled.”
“…she found herself crying in class, avoiding her rapist, poring over the university’s sexual misconduct policies, filing reports and attending hearings until, finally in her junior year, the man was expelled.”
In a photo series aptly titled Reclamation, Paulino decides to symbolically regain control of her sexuality in the midst of misogynistic fraternity culture. Here is how she describes the project, which was photographed by Tess Altman;
“Reclamation is a photo project seeking to reclaim fraternity spaces, ones that have been marked as dangerous for certain members of the Wesleyan community, though a reversal of both role and gaze.
Settings include Psi Upsilon, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Kappa Epsilon and The Eclectic Society, as these institutions create space on campus for sexual, racial and gendered violence to occur and fester. “Frat boy” models can be found in submissive positions to gesturally mimic how women and other marginalized voices are often treated behind these walls. Karmenife is clad in dominatrix gear to signify a certain power and ownership of her sexuality and positioning, as women who exercise power and confidence in their sexuality are routinely demonized both within and outside of the fraternity [i.e. if she is sexually assaulted, it is quickly deemed that she had been “asking for it”].”
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Race plays a role in Paulino’s experience. Her attacker was black and, much like the Morehouse rape victims who came forward in January, Paulino says she feels some guilt for speaking out against him.
“When we speak we have to represent the entire community, which is horrible,” Paulino said. “Because my rapist was black it was really difficult for me to call my rapist a rapist. I felt like I had let my community down and like I was enforcing stereotypes.”
“When we speak we have to represent the entire community, which is horrible,” Paulino said. “Because my rapist was black it was really difficult for me to call my rapist a rapist. I felt like I had let my community down and like I was enforcing stereotypes.”
Despite that conflict, this photo series is incredibly striking.
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
Tess Altman and Karmenife Paulino, Reclamation
See more images from the photo series here.
Black Girl With Long Hair
Leila, founder of Black Girl with Long Hair (April 2008). Social media, pop culture and black beauty enthusiast.
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