This question, often asked of survivors of sexual violence in order to discredit them, was answered by a powerful exhibit in Baker University Center’s Trisolini Gallery this fall.
The exhibit, sponsored by Ohio University’s Women’s Center, the Survivor Advocacy Program, the Campus Involvement Center, the College of Fine Arts, Ambassadors to the Survivor Advocacy Program, and the Intersectional Feminist Alliance, collected more than 40 stories from Athens-area survivors and displayed clothing representing what each was wearing at the time of the incident.
The exhibit will also travel to many of the regional campuses in the coming months after opening on the Athens campus amid an upswell of student-led efforts and University-supported resources to end sexual violence.
Presented below with their original survivor-provided descriptions, the submissions lay out the answers to the question—pajamas, running shorts, a pink polo, a once favorite pair of pants—and cast off the blame often placed on the victim.
The first “What Were You Wearing?” exhibit was held in 2014 at the University of Arkansas, and many have been held since at campuses throughout the United States. Inspired by Mary Simmerling’s poem, also below, the first exhibits were created by Jen Brockman and Mary Wyandt-Hiebert.
Feature photo by Ellee Achten, BSJ '14, MA'17. Exhibit photos by Pete Shooner
WHAT I WAS WEARING
By Mary Simmerling
was this:
from the top
a white t-shirt
cotton
short-sleeved
and round at the neck
this was tucked into
a jean skirt
(also cotton)
ending just above the knees
and belted at the top
underneath all this
was a white cotton bra
and white underpants
(though probably not a set)
on my feet
white tennis shoes
the kind one plays tennis in
and then finally
silver earrings, and lip gloss.
this is what i was wearing
that day
that night
that fourth of july
in 1987.
you may be wondering
why this matters
or even how i remember
every item
in such detail
you see
i have been asked this question
many times
it has been called to my mind
many times
this question
this answer
these details.
but my answer
much awaited
much anticipated
seems flat somehow
given the rest of the details
of that night
during which
at some point
i was raped.
and i wonder
what answer
what details
would give comfort
could give comfort
to you
my questioners
seeking comfort where
there is
alas
no comfort
to be found.
if only it were so simple
if only we could
end rape
by simply changing clothes
i remember also
what he was wearing
that night
even though
it's true
that no one
has ever asked.