Joy Is a Weapon

by Violet*

Violet explores survival, storytelling and the power of imagining new futures beyond the myths that surround sexual violence.
*Named changed for anonymity.

“We will not know our own injustice if we cannot imagine justice. We will not be free if we do not imagine freedom.”

- Ursula Le Guin

Here’s what I believe:

1. Joy is a weapon.

2. You can’t make it rain just by going outside.

3. Survivors aren’t broken.

4. We can tell new stories.

5. Dancing is the answer.

I believe that if we are to change—
really change—
systems that resist healing,
the courts and justice structures
that keep circling back to violence,
then the stories we tell ourselves
are a good place to start.

The stories in our minds
we might be too afraid to feel,
or to let out.

Because if we spoke them into the world,
we would learn we are not alone.
We might discover we are part of a collective.

Survivors—victims—
there is no pride march for us.
So do we, incidentally, live in shame?

How can we shift the story?

Broken victims.
Lives ruined by sexual violence.

Tell me—
if nearly every woman you know
has experienced not nothing,
how can this myth be true?

Who is this myth for?

The stories on our stages,
on our screens,
in the news,
in our minds.

What world could we imagine
if we told new ones for ourselves?

What if we paused for a moment
and spoke new stories into being—
beyond:
women fear the inevitability of rape,
men fear being accused.

I think the only way through
is through feeling.

FEEL our story.
EXPRESS it.
EXORCISE the myths.
LISTEN to what is left.

We might feel our way into a future
where conflicting truths can coexist.

Perpetrators are often victims.
Victims are often okay.
Punishment isn’t always the answer.
People don’t always break.

You don’t make it rain
just by stepping outside.

Joy is a weapon.
Dancing is the answer.

Raving, By Violet

The most radical thing we can do is refuse the stories that were written about us and write our own instead.