What does mean to make a space safer? What is a safe space? According to Shawna Potter, it’s being aware of the presence and behavior you have in places where you work, gather, and play. In this episode, Shawna and I discuss street harassment and how to stop it as a victim and as a bystander, healthy flirting, what it means to a feminist, and how being “an independent woman” can hold you back from interpersonal relationships.

All of these things are laid out in greater detail in her book Making Spaces Safer: A Guide to Giving Harassment the Boot Wherever You Work, Play, and Gather linked in the show description.

 

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About Shawna Potter (WOW!):

Shawna Potter, singer for the band War On Women, has tackled sexism and harassment in lyrics and on stage for years. Taking the battle to music venues themselves, she has trained night clubs and community spaces in how to create safer environments for marginalized people. Now she’s turned decades of experience into a clear and concise guide for public spaces of all sorts to shut down harassers wherever they show up. 

In her book released May 2019, Making Spaces Safer: A Guide to Giving Harassment the Boot Wherever You Work, Play, and Gather, the steps she outlines are realistic, practical, and actionable. With the addition of personal stories, case studies, sample policies, and no-nonsense advice like “How to Flirt without Being a Creep,” she shows why safer spaces are important, while making it easier to achieve them. 

Her website: https://shawnapotter.com/

Buy the book we discussed: https://www.akpress.org/making-spaces-safer-book.html

Book review/discussion video with STRAND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wesGgrMop98

Hollaback! Baltimore Chapter: https://bmore.ihollaback.org/

Twitter, Instagram, Facebook@ShawnaPotterWow

https://www.facebook.com/ShawnaPotterOfficial/

https://twitter.com/shawnapotterwow

https://www.instagram.com/shawnapotterwow/

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