To show that garment choice is unrelated to sexual violence, and to allow people to see themselves reflected in the experience of these survivors and their everyday outfits, Siena’s Title IX Office is presenting the exhibit “What Were You Wearing.”
The exhibit is on display on the lower level of the Standish Library through May 9. Based on a concept originally created in 2013 at the University of Arkansas, student-survivors there voluntarily shared brief descriptions of the clothing they were wearing at the time they were assaulted. The Siena exhibit features 10 different outfits recreated from the stories that these students shared. Please note: the exhibit may be triggering for some viewers.
“The clothes on exhibit aren't unique - they are clothes many of us have hanging in our closet right now,” said Danielle Joyce ’92, Title IX/EEO associate. “We hope that when members of our community view the exhibit, they reflect on this; by making this connection we begin to move away from victim blaming and instead place responsibility on the individual who perpetrated the violence.”
The exhibit was presented last year at Siena as an online photo gallery due to pandemic restrictions.