What I found particularly interesting about this week’s readings are the parallels between Doing It Yourself/ DIY, 1980s-2000s and the story of Home Alive. Both are centered around creating something, whether that is music or an organization, due to a void in that field. For example, in Doing It Yourself/ DIY, 1980s-2000s, Habell-Pallán describes how hip hop and punk emerged without the help of the commercial music industry and how latinos have been erased from this part of history. The emergence of punk and hip hop both followed a void in the music industry that these artists took upon themselves to fill and by doing so created new genres and diversified the music industry. Many times, it is crucial that pioneers have this do it yourself mentality because there is no space in society for what they are proposing and so they need to create the space themselves. Similarly, Home Alive was created after the tragic death of Mia Zapata, who was brutally raped and murdered. This proved that the streets of Seattle were not safe for women and there was a void in the Seattle community on what people were doing to avoid deaths like Mia Zapata’s. In the article, Finally, Filmmakers Tell the Forgotten History of Seattle DIY Self-Defense Group Home Alive, Laina Dawes describes the creation of Home Alive saying “Her friends, some who had experienced sexual assault themselves, decided to create Home Alive, a nonprofit organization that promotes alternative methods for women to protect themselves within the community.” This organization grew from the void that the government and organizations were not doing enough to protect women in our communities. In response, Home Alive proves to serve those that were otherwise left behind.
DJ Selections:
Lunachicks - Don't Want You: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWKi6F5jMjo
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