"My name is Amy Sousa, I’m here because I am deeply concerned for this community. I’m concerned about the treatment that women/girls are being given by those on city leadership, and I am concerned for the community as a whole when the lack of respect given to women, specifically rape survivors is not only condoned, but applauded by those holding positions of power.
People on this city council have accused me of being hateful, a bigot, and a TERF, a slur which is associated with hundreds of thousands of some of the most graphic threats of violence against women. This slur was used both by mayor David Faber and by council member Libby Winstrom.
In all the name calling I have received no one has made an attempt to grapple with my central point, which I will repeat for you now again in the hopes that we can have an actual conversation. The issue that I am pointing to is one of sexism. I observe that safeguarding necessitates that women/girls have protections on the basis of our sex, and boundaries around our bodies, the right of consent, privacy, safety & dignity. I refuse to deny the embodied sex based differences of men & women and I uphold that to deny these differences is SEXIST.
On August 15, I organized a press conference in order to speak to the physical needs of women/girls as a sex class. A mere 35 women gathered to listen to one another speak, and we were met with an angry mob of protesters who backed us into a brick wall, bullied us, harassed us, and silenced us.
The leadership of this community has been not just dismissive about the violence women were subjected to on August 15, but have even applauded it publicly. Is there a greater tragedy(irony?) then to have women who are speaking out about our need for privacy, safety and dignity, to have our dignity and safety trampled on by angry men who refuse to let women speak. This is regressive.
The recent proclamation called for by this council asked members of the community to be respectful, welcoming, and kind to everyone regardless of gender identity, I have never done otherwise. I can be respectful, welcoming, and kind to everyone and still ask for boundaries around my body and the needs of my physical sex respected.
Being a woman is not "who" I am by identity, it is WHAT I am physically experiencing. I do not claim boundaries for myself on the basis of my identity, but on the basis of my sex. I do not object to men in my spaces on the basis of their identity, but on the basis of their SEX.
Sex denialism is SEXISM. Denying women/girls provisions for our sex is sex based discrimination. This is a conversation I am planning to continue to have with all of you seated here today as well as with the wider community.
Women/girls demand to center the needs of our bodies and we demand for these needs to be taken seriously politically."
~ Amy Sousa, Port Townsend