FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The What Were You Wearing (WWYW) exhibit, which was first showcased 10 years ago at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, has returned to commemorate a decade of eye-opening testimony.
Displayed at the Arkansas Union on campus from April 22-25, WWYW is made from the outfits that sexual abuse victims were wearing when they were abused, "silently dispelling the age-old victim-blaming myths about sexual assault," the event announcement said.
Mary Wyandt-Hiebert, the director of the U of A's Sexual and Relationship Violence Center (SRVC) said that the exhibit was largely inspired by Mary Simmerling's poem What I was Wearing. Wyandt-Hiebert said she was also inspired by how often the conversations of clothing came up when she and her colleague Jen Brockman were working with victims of sexual assault.
In a U of A release, SRVC Office Manager Meredith Brady describes having a "visceral response to seeing the exhibit ... You know what happened, you know the stories, but you're confronted by the fact that these are mostly just normal, everyday clothes like the ones in your own closet."
"It really drives home the point that it's not about what you're wearing or even what you're doing," Brady said. "It's entirely about the choices made by the person who has attacked you in this way."
Wyandt-Hiebert emphasizes that the power of the exhibit comes from the realization that anybody could see themselves wearing the outfits on display, speaking to the fact that "sexual violence is everywhere, and anyone can be victimized by it."
"When Jen Brockman and I created this exhibit, we hoped to change the way people think about sexual violence, debunk associated myths, and facilitate thoughtful conversation," said Wyandt-Hiebert. "I feel grateful that this work has created a global platform to give voice to those victimized."
According to the U of A, over the last 10 years, WWYW has been showcased in every state in the U.S., 38 different countries, and every continent except Antarctica.
Brockman, now the director of the University of Kansas's Sexual Assault and Prevention Center has been working with her team to put together a map of all 490 places across the world where WWYW has been exhibited.
Past WWYW exhibits across the United States:
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