Call for Submissions – Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture

Authors Roxanne Gay and Ashley C. Ford, in conjunction with Harper Perennial, are compiling an anthology Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture. The collection focuses upon the often diminished experiences of victims and survivors of rape culture and sexual violence.

They are accepting submissions 2,500 to 7,500 words in length. Topics include:

  • Testimonies of what “not that bad” looks like
  • Critical examinations of rape culture
  • What it’s like to negotiate rape culture as a man
  • How women diminish the sexual violence and aggression they experience and the effects of doing so
  • What “not that bad” looks like in popular culture—film, television, and music
  • Resisting rape culture
  • Combating sexual harassment, street harassment and cat-calling
  • How sexual harassment and violence erode women’s privacy

Submissions close on December 15th. More information, guidelines, and their Submittable page can be found here.

From the editors:

“Victims and survivors of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse have been taught by this culture that whatever horror they have endured could have been worse. At least you weren’t touched. At least you weren’t raped. At least you weren’t killed. This world effectively silences those who have been violated by demanding their first reaction be gratitude for what did not happen.

Not That Bad is an opportunity for those whose voices were stolen from them, to reclaim and tell their stories. This anthology will explore what it is like to navigate rape culture as shaped by the identities we inhabit.

Contributing to this anthology is a chance to own your own narrative with all of the complexity of reality without shame or condescension. Because too many of us have lived this truth, there is no one way to tell this story.

We warmly encourage submissions from people from all walks of life and across the gender spectrum.”