Longhorn alumna Jessica Jin plans to protest campus carry in a somewhat unconventional way — by organizing a “Campus (Dildo) Carry” protest at the University’s Austin campus. Jin graduated from the University of Texas last year with a degree in violin performance.
Campus carry, a law that extends concealed carry privileges to license holders on university campuses, was signed into law by Texas Governor Abbott this year.
Using the social media hashtag, #CocksNotGlocks, participants are encouraged to wield dildos to demonstrate the absurdity of campus carry.
Yeah, we don’t get it either.
Organizer Jin wrote on the event’s official Facebook page:
The State of Texas has decided that it is not at all obnoxious to allow deadly concealed weapons in classrooms, however it DOES have strict rules about free sexual expression, to protect your innocence. You would receive a citation for taking a DILDO to class before you would get in trouble for taking a gun to class. Heaven forbid the penis….Starting on the first day of Long Session classes on August 24, 2016, we are strapping gigantic swinging dildos to our backpacks in protest of campus carry.ANYBODY can participate in solidarity: alum, non-UT students, people outside of Texas. Come one dildo, come all dildos.”You’re carrying a gun to class? Yeah well I’m carrying a HUGE DILDO.” Just about as effective at protecting us from sociopathic shooters, but much safer for recreational play.#CocksNotGlocks
Facebook chatting with the Houston Chronicle, Jin explained why she chose sex toys as a second amendment protest:
Q: Why dildos of all things?
A: Firstly, it is just plain funny. A campus bobbing with dildos is the stuff of every prankster’s dreams. It’s also self aware. We’re all a bunch of dildos for allowing this debate to go on for so long.Another thing: it spotlights the masturbatory nature of the power which people derive from gun ownership, and the self aggrandizing “I’m one of the good ones, I’ll protect you” arguments we’re so often expected to simply trust.Additionally, the dildo has proven itself to be interesting fodder for commentary on what our society does and does not consider “obscene.” The narratives surrounding sexuality (or just dildos, in this case) and guns are more intertwined than one would expect, and more similarities seem to unfold every minute. They each have the power to instantly masculate or emasculate at a moment’s notice. Some shootings in this past year can even be traced straight back to sexual repression. Dildos and guns are in it together for the long haul.Q: What’s the ideal outcome?A: I need this proliferation of dildos to offer people a visual representation of what it would be like if we all carried guns. It should look ridiculous to you. That is the point. This is America; if guns and bloodshed don’t wake people up, a public celebration of sexuality may just do the trick. We’re going to need a lot of dildos.If our country continues in the direction it’s headed, everyone will eventually have to carry in order to protect any semblance of freedom or equality. We clearly already can’t trust each other, and that mistrust is perpetuating a self-defeating escalation of gun ownership in America. Life in a fully armed society resembles something more like a fear-based hellhole than the land of the free, if you ask me.
Students attending the protest are unlikely to face punitive measures by the University, according to the Houston Chronicle:
“University of Texas students are free to express themselves peacefully on all issues and this appears to be an example of political speech,” Susswein said. “We ask that the conversations around this issue always remain civil and urge students to be part of the ongoing discussion about how to implement the campus carry law at UT Austin.”
Pretty much this:
You know what they say — never bring a dildo to a gun fight. Well, they don’t say that, but someone probably should.
Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY