Miss D.C. Takes a Page From Miss Congeniality, Body Slams Gropers

I adore Sandra Bullock's acting, and while Miss Congeniality isn't the most serious film in her repertoire, the scene where Bullock "SINGs" is really something.

Bullock's character, Gracie Hart, is a police officer working undercover at a Miss United States pageant. When the setup for her planned talent goes awry, she improvises a new bit, explaining, "I believe that no woman should be without at least a basic knowledge of self-defense." Hart demonstrates a few blows women can use to defend themselves against an attacker, counseling them, "just remember to SING — S-I-N-G. She continues, "solar plexus, instep, nose, groin," landing a blow on her "assailant" as she names each body part. (You can check out the clip here.)

Much of why I love that scene is that it's so out-of-the-ordinary for a real life beauty pageant, where women are objectified and expected to look "feminine," which generally doesn't include beating the shit out of an attempted assailant. So I was surprised yet thrilled to hear Miss D.C., Jen Corey, speaking out against sexual assault and particularly groping, and channeling Gracie Hart by using body slams and head locks against attackers.

Corey tells NBC 4, "The big thing that's upset me the most is people say, 'oh you're at a bar or you're out in public, you should accept the fact that that's going to happen,' and that's not okay." Seriously, Corey states that she's been groped at the grocery store. If a woman needs to pick up some food she should expect to be sexually assaulted? Talk about rape culture. (Video after the jump.)

"It's demeaning and it's disrespectful and it scares you, which is the biggest thing," Corey continues, indicating that she's lucky that being tall (nearly six feet) gives her an advantage in defending herself or her friends from an abusive stranger. But for any woman, and especially smaller women, being a target of harassment and groping is extremely frightening; often, as occurred to Corey, a group of men are ganging up on her. Not only does this violates a person's bodily integrity, which is never acceptable, it raises the fear of escalating to further violence or rape.

While in some situations, the only thing a woman can do is try to get safely away as soon as possible, Miss D.C. wants women and girls to know that it's okay to go to someone who can help them — for instance, a bouncer or bartender at a club or bar — and report that they are being harassed. "The biggest thing is that it's so under reported, because I was thinking about it, this has happened to me dozens of times, and I've never once reported it."

Women are so indoctrinated with the idea that groping is just "something that happens" and they have to put up with, that perpetrators can commit such acts with utter impunity, assured that they can continue to harass women without fear of consequences. Kudos to Corey to calling attention to an issue that doesn't get enough attention, and for standing up for a woman's right to walk down the street and go where she pleases without fear of sexual harassment or abuse. (And Kudos to Gracie Hart for teaching us a new way to SING.)

Photo credit: Vicky