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The sacred space

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The sacred space

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Content THE SACRED SPACE
by
Zoe Trask
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR
COMMUNICATION AND JOURNALISM
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(SPECIALIZED JOURNALISM)
May 2024
Copyright 2024 Zoe Trask

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Podcast Summary ..………………………...................................................... ii
Script ................................................................................................................ iii
Bibliography …………………………………………………………………. iv
1

“The Sacred Space” Podcast Thesis Summary
The podcast, “The Sacred Space,” explores the psychological and complex relationship
between child sex abuse, male entitlement, and the psychological effects on Black women’s
mental health. Centuries ago, enslaved Black women’s bodies were treated like breeding cattle.
Though times have changed, Black women are still experiencing the consequences of the
normalization of sex abuse and victim blaming. Predators seek to control their innocent minds
and bodies, thus shattering their fragile “Sacred Space.” My story follows Kasia Poutama, who is
a youtuber, spiritual healer and tarot card guide living in Sydney, Australia. As a child sex abuse
survivor, Poutama described her experience being abused in her childhood home and how her
trauma came back to haunt her during her pregnancy.
The story deepens as I bring in Kalimah Johnson, who is a social justice activist from
Detroit and the executive director and founder of a nonprofit organization, Sexual Assault
Services for Holistic Healing and Awareness, also known as the SASHA Center. Johnson
explains how her organization has provided resources for survivors, particularly Black women,
who suffer from oversexualization and a tradition of silencing. To add another layer, I brought in
Dr. Gail Wyatt, who is a sex therapist, psychologist, and author of a book titled, Stolen Women.
Wyatt explains how toxic masculinity and generational trauma can lead to child sex abuse and
how survivors can seek therapeutic help.
As a journalist and Black woman, this story holds so much power and connects to me
personally. I am confident that this podcast will shine a light on underrepresented communities
and serve as a tool to uplift, educate, and advance Black voices through audio storytelling.
Spotify Podcast Link:
https://open.spotify.com/show/4T40lF6xemWHGlS2xFQyE4?si=2e7d983242ad40c7
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2

Podcast Script
[Poutama Youtube Ambi]
Zoe: This is KA-SEE-YA Poutama. She’s a 25 year old mom, youtuber, spiritual healer and
tarot card guide living in Sydney, Australia.
[1:10] POUTAMA: So I was in the first trimester of my daughter's pregnancy. I think I was 20
years old. And the first trimester, a lot of women get really extremely vivid dreams and
everything. And I found that I had my first dream of essentially being sexually abused by
somebody who lived in my household when I was younger.
Zoe: When we met on Zoom, she told me about her upbringing. As a child sex abuse survivor,
Poutama’s mental health suffered.
[1:30] POUTAMA: Essentially I was abused so randomly when I was younger, before 20,
before I had my daughter, I had an addiction. So I would drink a lot and I would smoke a lot.
[fade/ambi that sets the scene before you get into the description - suspenseful music]
Zoe: She revealed a particular moment when she fell asleep while intoxicated, when she
received a visit from something or someone from her past.
[2:00] POUTAMA: I had this kind of psychosis, like felt like there was an entity kind of
attacking me.
[ music continues]
Zoe: Little did Poutama know, this would not be the last time she would experience something
like this.
[3:30] POUTAMA: I was under the influence at the time, so I didn't really take it seriously. And
then the next kind of puzzle piece was going to get a body work healing. When I was getting my
energy cleared and my sacral area, I saw this abuser, his face randomly. I guess when I saw the
face in my mind's eye, it made me feel disgusted. [3:45] And it was like this feeling of dread and
like shame the way that this person was looking at me. And he had, like, a smirk on his face.
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Zoe: Eventually, Poutama started to piece together the root of the problem…
[5:50] POUTAMA: So my memory started coming up as actually body sensations. Like I
struggled with intimacy because I felt like I was being abused by my partner, who I trusted and
love. [8:10] I think having my daughter was just a big eye opener and I started to remember
everything.
[ subtle, yet suspenseful music continues]
Zoe: Raised in New Zealand, Poutama lived in a home with four siblings and a single mother.
Poutama was the youngest. One thing she knew for certain: she was different.
[11:50] POUTAMA: I'm the only sibling of my family that's actually Black. So I'm the black
sheep of the family — literally the black sheep.
Zoe: In 2017, a Georgetown Law study found that black girls have “adultification-bias,” where
they are perceived as more adult-like and less innocent than their white counterparts.
[31:20] POUTAMA: But as a black woman, you're kind of you know, you're definitely
sexualized differently.
Zoe: Growing up with her mom, she witnessed the seams of the family ripping apart. Her
mother’s mental health declined, so she detached herself from the family. Poutama couldn’t
understand why her mother acted so strange then, but she assumed something had taken over.
[12:00] POUTAMA: So when she's having a manic episode, she's going around telling
everybody that God told her to do this type of thing. [12:10]And it was like, Oh, well, God's
telling me to go to Australia.
Zoe: When she was around 5 years old, her mother decided to move away abruptly without
warning. Under the care of her older sister, it was in this household where Poutama experienced
the shattering of her sacred space.
[18:00] POUTAMA: My sister's baby daddy was essentially the first perpetrator that I
remembered. So for me, as a child, in the situations that I was in, it wasn't really an option for
me to tell somebody. And if I were to tell them, then it would disrupt the whole family system. I
guess in these circumstances, it feels like life and death.
Zoe: Poutama assumed that she could bury her past, but she was wrong.
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[31:10] JOHNSON: Being able to talk about these sexual traumas is the first step to healing.
Because once you break silence and once you start talking, people will start listening.
Zoe: This is Kalimah Johnson, a childhood sex abuse survivor and social justice activist from
Detroit. She’s the executive director and founder of a nonprofit organization, Sexual Assault
Services for Holistic Healing and Awareness, also known as the SASHA Center. For a few years
now, she’s been working to provide resources like support groups and community events for sex
abuse survivors.
[ambi - Johnson in action as a social justice activist]
[00:31:20] JOHNSON: Sometimes there is an opportunity to really talk about,within our black
families, the kind of harm and damage, not being able to have dominion over your own body as a
slave or being enslaved has a hopeful impact on us sexually, spiritually, emotionally, physically,
and all of the things.
Zoe: A 2021 Child Maltreatment report from the U.S. Department of Health Services Children’s
Bureau, found that Black children have the second highest child sex abuse victimization rates,
whereas American Indian or Alaska Natives rank the first.
[15:29] JOHNSON: We treat children like we were treated as slaves sometimes. There's been a
cloak of shame and guilt that Black folks have experienced since we were brought here and
forced to be here in the United States as a result of slavery.
[enslaved spiritual song ]
[09:01] WYATT: We were separated from people who spoke the same languages had the same
cultural beliefs, separated from our village, friends, neighbors, and most dastardly, our families,
so that we were alone, not knowing how to protect ourselves from the barrage of white men who
were curious about some of the things that they had read.
Zoe: This is Dr. Gail Wyatt. She’s a clinical psychologist, sex therapist, and longtime professor
of psychiatry at UCLA. Wyatt also wrote the book, Stolen Women, which examines the effects of
sex abuse on Black women’s sexuality.
[09:30] WYATT: And we were on chopping blocks so that people could examine our bodies, our
genitalia, our mouths, throat, you name it, in order to decide whether they wanted to buy us. That
was one of the most traumatic and demeaning initial experiences other than just being snatched
away and expected to survive on ships that were packed.
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Zoe: Black women were the guinea pigs of early gynecology experimentation too. The father of
modern gynecology, James Marion Sims, would perform gruesome operations on enslaved Black
women without anesthesia. This is because Black women were seen as disposable test dummies
rather than humans.
[03:50] WYATT: And it certainly was disproportionately focused on African descended women
during the over 400 years of slavery and oppression that we have endured. [04:25] We are from
an intergenerationally abused, sexually abused population, men and women.
Zoe: There’s a tradition of silencing, where topics such as sexual abuse and pedophilia are buried
underground, forbidden to be dug up. For Black children, their age not only prevents them from
consenting, but some are not allowed to set their own boundaries.
[07:30] JOHNSON: We don't give children the opportunity to have dominion over their bodies
to say, I don't want to do that. I don't want to be touched. I don't want to be kissed, I don't want to
be hugged. But when your family [commands] tells you, you have to do it.
[music break]
Zoe: There is a social hierarchy that exists in our society. At the top of the pyramid are those
who have the most power and privilege. Marginalized groups are at the bottom. In 1988, Peggy
McIntosh, a Women’s Studies scholar at Wellesley College, wrote a paper titled “White Privilege
and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in
Women’s Studies.”
[13:32-33] MCINTOSH: Began to name it white privilege - unearned advantage that came
because of my racial/ethnic status or projected worth.
"How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion": Peggy McIntosh at TED…
Zoe: In her study, McIntosh found that social status and privilege is categorized by class, race,
sexuality, and gender. In this instance, male privilege looks different according to the color of
someone’s skin.
[03:19 -30] MCINTOSH: I came to notice privilege because I noticed male privilege, and then I
noticed in parallel fashion, white privilege and both of these things were very distressing.
[22:02] WYATT: And I think unfortunately, Black some black men are emulating some of the
bad habits and characteristics of white men in power.
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[ambi – what does this mean/what does it sound like / transport us- movie clip of a black man
emulating white men]
WYATT: Black men cannot and should not emulate that image. And for black men not to know
any more about our history, than to try to emulate that as a sign of masculinity, or toughness, or
control or power is simply speaking to their own sense of inferiority, insecurity, and their doubts
about their masculinity, that is not the way to define a relationship or to prove your manhood.
And yet so many young men are mistakenly engaging in domestic violence where they beat
women, and rape them.
Zoe: While growing up, Poutama also noticed a pattern of domestic violence that was embedded
in her family…
[18:30] POUTAMA: I come from a line of women specifically that choose partners that have
that entitlement over them. I've seen it in my mother's relationships. She has always had abusive
partners — physically abusive, emotionally abusive.
[23:30] JOHNSON: The socialization of men in this country. Where they can't cry. They can't
ask for help. They can't. You're weak. They can't do emotional work or they're called something
other than a man. And if you can't ask for help and if you can't express your emotions and if you
can't identify the emotions a lot of people, are you going to be in a relatio nship?
Zoe: In 2021, the U.S Department of Health Services Children’s Bureau reported that out of a
population of roughly 450,000 perpetrators across the U.S., Black men are ranked at 21 percent,
which is the second highest following white men at 48 percent.
[23:35] WYATT: Boys need socialization, so they need to be taught by men, how to be a man.
Women can endorse and support. But there's nothing like having a male role model to teach a
young man and to debunk some of the faulty assumptions that they have about women, because
many of them are really seriously wrong.
Zoe: In the 2021 issue of the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, it is reported that people who were
sexually abused in childhood may have a higher risk of being in adult relationships where they
are abused physically, emotionally, or sexually. Among 12,000 child sex abuse survivors, about
48 percent, nearly half are sexually victimized in the future. This pattern is known as the cycle of
abuse.
[19:00] POUTAMA: Women that have been sexually abused, they have a blindspot and they're
more likely to attract somebody that could abuse their own children as well. And that's why the
iii
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cycle is continued, because they're attracted to that same type of energy in a man, the insecure
type of man, the man that has to have control over a woman in order to make himself feel better.
[23:10]: I was in a toxic relationship for the first two years of my awakening, but it was
absolutely necessary for me to be able to see my trauma and see how I found myself relating to
this person who was very narcissistic and I was very codependent.
[32:30] WYATT: When you go back to the perpetrators, many times they are pedophiles, you
realize that they're looking for somebody who looks like the person who hurt them. And with
that knowledge that usually breaks that chain, so that people realize that they are almost addicted
to being with the same person who hurt them years earlier.
Zoe: In order to combat this cycle, survivors and experts are encouraging people to heal with
therapeutic help.
[upbeat music break]
[31:30] JOHNSON: Our bodies are what they are, and we've experienced the beautiful things
about our bodies as well as things that were not so beautiful there and involved. We can hold
trauma and joy at the same time. [32:20] Having conversations with other people might require
us to give them permission to be okay with feeling the pain and knowing that even after they feel
their pain is still going to be okay.
[36:07] WYATT: If you are going to somebody who can help you to understand yourself in a
better way, live a different life. As a result, it's worth getting the help. And as a result of that,
then you choose the kinds of people in your life, you want to be close to where you want to touch
you or love you. [36:50] And most of all, you might choose partners that are really going to
become your friends, somebody who's respectful and caring about you.
[2:00] JOHNSON: We provide services to sex survivors who have experienced sexual assault or
16 years of age or older. [00:40] Particularly women in the African-American community in
Detroit, Michigan, and in southeastern Michigan, by providing them support through services,
community education and events and trainings and workshops about rape in the black
community.
[24:00] POUTAMA: Healing and making sure I'm breaking the cycle is just choosing myself
and just learning to choose myself. And the more that you comfortably can choose yourself, the
more you trust yourself, and the more you just feel like you're becoming more of a woman.
iii
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Zoe: Throughout her spiritual work, Poutama specializes in helping clients heal from childhood
trauma. As she continues her journey to recovery, she is determined to help other survivors find
their own way to healing.
[ambi- Poutama’s tarot card youtube video]
[28:30] POUTAMA: I love to help others in whatever I do, but also kind of being a
whistleblower. I feel like my life purpose is to kind of call people out and call institutions,
everything, out.
Zoe: If you or anyone you know wants to find resources and information on child sex abuse
prevention, contact the national sexual assault hotline from the Rape, Abuse & Incest National
Network, also known as RAINN. Call 800-656-4673 or visit the website, online.rainn.org. This
is Zoe Trask for Annenberg Media.
[ upbeat music ending]
iii
9

Bibliography
“Black Women Have Terrible Habits’ Myron Answers If He Likes Black Women, Heated
#freshandfit.” YouTube, 3 Dec. 2023,
youtu.be/Lzoe94_snOQ?si=HhdUNHVsDkm5pod5.
Child Maltreatment 2021, Children’s Bureau (Administration on Children, Youth and Families,
Administration for Children and Families) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/cb/cm2021.pdf.
Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Hartney, Elizabeth. “Reasons the Cycle of Abuse Continues.”
Verywell Mind, 4 Jan. 2024,
www.verywellmind.com/the-cycle-of-sexual-abuse-22460#citation-1.
Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Hébert, M., Lapierre, A., MacIntosh, H. B., & Ménard, A. D., 2021.
“A Review of Mediators in the Association between Child Sexual Abuse and
Revictimization in Romantic Relationships,” Journal of Child Sexual Abuse,
https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2020.1801936, Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
“Hoe Emma Hoe.” YouTube, 9 Dec. 2011,
youtu.be/SIoWRVE-H58?si=lPiGKgyymebbWyIE. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
“How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion’: Peggy McIntosh at
TedxTimberlane Schools.” YouTube, Tedx Talks, 5 Nov. 2012,
youtu.be/e-BY9UEewHw?si=g2u-wgWVvwPI-6_R. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024
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“I Was Homeless during My Spiritual Awakening!
How to Trust in the Universe Whole Heartedly.” YouTube, 13 Mar. 2024,
youtu.be/PvFvN2CENmE?si=eBzLuHJaf0705mqA. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Jamilia J. Blake, Rebecca Epstein, Thalia González.
“Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood,” Georgetown Law, 2017
https://genderjusticeandopportunity.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/202403
04-Girlhood-Interrupted-digital.pdf. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
“Kalimah Locmama Johnson on Instagram: “Thank You @mitchalbom and @saydetroit
for the Generous Donation to the @sashacenter Once Again! We Appreciate Being in
Family and Community! We Are Looking Forward to Building the Family Tree next
Year! Our Connections Are Necessary,” Instagram, 4 Apr. 2024,
www.instagram.com/reel/C5XFvJttIVw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlO
DBiNWFlZA.
“This Is Your Sign,the Green Light ; Don't Let Them Hinder Your Vision;
UR a Highly Blessed Individual.” YouTube, 14 Mar. 2024,
youtu.be/1bUdjLqseRs?si=zV6f_Eu-CfjDQA1K. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Walker, H. E., Freud, J. S., Ellis, R. A., Fraine, S. M., & Wilson, L. C., 2019,
“The Prevalence of Sexual Revictimization: A Meta-Analytic Review. Trauma, Violence,
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Asset Metadata

Creator Trask, Zoe (author)

Core Title The sacred space

School Annenberg School for Communication

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Specialized Journalism

Degree Conferral Date 2024-05

Publication Date 04/22/2024

Defense Date 04/22/2024

Publisher Los Angeles, California (original), University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Black,black women,child sex abuse,Feminism,history,mental health,OAI-PMH Harvest,patriarchy,white privilege,women

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Richardson, Allissa (committee chair), Hammond, Jameela (committee member), Turner, Miki (committee member)

Creator Email ztrask@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113893036

Unique identifier UC113893036

Identifier etd-TraskZoe-12847.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-TraskZoe-12847

Document Type Thesis

Format theses (aat)

Rights Trask, Zoe

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20240422-usctheses-batch-1143 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

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Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu