hate crimes

Isn’t it the best when you stumble upon an amazing book you just can't put down? That was my feeling when I read The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich.

Links ahoy!

• HuffPo reports on Rachel Maddow's statement that "[g]ay people—generally speaking—have a responsibility to our own community and to future generations of gay people to come out, if and when we feel that we can." Do you agree?
• ColorLines talks about the attack on a trans woman at McDonald's and the questions it raises about hate crime laws. Questioning Transphobia also speaks out about the shameful incident. (Trigger warning for transphobic violence.)
• Bitch Flicks recalls bell hooks' still-pertinent words about race and gender in films.
• On Trans/plant/portation, Bitch contributor EvMaroon humorously dissects a bizarre religious invitation.
• Feministe discusses the myriad frustrations with clothes' inconsistent sizes.
• Also at Feministe: Will you be near Madison on May 26-30? Check out WisCon, the feminist sci-fi and fantasy convention! Past panelists include Emily Horner.
• Feministing gives a run-down of a Times article about colleges' failure to comply with Title IX.
• Gender Focus explores the societal notion that cats are for girls and dogs are for boys.
• Twisty unpacks the slut-shaming and victim-blaming in recent news stories at I Blame the Patriarchy. (Trigger warning for domestic violence and sexual abuse of a minor.)
• TransGriot updates us on Caster Semenya's athletic plans.
• The Arizona Republic talks about the many negative repercussions of the hateful SB 1070. (via Racialicious)
• Bitch contributor Sady Doyle hilariously snarks on reality TV mogul Aaron Sorkin's abysmal-sounding next show at Tiger Beatdown.
• AfterEllen interviews Malindo Lo, author of Bitch YA Reading Club's selection Ash, which we'll be discussing in July!
• Bitch contributor s.e. smith gives guidelines on "How to Evaluate Disabled Characters in Pop Culture, for Nondisabled Viewers."
• Have you seen the Budweiser commercial with the soldier implied to be queer? If not, Mother Jones has you covered.
• Our Turn: Feminism for Newbies remembers Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.
• RH Reality Check tells us more about the infuriating "Don't Say Gay" bill. (reposted at AlterNet) In happier news, Queerty explains Sir Ian McKellen's homophobia-busting school tour.
• Speaking of... Queerty's coming back!

Thoughts? What have you been reading?

What a week! Here's some of what caught our attention in the blogosphere:

• At Racialicious, Bitch contributor Latoya Peterson speaks of how Planned Parenthood has helped her personally. On Saturday, people across the United States rallied in the Walk for Choice to save PP's funding; see some of their signs here.
• After a hate crime including arson, couple Carol Ann and Laura Stutte have gotten the runaround from their insurance. Join change.org in telling American National Property and Casualty to pay on the claim.
• Comments in Brittany Shoot's posts have shown our readers' interest in the topic of adoption. What did you think of Adam Pertman's opinion piece in the Huffington Post?
• Also at HuffPo, David Sirota points to a number of '80s films that he claims influence modern thinking about race and government. Care to weigh in?
• Good news from Feministing: no more so-called conscience clause!
• The long-running, QUILTBAG-friendly Lyon-Martin Health Services in San Francisco needs support; see how you can help.
• Immigration Impact debunks the myth of undocumented workers raising unemployment and lowering wages. (via AlterNet)
• Katz at Original Plumbing discusses depictions of trans* people on television.
• Jamilah King at Colorlines talks about the importance of black workers to the fight for public employee unions.
• Excited for South by Southwest (SXSW?) Us too! Don't miss Bitch contributor and Deeply Problematic creator RMJ and Tiger Beatdown's Garland Grey in Dealing with Internet Drama in Feminist Discourse.
• Meanwhile, Tiger Beatdown's creator, Sady Doyle, has thoughts at The Atlantic about that Jezebel-parodying 30 Rock episode and other instances in which TV responded to online criticism.
• Over at Feministe, our recent guest writer and Zero at the Bone blogger Chally Kacelnik opines about one of my favorite topics: books!
• WTF-turned-good news files: a fetus?! RH Reality Check keeps us up-to-date on Faith 2 Action's, er, odd choice of testifier for Ohio's anti-abortion bill. As it turned out, the fetus "testified" via ultrasound and a heartbeat that was arguably not audible.

Image via Colorlines

If you build it, they will come...out of the woodwork.

"Chuck Norris" has become a household name again thanks to the Napolean Dynamite-meets-machismo of Chuck Norris facts and his campaigning for Mike Huckabee, but if he's going to have a political megaphone, he should use it wisely.

What's troubling is his column encouraging his readers to protest the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, claiming that it would offer "elevated protection to pedophiles." As Media Matters points out, this is false, false, and triple false.

Today is Transgender Remembrance Day. Founded in 1999, this is a day set aside each year to remember the transgendered people who have been victims of hate crimes and other abuse throughout the year. Unfortunately, this type of shitty behavior is still going on as we speak. Case in point: former Memphis Police Officer Bridges McRae.