misogyny

This week has unfortunately been filled with tragedy.  When we weren't reading the news, we were reading up on some of this week's other big issues.  Here's what we found:

• Jenni Rivera died in a plane crash in Mexico this past weekend.  Here's an excellent article on Rivera's legacy and the work she did for women, immigrants, and LGBT youth. [Colorlines]
• Although the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence finished up a few days ago, it's never too late to learn about the cause and create awareness. [US Aid]
• Sarah Jaffe gets shouted at and berated far too often -- here's a piece she's written about the many trolls she's encountered. [Jezebel]
• And here's some more misogyny to chew on.  If someone writes racist shit, the sensible thing to do is respond intelligently, right?  Apparently wrong.  Rhonda A. Lee, meteorologist at KTBS-TV, was fired after she gave a harassing commenter a piece of her mind.  [Clutch]
• Speaking of racism (and sexism,) have you seen the latest tennis star to "mimic" Serena Williams and her body?  It's Caroline Wozniacki, using towels to plump up her boobs and behind. [scATX]
• Though mental illness is no laughing matter, it's something that certain comedians must deal with.  This write-up is about the relationship between the two.  [Splitsider]
• Sex and disability are often unexplored in films.  Stephanie Rogers examines how The Sessions addresses both. [Bitch Flicks]

Is there something we missed?  Let us know in the comments.  Our thoughts go out to all those affected by the shootings.

Making matters worse—way worse—for young people online and for the world in general is a new page on Facebook called "12 year old slut meme's" [sic], dedicated to slut-shaming and general douchebaggery. Since the page launched last month, Facebook users have asked that it be taken down as a violation of the site's hate speech policy, but as of the publishing of this post it's going strong with 214,489 fans.

Well, this has been another week.

• Misogyny is still kickin', but Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency is kickin' right back. With over $100k to fund her project, she is pretty much unstoppable. Kate or Die! and Catiemonster sum it up in some awesome comics. [Feminist Frequency/Geek Feminism]
• More in misogyny and gaming, the creators of the popular videogame, Tomb Raider seem to think that watching Lara Croft experience sexual assault makes the character more "likeable," and that it makes game players want to "protect her." Wait, what? Because clearly, misogynists are having trouble feeling self-righteous or heroic. Or whatever. [Salon]
• Radical, feminist, nuns? Certainly not what I had in high school. These super sisters will be setting off on bus tour to promote and support Obama's Affordable Care Act and its no co-pay contraception mandate. [Ms. Blog]
• ABC Family's Bunheads (because clearly, we need more shows made by white people about white people, right? RIGHT?) received some criticism from Shonda Rhimes for its lack of diversity. What else is new? Here's what's wrong and how/why we could do better. [XO Jane]
• Remember the giant mess around whether or not Caster Semenya should be able to compete in the Olympics or not? Well, the Olympics are still obsessed with policing femininity, masking their obsession by saying this is just about hormone levels, and the "truth" of the binary. Stop that. [Feministing]
• Read up on some super great insight on feminine standards, privileged notions of seeing, and smashing normative ideals of femme. [Femmetech]
• And more on experiencing the world as a femme/femme of color! Militant resistance of weakness and coming to new understandings of femininity! [Elixher]
• Are you in the New York Metropolitan area? End Stop and Frisk, a silent march to protest racial profiling, is happening this Sunday, June 17th, in New York City, and you should go. [Feministing]
• Coverage of the Jerry Sandusky case(s), sugarcoated sexual assault, and rape apologists abound. [Shakesville]
• Professor Maria Cotera has an exciting and very ambitious plan to build an online Chicana feminist archive, Chicana por mi raza. One step closer to filling in the gaps of social movement history. [The Clayman Institute for Gender Research]
• San Francisco's Castro Theatre hosted the Asian Pacific American Vagina Monologues last month. Why didn't anyone tell me about this sooner? Will they do this again?? Because they totally should. Visibility, y'all. Then maybe we'll have less people pretending they're Asian (*cough* Dita Von Teese *cough*). Asians are real, did you know? Check out this awesome conversation with the show's executive producer Julia Rhee! [Hyphen]

What have you been reading, musing, raging, or raving about? Share your thoughts in the comments!

I noticed a friend’s Facebook share the other day of a Maxim “article” along with a critique of the language of “lads mags.” Here's the magazine feature, which is disgustingly violent in the most straightforward of ways, in order to give some context, but what I really want to talk about are some of the public conversations that have followed it.

As I read discussions about pop culture and see responses to female characters, I see a lot of hate for female characters, but not a lot of basis for that hate. Take Tara on True Blood. People say she's 'whiny' and 'boring.' These aren't really criticisms that add in a meaningful way to discussions about Tara; what exactly does it mean to be 'whiny'? What makes Tara 'boring'? Are these not criticisms that are weaponized against real women in the real world on a pretty regular basis? Should we not, perhaps, question why we are carrying that over into pop culture discussions, and talk about what that means?

Whether it's his offhand-way of dropping misogyny, his female-rating system that puts how-many-beers-til-she's-hot-Yalies to shame, or his website that requires only the most minimal of minimal perusals to incite any feminist, it's not difficult to dislike Tucker Max. He's been utterly dissed by the Hater, called a "gender traitor" by Glamour's Ryan Dodge, and this is most definitely not the first time he's been called douchebag. But as a self-professed asshole, Tucker Max would no doubt affectionately embrace this week's Douchebag Decree title. Therein lies the problem: a compelte willingness to embody--and market--being a D-bag.

And with a movie based on his best-selling (yep!) book I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell coming out Sept. 25 and a second book Assholes Finish First coming down the pipeline (customers who bought this item also bought The Complete A**hole's Guide to Handling Chicks!), Tucker Max isn't going off the radar any time soon. But why care?