rape

A guy who posts a lot of bad relationship advice on Reddit would like to turn his internet diatribes into a book. And, as of today, people have given him over $16,000 on Kickstarter to do it. 

It's Monday! I'm kicking off the week with this round-up of feminist news from around the internets.

• Reflections on Father's Day: Remembering a distant father who left his daughter's life and creating a new definition of what it means to be an "engaged father." [Crunk Feminist Collective and Colorlines]   

• Where is homosexuality most accepted? A new map of global attitudes toward LGBT folks reveals that Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Canada are most supportive of homosexuality. [Sociological Images]

• Here's another map for Monday: There are more waiting periods for abortions than waiting periods for guns in the US. [Feministing]

• What would a feminist labor movement look like? Writer Sarah Jaffe hosts a discussion for Dissent magazine. [Dissent] 

• Today in rape culture: A suburban Chicago fireman is accused of trying to rape an incapacitated woman at a party, his defense is she was "making eyes" at him. Plus, college serial rapists are evading prosecution. [Shakesville and Bloomberg]

• Suspicious confirmed: Auto shops do tend to overcharge women. [Atlantic] 

• The immigrant you won't see in The Bling Ring: In real life, one of the members of the "bling ring" of teens that stole from Hollywood celebrities' homes was undocumented immigrant Diana Tamayo, but in the new Sophia Coppola movie, she's cast as a white citizen. [Colorlines] 

• There's a new live-action Little Mermaid movie in the works, but the same director as the recent Anna Karenina. [The Mary Sue] 

• Paralympian Ryan Chalmers starts every day at 5:30am—he's becoming the first person to cross the US by wheelchair. [Guardian] 

• Since her insurance doesn't cover gender confirmation surgery, one transgender New Yorker—24-year-old Diana Tourjee—is running an Indiegogo fundraiser for the costs. [Indiegogo] 

What did I miss? Add what you're reading to the comments.

Good morning and happy Friday! Here's all the feminist news on our radar today...

• This week, Avril Danica Haines was tapped to be deupty director of the CIA. Naturally, the Daily Beast took that as a cue to point out that Haines used to own a Baltimore bookstore that hosted weekly erotica readings. You know, since women should be ashamed of anything tying them to having a human sex drive. Way to crack that story wide open, assholes. [The Daily Beast]

• Microsoft responded to the rape joke made earlier this week during the company's Killer Instinct Xbox press demonstration at the E3 conference, saying "We remain committed to make gaming fun for everyone, and in that effort, we must lead by example.” [The Mary Sue]

• Maine Republican Ken Fredette took to the state's House floor Wednesday to oppose accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid coverage, invoking the classic sexist text Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus to buttress his claim that his "man's brain" can tell when free stuff isn't really free. You know, as opposed to female brains, which are full of lipstick and shoes and stuff.  [ThinkProgress]

• Why the last scene of the Game of Thrones season finale—you know, where Daenerys gets to play White Savior, complete with exalted crowd-surfing—was simply a continuation of a problematic characterization. [io9]

• As Sofia Coppola's new film The Bling Ring opens in selected cities this weekend, Indiewire takes note of the sexism that pervades its early reviews. [Indiewire]

• Like some of you, probably, BuzzFeed's Justine Sharrock wondered about the people who create Tumblrs devoted to chronicling their self-harm and advising others on self-harm. Here's her interview with one of them. (Obviously, trigger warning for cutting and other self-harming) [BuzzFeed]

• Are wedding presents a scourge of American culture? Yes indeedy, says Matthew Yglesias. (So if you're planning to stiff your friends at their weddings this summer, pin it on him.) [Slate]

• What happens when colleges and universities handle rape as an administrative matter, rather than a criminal one? Well, for starters, serial offenders are welcomed back on campus to rape again. [Bloomberg]

The premise is deceptively simple: A group of girlfriends reunite on a Maine camping trip for the first time in years. They come across three military men, long-ago acquaintances from school, and the groups merge for a lakeshore party. Alcohol is imbibed, and one of the girls heads off to the woods with one of the men.

Happy May Day everyone! Here's what's on our radar.

• "Latina feminist," not just "feminist." On why today's modern, "mainstream" feminism has yet to prove its commitment to anti-racist projects and transnational movements. [The Feminist Wire]
• Five-year old girl in India is killed by rape. Trigger Warning.[The Guardian]
• For more extremely depressing news, read here about the recent murder of Ci Ci Dove, a trans women in Cleveland.[Advocate]
• Have you been looking for a body-positive magazine written by feminist, queer-friendly women who don't take themselves too seriously? Welcome to Ms. Fit. [Autostraddle]
• Ok, we're still talking about it cause it's so ridiculous. Female athletes have been out for decades: and here's a timeline to prove it. [BuzzFeed]
• The pursuit of more representation of diversity in comics - an admirable, intersectional attempt or just plain old tokenism? [Policymic]
• Help back this project and kickstart Assigned Sex, a documentary film tackling gender role stereotypes from trans perspectives. [Kickstarter]

This past year, rape has dominated the headlines. From front-page coverage of the Penn State trials to Todd Akin’s “legitimate rape” comment to international outcry about gang rape in India to national focus on Steubenville, talking about rape—a long-silenced topic—is finally a mainstream conversation. We are in a unique cultural moment where the ever-present epidemic of sexual violence is being recognized.

We need to not only recognize the reality of rape, but work to end it. We need a platform to honor survivors that will forever change the way the American public responds to their experiences. We need to create a national monument to survivors of rape and abuse.  

Personally, I was shocked when the Steubenville rapists were found guilty. I've gotten cynical about prosecution of rape—so few cases lead to punishment that I was excited and surprised to learn that, this time, the legal system worked. 

But yesterday another aspect of creating justice in the case fell short: The football team's coach, Reno Saccoccia, has been rehired for another two years at Steubenville High. 

Rise and shine! It's time to check out some of our favorite recent reads and wish a happy birthday to Dolores Huerta!

• Did you see that Miley Cyrus video and her quest to trend #MCTwerkTeam?  Here's a look into how privilege plays into the appropriation of twerking and ratchet. [YouTube, Racialicious]
• After another trans* woman applies to Smith College, she is denied admission as those before her. [Autostraddle]
• When Rosa Clemente and Talib Kweli debated about Rick Ross' rape lyrics, Kweli fell into the age-old habit of some serious mansplaining and masculine agression to assert his own ideas.  He claimed to be an "ally" of women in hip hop, but missed the mark.  Dr. Brittney Cooper lays out how five ways Kweli can become a better ally. [Huffington Post, Crunk Feminist Collective]
• Yesterday was Equal Pay Day.  Now, what's the exact cost that comes with being born female? A new study (and this infographic) say it's approximately $849,000. [Nerdy Feminist]
• Jamia Wilson talks about the "inevitable rite of passage" that is experiencing racism as a Black girl in the U.S. [Rookie]
• After being raped and relentlessly cyberbullied, a teenage girl is dead after tragically commiting suicide at the age of 17. [Gender Focus]
• In light of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that occured this past December, there's been a lot of talk about arming school officials with weapons.  Here's why having guns in school in a bad idea for children.  [Slate]
• When President Obama called California Attorney General Kamala Harris the "best looking attorney general by far," many were upset over the comment and its reduction of Harris to her physical appearance.  These are just three reasons to pay attention to Harris for her politics and not her looks. [Colorlines]

Good morning! Ready to start your weekend off right with a big bowl of healthy links from around the web?

• Tyler Perry's new movie, Temptation, looks to be a moralizing mess. But it's also dangerously cavalier about rape, according to Carolyn Edgar, who posits that the movie's larger message about "fallen" women getting what they deserve makes it even trickier to discuss the issue. [Carolyn Edgar]

• Earlier this week, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban caused a stir in the sports press by saying he's interested in drafting Brittney Griner, the star player for Baylor University's women's basketball team. But is it simply a "publicity stunt" on Cuban's part? Would drafting a woman into the NBA be terrible for women's basketball? Everybody's got an opinion. [ESPN, ThinkProgress, Business Insider]

• Elsewhere in basketball news, Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice was fired this week after video surfaced of him physically and verbally abusing players during practice. At Autostraddle, a Rutgers alumna considers why Rice's apparently longstanding habit of using antigay slurs to bully (or, as he thought of it, "motivate") players was hush-hush for so long. [Autostraddle]

• In all the recent discussion about women leaning in and having it all, where's the discussion about what men can do? A paid paternity-leave quota in Quebec could be changing both how typically gendered work is valued as it allows mothers more freedom to continue working post-childbirth. [New York Times]

• It's Steubenville all over again: In the town of Torrington, Connecticut, two high-school football players have been charged with the rape of two 13-year-old girls—and the girls are on the receiving end of bullying and vitriol. [New York Times]

• Nevada assemplywoman Lucy Flores testified this week about the consequences of inadequate sex education, noting that her sister all gave birth as teenagers, and that she herself opted for an abortion. Cue the death threats, since as we all know, that's the pro-life way to do it! [ThinkProgress]

• If you're a Walking Dead fan who's been frustrated with how the show portrays women, well, get ready to be a little more frustrated: The comic series' author is on record as believing that women are weaker than men. "That's science." [Village Voice]

• Yesterday we lost Roger Ebert, a film critic who was so much more than just that. The Daily Beast rounds up some of his best reviews—as well as his most awesome burns. (Lookin' at you, Vinccent Gallo.) [Daily Beast]

As ever, let us know what you're reading in the comments!

Half-way through the week and here's what we've been reading up on for the day:

• Are you also upset about CNN's coverage of the Steubenville rape case?  Sign this petition and demand an apology. [Change.org]
• 50 years following Gideon v. Wainwright, the decision to allow defendants the right to council hasn't brought justice-for-all as some hoped it would. [Colorlines]
• Move over, Westboro Baptist Church.  There are some new neighbors in town, and their freshly painted, rainbow-colored house outshines yours. [Salon]