sexual assault

Another week, another bunch of thought-provoking articles. Here's some of what we've been reading:

• ColorLines celebrates the U.S.' first integrated all-female band.
• Also at ColorLines, Kai Wright reflects movingly on the still-far-off mountaintop MLK described.
• Jessica Valenti talks about the glorification of basic fathering in The Daily.
• Ms. and NPR each report and discuss Joe Biden's address of sexual assault in schools; what did YOU think?
• Bitch contributor Sady Doyle manages to write smartly (while being, as she puts it, "not-just-totally-mean") about Phyllis Schlafly's influence at Global Comment.
• Bitch Flicks lends their feminist snark to an analysis of Total Film's so-called "40 Greatest Movie Posters" list.
• Futrelle unpacks comic artist Scott Adams' recent douchery—and his bizarre attempts to fix the situation—at Feministe and man boobz.
• Bitch contributor s.e. smith blogs at this ain't livin' about the ageist implications of a younger Miss Marple.
• Vulture goes over the vitriol around Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark and actor Harry Lennix's piece asking why only Julie Taymor is trashed for a show many hands put together.
• In the same vein, 90s Woman looks at the pop phenomenon "Friday" and wonders "WTF is so scary about an ambitious thirteen-year-old girl?" (via feministified)
• Chloe at Feministing speaks out about last week's Slutwalk and the victim-blaming such events protest.
• Greenier at RH Reality Check talks about "Why Insurance Coverage for Abortion Matters;" the piece was then picked up for AlterNet.
• Bad news: Canadian blog Gender Focus is shutting down. At least we'll have Jarrah's upcoming board game projects to follow!
• Liz at Our Turn comments on documentaries about masculinity.
• At Racialicious and Muslimah Media Watch, Diana shares her feelings on the CNN special Unwelcome: The Muslims Next Door.
• On HuffPo, Payne explores how derogatory language feeds classism.
• Miss the queer teen drama South of Nowhere? Heaven knows I do! AfterEllen interviews star Mandy Musgrave about playing lesbians and her new webseries, Cowgirl Up.
• In the <3 files: "Family Dog Keeps Missing Baby Alive Overnight," from Jezebel.

Your turn to share!

Now that word’s spread about the assault she endured, Logan is being re-victimized by those who say that an attractive white woman with blonde hair should’ve known better than to make her way through a mob of brown, Muslim men. Why didn’t Logan realize that all Arab men are misogynistic beasts who haven’t the slightest respect for their own women, let alone Western women—all of whom they regard as whores? Yeah, that about sums up the message on sites from the Los Angeles Times to the New York Times to Salon.

When a jury basically says "you were asking for it" in legalese, you know it's bad. That's what Jane Doe heard when last week a St. Louis court that decided that "playing to the camera" meant revoking her right to privacy.

Yesterday Lisa from A Woman's Ecdysis sent me a call for submissions to an anthology she is editing, called Dear Sister: Letters to Survivors of Sexual Violence.

Lisa wrote:

I encourage you all to submit and forward this call widely. As we know the prevailing silence around sexual assault, it is my hope and request that you take a moment to contribute to this outreach and forward this to any and all allies and survivors of sexual violence. If you know of any coalitions, agencies, shelters, or organizations, feel more than free to offer this to them.

This is a long time vision of mine to build something for survivors and, I hope, this is just the beginning of community healing and radical memoir.

 

If Sinead O’Connor can rip up a picture of the Pope, then I can certainly call him a douchebag! (See Mom and Dad, I can still make LSAT approved if/then statements). With the recent (read: this wave of crisis) sexual abuse scandal rocking the Catholic church, there is no other choice than to demand more of Pope Benedict XVI and unless he wants to keep being branded a big old doucher, we’re going to need some big old action and soon!

*Please be warned that this post and the links included may be triggering as they contain graphic imagery and details of sexual violence.*