South Africa

Happy Thursday everyone! Here’s some news to start your day:  

• Do you want to "change the world" and "save women?" You might want to read this article first. On the hubris of Harvard’s recent Policy Task Force offering recommendations to India in the wake of the New Delhi gang rape (and the dearth of cultural competency in transnational work in general)  [Kafila]
• The unequivocally awesome Amy Goodman talks about her career in journalism and holding the powers that be accountable in the new AOL/PBS series "Makers: Women Who Make America Series" [AOL/PBS]
  It appears that Bob Beckel from Fox News has been living under a rock. Click here (if it’s not too upsetting) to see him earnestly ask "when's the last time you heard about rape on a college campus?" during Tuesday's Fox News roundtable. [Huffington Post]
• Did you know 77 million people in the US use libraries to access the Internet annually? Read about Latoya Peterson’s research on internet accessibility and bridging the digital divide. [PBS]
• Murder case reveals chilling statistics on domestic violence in South Africa. [The New Yorker]
• Readings for the revolution: check out this newly released website and book on creative activism, action design principles, case studies, and theoretical frameworks. [Beautiful Trouble]
• Submit your misogynistic lyrics here! You know you love to hate them. Trigger warning: this tumblr contains (lots of) content regarding sexual violence. [Misogynistic Lyrics That Aren’t Rap]
• How white creators use colorblindness as a risk management strategy, and why that’s messed up.[ThinkProgress]
• Not all news is bad news: recent poll suggests support for gun control could rally women to vote in the next midterm elections. [Talking Points Memo]

That's all for today folks. Stay tuned.

What do you say when it turns out that a friend or close coworker is into by rape-y highbrow erotica? Prize-winning literature is a minefield for polite conversation.

Caster Semenya is fast and strong and far from dainty. When it came to light last week that an athletic organization was secretly testing her sex, the sports world and mainstream media got a refresher course on an important reality: while our society tries to strictly divide people in male and female, the science of sex is far more murky.

South African Semenya is shaping up to be one of the fastest runners in the world, but if the International Association of Athletic Federations' (IAAF) forced battery of tests (including a gynecological exam) find she's too "male", she could be stripped of her medals. The IAAF stopped mandating the outdated sex tests for athletes back in 1992 and the reasons for testing Semenya range from fairness to racism, depending on who you ask.


Over at the Huffington Post, Jane Devin points out that males whose genetics make them sports stars are groomed and applauded, not subjected to embarrassing tests. You have to ask—if Semenya had thinner shoulders and a more delicate chin, would her competitor's allegations ("Just look at her," sniped a fifth-place finisher at a recent race) be given legitimacy for even a second? I think not.