I wish America would show stuff like this on television: the Welsh government in the U.K. has released a PSA about sexual harassment. It outlines all the ways dudes think they’re being really suave when they’re actually being totally douchey. I really like that the message isn’t just a blanket “sexual harassment is bad!” but it shows how getting honked, whistled and leered at all adds up. [One Step Too Far, BBC] Keep reading »
Tag Archives: sexism
Today’s Lady News: Scientists Ban Women From Mock Mission To Mars
- Russian scientists have banned women from a mock mission to Mars. They don’t want the women to create “sexual tension” during the 18 months they are locked in a capsule. Because, you know, an all-male group won’t have any sexual tension at all. [Daily Mail UK]
- Constance McMillen, the lesbian Mississippi high schooler who sued her school to allow her to bring her girlfriend to prom, is the guest of honor at the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center’s prom next weekend. [WLBT]
- Two so-called “child brides” in Afghanistan, ages 13 and 14, were publicly whipped for running away from their husbands dressed as boys. A bystander videotaped the flogging and leaked it to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission. Apparently, when the girls were caught by police, they were turned over to the local warlord instead of the country’s shelters for battered women. [New York Times]
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Of The “I Hate Females Who …” Twitter Trending Topic
As soon as Amelia told me “I hate females who …” had become a trending topic on Twitter, I knew no good could come of this: Yes, let’s list all the things we hate about the way women look and behave, because the mainstream media isn’t doing that enough!
But it was actually a nice surprise to see how different people interpreted the prompt. The majority of people who joined in the trending topic “I hate females who …” saw it as just another opportunity to talk the usual s**t about women who are ugly/slutty/not feminine or pretty enough. Yet some people actually had things to say that weren’t totally sexist. Let’s investigate … Keep reading »
Urban Outfitters Wants Dads To Protect Sacred Female Virginity
Need a gift for your dad for Father’s Day? Good luck with that, because I’m certainly not going to suggest you buy Pops this T-shirt from Urban Outfitters, even if it’s on sale for $4.99. Although, I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the retailer is rather wonkadoodle with their political and cultural point-of-view — they did sell a T-shirt in the color “Obama/Black.” While I suspect this T is supposed to be, ahem, “ironically sexist,” it grosses me out that Urban is happy to make money off of ha-ha-misogyny, but finds real social issues to be too “controversial” — they refused to sell a T-shirt that said “I Support Marriage Equality.” Lame, Urbs. Lame. [Feministing] Keep reading »
Quotable: Radio Host Believes “In Keeping Wives Under Control”
Caller: Dr. Williams, how the heck are you? My wife just came in and made me lunch after she was mowing the yard.
Walter E. Williams: “Good, good. You have her under control.”
Caller: “Absolutely, absolutely.”
Williams: “I guess you’ve learned a lot from me.”
Caller: “I’ve been listening to you for a long time. She does a lot more chores than she used to, so I appreciate that.”
Williams: “Okay! And I believe in keeping wives under control.”
Caller: “You’re a good man.”
— Radio host Walter E. Williams, who was filling in on The Rush Limbaugh Show and making us vom. [MediaMatters.org] Keep reading »
Today’s Lady News: Rabbi Bans Women From Running In Local Elections
- The chief rabbi of the Elon Moreh settlement in the West Bank has banned women from running in local elections, writing in a newspaper that they can be represented through their husbands. Rabbi Elyakim Levanon wrote his decree in response to a young woman who wished to run for the office of local secretary. [BBC]
- Oral contraceptives are the most popular form of birth control in the U.S., according to a study of over 10 million women by the National Center for Health Statistics. The report also estimated that 62 percent of women of childbearing age use some form of birth control. [U.S. News & World Reports]
Sex With Older Men For Gifts And Money? Vanity Fair’s Sugar Baby Couldn’t Go Through With It
Writer Melanie Berliet wanted to take the plunge, quit her day job, and pursue freelance writing full-time. No steady paycheck, no health insurance, no safety net. So Berliet joined SeekingArrangements.com, a site which pairs young, female 20-something “sugar babies” with rich, older, male “sugar daddies” for a relationship based on gifts, including luxury items and cash. By stipulating the bling or Benjamins are gifts, the site technically doesn’t promote prostitution. Although Berliet said she was concerned about “walking the line between dating and prostitution,” she eventually convinced herself that in many species “mating rituals [often involve] the exchange of gifts” and “suspected gold diggers like Heather Mills or the late Anna Nicole Smith … were merely following their evolutionary instincts.” Keep reading »
“What Would You Do?” Sees How Strangers React To An Abusive Relationship
Warning: this clip from a new ABC TV show called “What Would You Do?” is hard to watch, even though I know the “abusive boyfriend” and the “abused girlfriend” are only actors.
On four different occasions, “What Would You Do?” filmed diners at a restaurant watching two “couples” — one white, one black — sit down at a table when the “girlfriend” has obviously just been beat up. In both cases the “girlfriend,” who has cuts on her face and bruises on her arms, is terrified of her “boyfriend” and tells him to stop making a scene in public. Of course, he does not stop making a scene at all and only escalates his anger in front of all the other diners.
Good Samaritan strangers step in to help these abused “girlfriends.” Except when they are dressed provocatively, that is. Keep reading »
Bonetown: “The World’s First Action-Adventure Porno Video Game”
OK, makers of “Bonetown,” you win: we will draw more attention to your racist, sexist, morally depraved video game by writing about it.
“Bonetown” touts itself as “the world’s first action adventure porno video game,” but it’s more like thoughts from the internet’s most ignorant trolls set to animation. You know, the trolls who think racism and sexism have been “solved” so it’s really hilarious to perpetuate stereotypes about minorities and women. It’s unclear what the game part of “Bonetown” actually is, which is actually why it’s scary. Rather than a game, “Bonetown” appears to be more like SecondLife for players who delight in glorifying such ignorance as funny. Keep reading »
Has The Glass Ceiling Been Shattered?
In an article that jumps to conclusions more than any I have seen recently, Bloomberg News is reporting that the glass ceiling has been shattered. The proof? The top 16 female CEOs are raking in salaries that average out to be 43 percent higher than the male CEOs. Also, female CEOs got a 19 percent raise in 2008 while dudes got a 5 percent pay cut. Some examples: Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz is making over $47 million and Irene Rosenfeld of Kraft Foods is raking in $26.3 million. The article quoted a male CEO, who said, “When you see numbers like this, one can truly say that the glass ceiling in corporate America has been shattered,” and implied that women are being over-compensated so companies don’t get hit with sexism charges.
In my opinion, Bloomberg needs to slow it down. Keep reading »
