Misogyny and Sexism in the News

[Soon]

Bed 18
by J. Malcolm Garcia, January 2011

[Nat]

Originally Posted by Nat

Who knew?


Leaping Lesbian Lizards!

Officially named Cnemidophorus uniparens, these American desert lizards reproduce despite the fact that they’re all female. Interestingly, some of them simulate sexual acts (above, left) with each other just like male and female lizards, and it’s been discovered that when they do they reproduce more successfully than their abstemious sisters.

I posted this a while ago in a different thread, and I recently shared it with my partner. She found the below article, which irked me enough to come post it here:

It's from Time

Lesbian reptiles act like males

Readers of science journals know a good deal about bisexual aphids, "homosexual" gulls, and "transvestite" fish, species in which the male adopts the coloration and movements of the female to trick other males. Some researchers argue that every expression of human sexuality has some sort of analogue in the animal world. But even jaded followers of animal sex studies will have to admit that a Harvard team has now discovered something really new: "lesbian" lizards that copulate like males.

So far biologists have identified 27 kinds of parthenogenetic lizards—all-female species that lay eggs to produce exact genetic copies of the mother. On field trips in Arizona and Colorado, a team of researchers headed by Psychobiologist David Crews found that four of these species engage in mock male-female sex.

An active female mounts a passive one, curves the tail under the other's body, strokes the partner's back and neck, joins genital regions, and rides on top for one to five minutes. The active female lizard always has small undeveloped eggs, while the passive female has large pre-ovulatory eggs. But there are cyclic variations in behavior and egg size in these reptiles, and roles reverse; the passive female of one encounter can be the active partner of the next. Says Crews: "We are now trying to determine whether this malelike behavior facilitates reproductive function." Translation: the psychobiologist does not yet know why the females mock the male-female behavior of related two-sex species. The eggs hatch with or without the lesbian courtship.

Crews thinks the discovery has important implications. "What we have found here," he says, "is the first evidence of animals where sex and sexuality are independent of each other." Still, it is too early to announce that sex for its own sake was first discovered by lizards. The mounting behavior may serve to synchronize the egg laying, or increase the number of eggs. Or it may be, according to Crews, that the malelike behavior among the female lizards is a kind of "compensation" for life without males. Or it might be an evolutionary hangover from the good old male-female days. Since stories about animal sexuality are inevitably drawn into human sexual politics these days, Crews may be called to task by radical lesbians for his hetero chauvinism. If so, he will have to plead guilty: his team is currently treating eggs with hormones in hopes of producing the species' first males.

[Nat]

Okay so this isn't news but I saw this commercial earlier and found it to be a really beautiful illustration of the differences that are so common between the way women and men are portrayed in the media. In this case, that's achieved by posing men the way women are often posed.

I assume they are just trying to be funny, but I thought it was well done in that it showed the ridiculousness of how women and women's beauty are marketed.

[Soon]

The House GOP's Plan to Redefine Rape



Drugged, raped, and pregnant? Too bad. Republicans are pushing to limit rape and incest cases eligible for government abortion funding.

[Toughy]

I knew nothing about this.....not anything at all....the date of the op ed is August 26, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/op...%20rise&st=cse

[DapperButch]

Tell 1-800-Flowers to offer Fair Trade flowers this Valentine's Day




Dear _________,

Valentine's Day, which accounts for 40% of fresh flower sales annually, is fast approaching.

If you're planning to order a bouquet from 1-800-Flowers -- the world's largest florist -- you should know where most of those flowers really come from.

At flower farms in Ecuador and Colombia -- the countries that export the most to the U.S. -- two-thirds of the workers are women. These women are routinely subjected to harassment and even rape from their male supervisors. They suffer eye infections and miscarriages from consistent contact with dangerous pesticides.

In the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, they're routinely forced to work 80-hour weeks with no overtime pay. Attempts to form a union are met with opposition by police and armed forces.

Many retailers -- such as Whole Foods and Stop & Shop -- have taken the important first step of offering Fair Trade flowers to consumers who want no part of these abuses. Fair Trade certified farms must adhere to strict standards for workers' rights, which prevents the abuses described above.

1-800-Flowers is the largest florist in the world. Yet they offer no Fair Trade flowers at all.

Tell 1-800-Flowers to join other major retailers in offering Fair Trade flowers.

1-800-Flowers uses a certifying agency called Florverde, which ensures that its flower farms measure up to certain environmental standards -- this is a good thing. But Florverde has almost no labor standards: A farm can be certified even if it uses forced labor.Indeed, Florverde is owned by the Association of Colombian Flower Exporters, so it has a financial incentive to keep wages low and suppress workers' rights.

This is the week before Valentine's Day -- more people will purchase flowers during the next seven days than any other week this year. This is our best opportunity to demand a promise from 1-800-Flowers to join its competitors in offering Fair Trade flowers. So after you sign the petition, please share this email widely and post on Facebook -- do everything you can to pressure 1-800-Flowers to show a little respect for the women who toil in unbearable circumstances. The women without whom they'd have no flowers to sell.

Click the link below to tell 1-800-Flowers to make a promise this Valentine's Day to sell Fair Trade flowers:

http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-...XVYwIfwh&me=aa

Since this campaign began, the company has emailed to tell us that it will post more information on its website about the farms that supply their flowers. But this is a far cry from selling fair trade products -- and we have much more to do to make sure workers are protected. This is the week to do it.

Thanks for taking action,

Patrick and the Change.org team



ETA: I received this in email and have no supporting information to validate the above information, but thought I would pass it along.

[betenoire]

Alabama Lesbian Attacked by a Dozen, But She Alone Was Arrested

The victim says she had never been to the bar before, but had concerns that, as a lesbian, she would not be welcome there. Her fears were confirmed as the two women left the premises. According to Gilbert and Sidall, a woman approached them and started a fight. The altercation grew to include a gang of ten women and two men. One of the men shouted at Gilbert, “If you want to look like a man, you can get hit like a man!” Rather than being punched to the ground, Gilbert fought back to defend herself. Siddall immediately called 911, but the Lee County Sheriff’s Deputies who responded to the emergency call after the fight was over singled Gilbert out, arresting her for public intoxication and disorderly conduct. No one else has been charged or arrested.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Tell 1-800-Flowers to offer Fair Trade flowers this Valentine's Day




Dear _________,

Valentine's Day, which accounts for 40% of fresh flower sales annually, is fast approaching.

If you're planning to order a bouquet from 1-800-Flowers -- the world's largest florist -- you should know where most of those flowers really come from.

At flower farms in Ecuador and Colombia -- the countries that export the most to the U.S. -- two-thirds of the workers are women. These women are routinely subjected to harassment and even rape from their male supervisors. They suffer eye infections and miscarriages from consistent contact with dangerous pesticides.

In the weeks leading up to Valentine's Day and Mother's Day, they're routinely forced to work 80-hour weeks with no overtime pay. Attempts to form a union are met with opposition by police and armed forces.

Many retailers -- such as Whole Foods and Stop & Shop -- have taken the important first step of offering Fair Trade flowers to consumers who want no part of these abuses. Fair Trade certified farms must adhere to strict standards for workers' rights, which prevents the abuses described above.

1-800-Flowers is the largest florist in the world. Yet they offer no Fair Trade flowers at all.

Tell 1-800-Flowers to join other major retailers in offering Fair Trade flowers.

1-800-Flowers uses a certifying agency called Florverde, which ensures that its flower farms measure up to certain environmental standards -- this is a good thing. But Florverde has almost no labor standards: A farm can be certified even if it uses forced labor.Indeed, Florverde is owned by the Association of Colombian Flower Exporters, so it has a financial incentive to keep wages low and suppress workers' rights.

This is the week before Valentine's Day -- more people will purchase flowers during the next seven days than any other week this year. This is our best opportunity to demand a promise from 1-800-Flowers to join its competitors in offering Fair Trade flowers. So after you sign the petition, please share this email widely and post on Facebook -- do everything you can to pressure 1-800-Flowers to show a little respect for the women who toil in unbearable circumstances. The women without whom they'd have no flowers to sell.

Click the link below to tell 1-800-Flowers to make a promise this Valentine's Day to sell Fair Trade flowers:

http://www.change.org/petitions/ask-...XVYwIfwh&me=aa

Since this campaign began, the company has emailed to tell us that it will post more information on its website about the farms that supply their flowers. But this is a far cry from selling fair trade products -- and we have much more to do to make sure workers are protected. This is the week to do it.

Thanks for taking action,

Patrick and the Change.org team



ETA: I received this in email and have no supporting information to validate the above information, but thought I would pass it along.

In email from Change.org:


Late last week, the largest florist in the world, 1-800-Flowers, responded to 54,000 Change.org members and agreed to begin selling Fair Trade flowers and insist on a strong code of conduct for all their suppliers to counteract the deplorable working conditions that thousands of female flower workers face in South America. They’ve promised to offer Fair Trade flowers in time for Mother's Day, making 1-800-Flowers a leader in the industry. (Click here to write a thank you message on 1-800-Flowers' Facebook wall.)

[Toughy]

Originally Posted by Toughy

I knew nothing about this.....not anything at all....the date of the op ed is August 26, 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/27/op...%20rise&st=cse

and as a follow-up to this story:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...astoriginalsR5

Against the backdrop of a huge inflatable penis, flaccid and caught in a pair of giant scissors, more than 100,000 protesters crammed into Rome's Piazza del Popolo to protest Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's treatment of women and call for his resignation. Similar protests were held in 230 cities across Italy, from Naples to Turin, with smaller demonstrations in Paris, London, and cities throughout Europe.

[Soon]

Originally Posted by Toughy

and as a follow-up to this story:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-a...astoriginalsR5

Against the backdrop of a huge inflatable penis, flaccid and caught in a pair of giant scissors, more than 100,000 protesters crammed into Rome's Piazza del Popolo to protest Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's treatment of women and call for his resignation. Similar protests were held in 230 cities across Italy, from Naples to Turin, with smaller demonstrations in Paris, London, and cities throughout Europe.

I had no idea...from the link:

The World Economic Forum ranks Italy 74th in its treatment of women, behind Colombia, Peru, and Vietnam. In areas of pay equity and equal opportunity, it ranks 121st; in equal opportunity, it ranks 97th.
"Italy is one of the most backward countries in Europe in almost every indicator of gender equality," said parliamentarian Emma Bonino.

Just 45 percent of Italian women work outside the home, compared with 80 percent of women in Norway and 72 percent in the United Kingdom. When they do work, they earn on average 20 percent less than men in the same positions, and only seven percent of the top corporate managers in Italy are women. A recent survey showed that 90 percent of Italian men have never run a washing machine and 70 percent have never used a stove. Private day care is virtually nonexistent, and state-subsidized nursery schools only begin at the age of 3. Grandparents are considered the primary caregivers, meaning women with adult children can't work because they need to babysit the grandchildren.