Misogyny and Sexism in the News

[Greyson]

Marie Myung-Ok Lee - Marie Myung-Ok Lee is a novelist who teaches at Columbia University and writes for Slate, Salon, The New York Times, and The Guardian

What It Was Like to Be a Woman at Goldman Sachs

For being affronted, I was chastised for having poor social skills, the first black mark in my record (later removed when I challenged it—it actually said in its wording that I was not "submissive" enough).




http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/arc...-sachs/265572/

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by Greyson

Marie Myung-Ok Lee - Marie Myung-Ok Lee is a novelist who teaches at Columbia University and writes for Slate, Salon, The New York Times, and The Guardian

What It Was Like to Be a Woman at Goldman Sachs

For being affronted, I was chastised for having poor social skills, the first black mark in my record (later removed when I challenged it—it actually said in its wording that I was not "submissive" enough).




http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/arc...-sachs/265572/

This article would have been on the hottest ninja-note exchange between me and a former professor and my peers. When I was at the height of a graduate level study, we were investigating corporate culture and breaking the proverbial glass ceiling women often face in corporate culture! I found a few 'best ever' lines, but the one that seems most telling, chilling actually, was the strand of thought where Myung-OK Lee suggests that ... "the place was just too soul-killing for me".

Which, if you ask me, the situation recorded by Myung-OK Lee is probably the most telling feature of any organizational culture where predominant top-down authority is the preferred organizational model: Organizational culture that is rife with proliferate examples of objectification of the subordinate in favor of the superordinate seems to always illustrate the capacity of the machination of unchecked and unchallenged seats of power.

Thanks for the article, Greyson.

[Greyson]

I put this in this particular thread because I have come to realize just how much negative stuff is out there, embraced and internalized about the female body.

Lindsay Abrams - Lindsay Abrams is an editorial fellow with The Atlantic Health channel. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times.

The 'Wide Open and Unregulated' Marketing of Vaginal Cosmetic Surgery

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/ar...urgery/265526/



Melanie Berliet - Mélanie Berliet is a writer/producer based in New York City. Her work has appeared in New York, Vanity Fair, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Self, Esquire, and McSweeney’s. She worked as a consulting producer on MTV's The Buried Life.

Designer Parts: Inside the Strange, Fascinating World of Vaginoplasty

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/ar...plasty/255188/

[Kobi]

A 14-year-old Afghan girl was beheaded and killed in an attack by two men, one of whom apparently asked her to marry him.

The attack happened Tuesday, a day before new legislation was introduced in Congress calling on the U.S. government to take steps to help protect Afghan women and girls as the U.S. military prepares to exit Afghanistan.

Gasitina, a student, was beheaded in the Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province. The attack was initially reported by local media, and was confirmed by Amnesty International researcher Horia Mosadiq in an email.

The girl was fetching water when she was accosted, according to reports. The men, who have not been identified, were arrested by police. The girl and her parents had refused a marriage proposal by one of the men, according to the Amnesty International report.

This was the 15th deadly attack on a female victim in Kunduz in 2012, the human rights organization said.

"Amnesty International is very concerned about the violations against women in Afghanistan," said Cristina Finch, director of the organization's Women's Human Rights program.

Amnesty reported a similar incident in October, when a young woman was murdered and her throat slashed. In that case, the woman apparently refused to work as a prostitute.

Although it appears such attacks are increasing in frequency, it may be that the world outside Afghanistan is just beginning to hear about them, Finch said.

On Wednesday, Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, and Kay Bailey Hutchison, a Republican from Texas, introduced the Afghan Women and Girls' Security Promotion Act. If passed in its current form, the bill addresses how women's security will be monitored as the U.S. military withdraws from the country.

The bill also calls for improved gender sensitivity among Afghanistan's national security forces and recruitment of women within the ranks of those forces.

Amnesty International USA's executive director Suzanne Nossel applauded Casey and Hutchison for introducing the bill.

"As the United States military transitions out of Afghanistan, Afghan women's human rights continue to be at grave risk and demand urgent attention," Nossel said in a statement. "The fate of women will be a crucial determinant of that country's prospects for a stable and prosperous future."

In a report on Afghan violence against women, Amnesty International wrote that one of the justifications of the U.S. military going into the country in 2001 was to ensure the protection of human rights, including women's rights.

"More than 10 years after the overthrow of the Taliban, modest advances have been made for girls and women in Afghanistan," the report said. "But much remains to be done. Peace talks between the Taliban, Afghan government and the U.S. jeopardize even these modest gains as the U.S. searches for a quick exit."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/...nlwYWdl;_ylv=3

[Soon]

This week in victim-blaming: 11-year-old gang-rape survivor as seductive “spider”

Two years ago, an 11-year-old Cleveland, Texas girl was gang-raped by 20 young men. The crime was recorded on cellphones and circulated amongst students at the local school before finally coming to the attention of the police. And since then plenty of allies have stepped forward to rally around the “real victims”: the rapists.

First the New York Times ran an article focused on the terrible strain the investigation had on the community. Forget about the survivor’s trauma: “The case has rocked this East Texas community to its core” and, as one concerned neighbor pointed out, “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives.” The paper was also criticized for its focus on the young girl’s appearance and friends. Author James C. McKinley, Jr. wrote, based on local gossip, that “she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground.”

Now defense attorney Steve Taylor thinks that the 11-year-old rape victim, not her assailants, should be punished. As detailed in a Tuesday Chronicle article:

Former Cleveland Police Department Sgt. Chad Langdon, who was the lead investigator on the case, also testified that an 11-year-old – due to her emotional immaturity – legally cannot give consent for a sexual encounter.

Taylor questioned why the underage girl had not been charged with anything for choosing to violate that rule, indicating that she was “the reason” that the encounters happened.

“Like the spider and the fly. Wasn’t she saying, ‘Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly?’ ” Taylor asked.

[Martina]

This thread is so disturbing sometimes.

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by Soon

This week in victim-blaming: 11-year-old gang-rape survivor as seductive “spider”

Two years ago, an 11-year-old Cleveland, Texas girl was gang-raped by 20 young men. The crime was recorded on cellphones and circulated amongst students at the local school before finally coming to the attention of the police. And since then plenty of allies have stepped forward to rally around the “real victims”: the rapists.

First the New York Times ran an article focused on the terrible strain the investigation had on the community. Forget about the survivor’s trauma: “The case has rocked this East Texas community to its core” and, as one concerned neighbor pointed out, “These boys have to live with this the rest of their lives.” The paper was also criticized for its focus on the young girl’s appearance and friends. Author James C. McKinley, Jr. wrote, based on local gossip, that “she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground.”

Now defense attorney Steve Taylor thinks that the 11-year-old rape victim, not her assailants, should be punished. As detailed in a Tuesday Chronicle article:

Former Cleveland Police Department Sgt. Chad Langdon, who was the lead investigator on the case, also testified that an 11-year-old – due to her emotional immaturity – legally cannot give consent for a sexual encounter.

Taylor questioned why the underage girl had not been charged with anything for choosing to violate that rule, indicating that she was “the reason” that the encounters happened.

“Like the spider and the fly. Wasn’t she saying, ‘Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly?’ ” Taylor asked.

This throws me back about 30 years. Blaming the victim of rape was the norm. Sympathy for the perpetrators was also the norm. Kind of sickening to see this stuff rear its head again.

[Greyson]

'Men don't have to worry about being caught': Sex mobs target Egypt's women

By Charlene Gubash, NBC News
Updated at 7:48 a.m. ET: CAIRO


Walaa Al Momtaz doesn’t leave her home for up to five days at a time. The neatly veiled 22-year-old misses her friends at City University, where she studies English and German, but what she faces upon leaving her house defeats her.


http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...pts-women?lite