Misogyny and Sexism in the News

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by Greyson

I was very disturbed when I first read about this in the local news here in the SF Bay Area. The school is in Piedmont. Piedmont is in the East Bay and it is an upper middle class community. It is the same city that the recent assasinated Ambassador to Libya was raised in. Most of these teens come from a very privileged background. I shutter to think of what these young men may grow up to be.

The City I live in now shares a Fire Chief with the City of Piedmont. The city where we live has a public school system where the students do well academically and is very similar to the Piedmont public school system. Apparently money cannot buy humanity, civility or an expectation of decency for young women, girls.

Unfortunately, some of these young men will grow up to be the leaders, the objecifiers, the rapists, the perpetrators of domestic violence, and the oppressors of future generations of women.

The really sad part is that the premise behind this is not much different from Zuckerburgs thinking when he created facebook.

[Martina]

I interviewed at that school. I didn't get the job, probably because I don't have that upper middle class sheen. But I don't hold that against them. I got tons o job offers that year. Anyway, I have to say that the administrators seemed like truly decent people. That's not always the impression one gets.

My point is that it is the culture. Upper middle class white male. I bet the school will come down hard on them. I don't believe the implication that the school might be covering up for them though I know that happens. It's not a private school. And it's near Oakland, therefore politically correct by osmosis. Teachers who suspected that there was a cover up would whistle blow, I am sure. So I can't imagine that happening for real.

[Soon]

How Many More Women Like Savita Halappanavar Should We Tolerate?

[Kätzchen]

Independent Lens (PBS) shared today that they plan on airing a film called The Invisible War and also added a link to an article published by The New Yorker (Four Generals, Four Scandals, and A Sprawling Rape Case).

(LINK)


I hope to be able to watch this film.
I read the article and took heart that
Gloria Allred is not backing down from
advocating on behalf of the known victims.

[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

[Greyson]

'It pains me': Clinton decries plight of women in male-dominated countries

In an emotional speech as she nears the end of her term of office, Hillary Clinton warned there would be “many sacrifices and losses” before daughters were “valued as sons” across the world, according to reporters traveling with the secretary of state.


http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...countries?lite

[Kobi]

A Southern California judge is being publicly admonished for saying a rape victim "didn't put up a fight" during her assault and that if someone doesn't want sexual intercourse, the body "will not permit that to happen."

The California Commission on Judicial Performance voted 10-0 to impose a public admonishment Thursday, saying Superior Court Judge Derek Johnson's comments were inappropriate and a breach of judicial ethics.

"In the commission's view, the judge's remarks reflected outdated, biased and insensitive views about sexual assault victims who do not 'put up a fight.' Such comments cannot help but diminish public confidence and trust in the impartiality of the judiciary," wrote Lawrence J. Simi, the commission's chairman.

Johnson made the comments in the case of a man who threatened to mutilate the face and genitals of his ex-girlfriend with a heated screwdriver, beat her with a metal baton and made other violent threats before committing rape, forced oral copulation, and other crimes.

Though the woman reported the criminal threats the next day, the woman did not report the rape until 17 days later.

Johnson, a former prosecutor in the Orange County district attorney's sex crimes unit, said during the man's 2008 sentencing that he had seen violent cases on that unit in which women's vaginas were "shredded" by rape.

"I'm not a gynecologist, but I can tell you something: If someone doesn't want to have sexual intercourse, the body shuts down. The body will not permit that to happen unless a lot of damage is inflicted, and we heard nothing about that in this case," Johnson said.

The commission found that Johnson's view that a victim must resist to be a real victim of sexual assault was his opinion, not the law. Since 1980, California law doesn't require rape victims to prove they resisted or were prevented from resisting because of threats.

In an apology to the commission, Johnson said his comments were inappropriate. He said his comments were the result of his frustration during an argument with a prosecutor over the defendant's sentence.

Johnson said he believed the prosecutor's request of a 16-year sentence was not authorized by law. Johnson sentenced the rapist to six years instead, saying that's what the case was "worth."

http://news.yahoo.com/calif-judge-sa...GlvbnM-;_ylv=3

[Gemme]

Ugh. I just can't. I just....smh.

[Kobi]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sexual assaults reported by students at the three U.S. military academies jumped 23 percent in 2012, underscoring what Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said was a "persistent" problem that required a "strong and immediate response" from the services.

Eighty cases of sexual assault were reported by cadets and midshipmen during the 2011-2012 academic year, compared to 65 the previous year, the Pentagon said on Friday in its annual report on sexual harassment and violence at the academies. The victims were primarily women, although four were men.

It was the third straight year of increases, from a low of 25 in 2009. Prior to that, reported sexual assault cases had fallen regularly from 42 in 2006, when the Pentagon first began tracking the issue at the direction of Congress, the report said.

"Despite our considerable and ongoing efforts, this year's annual report ... demonstrates that we have a persistent problem," Panetta said in a memorandum to the secretaries of the Navy, Army and Air Force.

He said the lack of progress at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, merited "a strong and immediate response."

Panetta and he asked the services to identify "new ways to advance a climate of dignity and respect" at the academies and report back to him by the end of March.

The findings drew expressions of concern from lawmakers and special interest groups that track the issue. Representative Niki Tsongas said that while the rise could partly be attributed to improved conditions that encourage people to report assaults, they also showed the issue remains a problem.

"Sexual assault remains a persistent and untenable crime throughout the armed forces," she said in a statement. "These numbers are an affront to the educational institutions that are developing our military's future leaders."

Nancy Parrish, president of Protect Our Defenders, said the report "shines a light on the severity and scope of the crisis" of sexual assault in the military.

"There is a culture of high tolerance for rape and sexual predators in the ranks that pervades the military," she said. "Clearly all the reforms that have been announced over many years aren't making a difference."

The academies are implementing programs to try to reduce sexual assaults. At the same time, they are attempting to create an environment that encourages reporting, whether on a confidential basis that enables victims to get care and counseling or an unrestricted basis that also permits full criminal investigation.

Of the 80 cases reported in 2012, 42 were unrestricted, allowing authorities to pursue a criminal investigation with the assistance of the victim. Thirty-eight cases remained confidential and were not investigated, officials said.

The academies investigated 40 sexual assault cases in 2012, 23 from 2012 and 17 from the previous year. Of that number, 11 were prosecuted and punished, including eight suspects who were court martialed. The others were not prosecuted, either because the military lacked jurisdiction or evidence, officials said.

The Pentagon surveys students every two years to assess gender relations at the schools and to get a better idea about the number of sexual assaults that go unreported.

The survey conducted as part of this year's report found that 12.4 percent of women and 2 percent of men had reported unwanted sexual contact during the previous 12 months - statistically unchanged from the prior survey.

Fifty-one percent of women reported experiencing sexual harassment during the previous year, down from 56 percent in the 2010 survey. Ten percent of men reported experiencing sexual harassment, statistically unchanged from the earlier survey.

Unwanted sexual contact ranged from rape or sexual assault, to attempted attacks, forcible sodomy and other types of sexual contact, officials said. Major General Gary Patton, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said there was an important correlation between sexual assault and sexual harassment.

"Eliminating sexual harassment is critical to preventing sexual assault," he said, adding that those who experience sexual assault in the past year had also been sexually harassed.

"The solution to this problem is ... creating a nonpermissive environment where sexual harassment, sexist behavior, stalking and these types of behaviors are not condoned," Patton said.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/sexual-assa...182855083.html

[Kobi]

After working as a dental assistant for ten years, Melissa Nelson was fired for being too "irresistible" and a "threat" to her employer's marriage.

On Friday, the all-male Iowa State Supreme Court ruled that James Knight, Nelson's boss, was within his legal rights when he fired her, affirming the decision of a lower court.

"We do think the Iowa Supreme Court got it completely right," said Stuart Cochrane, an attorney for James Knight. "Our position has always been Mrs. Nelson was never terminated because of her gender, she was terminated because of concerns her behavior was not appropriate in the workplace. She's an attractive lady. Dr. Knight found her behavior and dress to be inappropriate."

For Nelson, a 32-year-old married mother of two, the news of her firing and the rationale behind it came as a shock.

The two never had a sexual relationship or sought one, according to court documents, however in the final year and a half of Nelson's employment, Knight began to make comments about her clothing being too tight or distracting.

"Dr. Knight acknowledges he once told Nelson that if she saw his pants bulging, she would know her clothing was too revealing," the justices wrote.

Six months before Nelson was fired, she and her boss began exchanging text messages about work and personal matters, such as updates about each of their children's activities, the justices wrote.

The messages were mostly mundane, but Nelson recalled one text she received from her boss asking "how often she experienced an orgasm."

Nelson did not respond to the text and never indicated that she was uncomfortable with Knight's question, according to court documents.

Soon after, Knight's wife, Jeanne, who also works at the practice, found out about the text messaging and ordered her husband to fire Nelson.

The couple consulted with a senior pastor at their church and he agreed that Nelson should be terminated in order to protect their marriage, Cochrane said.

On Jan. 4, 2010, Nelson was summoned to a meeting with Knight while a pastor was present. Knight then read from a prepared statement telling Nelson she was fired.

"Dr. Knight felt like for the best interest of his marriage and the best interest of hers to end their employment relationship," Cochrane said.

Knight acknowledged in court documents that Nelson was good at her job and she, in turn, said she was generally treated with respect.

"I'm devastated. I really am," Nelson said.

When Nelson's husband tried to reason with Knight, the dentist told him he "feared he would have an affair with her down the road if he did not fire her."

Paige Fiedler, Nelson's attorney, said in a statement to ABC News affiliate KCRG that she was "appalled" by the ruling.

"We are appalled by the Court's ruling and its failure to understand the nature of gender bias.," she wrote.

"Although people act for a variety of reasons, it is very common for women to be targeted for discrimination because of their sexual attractiveness or supposed lack of sexual attractiveness. That is discrimination based on sex," Fiedler wrote. "Nearly every woman in Iowa understands this because we have experienced it for ourselves."

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blog...opstories.html

[Corkey]

Can't control himself so she pays. Fucking Patriarchy.

[Kobi]

BOSTON (WHDH) -- Some local students think they've found a sweet solution to pay for college -- in the form of “sugar daddies.”

A new website aims to match "sugar daddies" with "sugar babies".

While some think it's a great idea to cut down on debt, others aren't so sure.

Students in Boston find themselves under the same crushing college debt load as kids all over the country. Some of them will look for jobs, or second jobs. Others are turning to a website where they can find benefactors advertised as boyfriends.

Answer a couple of questions, post your picture, and you could be just a couple of clicks away from finding a match made of cash.

The dating site “seekingarrangements.com” says its gaining popularity, especially with coeds struggling to pay for school.

“A lot of these girls grew up thinking college is going to be paid for and then when the recession happened they had to use their savings to stay afloat and now there's no college money for those girls,” said Jennifer Gwynn, “seekingarrangement.com”

“Seeking arrangements” lets singles find what they call a “sugar daddy” or “sugar momma.” The company says the average college aged sugar baby gets an allowance of about $3,000 per month -- that's for what it describes as a “mutually beneficial relationship.”

“We really believe this is a better way to pay for school,” said Gwynn.

“Seeking arrangements” claims to have 2 million users, it says 44 percent of them are college students, including some at BU and UMass.

“Given the expense of your colleges it doesn't surprise me that people are forced to end up doing things like this,” said one man.

“Sugar babies” can earn as much as $20,000 per month;more than enough to pay for books, loans, or even tuition.

But to most students, whatever the payout, it isn't worth the price.

“It sounds dangerous. I wouldn't do that. Wouldn't recommend it,” said one woman.

BU and UMass representatives told 7News they were not aware of any of their students participating with the site.

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/l...h-benefactors/
---------------------------

Sometimes there just arent any words.

[DapperButch]

My first thought when reading the above article is that gay men have been doing this forever.

The site is set up for all combination of sexes, with sugar daddys, sugar mommas, sugar male babies, and sugar female babies. Straight and gay.