IMPORTANT! If you are an American reading this, and you do one thing, sign this petition to rededicate Columbus Day as Exploration Day in honor of, among others, Neil Armstrong. Columbus Day is an incredibly racist holiday, and space exploration is freaking awesome. If this gets 25,000 signatures, it will appear on Obama’s desk for him to review and respond to. If you prefer space to racism, sign the petition.
Trigger warning for rape. A heart-wrenching post about a male survivor of rape.
This Toyota ad makes me grin uncontrollably. Fuck yeah androgynous models!
Speaking of uncontrollable grinning: German father wears a skirt so his son, who loves skirts, feels comfortable. Father of the Year Award? I think so.
Trigger warning for rape and violence. A powerful article at The Rumpus about the experience of being a survivor of rape.
Some interesting polls about heightism, the unrecognized prejudice.
Erick Erickson thinks that the Democratic National Convention is secretly the Vagina Monologues. I am confused whether he is objecting to women speaking or he’s calling male Democrats vaginas. Either way, it sucks.
Fortunately, sucking is not simply an American thing. David Cameron asks Ed Miliband whether he’s “butch” enough. Why is that even a question? Who fucking cares? Is Cameron trying to win the Worst Leader of a Major World Power award now that Bush is out of the running?
Buck Angel creates a dating site for trans dudes. (“Genderqueer dating”? Really? Fuck off, it’ll help binary trans people too.)
Kilted to Kick Cancer, the prostate cancer fundraiser with KILTS!, starts up again.
Grindr encourages gay men to register to vote.
An interesting article in the Guardian about the benefits of male contraception for women.
TW for non-explicit discussion of rape. On creating a non-misogynistic non-rapey gamer culture.
Do you like tea? Do you like FREE SAMPLES of tea? Enter your address and Twinings will send you free tea! (Americans only. Sorry.)
If I may add a link of mine to this post: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/opinion/brooks-why-men-fail.html?_r=2&smid=fb-share An op-ed piece from the NYTimes. Explaining why men are failing. What is more depressing than the article (which actually isn’t as bad as some) are the comments. I expected better from the NYTimes commentariat. So many comments about boys just needing to be more like women, or that men are essentially obsolete (due to in-vitro fertilization), or that men aren’t mature enough. Blah Blah Blah – Why do I always have to read this stuff when I start feeling good about myself and chances of success? All… Read more »
Because in our societies misandry is perfectly acceptable, nor do many give a damn.
TW for non-explicit discussion of rape. On creating a non-misogynistic non-rapey gamer culture.
I saw this a few days ago and I have to agree with Monkey and PsyConomics. That writer seems to have his heart in the right place but he’s resorting to using some of the very same tactics he is supposedly decrying. It’s like he’s saying that it’s not right to treat women that way and the solution is to treat men that way.
Strange, he says male victims of rape by female rapists are very much in the minority as if it’s so rare yet we have stats to suggest otherwise. What is the definition of “very much” in the minority? 5%? 10%? “‘I’m still sure it’s much worse to be a female rape victim – I wasn’t physically damaged and I didn’t have a risk of pregnancy. But the STD test was no fun and the psychological fallout even less fun. I’m supposed to be a guy, whatever the hell that means. And to this day sometimes I still think, well, rape?… Read more »
I am personally really not comfortable with policing how rape survivors respond to their rapes. “I didn’t have it as bad as X” is a very common belief among all kinds of trauma survivors, and saying that they’re perpetrating rape culture because of it is, in my opinion, highly immoral.
I can understand that but on the flipside when it becomes common to say women get it worse, does it not harm the seriousness and how male rape is taken? That’s what bothers me, I’ve heard a hugeeeee amount of comments by mostly non-rape survivors, or female rape survivors of how rape affects women worse, even other forms of abuse I’ve heard it affects women worse by people and I find it offensive as hell for people to assume either is affected more. The only difference is potential for physical injury and pregnancy, but even then it’s no cakewalk for… Read more »
You guys probably don’t know this, but Catholics (I’m not one, BTW) embrace Columbus Day like Black people embrace Kwanza (those that do.) Yes, I do know about Columbus’s mistreatment of Caribbean people, but Columbus Day is iconic for this very large American minority. Why do you think they have The Knights of Columbus? Significanly, Hispanics really invest in Columbus Day, and if you’re, say, on the Mexican border on that day, you see what a major holliday that is.
I think this comes from the era when Catholics were a persecuted group, and Columbus day was a day that they could claim they had had a stake in America from the very beginning.
I found that piece about gaming culture a little condescending and obnoxious, actually.1) it suggests fighting mockery with… Mockery, 2) It is really quote rough on boys and 3) it suggests that there is never a good reason for anything to be men only, and i think that’s nonsense.
I agree. The sentiment of the article – we need to cease being accepting of gendered harassment in gaming – is good, but the implementation is all wrong. Beyond just tone argument, scaring or shaming people into “growing up” isn’t going to work. What made the author’s cited example of the anti-KKK demonstration work is that the anti-KKK demonstrators were there for those watching, not for the actual KKK marchers, but a lot of what the author suggests would be more similar to punishing the marchers. The author also assumes that men would never need men’s spaces to protect themselves… Read more »
I really, really hope Columbus day goes. He wasn’t even that special of an explorer IIRC.
Zheng He day ftw
(Disclaimer: This poster couldn’t give a shit about Neil Armstrong)