2005 February Archive

Strangest harassment story. Ever.

Talk about animal attraction. (Sorry, couldn’t help myself.)
Two San Francisco women who were caretakers for a gorilla have sued their employer, claiming they were fired for “refusing to show the animal their breasts.” Um, what?
The lawsuit says the president of the Gorilla Foundation, Francine Patterson, sought to have the women bond with the gorilla by performing “bizarre sexual acts with Koko.”
“Through sign language, as interpreted by Patterson, Koko ‘demanded’ plaintiffs remove their clothing and show Koko their breasts,” the lawsuit said.
“Patterson pressured plaintiffs to perform such acts, regularly and consistently, and on at least one occasion, outdoors where others could see,” the lawsuit added.
Weirdest. Thing. Ever.

By Vanessa • 19 years ago

Holy Shit.

For only fifteen bucks, you can get yourself a pretty beaded bracelet. But this is not just a bracelet; it represents a secret society of self-destructive young girls and women.
I’ve heard of these underground “pro-ana” websites before, where young women bond over their eating disorders and feel that there’s no need to get better. It’s a way of life and they don’t want to change. For example, bluedragonfly.org. is one of the sites where you can purchase these bracelets.
The pretty jewelry is a sign of membership that can distinguish each other in public, so they can identify their fellow members. But the bracelets aren’t just limited to eating disorders.
Red bracelets represent ...

By Vanessa • 19 years ago

Exposure to Online “Feminist Position on Rape” Overturns Conviction

I don’t know a bunch on the justice system, but this case caught my attention and made me wonder.
A man’s rape conviction was overturned because a jury member researched the crime on the internet, reports Mirror.co.uk. He will now face a retrial and the jury may be banned from using the internet during the hearings.
It seems that after the conviction was made, two downloaded documents — “The Feminist Position on Rape” and “Rape and the Criminal Justice System” — were found in the jury room. Although there was no indication that the documents were discussed among the jurors, the judge told the court that “The internet can provide material which may influence a juror’s views. If ...

By Vanessa • 19 years ago

Shocker of the Week: Washington Times Backs Summers

On the day that Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers releases a transcript in response to his comments on how biological differences could be the reason why women don’t have top science positions at universities, the Washington Times releases an article titled, “Sex Differences Scientific.”
The article contains quotes from a panel conference at the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), where president Nancy Pfotenhauer stated:
“President Summers is being vilified for telling the truth about women…Women have children and choose to raise those children…and neurobiology shows us women are better in certain fields than men and tend to gravitate towards those fields they do better in.”
Like fields full of babies and aprons?? ...

By Samhita • 19 years ago

Electoral Reform in Nigeria

In an article on AllAfrica.com…
After presenting a paper at a conference on Monday entitled, ‘Breaking the Barriers of Limitations: the Role of Women in Development’, Mrs. Machel-Mandela (wife of Nelson Mandela) said, that in the case of Africa, “electoral legislation, education and conquering the male chauvinism, are ways of breaking the barriers against women rights enhancement.”
After her presentation, Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, responded by backing an electoral legislation in Nigeria that demands 25% of all political parties must be women. He agreed, “the surest way to get women into elective offices would be through a legislation, which will bring about changes in the country’s electoral law.”
He didn’t seem to like Ms. Mandela saying that “conquering men” ...

By Jessica • 19 years ago

The pill makes you partner-picky

Who knew that my discriminating taste in men was due to my choice of contraception?
Reuters reported yesterday that birth control pills change women’s preference in men.
Psychologists at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland asked 1570 young women on oral contraceptives and 1325 women who were not, to choose between healthy and less healthy male faces. The same face was presented twice, one image glowing with apparent health, the other looking pale and unwell.
All women preferred the healthier face on average but those on the Pill were significantly more choosy. “Women using oral contraceptives expressed stronger attraction to apparent health than women not using oral contraceptives,” the researchers reported in the Proceedings of ...

Who knew that my discriminating taste in men was due to my choice of contraception?
Reuters reported yesterday that birth control pills change women’s preference in men.
Psychologists at the University of St. ...

By noauthor • 19 years ago

It’s Fun to Stay at the…

According to Stuart Elliot’s New York Times email column In Advertising, the YWCA is changing its image with a new, honest and bold marketing campaign — “Eliminating racism. Empowering women.” As the article states, it is intended to declare the modern-day goals of the organization, which was founded 147 years ago, and to highlight the problems of misogyny and racism in mainstream society.
One main part of the campaign is a television ad which will be played on BET, MTV and MTV2. As Elliot’s NY Times article reported, one of the TV commercials features scenes of girls innocently playing while the soundtrack plays a medley of rap, country and rock tunes (composed for the spot) ...

By Jessica • 19 years ago

A fashionable choice…

Check out these new bracelets available at Voices for Choice!
So bad-ass…must…have…
Similar to the Never Surrender bracelets available a while back, the proceeds from the bracelets will support NARAL Pro-Choice America’s work to keep choice safe. And if you’re feeling like sporting some more choice fashion, check out Prochoicetee.com.
I suddenly feel the urge to shop…