One in three blames women for being raped

Amnesty International reports that one in three people in the UK believe that women who “behave flirtatiously” are responsible for being raped. This is just fucking terrifying.

A new ICM opinion poll commissioned by Amnesty International indicates that a third (34%) of people in the UK believe that a woman is partially or totally responsible for being raped if she has behaved in a flirtatious manner.
The poll, ‘Sexual Assault Research’, published today (21 November) as part of Amnesty International’s ‘Stop Violence Against Women’ campaign, shows that similar “blame culture” attitudes exist over clothing, drinking, perceived promiscuity, personal safety and whether a woman has clearly said “no” to the man.
For instance, more than a quarter (26%) of ...

Amnesty International reports that one in three people in the UK believe that women who “behave flirtatiously” are responsible for being raped. This is just fucking terrifying.

A new ICM opinion poll commissioned by Amnesty ...

Women’s college does not mean feminist college

This is very interesting and very important.

While the identity of Saint Mary’s as an all-women’s institution is widely celebrated and well publicized, one definition remains less clear – whether or not the College can describe itself as a feminist environment.
Forty years after the sexual revolution, feminism remains a polarizing issue on campus. Students’ perceptions of feminists vary drastically – from activists lobbying for equal pay in the workplace to women burning bras on the steps of the Capitol Building.

Btw, bra-burning never happened, it is a myth. But really this is something I think we as active feminists can do. Begin to discuss our differing perceptions of feminism and actually learn the history of the ...

This is very interesting and very important.

While the identity of Saint Mary’s as an all-women’s institution is widely celebrated and well publicized, one definition remains less clear – whether or not the College can ...

What is in a name?

Apparently there has been a little upswing in the number of women that have decided to go back to taking their husband’s name upon marriage.
Interesting?
“Adopting a husband’s last name remains an entrenched tradition that is on the upswing, despite a temporary blip in the ’70s, ’80s and early ’90s where many young women tended to want to hold on to their birth names,” said UF linguistics professor Diana Boxer, who led a series of studies. “I think it reflects how men’s power continues to influence American society despite the fact that women have made great advances economically and socially.”
The exception is highly educated women in academic and professional positions, said Boxer, whose research was funded by ...

Apparently there has been a little upswing in the number of women that have decided to go back to taking their husband’s name upon marriage.
Interesting?
“Adopting a husband’s last name remains an entrenched tradition that ...

Japan tightens gender laws

via Reuters…
Japan plans to toughen its gender equality law in an effort to encourage women to stay in the workforce as the population begins to shrink, a government official said on Friday.
The Health and Welfare Ministry will propose an amendment to the 1986 law that would ban employers from treating women unfavourably because they are pregnant or have young children, the Nihon Keizai newspaper said.
Employers would also be prevented from firing a woman who was pregnant, or who had a child under a year old, unless they could prove that the employee’s family situation was not the reason, the paper said.

The current equal opportunity laws are not so effective, women are still paid 1/3 of ...

via Reuters…
Japan plans to toughen its gender equality law in an effort to encourage women to stay in the workforce as the population begins to shrink, a government official said on Friday.
The Health and ...

Sex ed takes on toddlers.


Check out this article in the New York Times yesterday on sex education and how the typical age to learn about sex is getting younger by the year.
One of the people interviewed is Robie H. Harris, a renowned author of sex education books for children. Her most recent books, “Perfectly Normal” (shown above) and “It’s So Amazing” are directed towards 7-year olds and up, and is soon to publish her latest, “It’s Not The Stork”, which will be intended for children as young as 4. In 2008, she plans to write one for toddlers.
This new early childhood approach to sex education teaches words like “vulva” at the same time they’re learning words like “ears” ...

Check out this article in the New York Times yesterday on sex education and how the typical age to learn about sex is getting younger by the year.
One of the people interviewed ...

Combing over the double-standard

Just as the media finished trashing Harriet Miers’ looks, reporters-cum-fashion-police have started obsessing over special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s sexiness. Feministing has already pointed out how male and female public figures are held to different standards in the media, but the Miers and Fitzgerald examples shine a bit more light on the subject.
When a male politician is ugly it’s considered normal and no fuss is made over it in the news. But boy do we swoon when one comes along who’s even remotely good lookin’. We require our women to be beautiful, though. So when a female public figure shows up at a press conference and her fashion is sub-par, we’re

Just as the media finished trashing Harriet Miers’ looks, reporters-cum-fashion-police have started obsessing over special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s sexiness. Feministing has already pointed out how male and female public figures are held ...

Adding fuel to the fire.

In a radio interview on Wednesday, Bernard Accoyer, the parliamentary leader of President Jacques Chirac’s party, said that polygamy is a reason behind the riots in France. Wow.
Pierre Cardo, a deputy from Chirac’s party, explained that the most rebellious of “delinquents” are “often products of polygamous families.”
In response, MRAP, an anti-racism group, accused political leaders on the right of “playing an extremely dangerous role in feeding our country with the racism that causes the damage we know. . .These accusations shame the nation and are not acceptable from the responsible representatives of the Republic.”
Fuck racism, nontraditional households are the problem! Sound familiar?

In a radio interview on Wednesday, Bernard Accoyer, the parliamentary leader of President Jacques Chirac’s party, said that polygamy is a reason behind the riots in France. Wow.
Pierre Cardo, a deputy from Chirac’s party, ...

NOW takes on Juarez murders

Last Tuesday, Maria Esther Valerio was found dead in a lot in the southwest area of the city. She is the 29th woman to be killed in Juarez this year. On the same day, the police chief of the city was replaced by Guillermo Prieto, who served in the same position some time ago. Yeah, that should help.
Although I use sarcasm to hide how dispirited I am over the 400 plus Juarez women who have been murdered over the past decade, a wee bit of hope is coming to El Paso during the first week of December. The National Organization for Women’s (NOW) board is scheduled to meet December 2nd, ...

Last Tuesday, Maria Esther Valerio was found dead in a lot in the southwest area of the city. She is the 29th woman to be killed in Juarez this year. On the same day, ...

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