richaro

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By richaro • 15 years ago

Advice needed on domestic violence situation

I know there are lots of amazing people here with both personal and professional experiences in dealing with domestic violence and so I’d like to ask your advice on a delicate and very serious family situation.

In a nutshell, my younger sister M, who is 22, has been dating a guy I’ll call Bob for the past two years. M has always been overweight and struggled with self-esteem issues and Bob is her first boyfriend. Shortly after the relationship began, our family noticed M begin pulling away from us and we attributed it to the throes of young love. As the isolation increased however, we had several sit-down talks with her to share our concerns, but none seemed to be effective.

Bob and M’s relationship has been fiery from the start. They argue – A LOT – and get into fights that sometimes turn physical on both sides. In the beginning, it was minor stuff like pushing or shoving, but as I’ve since discovered, it has escalated into more serious abuse. At one point last year, M called my mom in tears because Bob was driving her car recklessly and wouldn’t let her out. My mom called the State Highway Patrol and later had M talk to a few police officer friends about domestic violence is. M listened, but refused to admit that Bob’s abuse qualified as domestic violence.

By richaro • 15 years ago

Catholic church punishes women for supporting female priests

“Cry as if you have a million voices; it is silence that kills the world.” ~ St. Catherine of Siena

Sister Louise Akers, a 66-year-old Cincinnati Catholic nun, was banned two weeks ago from teaching in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Her crime? She supports the ordination of women priests.

The injustice of the disciplinary action inspired Dr. Carol Egner, a lifelong Catholic and gynecologist, to write a letter to The Cincininati Enquirer in support of Akers. In her letter, Egner said she could find no biblical justification for not allowing women to the priesthood and pointed out that allowing women priests could reduce the burdon of the current priest shortage. “I agree with ordaining women as priests now,” she wrote. ...

“Cry as if you have a million voices; it is silence that kills the world.” ~ St. Catherine of Siena

Sister Louise Akers, a 66-year-old Cincinnati Catholic nun, was banned two weeks ago from teaching in the ...

By richaro • 15 years ago

Interview with Stephanie Armstrong, author of “Not all Black Girls Know How to Eat”

In conversations on eating disorders, black women are often left out of the debate. Despite valiant efforts by activists and researchers in the last few decades and evidence to the contrary , eating disorders are still often stereotyped as a young, white girl’s disease. Stephanie Armstrong hopes to change that.
In her new book, Not All Black Girls Know How to Eat: A Story of Bulimia , the now 40-something, recovered, married mother of one daughter and two stepdaughters documents her descent into bulimia in her early 20s and describes her struggles as a black woman with a disorder consistently portrayed as a white woman’s disease. The Los Angelos screenwriter and playwright also examines the “bootylicous” black ...

By richaro • 15 years ago

A conversation with a door-to-door vacuum salesman

Crossposted on www.the-F-word.org

We frequently get door-to-door salespeople shilling everything from home security systems to cable TV to Jesus. I was working in my home office last week when came a sharp rat-a-tat-tat at the door. I covertly peeked out the Roman shade to see standing at the door a spry man in his 50s with a shiny bald head anchored by greying fringe. There was an incident not too long ago a few streets over in which someone claiming to be fundraising door-to-door hit an elderly man upside the head with a crowbar and proceeded to rob him. I am not the kind of person who regularly engages in fits of histrionic paranoia, but considering that I work from ...

Crossposted on www.the-F-word.org

By richaro • 15 years ago

Elle Macpherson on feminism

Oh , Elle (MacPherson). Thank you for reminding me yet again of why we still need feminism. In an interview today with The Guardian, the Australian fashion-model-turned-designer said:

Are you a feminist?

I’m somebody who truly honours femininity. And I believe in individuality, and uniqueness, and that’s all I’m going to say on that.

But you shy away from the word "feminism"?

It’s one of those coined phrases that has a lot of innuendo and not much meaning these days. There’s a stereotypical perception that a feminist is somebody who believes in equal rights for men and women. Well, I believe men and women are different and they have different needs, therefore the concept of equal rights doesn’t really sit with me in ...

Oh , Elle (MacPherson). Thank you for reminding me yet again of why we still need feminism. In an interview today with The Guardian, the Australian fashion-model-turned-designer said:

Are you a feminist?

I’m somebody who truly honours femininity. ...

By richaro • 15 years ago

“The Ugly Truth” or The Ugly Stereotype?

Cross-posted on www.the-F-word.org

I saw a commercial for the new film "The Ugly Truth " yesterday. Starring Katherine Heigl and the dreamy Gerard Butler," the film seems to be of of the "Men are bumbling idiots who think only with the head in their pants" genre — just check out the poster for it.

Yeah, yeah, I know… men have up to 20 times more testosterone than women which leads to differences in sex drives , yadda, yadda, but unbelievably, there are men who do have healthy levels of testosterone and yet have still managed to avoid devolving into cousin-humping rabbits. It’s important to remember that sexism, in all its forms, hurts us all, men included.

Cross-posted on www.the-F-word.org

I saw a commercial for the new film "The Ugly Truth " yesterday. Starring Katherine Heigl and the dreamy Gerard Butler," the film seems to be of of the "Men are

By richaro • 15 years ago

Stripping fish AND women while alive is not okay

Crossposted on The-F-Word.org

It looks like Dutch animal rights group Animals Awake is taking a few cues from Peta, an organization I’ve criticized heartily for treating women like a piece of meat to get men to stop eating meat. The embed and html links don’t appear to be working on this site, so here’s a link to the video instead.

Warning : the video is quite graphic in its depiction of violence against women, so if you’re especially sensitive to this, please don’t watch. Here’s a sanitized description of it instead:

Playboy Playmate and all-around sexy vegetarian Ancilla Tilia is shown performing a Burlesque kind of strip tease for a roomful of ogling men. It’s all in good ...

Crossposted on The-F-Word.org

It looks like Dutch animal rights group Animals Awake is taking a few cues from Peta, an organization I’ve criticized heartily for treating women like a piece of meat to get men ...

By richaro • 15 years ago

Want to look hot this summer? Bacardi suggests getting an “ugly girlfriend”

Cross posted at The-F-Word.org

I’m a teetotaler for various reasons* — at 30, I’ve never ever been drunk if you can believe that — but even if I were the most raging of party girls, Bacardi’s new "Get an ugly girlfriend" ad campaign wouldn’t convince me to buy its line of fruity Breezers.

In yet another prime example of how women are pitted against each other, the campaign suggests that women — that is, attractive women — accessorize themselves with an "ugly girlfriend" in order to make themselves look better at the mall, the beach and other social situations. The four "ugly girlfriends" featured on the campaign’s minisite are equal-opportunity offensive, including fat, thin and disabled women. ...

Cross posted at The-F-Word.org

I’m a teetotaler for various reasons* — at 30, I’ve never ever been drunk if you can believe that — but even if I were the most raging of party girls, Bacardi’s ...