Here’s what I Am Over 400 thousand women getting raped a year in the Democratic Republic of Congo 48 women getting raped an hour 1,100 raped a day I Am Over This being new/news. The world responding to these statistics as if it’s the first time they ever heard anything about the atrocities in the […]
Month: May 2011
Newsflash: Military Sex Assault Bill Moving Forward
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) has announced that new provisions added Wednesday night to the National Defense Authorization Act will directly address the under-reported (and under-addressed) problem of sexual assault in the military. H.R. 1709 will assure confidentiality for victims of sexual assault in the military, ease the process for a victim of sexual assault to […]
Houston Press Lists Ten “Hottest” Sex Offenders
If I were the Houston Press, and I were part of the Village Voice Media chain of newspapers currently under investigation for facilitating sex trafficking through their Backpage.com outlet, making jokes about how hot sex criminals are would not be the first place I’d go for humor. But I’m not the Houston Press, so that’s […]
Egypt’s First Woman President?
Bothaina Kamel, a well-known TV talk-show host and activist, has recently declared her intention to become Egypt’s first woman president. No stranger to controversy, Kamel is best known for tackling topics usually considered taboo to speak about in public, such as sexual relationships and domestic violence. She became a vocal advocate for democracy and transparency after […]
We Spleen: The Vatican
No, it isn’t because of religious convictions. We Heart many Christians (like those at Douglass Boulevard Baptist Church). But We Spleen injustice, and the Vatican is guilty of this through its treatment of Australian Bishop William Morris. Pope Benedict XVI unseated Bishop Morris on May 2nd for “defective pastoral leadership.” And how was he defective? […]
We Know Women Rock–Tell Us Something New
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has a reputation for being a boys club. Since 1986, when its first annual list of inductees consisted of men only, women have been snubbed three additional times (1992, 2003, 2004). But now that the Cleveland museum has a new exhibit, “Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, […]
The Microaggressions Project: An Interview with Vivian Lu and David Zhou
What’s a microaggression, anyway? The term, which came into popularity from theorist Chester M. Pierce, is defined by American Psychologist as “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative … slights and insults.” In other words, it’s a putdown. An example: You’re so much […]
Naomi Wolf: Liberty, Interrupted
Late last year, when WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was accused of rape by two women, noted feminist and one-time anti-sexual-violence advocate Naomi Wolf brazenly denied the accusations, outraging feminists everywhere. As the story broke, I was just picking up Wolf’s 2008 book, Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries. What I discovered was, in […]
Uganda Delays “Kill the Gays Bill” Until Friday
Amid an international outcry, the Ugandan parliament has delayed today’s scheduled vote on its controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill until Friday. The proposed legislation, nicknamed “Kill the Gays” Bill, does just that–those found guilty of repeat “homosexual conduct” can receive the death penalty. Other provisions include a 7-year stint in prison for anyone who “aids or abets” […]
Photoshopping Women’s History
When Brooklyn-based Haredi (ultra-Orthodox Judaism) newspaper Di Tzeitung published the now-iconic photograph of President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of the U.S. national security team watching the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, something was missing: images of the two women who were present in the White House […]