June 2010

Scotland Anti-Rape Ad Tackles “She Was Asking For It” Myth

by Cara June 29, 2010

Trigger Warning for rape apologism. A few months back, I wrote an article for the Guardian’s Comment is Free about a U.K. study, which showed a significant number of respondents thought that some rape victims were at least partially to blame for their attacks. The various reasons that respondents blamed women were the unsurprising — [...]

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NY Bill Allows Sex Trafficking Victims to Clear Prostitution Convictions

by Cara June 28, 2010

Good News: earlier this month, the New York State legislature passed a bill allowing victims of sex trafficking to have prostitution convictions against them vacated. The bill currently only awaits Governor Paterson’s signature, but activists are hopeful that he will give it his stamp of approval: Sex trafficking victims may soon be able to have [...]

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Top 5 Moments in Paul is Dead: Visual Clues

by Cara June 26, 2010

Photo provided by Lacey, touched up by Samantha. Most fans think solemnly back on the day they heard the first Beatle had died as a turning point in their lives. He was such a brilliant entertainer, a beloved icon, a symbol of joy and hope, especially in America — and then he was gone, in [...]

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On Dismissing Sexual Violence Against Some Women As “Cultural”

by Cara June 25, 2010

Strong Trigger Warning for discussions and descriptions of sexual violence, rape apologism, war, murder, and racism. This morning, an incredible op-ed by Lisa Shannon was published in the New York Times, entitled “No, Sexual Violence is Not ‘Cultural.’” Of course, those of us here know that rape culture is very, very real. But the context [...]

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UK Health Group Wants to Test All Pregnant Women for Smoking

by Cara June 24, 2010

Just last week, I was defending the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) in the UK for its recommendations regarding age-appropriate sex education. This week, I find myself needing to ask what in the hell they’re thinking. NICE has recommended that all pregnant women should be given carbon monoxide tests in order to determine whether [...]

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LGBT Youth Face High Rates of Homelessness and Incarceration

by Cara June 22, 2010

Trigger Warning for discussions/descriptions of homophobic and transphobic violence, including but not limited to sexual violence. Yesterday, two really important stories were released about LGBT youth in the U.S. — one in the Nation about incarceration, one from the Center for American Progress about homelessness. The fact that LGBT youth face much higher risks of [...]

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Former Detective Tells of Intimidation to Drop Rape Charges Against Football Players

by Cara June 21, 2010

Trigger Warning for descriptions of sexual violence and rape apologism. Late last week, I wrote about how the tendency for police forces to engage in rape apologism or even sexual violence is not just an issue of individual officers engaging in bad behavior, but of a system that encourages police rape apologism and sexual violence [...]

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Top 5 Beatles Songs From 1969

by Cara June 19, 2010

Exactly one day after Sir Paul’s 68th birthday and two months before I see him in concert in Pittsburgh(!) comes the final installment of this Gratuitous Beatles Blogging series. The ending of the Beatles was a tumultuous time — and thus, this list is going to take a few liberties. With the Get Back Sessions [...]

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On Police Violence and “Rotten Apples”

by Cara June 18, 2010

In the U.K., a traffic police officer was just sentenced to time in jail for repeatedly contacting women he had pulled over for traffic offenses and harassing and coercing them into sexual activities in exchange for not pursuing their infringements. In total, the trial encompassed the victimization of eight different women: Jamie Slater, 33, of [...]

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Group Suggests Age Appropriate Sex Education? Time to Freak Out.

by Cara June 17, 2010

Well, here we go again. Every few months or so, some public official or organization makes a common sense observation that sex education is largely useless unless we start it early, and thus expresses support for age appropriate sex education for kids as soon as they start school. Cue the outrage, as a variety of [...]

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