Stand Together

Woman Sues Cops For Forcing Her To Listen To Rush Limbaugh

cassket:

Bridgett Nickerson Boyd claims in a lawsuit filed last week that last year in Texas, sheriff’s deputy Mark Goad arrested her for driving on the shoulder when she pulled off the highway because her engine was steaming. Then her heart started racing, so Goad followed her to the hospital, and arrested her after she had been treated. That still wasn’t the worst of it: Boyd claims that while Goad was driving her to jail, he cranked up Rush Limbaugh, who was making, “derogatory comments about black people.” The charges against her were almost immediately dismissed, and now Boyd is suing for defamation, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Perhaps she should look into class-action status for anyone who’s been unwillingly subjected to Rush’s blathering.

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Dear Johnny Depp: No, photoshoots aren’t like rape

cassket:

TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE CULTURE

“Well, you just feel like you’re being raped somehow. Raped…It feels like a kind of weird — just weird, man.” — Johnny Depp tells Vanity Fair how much he hates photoshoots.

Dear Johnny,

Big fan over here. Your incredible acting skills and magnetic sex appeal made me fall in love with every single one of your characters–even that lovable, dirty scoundrel Captain Jack Sparrow. So kudos to you!

But, no. Being photographed is not like being raped. At all. I have not been professionally photographed or raped before, but I feel pretty sure about this one. As a general rule, you should just steer clear of rape metaphors. Comparing things that are not rape–such as taxes or health care reformor, um, being photographed–to rape trivializes a crime that is too-often ignored and is just pretty insensitive to the many people who have experienced the unique awfulness of actual rape.

Besides the obvious fact that being photographed is not, actually, a violent crime against your body, this is not even an accurate rape metaphor. Rape is about the lack of consent. If you don’t want to be in a photoshoot, you don’t have to. You’re thehighest-paid actor in Hollywood these days, Johnny! You could forgo the millions of dollars you get paid to do them and just stick to the quick snaps with adoring fans. Yes, many of those fans, like me, will miss the chance to pour over your sexy spreads, but we don’t want you to do something that feels so intrusive to you! Truly.

See, what I think you mean is that being photographed feels like you’re being objectified. Which, of course, you are. And I can see how that might feel “kind of weird” for you, because men aren’t objectified in our culture all that much–at least not to the extent that women are. Except for beautiful, famous movie stars, such as yourself. So I get it. I’ve heard that you’re a very private guy, so it must be totally strange to know that millions of people think you are the sexiest man alive.

I’m not famous, so I have no idea what it’s like to be objectified by millions of strangers. But being objectified by strangers? Definitely. I don’t think I know a woman who hasn’t experienced that–it kinda just comes with the territory. (In this way, it is rather similar to the fear of being raped actually.) The difference is that I don’t make millions off of my objectification; I just continue on with my day. That’s not to say that your feelings aren’t valid. They are! And I would love to discuss the differences and similarities between the ways we’ve both felt objectified over coffee sometime. That sounds like an interesting convo.

But let’s get this straight first: being objectified is not the same as being raped. So let’s just stick to that. Cool?

kthxbai!
Maya

Update: Johnny has issued a very nice apology

: “I am truly sorry for offending anyone in any way. I never meant to. It was a poor choice of words on my part in an effort to explain a feeling. I understand there is no comparison and I am very regretful. In an effort to correct my lack of judgment, please accept my heartfelt apology.”

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TRIGGER WARNING: Cissexism, Cissexist slurs

cassket:

Kim and Khloe Kardashian say that their late father, Robert Kardashian, once hired a professiona makeup artist to give them beauty tips. Kim explains: “He said, ‘My daughters are going to start to wear makeup and I want you guys to look at least presentable,’ which I thought was really cool.” She adds: “We’ve turned out to be the biggest trannies because of it.” Khloe chimes in: “We joke and say we are like trannies because we love hair and makeup.”

[xoJane via Us]

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Google Introduces New Celebrity Gaydar Feature

cassket:

As part of its continuing mission to improve our lives/make money/creep everyone out, Google has rolled out its own version ofgaydar. Now when you type a celebrity’s name followed with the word “gay” or “straight,” Google will suggest their probable sexuality based on statements they’ve made in interviews. The company never announced the new feature, and its list is far from extensive. Nothing shows up for most celebrities, and you won’t find any answers about stars who are rumored to be in the closet like Anderson Cooper, Queen Latifah, Tom Cruise, and John Travolta. However, people can stop speculating about James Franco, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Ryan Seacrest’s sexuality because Google says they’re straight. And if there’s one thing we can trust when it comes to people’s private sexual preferences, it’s Google’s algorithm.

*facepalm*

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Immigrant Woman Forced to Give Birth While Shackled

(Source: laprima510, via bohemianarthouse)

School Kicks Out Teen For Being Gay

cassket:

Last year, officials at The Master’s School found out that rising senior Rachel Aviles was a lesbian. So they told her to drop out.

According to the Hartford Courant, authorities at the K-12 Christian school in West Simsbury, Connecticut found out last spring that some students were playing a game where they pretended to be married. This involved phone calls and hand-holding, and basically sounds like the most innocent thing ever. But not to the Master’s administration, which decided to interrogate the students about their sexual orientation. Aviles told them she was gay — they told her to withdraw or they would expel her.

Her former coach, Heather Lodovico, says the administration decided the school “wasn’t the place for her” because “she wasn’t a Christian and […] she believed she’s gay.” But she notes that the school has no explicit policy against either non-Christians or gay students. So while some might argue that Master’s is a private school and Aviles has the freedom to go elsewhere, it certainly would have helped her to know at the outset that she wouldn’t be welcome. Of course, since young people (especially those as young as kindergarten) don’t always know their sexual orientation, Master’s might be better off being accepting of all students rather than kicking them out if, at some point in their studies, they realize they’re gay. Says Lodovico,

My reaction was: ‘Wow. Your God’s really small.’ Whether it’s a sin or not, take that out of the picture, and this is still wrong. I think God’s up there shaking His head going, ‘Really? Really?’

We’re shaking our heads too.

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12-Year-Old Girl Posts Nude Photos Online, Dad Sues Facebook

cassket:

A 12-year-old girl in Northern Ireland has been uploading nude photos of herself to Facebook, and giving out personal details on the site. Though Facebook requires members to be 13 or older, her father is suing the site for negligence because he says it has no way of verifying users’ ages and put his child at “risk of sexual and physical harm.”

According to the suit filed this week, the father already shut down his daughter’s profile once, but she just opened a new account. The girl has behavioral problems and lives in a voluntary care institution, which is also named in the suit. Hilary Carmichael, the father’s lawyer, says that in the pictures the girl, “appears heavily made-up, she appears in a provocative pose and she appears much older than her 12 years.” It seems she posted the shots herself, but the Evening Herald reports that she’s receiving more requests for photos from adult men along with sexually explicit messages.

Carmichael says that Facebook is at fault for not doing enough to protect children from pedophiles. She tells the BBC:

“It relies on children stating their correct age and it doesn’t have any checks in place … My own personal view is that Facebook isn’t suitable for under-18s, but the company isn’t even able to uphold its own policy of keeping under-13s out … An age check, like asking for a passport number would be a simple measure for Facebook to implement.”

Right … except plenty of kids don’t have passport numbers and users would freak out if the site started hoarding even more personal information.

When ZDNet contacted Facebook about the suit, a rep responded:

Anyone who is concerned about an underage person on Facebook should report them to us using the form provided and we will remove them.

Facebook is currently designed for two age groups (13-17 year olds and 18 and up), and we provide extensive safety and privacy controls based on the age provided. If someone reports an underage account to use then we will remove it, and use back-end end technology to try and prevent them signing up again. However, recent reports have highlighted just how difficult it is to implement age restrictions on the Internet and that there is no single solution to ensuring younger children don’t circumvent a system or lie about their age …

However, we agree with safety experts that communication between parents/guardians and kids about their use of the Internet is vital. We believe that services such as Facebook have a role to play in encouraging this: the recent announcements around social reporting and our safety center are testimonies to our ongoing efforts in ensuring we are giving detailed and helpful advice to help support these conversations. Just as parents are always teaching and reminding kids how to cross the road safely, talking about internet safety should be just as important a lesson to learn.

So basically, Facebook says the burden falls on parents to monitor their kids’ online activities, and parents say the site should be more responsible. And while they hash it out, there are plenty of kids putting themselves in dangerous situations online.

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Chick Beer: Ugh, Really?

cassket:

If you were miffed about Carlsberg’s stab at marketing a beer towards women that they considered to be “gender neutral,” then prepare to lose your shit over “Chick Beer.” The pink-and-black, polka-dotted bottle that comes in a six-pack box designed in the shape of a purse is targeting that coveted 25% of beer sales attributed to women.

Founder Shazz Lewis spoke to the Village Voice about her inspirations for the overly-girly packaging:

I knew I wanted to make it stand out. There was no sense of going halfway. I wanted to use pink and black and do something extremely iconic [by depicting it using an image of] a purse and a little black dress. I wanted it to be fun and sexy and I wanted people to have a good time with it. Beer’s about fun.

Okay. Put aside your horror that this woman thinks that an icon for women is a “little black dress.” Because we need to deal with the highly offensive story of how the beer came to be, akaThe Chick Story, on Chick Beer’s official website:

The idea to create a brand of beer specifically for women kept stirring in our brains and hearts. We thought about it night and day, and decided that we really wanted to be able to give women a choice that reflected their tastes, and was female-centric. After two years of effort, Chick Beer is our answer.

The idea for the name “Chick Beer” was obvious. For years, men have dismissing lighter beers as chick beers, something “not on par with what real men drink”. Our take on this: “Since when is Chick a bad thing?

We love Chick Flicks, Chick Lit, and now we can love Chick Beer!! Enjoy!

The only good to come from all this is that 5% of profits will go to “charities that empower women.” We can get behind that. For now, the beer is only sold in Maryland, but you can request that your local beer distributor carry said brand if you’d like. Or, you know, not.

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Chelsea Handler Dissed by GLAAD for Chaz Bono Remark

cassket:

TRIGGER WARNING: CISSEXISM, MISGENDERING

Chelsea Handler has been dissed by GLAAD over a comment she made on her TV show about Chaz Bono and his upcoming stint on Dancing With the Stars. She threw out the comment during the intro to her show.

According to a report from PerezHilton, GLAAD has fired back, finding her comments to be both inappropriate and hurtful, in a time when people around the country are striving for more sensitivity and less bullying.

Here’s what Handler said that has GLAAD up in arms.

“The Dancing With the Stars cast has been announced, and this is season 13, it includes Chaz Bono, otherwise known as Chastity Bono (laughs) before she got her penis (laughs).”

Of course Chelsea Handler is a comedian and of course part of what she does is poke fun at people, situations and events—but in light of the recent suicides of gay teens and the huge nationwide campaign to stop bullying, this does seem rather insensitive.

Chelsea Handler has a reputation for crossing that proverbial line between funny and good taste and it looks like she’s really done it this time, too. Why can’t Chaz Bono’s appearance onDWTS simply be regarded as yet another human being competing on a dancing show? Why does his sexuality have to come into play?

More importantly, Chaz Bono appearing on Dancing With the Stars can serve to show other young people struggling with their sexuality that there is in fact light at the end of the tunnel. No, they won’t all turn out to be competitors on Dancing With the Stars, but they can all live to achieve their dreams and they don’t need to suffer the ugliness of hate and ridicule while on the way there. But that can only happen when insensitive people stop poking fun.

Not funny this time, Chelsea Handler. Lots of people are siding with GLAAD on this one.

Chelsea Handler is an unfunny, transphobic asshole who needs to shut the fuck up.

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25 Penises And Testicles Mysteriously Disappear From Medieval Fresco

cassket:

A group of Italian restorers have been accused of essentially ruining a classic work of art called the Tree of Fertility by getting rid of a tree “festooned with penises and testicles over a group of nine women, one of whom appears to be attempting to snag a penis with a hook.”

A local politician said the work was “arbitrarily repainted,” and is quoted as saying, “The authenticity of the fresco seems to have been compromised by a restoration effort that did not respect the original character of the work.” The restorers in question refuse the claim, saying the painting has merely deteriorated over time. One question comes to mind here: how can a painting of a “Tree of Fertility” possibly be any good without some genitalia involved?

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“My New Pink Button” - By, Julia Horel-O'Brian

cassket:

Just the title makes me feel nauseated, now that I know what it refers to.

I was alerted to this horrifying product last week by Amy Sedgwick, aka @UterusLover (profiled here on Shameless by D. Cole). “My New Pink Button” is a “beauty product” designed to be used on the female genitals to temporarily dye the inner labia to turn them pink.

Yes, really.

From the FAQ section of the product’s website:

Q. “I used to be so “Pink” and healthy looking on my inside Labia Lip area. Now I am losing that fresh look. Is there anything I can do”?
A. Yes, now there is a solution! “My New Pink Button” is a Cosmetic Dye especially for the woman’s genital area, to help restore that healthy vibrant Rosy color. Until now there has never been a solution for restoring natural pigment. This is a concern with many women and more than you can even imagine, and a frequent question that Physicians are asked. Check out the blogs on the Internet. You are not alone! This is a common problem and we now have a simple and safe solution, restoring sexual confidence to Women everywhere!

[I want to get snarky all over the site for its random use of capital letters (Rosy colour! Women everywhere!), but that’s beside the point.]

I’m sure I don’t even have to point out the problems with this product, but I’ll throw out a few and you can have at it in comments:

• the idea that only very young-looking genitals are appealing
• the acknowledgement that pigment changes are common, but insisting it’s still a problem to be fixed
• the fact that no equivalent “problem” for men is suggested
• the racism inherent in privileging certain skin shades
• um, putting chemical dye on your labia …

-_-

thats all i’m gonna say.

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