From Nyree: Why dogs are better than women. HAHA IT’S ONLY A JOKE.
Nawal El Saadawi talks about the Egyptian revolution.
“The Arab World Gets Real on Democracy” —> nice contrast to this article discussing ethnocentrism in discussion democracy in general.
Do you think it’s true that Obama’s presidency signaled the rise of a new American idealism?
“Real ants do not offer lessons in humanity.”
Robocop: the rise of police surveillance. Also: Inside the Killing Machine.
From Maartje:
So rather than asking, “where are the women,” we might ask:
Why does much of U.S. public discourse frame the revolution through Islamophobia logics and why has the corporate media focused mostly on images of Egyptian men?
“Inner city” ===> euphemism. Also: wrong.
Pakistan /= Egypt
Afghanistan and Democracy
IF GAYS MARRY PEOPLE WILL LOVE ANDROIDS!!!!
From SunlessNick: Why Mubarak is Out.
Ninjapenguin is challenging the Cheezburger network to be less sexist. She writes:
I know I should probably have expected this, but ugh. Usually all I look at when I periodically check the Cheezburger Network is Daily Squee, Must Have Cute, and Graph Jam, and those are pretty safe spaces. But I saw they had what looks like a new site, The Daily Geek. I consider myself a geek, despite being a woman, so I checked it out. For the most part, it seems to be fairly innocuous stuff: movie and video game news, geeky merchandise, tech announcements, space stuff: Pretty much what you’d expect. But then there are the Cosplay-mates:
women dressed in sexy, mostly revealing costumes. The (very, very) few cosplay pictures with men (or male characters), are clothed in fully covering costumes (most of them covering even the face), nothing tight
or sexualized. One of the “regular” cosplay (tagged) pictures is of a burlesque performer as Pikachu, wearing only Pokeball shaped pasties and a waist cincher on her top half. The official commentary on these pictures includes phrases such as “Who wouldn’t wanna make these sexy Bubble Head nurses shriek?” and “Sexy Blackarachnia has got eight legs to spread!” There is an official “boobies” tag, as well (alas, it is not about geeky nursing products). The sexism is also there in smaller ways too. Multiple articles assume you, the reader, have a girlfriend (who is apparently not interested in geeky activities). An article about a glitch/hack in a golfing game that shows one athlete without her shirt says “I think we all can agree tits, even virtual ones, are always a good thing.” and then goes on to state in the caption of the real athlete that she “pretends she’s not loving every minute of
this.” Ah yes, because I’m sure she won’t be receiving any harassment because of this issue. An article about porn coming to the iPad has the author talk about “motorboating” hir iPad. The only fanart that is posted about a female subject is one of Catwoman where her face is cut off above the nose and below the waist, so that the whole focus is of the torso of a woman in skin-tight black costume (without the title I would have no idea who this was supposed to be). Casting discussions about men tend to feature pictures of them in normal clothing (fully covering, not tight, not sexualized). Ones of women tend to show them in skintight or revealing clothing, in sexualized poses and to talk about how sexy or beautiful they are.
I guess I forgot that women can’t be real geeks, only trophies for geeks.
What can grammar almanacs tell us about national character?
From JJ:
An old thread I just stumbled on, but more clear admin sexism from the Starcraft guys. Arguably worse. (Warning: includes “jokes” about hitting women)
Starts off ok until the admins get involved. (Wait, what?)
What goes into imperial feminism?
Is Puerto Rico the next Egypt? Meanwhile, they were killed for being Latino and immigrants and poor… but it’s not a hate crime.
GOD HATES SHRIMP!
The US military MAY have mishandled some sexual assault cases. ……
Abusers sometimes sabotage birth control in order to maintain control over their victims.
From SunlessNick:
Not sure if trigger warnings would apply, but travesty of humanity warnings might; South Dakota legislators are introducing a bill that would legalise the murder of abortion providers. Yes, seriously.
Mother Jones takes it on here, Feministe here, and Shakesville here.
Text of the bill here.
Let’s get ! DEATH 40-FEET TALL ! to a film festival!
Extradite Dr. Phil now!
From The Other Patrick:
PZ Myers has the shocking idea that if you do a panel on getting
women involved, maybe you should listen to what women have to say
about that.
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
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This is the second article by Meyers that I read after finding a link to it here, and I have to say: two thumbs up to that man, and thanks for the link. Reminds me of the recurring “how to get more women into gaming” question which never seems to go anywhere because of the male privilege that many designers, developers and producers — not to mention the gamers themselves — are unwilling to give up. Talk TO us, boys, not ABOUT us or OVER OUT HEADS or DOWN AT US!
Korva(Quote) (Reply)
oh my god, that Unicorn Booty link! I sprayed chewed-up apple all over. (Not really, but almost!!)
I wonder if this is some stealth-parody put forth by pro-gay rights folks to highlight anti-gay rights bigots’ irrational views. It’s so wacky and will definitely hurt the antis’ cause.
There are so many things wrong with his screed! Let’s go down the list:
-His interspecies argument fails, because gay and straight humans are the SAME SPECIES. And like the article pointed out, some cross-species animals exist, like ligers and grolar bears. But it is beside the point that these animals can successfully breed, because marriage in this day is not about that. These “marriage is for PROCREATION!!” peoples’ arguments fall apart when they are confronted with the fact that there are plenty of straight couples unable to “breed”. They remain strangely quiet on whether or not straight infertile or elderly couples should be denied marriage rights…
-he’s getting his geeklore WRONG. Data could NOT feel emotions, he could sometimes imitate them (like tears). But that didn’t mean he wasn’t sentient, which was the only grounds for rights. There were many important episodes that dealt with what constituted sentience involving Data, and whether he deserved rights. Which leads into…
-IF androids and gynoids in the future came to be another class of being who demanded rights, then they might be allowed to marry! Because they are sentient beings who deserve not to be enslaved and exploited. Simply being able to demand rights means they would indeed be sentient. (that is not the ONLY criteria, though, because that’s ableist.)
SO much fail.
JT(Quote) (Reply)
I remember watching an episode of The Game Overthinker where he discusses how to get more girls to go to gaming conventions and basically it boiled down to putting the onus on women to show up in the first place, then MAYBE the geek menz would try to not be smelly and creepy and ogle/touch/harass them as they do the booth babes. UGH.
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
“I’ve got a simple suggestion for my fellow men. Learn to shut up and listen. Seriously. You want women to find your organization pleasant and interesting and worth contributing to? Then don’t form panels full of men trying to figure out what women want, talking over women who try to get a word in edgewise, belittling women’s suggestions with jokes, and trying to determine how We Well-Meaning Men can give Those Women what we think they want.”
To add onto Korva’s post, this also reminds me of all the navel-gazing male wrestling fans do when they either
A.) wonder WHY there seems to be an influx of female wrestling fans in the IWC as of late (we were just always in hiding/on LJ/DA)…they usually just assume it’s ‘cuz “THE WRESTLERS ARE HOTTER NOW”
B.) wonder what WWE could do/is supposedly doing to attract more female fans
When we women offer our opinions, which are basically the same as what most male fans want from the product (IE, engaging storylines with better match build-up, characters with tangible personality/charisma, no longer relying on gimmick PPVs/not having 12 PPVs a year, MORE BETTER WOMEN’S WRESTLING) we just get talked over…one guy even had the GALL to say “women just don’t care about women’s wrestling”, to which a FLOOD of us responded and completely decimated his conjecture, but alas we continued to go on ignored.
I’m also pissed at a WHOLE LOT of (male) fans basically saying “PRO-WRESTLING HAS ALWAYS BEEN MISOGYNIST/RACIST/HOMO/TRANSPHOBIC AND IT’S RUN BY HETEROSEXUAL MALES SO OF COURSE IT’S ALWAYS GONNA BE THIS WAY”. *headdesk*
Er…sorry for the rant.
The wrestling forum I frequent also banned someone for bringing up white privilege and how (in US-ian society) pretty much everyone (especially white people) are racist by default.
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
Wow, I like PZ Meyer. Basically, when men ask EACH OTHER how to include women better, all they are really saying is, “How can we look like we’re more pro-woman? I don’t want us to look like old-fashioned sexists!” That’s not the same as actually wanting to BE more forward-thinking. Because that would be haaard.
Hmm. Of all the people it should be legal to murder, abortion providers don’t make it on my list. I think rapists (of all kinds) would be my first choice. Besides, God himself is an abortionist: many birds, for example, routinely destroy one another’s eggs as part of keeping the population in line with the food supply. If this is part of His great plan, how can anyone argue He is against abortion?
The article on sabotaging birth control: how can that be news to anybody? Have I been exposed to a surprising sample group, because I’ve heard a lot of these stories since I was a teenager. But this bit where they’re trying to suss out the men’s motives is appalling:
““Some have an intense desire for a nuclear family, and many who had experiences of a dysfunctional family home want something better,” she said. ”
RIGHT. That may be what they say, but don’t you believe it. Using someone else like their body is a tool is NOT the path to a functional family, and no man is seriously confused about this for one second. It’s just rape, pure and simple – a need for control, for someone to take the anger out on, for status, etc. And my condolences to the children born from such unions.
BTW, the Starcraft thread – WHOA. Obviously, some of the people in charge of that forum have serious massive misogynistic feelings, and their attempt to look innocent and blame the regular posters is complete bullshit.
Jennifer Kesler(Quote) (Reply)
“Hmm. Of all the people it should be legal to murder, abortion providers don’t make it on my list.”
This, combined with the US Government wanting to take away funding from Planned Parenthood and re-define rape has left me feeling more helpless now than ever.
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
Also, I read a SMIDGEN of the Starcraft thread and it was indeed rather civil until the first admin told OP to “put her in her place, girls and women do this shit to test guys”…Uh…NO. (I bailed out after that)
I (hypothetically speaking) would be “acting like a bitch” ‘cuz I was pissed off.
Also, I cringe to think this but is David D’Angelo some kinda pick-up artist?
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
Yeah, just put him in a search engine and you’ll see. Or don’t.
Jennifer Kesler(Quote) (Reply)
I’ll take your word for it and…NOT search him.
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
OMG, yes on I Can Has Cheeseburger. I used to love Demotivational, but I got tired of the T&A shots and gay jokes. Sample Demotivational joke: a slender, white, young woman in a revealing outfit posed next to some geek toy like a model spaceship. Caption reading “If you noticed the X-wing, I’ve got bad news for you.” Over and over and over… Just a few days ago Failbook had a Nice Guy rant up, with bonus stalker vibes like “I begged the teacher to let me be your lab partner”, and the majority of the commenters were calling this girl a gold-digging bitch and hoping this guy would find someone worthy of his sweet generosity.
But I keep going back, mostly because it’s the lesser of evils when it comes to humor sites. :T I would love it if ICHC took notice of this.
Sylvia Sybil(Quote) (Reply)
Seriously, while reading it I was asking myself “Why exactly is this a bad thing?” Making Gene Roddenberry’s vision of an utopian society with equal rights for everyone come true? FUCK YES! Where can I sign up!? 8D
Sabrina(Quote) (Reply)
Waitaminute… isn’t that the same Team Liquid from that earlier incident? And aren’t that the same guys who swore to us that they are oh-so-pro-women and not misogynistic at all and whatnot? lol, so much fail.
Sabrina(Quote) (Reply)
I agree with the I Can Has Cheeseburger comment. I love The Daily What, but I get so tired of them featuring links to photoshoots of women in bikinis and lingere. I’ve complained in the comments section there before. I would at least like to see a compromise, with links to some pretty boys and sexy men for female/gay geeks to drool over.
Ruby(Quote) (Reply)
Bingo! You win a lovely toy AK-47 water-automatic-machine-gun!
Jennifer Kesler(Quote) (Reply)
YAY! \o/
Sabrina(Quote) (Reply)
SAME.
Yesterday they posted about the anti-PP bill and of course a few anti-choice turds I mean trolls showed up and I had to comment…blah. That place is as depressing as it can be funny and current.
The Other Anne(Quote) (Reply)
Oh also, in regards to “Atheism-gate”, I really like this post on Shakesville (and the comments section is good too…I also found out that PZ Meyers has also made some really typical/exhausting HURFF-DURFF misogynistic jokey comments, so…:http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2011/02/being-atheist-doesnt-make-you.html)
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
and comment and comment and comment.
I only skimmed, but it did at least look like more people were arguing against the not very many turds, but the turds were taking up more comment space per person. It seems like the major conserva-publican* tactic lately, get in early and take up a lot of space so the dialog happens on your terms, (and the opposition has to start by validating your ludicrous position by addressing you directly).
on the bright side: Feb 18th, DW posted shirtless dudes lip syncing. A while ago (so I find it near impossible to rediscover) they had a link for Men in Fancy Hats, or something similar, but I think they neglected to advertise that the men were naked.
*it’s not really conservative or republican, but but a group of a-holes that tends to identify with those groups
Quib(Quote) (Reply)
Can you point me to one of those comments, perchance? I never read the comments on his blog, and I would be disappointed by that. I realize you rarely save comments, maybe you remember where it was?
The Other Patrick(Quote) (Reply)
Ah, so Shakesville *links* to some posts. Sorry, I should have clicked through first
The Other Patrick(Quote) (Reply)
Yeah, I only responded to two. The main dude, and then there was a guy saying something like rape wasn’t an excuse to get an abortion, and he talked about it in the most flippant way…I got so mad. The only way people could be that flippant is if they were too ignorant to even comprehend it.
The Other Anne(Quote) (Reply)
I don’t think she’s reading for comprehension. She linked the same post we are talking about as one that made her angry.
Firebird(Quote) (Reply)
I did click through and still didn’t find it. Anybody got the actual links?
Jennifer Kesler(Quote) (Reply)
Sure, but I will say I kept quiet about them because I think the posts in question are more about mocking religion and admitting his attraction to beautiful women rather than sexist (though the playboy one…), and I didn’t want to get into trouble with all of yous again
But since I post the links, I will qualify them:
One and two
The Other Patrick(Quote) (Reply)
I figured she meant the comments on that thread, which I didn’t read (again, blog comments at most places annoy me, so…)
The Other Patrick(Quote) (Reply)
Yes, it’s the comments she’s referring to. For a while half the trolls are angry about being told to shut up and listen for a change, and the other half are claiming it was stupid for the original woman to get offended. I read for a while just to enjoy the regular commenters calling them idiots, but after several hundred comments it degrades into “feminists are the true sexists” and callous slurs about rape victims.
Sylvia Sybil(Quote) (Reply)
Sorry guys, I fail at HTML! OTL
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
Number one actually is pretty horrifying.
Attackfish(Quote) (Reply)
Yeah, apparently that’s a Real Thing in the Real World~!?? UGH!!
(who watches One Million Years B.C. and comes up with THAT? …Aside from some random-ass misogynist, of course.)
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
Are you referring to me and the Shakesville link I tried to leave? I didn’t recall there being links to PZ Meyers FAILURES in the actual blog post before, but further down in the comments section of said post, someone mentioned to Melissa what he did, that’s where I found out about it.
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
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