Patriarchy Makes The News

A quick roundup of all the sexist shit that’s been reported around the web recently. If you have things to add, leave them in the comments below.

Trigger warnings for statistics and/or descriptions of rape, violence against women, photos of the Nigella-Saatchi incident, and Action Bronson’s disgusting EP cover.

• Steubenville whistleblower could do more time in prison than Steubenville rapists [Daily Kos] Sign a petition supporting him here.

• Stuart Hall sentenced to less time in prison than people who took water bottles during the UK riots [Guardian. title ours.]
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/17/stuart-hall-jailed-indecent-assault-girls
  

• Daily Mail and The Guardian repeat Charles Saatchi’s lie that choking Nigella Lawson in public was “a playful tiff”:
  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2342922/Nigella-Lawson-Charles-Saatchi-says-row-playful-tiff-held-throat-emphasise-point.html
  ||
  http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jun/17/charles-saatchi-nigella-lawson-playful-tiff
  

• New interviews reveal mass rapes in Congolese conflicts ordered by commanding officers [MSN.com. title ours.]:
  http://news.msn.com/world/when-we-rape-we-feel-free-congo-soldiers-shocking-stories
  

• Awesome founder of @EverydaySexism project Laura Bates shares shocking stats on UK violence against women and why we need to teach children about healthy relationships:
  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/laura-bates/teaching-our-children-about-healthy-relationships_b_3408072.html?utm_hp_ref=tw
  

• ‘Blurred Lines,’ Robin Thicke’s Summer Anthem, Is Kind of Rapey [by Tricia Romano, The Daily Beast]

• Underground rapper Action Bronson releases new EP with racist/sexist cover image [no one in the blogosphere seems to have critiqued this yet. not to worry. we plan to.]

Resisting Rape Culture: Teaching Men Not to Rape

Props to the Seattle Grrrl Army for this dope info-mural.

Following today’s conviction of the young men in the Steubenville rape trial, Sisters of Resistance want to give a big shout-out and thank you to political analyst Zerlina Maxwell, who has been in the spotlight recently for speaking out against the rampant victim-blaming going on around the case.

We agree wholeheartedly with Zerlina’s stance that instead of telling women what they should do to prevent rape, we should instead be teaching men not to rape. In an interview on Fox News that attempted to bring together issues of sexual violence with those of gun control, Zerlina said the following:

“I don’t want anybody to be telling women anything. I don’t want women—I don’t want men to be telling me what to wear, how to act, not to drink. And I don’t, honestly, want you to tell me that I needed a gun in order to prevent my rape.”

We also want to thank blogger Alexandria Goddard for making copies of the incriminating tweets, pics and video, independently reporting on the case for months and attempting to hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions, members of Anonymous who circulated the video in order to bring attention to the case and publicize the story, and Matt Binder who compiled some of the disgusting victim-blaming and slut-shaming tweets since the verdict, effectively documenting how rape culture is supported and reinforced by society, women and men included (**TRIGGER WARNINGS** for the last couple of links).

The actions of these individuals show us that it is possible for us to effectively resist and challenge rape culture. We stand in solidarity with the Steubenville survivor and all victims and survivors of sexual violence everywhere. We especially remember Jyoti Singh Pandey, who died after a gang rape on a public bus in Delhi in December 2012, and the teenage girl in the Maldives scheduled to be publicly flogged (what century is this!?) for premarital sex (sign a petition against this here). We join with many in calling for an end to rape culture worldwide.

End rape culture now!

Feminist Principles to Live By

A strong feminist practice must be based on a solid foundation. To that end, we present some of the key principles that inform and guide our day-to-day lived feminism.  The overarching concept tying these principles together is a commitment to practicing a self-aware, intersectional sisterly solidarity that underpins our struggles to unlearn, address and correct the oppression present in ourselves, our circles, and our societies.

We note that the personal is political and no position is innocent. Thus, not only do we acknowledge the ways we ourselves are conditioned by the WMPS, but we also actively seek to 1) identify oppressive forces in ourselves and in our communities, 2) work to understand them with an anti-oppressive feminist analysis and re-visioning of each situation, and 3) actively re-figure our roles, responsibilities, and relationships so that they are honest, healthy and free from patriarchal oppression and other systems of domination.

Read these principles, digest and share them with fellow feminists and allies, and particularly with anybody who claims that they are feminist yet continues to cause suffering due to misogyny, sexism, or other oppressive practices. We hope they will be of use to you in your personal feminist praxis. In the comments, share with us and other readers the feminist principles you choose to live by, so we can continue to learn together.

SA-ROC on the Music Industry

SA-ROC: END-US-TRY (industry)

Free Cece McDonald

Cece McDonald, a black trans woman in Minnesota, has been in jail over a year for defending herself against a racist and homophobic attack.  She is due to be sentenced early next month.  The excerpt from the below article is an introduction to her story:

From
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/20/2012/4586

Cece McDonald is a 23 year old black trans woman who was out with friends one summer night in 2011 in Minneapolis, MN. As they passed in front of a bar, they were attacked by white people who were obviously racist and transphobic, based on a swastika tattoo and language used that night. The fight left Cece severely wounded by a glass to her face and one of the attackers dead.

The fight began when the white supremacists began yelling racial and transphobic slurs at the friends at about 12:20am. The attack became physical when one of the white supremacists put a gash in Cece’s face with a glass, damaging Cece’s saliva gland. It is believed by prosecutors that Cece then fatally stabbed one of her attackers.

Cece was charged with two counts of 2nd degree murder. Upon her arrest, Cece was denied adequate medical treatment for her wound, interrogated for hours, and put in solitary confinement. The woman who assaulted Cece was not arrested or charged.