CBS blurs out Adam Lambert’s same-sex kiss

Really, CBS? I can’t believe that I was glad you decided to put Lambert on The Early Show when GMA canceled his spot!

The ironic thing is, CBS aired the Britney/Madonna kiss with no censorship at all (and in fact, I never saw any censorship from that kiss ever). But Lambert’s same-sex kiss needs to be censored? Is it the fact that you know he’s actually gay? Is that the problem? Or do more people have an issue with two men kissing, as opposed to two women? Probably both things rings true – although no one will admit it.

After Elton has the whole story here.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

Today marks the first day of the Commit ▪ Act ▪ Demand: We CAN End Violence Against Women! activist movement. So, why the 16 days?

November 25, 2009 marks the launch of the 19th international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign – an annual campaign that runs from International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women through International Human Rights Day. (emphasis mine)

Over the next 16 days, I’m going to try and highlight the violence that women face around the world. If you’re interested in this endeavor, please visit the website and find out what some actions are that you can take to contribute to this movement and to the end of violence against women.

All this Adam Lambert controversy (and a little #ShameOnYouABC)

Well, about everyone in the whole universe knows by now that Adam Lambert shared a kiss with one of his male bandmates, as well as simulated fellatio with a male dancer. I wanted to put up the video, but it seems as though the video has been taken down everywhere…so I will share a picture instead!

Needless to say, this shocked most of the population and over 1,500 people formally complained about this. Clearly, homophobia is rampant (not that you needed to remind me, but maybe some other people needed reminding?) Is what Lambert decided to do in his performance really threatening? Does it really do any harm? No. Actually, it doesn’t at all. And I can say without any doubt, that if a woman had been in Lambert’s place, no one would really care. Even if it were only women taking part in this performance, therefore it still being all same-sex, people wouldn’t have cared as much. But men aren’t supposed to act the way that Lambert did. He doesn’t fit the mold of hegemonic masculinity, so people are freaking out.

However, because of all this shock and all the complaints, ABC canceled Lambert’s spot on Good Morning America. People are pretty up in roar about it and this issue is taking over Twitter (hence the #ShameOnYouABC). Instead, he’s going to be appearing on The Early Show on CBS. The good thing about all of this is that Lambert is standing by his performance.

“You know honestly, if I offended some people… it’s apples and oranges. I’m not an artist that does things for every single person,” he told Access Hollywood after the show Sunday night. “I believe in artistic freedom and expression, I believe in honoring the lyrics of a song, and those lyrics aren’t really for everybody either.”

I’m glad he’s sticking to his guns, because we alllll know this is actually about his sexual orientation, as opposed to his actual performance.

Men Against Violence Against Women, Part 2

So, going on from my previous post about the “Men Against Violence Against Women” panel discussion, I just wanted to mention some other things that stuck out for me.

1. What is a woman’s role?
So, although it is clear that men must take responsibility for this issue, there is still an important role that women play, and have been playing for many, many years. Resistance. Women have been resisting violence against them for a long time and women must continue to play this part. Our resistance is extremely important. But now, since we’ve been resisting for years, it is time for men to respond to this resistance!

2. Safe spaces for men
New safe spaces need to be created for men to discuss these things. These safe spaces need to be places that men can come and grow and learn how to have an emotional life, outside of just having anger. This will bring together a collective of men who believe the same things and will be able to fight against violence against women.

3. Live the way you believe
Finally, what I want to end with is something that one panelist said. “Live the way you believe”. This is the first step in action. This means that everyone can act. It doesn’t matter who you are. If you believe certain things, live it out. Do not be silent. Your silence will condone this violence (or whatever other issue it may be). You CAN help this situation, no matter how helpless you may feel. It doesn’t have to be some huge act. Small acts everyday will build into a great movement, and actually be a part of a movement that is already happening. I hope that you feel a little inspired to at least try something!

Men Against Violence Against Women Panel

Last night, I had the great experience of attending an all men’s panel discussion, provided by my university’s Anti-Violence Network. The panel was entitled “Men Against Violence Against Women”. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first showed up, but it turned out to be a great discussion and some awesome points were brought up, that I want to highlight here.

1. Men need to acknowledge hegemonic masculinity
One speaker went over the basic hegemonic masculinity in our North American culture. This means strong, invulnerable, emotionless, silent, and angry (with anger really being the only emotion allowed). Homophobia is also a part of this. Men aren’t allowed to be feminine in any way, because the traditional man is supposed to be everything opposite of femininity. All of these things open up the pathway to violence, because women and homosexuals are “othered” or dehumanized; therefore, men feel that they CAN be violent.

2. There needs to be a new conception of masculinity
There needs to be a positive conception of being a man, which will make for better partnerships with everyone (women, other men, and children). Men need to reconceptualize strength. Strength can be something that is good, and not used for harm. Also, there needs to be insight within this new masculinity. Openness, self-reflection and self-awareness are necessary for this new masculinity.

3. Men must take responsibility
Many times, men are excused from their violence, or have some form of excuse for their violence. One of these excuses is that it’s a man or boys “nature” to be violent. But we were reminded again tonight that nothing is biological about violence! But another important point was that men who are not violent against women must also take responsibility. These non-violent men must not be silent. They must tell other men and boys that violence against women is not acceptable. Without these men leading other men and boys, this issue is NOT going to go away.

4. Action must be taken
One panelist discussed how there is too much damn research. We all KNOW that there is a problem, and we can continue paying for research to be done, but it’s not doing anything about the problem! We need to move on from identifying the problem. It is now time to seriously act. We must be examples to the younger generation. We must tell others that this issue is not acceptable. However you can act against this issue, you have to do it!

There were some other really awesome things discussed, which I’m going to save for a later post, since I don’t want this post to go on forever. I will just say that it was simply refreshing to hear men discuss this issue and not pat themselves on the back for having this panel in the first place. You know, that self-congratulatory thing? Not cool! So, it was awesome not seeing that. More discussions like this need to happen, because ultimately, this is an issue that only men can get rid of.

Breaking News: The Catholic Church cares more about their homophobia than actual PEOPLE

Oh wait, that’s not breaking new. Everyone already knew that! Sorry!

So, the Catholic Church has decided to partake in disgustingly hateful, ridiculous, discriminatory actions in D.C. My literal reaction was “Are you fucking kidding me?”

So, here’s the rundown.

1. The Catholic Church is threatening to shut down all of their social services in D.C., which serves about 68,000 if D.C. doesn’t change the proposed same-sex marriage bill.
2. The Catholic Church would not have to perform same-sex marriages, or even let couples have use of their buildings, but they would have to stop discriminating against gays and lesbians.
3. The Catholic Church says that they have issues with being “secular”, but really, they actually don’t have to be.
4. The issue is ultimately that the Catholic Church uses public money for their social services; therefore, they should not be able to discriminate with public money!

I mean, they are pretty much making sure that everyone knows the kind of power they have and how exactly they are willing to use it. They don’t want to use their power for good, they want to use it to make sure that homophobia remains pervasive, while forgetting about people in need. They don’t actually care about providing services for people. What the hell? As a born-and-bred pastor’s kid, growing up in a Baptist church, this sickens me. This also reminds me why I hate being in the same category as these “Christians”.

Have they not even thought about the consequences of these actions? Also, have they not even thought about what this is doing to how people view the Catholic Church? It’s no wonder that more and more young people are skipping out of any religious affiliation. It’s because of this hateful shit that’s going on!

Luckily, the D.C. City Council isn’t concerned too much about this threat. One even calls it “somewhat childish”. Another description I like is from Peter Rosenstein, from Campaign for All D.C. Families, is that the Catholic Church is trying to “blackmail the city.”

This issue doesn’t just bring up the issue of heterosexism, but it brings up power structures, economical issues, political issues and the very tangible employment of people who actually run these services. This is all of course for another post, but something to keep on your mind. Ultimately, we are reminded once again how hateful a powerful group (or at least a few high up individuals) can be. We can’t just sit back and let this stuff happen. If you’re from D.C., or just want to make your voice heard in this matter, contact the City Council and show your support for the same-sex marriage bill!

HIV is top killer for young women

A new report done by the World Health Organization has stated that for the ages between 15 and 49, HIV is the biggest killer for women.

Women are “particular vulnerability” to infection by HIV, WHO says, due to both biology and gender inequality.

WHO Director General Dr Margaret Chan said:

“It’s time to pay girls and women back, to make sure that they get the care and support they need to enjoy a fundamental human right at every moment of their lives, that is their right to health,”

I couldn’t have said it any better myself. It’s true that women and girls need to have better health care, all over the world. This doesn’t just mean more care for those with HIV, but other things, such as reproductive health. As for HIV though, there does need to be more access to the treatment drugs which are available in Western countries for the many millions in Africa (and other underdeveloped countries) that suffer from this disease. Just because these people may not live in a developed country, does not mean that they don’t deserve the same treatment that people can get over here. It’s sad and shows true character when the rich don’t give to the poor.

And of course, more preventative measures need to be taken to stop this disease from getting a hold of people. Proper sex education must be done, for both women and men. None of this abstinence-only crap, where condoms are evil. Also, since so many women have this disease because of rape, we still need to fight institutionalized sexism all around the world. We need to make sure that we are taking measures to let men know that they have no right to rape anyone.

Ultimately, this is not a fair disease. This is not a fair disease because so many women and girls get it without even consenting to the sexual intercourse they get it from. This remains a feminist issue until many things change.

Quote of the day!

“Coffee, tea … or me?”

This was found in an article in the Toronto Star, about feminism, as well as a little history lesson. Apparently, if women at all wanted to travel “back then”, they had to become “stewardesses”, and that’s what they would have to say.

Wow. Just, wow.

Yes, gender inequality usually pertains to women and girls

Well, an article over at Men’s News Daily is claiming that something is wrong with the Global Gender Gap Report. The article talks about how this report is all about anti-female inequality and doesn’t take into consideration anti-male inequality. And with all due respect, we honestly wouldn’t even need a gender gap report if it weren’t for anti-female inequality…so what’s with the complaints about how it’s done?

I do understand where this article is coming from, albeit disagreeing. The author gives the example of this:

Turn to page 184 which is where the figures for the United States are to be found. Under “Educational Attainment,” we see the four subcategories I mentioned previously. Men and women are equal in the literacy subcategory, but in each of the other three – primary, secondary and tertiary education – there is a higher percentage of girls and women than boys and men. So clearly, according to the criteria laid down by the Report, girls and women do better than boys and men in education in the United States. Ergo, the country’s score in this category is 1 which signifies “equality.” Inequality equals equality. See how it works?

The problem I see with this example is that I doubt that boys are not going to school just because they are boys. You may have to look at different social or environmental factors for this, but it most likely doesn’t have to do with their gender. And remember, this report is about gender. However, you can see that in many countries where girls and women are blatantly less valued, many girls will not go to school just because they are girls.

This is one of the reasons why this report is more about anti-female inequality. Although there can be anti-male inequality, it is just not to the same massive scale that anti-female inequality is. Ultimately, males don’t have to deal with issues of gender inequality as much as women do, therefore, the report isn’t about anti-male inequality.

Just my two cents!

Thank you, Joanne Lipman

A refreshing Op-Ed piece has come out of the New York Times, by Joanne Lipman. It is entitled The Mismeasure of Woman. And here, she speaks the truth:

The truth is, women haven’t come nearly as far as we would have predicted 25 years ago. Somewhere along the line, especially in recent years, progress for women has stalled. And attitudes have taken a giant leap backward.

But apparently, since we measure things by numbers (an example being the Shriver Report), we see that women are making a progression. Lipman takes on this notion, and points out that women are not making nearly as much progression as they maybe should be. She talks about how attitudes towards women have pretty much become toxic, and that you have to be one stereotype or the other. How true is that of our society? Women are constantly polarized. You have to be the good girl, or the bad girl.

One telling thing I found was when she mentioned some of her own college experience:

When I was in college in the 1980s, many of us looked derisively at the women’s liberation movement. That was something that strident, humorless, shrill women had done before us.

Was this a part of the problem that caused attitudes to shift? It’s not just about men, but about so many women that look at that feminist movement as something that it wasn’t, and something that the women were not. It’s so unfortunate that these ideas of the feminist movement, along with those women have been made into what they are today. Although I’m not saying that Lipman still has those feelings, I just thought that was telling, as she talks about attitudes towards women being one of the things that sets women back.

I really encourage you to read the whole article. What I am saying definitely does not do it any justice. Lipman has some great ideas and it’s a very interesting piece…so head on over the article now!

Surgeon General nominee too FAT?

Holy crap. Thank you Feministing for bringing up this story. Michael Karolchyk went on Fox News (of course) and said that Dr. Regina Benjamin, the nominee for Surgeon General is too fat to have that job. He actually says that she is obese. Disgusting and ridiculous. This is obviously fat discrimination, which we see all the time, but don’t really have a lot of discussion about. It’s even worse, of course, when it has to do with females, which is what we’re seeing here.

Here’s the video:

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Sexism and racism found in customer service study

A recent study found that customers in North America are found to be more satisfied when they receive service from white males, as opposed to women and minorities. How am I not surprised…?

The research by University of British Columbia professor Karl Aquino found that female and minority employees who exhibited the same behaviours as their white male counterparts were rated lower in anonymous customer feedback surveys.

The group that was conducting the study were actually very surprised.

“We had thought there would be some bias going on in the sense of people who were males or whites would be rated more positively,” Aquino said

“But we didn’t anticipate that for performing the same behaviours, the women and minorities would actually be rated lower,” he said of the study to be published in the Academy of Management Journal.

On statistic shows that a “white male clerk’s service, for the same pre-scripted actions, was rated 19 per cent higher than the service from a female or black male.”

Nineteen percent?! That’s a little ridiculous. Honestly though, I’m not overly shocked. I believe that we have this notion ingrained in us that the “white male” is the most trusted person on the planet, that there is none other more qualified, therefore they obviously provide the best service. Also, this of course has to do with the power that the white male has as well. It definitely affects how we respond to people, even if it is completely subconscious. But how do we get away from this thinking? I don’t know if I have a good answer to that. There are so many things that need to be changed in our society before we can change our thinking completely. We definitely need to vocalize how this sexism and racism is wrong, and that the white male is not the be all and end all of the human population, and we need to start teaching this to the younger folk who are being fed this patriarchal, white-power society.

This kind of thing just discourages me. It just reminds me (not that I need too many reminders!) that sexism and racism are unfortunately ingrained in our minds and that this kind of thinking is going to be so hard to beat.

Disappointment for 2010 Winter Olympics

I blogged about this topic over a year ago, being hopeful that women ski jumpers would be able to participate in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. However, the B.C. court has rejected this bid from a group of female ski jumpers to participate. It’s not as straight forward as this, since the B.C. court actually has to abide by the IOC decisions, despite the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The judge, Madam Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon, actually agrees that there is discrimination and found this situation to be “somewhat distasteful.” I’m glad she sees it that way!

Of course, the IOC is saying that they are not being discriminatory, but because there are not enough countries that have women ski jumpers, there is not a spot for this in the Winter Olympics. However, it is also important to note that there are technically not enough countries that have male ski jumpers for this event to happen, yet it still does.

The Globe and Mail article (click above) showcases some female ski jumpers who are rightfully crushed that their dream to be in the Olympics is now gone. This is definitely a disappointment for them and for women athletes in general. Sports is most definitely considered a “male” and “masculine” thing, and when things like this happen, it just cements the idea that women cannot and should not be participating in some sports.

Completely disappointing.

Mass female genital mutilation events held in Indonesia

I was just going to heap this into “Lots of news”, but when I read it, I knew I actually had to do a piece about it. The New York Times has an article about female “circumcisers” who cut off a piece of a girls genitalia, in Indonesia. It is female genital mutilation, but it just looks more sanitary and humane because it’s sponsored by the Assalaam Foundation.

The procedure takes several minutes. There is little blood involved. Afterward, the girl’s genital area is swabbed with the antiseptic Betadine. She is then helped back into her underwear and returned to a waiting area, where she’s given a small, celebratory gift — some fruit or a donated piece of clothing — and offered a cup of milk for refreshment.

Oh yay! A refreshment! That’s really going to make everything so much better. It’s like they think it’s so much better because the “area” is swabbed with some antiseptic and the girls are given a gift. Yuck. Yuck, yuck, yuck!

But the best part is, is that people actually think there are benefits to this. Benefits to cutting some girly genitalia off.

“One, it will stabilize her libido,” he said through an interpreter. “Two, it will make a woman look more beautiful in the eyes of her husband. And three, it will balance her psychology.”

First, bull shit. Alright, my libido is perfectly fine, and I have all my genitalia. Then again, I guess these people want to take away her libido, so that the man’s sexual pleasure is the main focal point. And you know, that’s totally OK, because women are just baby makers! And yet again, something else that has to do with men. She’ll be more beautiful in the eyes of her husband? Seriously, that is the most messed up thinking one could ever have. I know I’m being potentially offensive here, but FGM is very offensive to me. The second “benefit” just reinforces that men are more important than women and always will be. And the third “benefit,” I don’t really get. Balance her psychology? Yeah, I don’t think so. It may definitely make her have psychological problems, but it’s not going to balance anything.

There are absolutely no health, sexual or psychological benefits for FGM. It is a disgusting practice, and unfortunately the mothers who bring their daughters to this “mass circumcising event” believe that this is the right thing to do and that it will actually improve their daughter in some way, or are just going along with the social expectations of it all.

This article is definitely a must-read and it has several pictures from the event (none are graphic), which do show how horrifying it can be for a young girl.

Love this “Letter to the Editor”

Found this in the Toronto Star about all the shitty, sexist media coverage that’s been going on with Clinton.

I’ve been appalled by the outright sexism that is apparently perfectly acceptable in U.S. media coverage of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

I’m a public schoolteacher. To me, the disinclination of young women to support Clinton has much to do with the messages they are now subject to in our culture: attract and please males at almost any price; denigrate yourself and other females; and don’t be a feminist – there’s nothing more unattractive.

I could vote for either Clinton or Barack Obama at this point, but I’m deeply disturbed by the process. There’s much talk about building up women in other countries while we punish their successes at home.

I especially like what she says about building women up in other countries and calling their inequality unjust, while our society tears down women who are successful and ambitious. It’s so true and ironic. Where do we actually stand? Is there only so much equality that our society wants for our women? Does our society think that it’s good enough that we don’t get stoned to death and doesn’t want us to have actual equality? Thoughts?

The ridiculousness of anti-feminist women

Jessica Valenti, of Feministing.com has a wonderful little piece at The Nation, and now also on Alternet. She talks about the latest in anti-feminist women and how they are doing way more harm to young women, and women in general, than feminism ever has. She specifically talks about Wendy Wright, and oh boy…

In a recent Fox News Special Report, Wright said that proponents of comprehensive sex education are encouraging young people to have sex because “they benefit when kids end up having sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancies and then they lead them into having abortions…You have to look at the financial motives behind those who are promoting comprehensive sex ed.”

Yeah, that’s totally right. Sex educators are making millions off of giving kids proper sex education! Ugh. I’m sorry, but I find that such an idiotic thing to say. Another example:

Wright has also made the argument that the increase of women in prison is all feminism’s fault, for teaching women that “they don’t need to be dependent on a husband and they shouldn’t have to depend on their family” which could lead them to “where they’re forced to fend for themselves.”

Oh wow. That’s gold. Complete gold. The rest of the article states more things that conservative women have said and some of it is quite amusing, but quite sad at the same time. I myself cannot understand how any woman can make herself purposely inferior and not believe in equality. Everyone does have a right to their own political ideology, but I just have to ask myself…where are these women getting their ideas from? Hmm…probably their husbands now, their fathers before they got married…so, men. The patriarchy. This is what it does to some women!

Greek women protest by going in men-only sanctuary

About six Greek women have protested the rule of the “all-male” monastic sanctuary in northern Greece. This is a 1000-year-old rule, and entering this sanctuary was a “purely symbolic act.”

Parliament member Litsa Amanatidou Paschalidou was among the women who entered the sanctuary. She called it a “purely symbolic act,” which was meant to send a message to the church to “pursue policies which serve the public and not its financial interest.” The protesters, who say the monks are making illegal claims on their property, broke away from a rally of more than 400 people and evaded a police cordon, entering Athos grounds.

So, this is a land problem, not a problem with the only-male sanctuary, but it’s pretty clear that if they violated a rule that has been around for 1000 years, then they would make some impact, as women. It’s impressive to see that women are taking the charge on this land and property issue. Hey, maybe women just have more of a sense at what’s going on is bullshit, considering they can’t enter the sanctuary…because they have a vagina, which makes them soooo inferior.

Did anyone think otherwise?

Women, yet again, get the shitty end of the stick. New figures estimate that it takes women 16 years to pay off their educational debt, while it only takes men 11 years. I wonder why.

Women take longer to pay off bills because of the pay gap – estimated to be up to 20% – and because they are more likely to take time out to look after children.

But…I think it has more to do with the pay gap. Of course becoming a stay-at-home-mother might have a little to do with it, but these women, in the UK at least, get paid maternity leave.

Kat Stark, the women’s officer for the National Union of Students, retaliated about the notion that women are taking longer to pay their debt because they are taking time off to have children, by saying,

Women are taking longer than men to pay off their student loans because they are paid less, not because they are taking time off to have children. Within three years of graduating, over 40% of men are earning over £25,000, compared to just over a quarter of women. The pay gap is not a new problem – the government knew when it introduced the tuition fees system that female graduates would end up saddled with debt to a worse extent than their male counterparts. In the run-up to the 2009 review of higher education funding, the government should consider whether they wish to perpetuate this injustice.

Of course, others said that employers give equal pay, based on education and skills. But it’s no secret that the pay gap is still very much a part of our society. Either way, this is just one more thing to add to the “Crappy Situations for Women” list.

Anti-feminist mailbag!

I urge all of you to get over to Feministing, because they’re posting their anti-feminist mail that they got, I guess after Fox News mentioned them. It’s truly amazing to see how misogynistic people can be through their emails! It’s just one more thing that reminds who important feminism is and that it’s not going anywhere!

Women are being killed in Basra for “Westernization”

I’d say that this is very serious. Women are being killed because they don’t look “Islamic” enough with their dress. And even some men are being killed at the same time.

The police said women were being apprehended by men patrolling on motorbikes or in cars with tinted windows before being murdered and dumped in piles of rubbish with notes saying they were killed for “un-Islamic behaviour”. He said men had been victims of similar attacks.

Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and the rise of Iraq’s Shia-dominated government, armed men have forced women to cover their heads or face punishment. In parts of the predominantly Shia south, even Christian women have been forced to wear headscarves. In some areas of Basra, graffiti warns women that forgoing the headscarf and wearing make-up “will bring you death”.

There is so much oppression and misogyny going on here. The new Shia dominated government isn’t any better than the former Sunni government. The war in Iraq has created a huge mess, and we all know that. And there are three wars essentially going on. Of course, Iraq and America, a civil war between the Sunnis and the Shiites and this mental, emotional and political war between America and the rest of the world. It’s a lot more complicated than that, but you get my drift.

That got a little off track, but it’s not something to forget about in our everyday lives. This is a humanitarian issue, but a major feminist issue as well.