“The war against German women has been raging all along.” The mass sexual assault in Cologne is not a freak incident caused by an influx of Arab asylum seekers. Germany, itself, has been contributing to a culture of sexual violence against women.
UK petition to protect victims of revenge porn, by allowing them anonymity, nears 15,000 signatures.
David Bowie has passed away. Women who were fans of his music, or were affected by his presence as a cultural icon, attempt to reconcile mourning for him with the knowledge of his child sexual abuse.
I’ve linked to this Bindel essay before, but it seems appropriate again: Julie Bindel enjoys Snoop Dogg’s music, but doesn’t think that it makes her less of a feminist.
“To be a feminist is to live with daily contradictions and inconsistencies. In order to exist in the world, and consume pop culture, it’s difficult to avoid hardcore sexism. Hip-hop is one of my favourite music genres, but the dominant message is often about men being in control; being hateful to women; and throwing their guns and money around while posing with flash cars…
As a feminist, under the system of patriarchy, to live a life without contradiction means I would have to wall myself off from the wider world of music, film and literature, something I’m not prepared to do. Life as an activist could be unremittingly hard if you chose to forego such genuine pleasures…
If judgmental moralists feel that listening to feminist folk music will bring about better change than direct campaigning to end violence against women, so be it. But I know what I would rather concentrate my efforts on.”
This San Francisco woman still doesn’t know if her rape kit was tested after five years.
In a fantastic essay by Glosswitch, she argues that, instead of abstract theories about how gender is a fluid concept that exists in your magical, authentic non-bodily self, we need a feminism that deals with the actual fluids of gender: milk, urine, and curdled vomit. In other words, the everyday dirty work that women and mothers must do is gendered.