Blog Archives

“Yes Means Yes” Is Scary? Rape Is Scary

Consent is sexy

Consent is sexy

“Yes means yes” is the standard for sexual consent on California’s state college campuses.

That’s because “no means no” isn’t good enough.

After all, a woman may not be able to say, “No” because she is frozen with fear. Or she is asleep. Or she’s had too much to drink. Or for a number of other reasons.

Some guys welcome the change, like a 19-year-old English major who told Emily Brazelon at the New York Times, Read the rest of this entry

Good Men Defending Title IX Protections from Sexual Assault

Title IX protects both women and men.Education Secretary Betsy DeVos wants to weaken Title IX 

Education Secretary Betsy DeVoss wants to weaken Title IX protections from sexual harassment and violence in schools.

Why should men join in the fight to block her proposed changes? Men, like readers of this blog, seek justice and equality.

And, as it turns out, Title IX protections help men too!

Read more at The Good Men Project.

Domination Culture’s Assault on Title IX

Title IX protects from sexual crimes on campus are under threat.

Why is Education Secretary Betsy DeVoss fighting against the interests of other women by weakening Title IX protections from sexual harassment and violence in schools, narrowing the standards used to determine what counts as a crime and making it more difficult for victims to come forward? 

Some women accept the “patriarchal bargain” which bestows power and privilege in return for betraying their sisters. Others have unconsciously internalized patriarchy so that it simply seems natural and normal. Still others seek to advance domination culture because it richly rewards themselves, and patriarchy’s strong arm helps uphold that system. Read the rest of this entry

#Metoo: My Story Of Recovery

By R.G.

Seven years ago I was sexually assaulted.

I don’t owe anyone a story and I still have difficulty assessing what happened.

My story is not sensational. It did not make headlines. But yes, it happened and it is important to share.

I was in an emotionally manipulative and sexually abusive relationship. I waited and waited for his affirmation of what happened in order to validate my experience, but it never seemed to come.  Read the rest of this entry

Safe v Dangerous Fraternities

Fraternity rape culture

Fraternity rape culture

When a Dartmouth frat brother invited “Lisa” to a house party she felt honored, and eagerly accepted. But after arriving she had just a couple of drinks and passed out.

The next thing she remembers is waking up at a hospital.

Sitting in her hospital bed she noticed bruises on her chest that looked like bites. Lisa told Janet Reitman at Rolling Stone, Read the rest of this entry

Modesty Objectifies Says Nude Woman

Posed in nothing but sheer black polkadot stockings, red patent leather shoes and a red hair clip, Egyptian blogger, Aliaa Mahdy struck a blow to the objectification of women.

Strange. We usually hear that nudity objectifies. Read the rest of this entry

“Last Tango” Director Must Be “Free” To Rape

Maria Schneider and Marlon Brando, Last Tango In Paris

Maria Schneider and Marlon Brando, Last Tango In Paris

Last Tango In Paris director Bernardo Bertolucci helped Marlon Brando rape actress Maria Schneider in the film’s infamous “butter” scene.

In a graphic assault, Brando used a stick of butter to anally violate Ms. Schneider, who learned about the scene just before doing it: Read the rest of this entry

Empathizing with Rapists Instead of Victims

Brock Turner

Brock Turner

Why do we so often empathize with the privileged even when they commit brutal crimes?

Rape is just “20 minutes of action.” And it’s non-violent.

That’s how the father of convicted rapist, Brock Turner, saw it.

Judge Persky was also blinded to the victim’s pain by the predator’s distress.  Read the rest of this entry

Fraternity Female Degradation Ceremonies

End the violence against women!

End the violence against women!

In college I grew to hate frat boys. They didn’t always deserve it, but too many did.

At San Diego State “The Daily Aztec” reported on a fraternity accused of shouting racial epithets at strippers. Read the rest of this entry

Why Does Mayor Blame Assault Victims?

Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne, Germany

Henriette Reker, Mayor of Cologne, Germany

Why would Henriette Reker, the mayor of Cologne, Germany, blame women for being sexually assaulted?

You’ve probably heard about Cologne’s New Year’s Eve celebration, where groups of men — maybe more than 1,000 of them — surrounded individual women, groped them and stole their belongings. There were at least two rape accusations.

Yet the mayor merely told women to keep more than an arm’s length away from men? That’s hard to do in a congested square, where people are pushing to get in.

Or, maybe women should just avoid crowded festivities altogether? Read the rest of this entry

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