Category Archives: Feminism, sexism, etc

“Being a Woman is Not a Tool to Punish or Humiliate Anyone”

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

Dilar Dirik has written a wonderful piece, Kurdish Men for Gender Equality, about a story involving Iran that is worth knowing about. In April of this year, a local court in Iran started sentencing male convicts to being dressed as … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Iran, Men and masculinity, Race, racism and related issues | 12 Comments  

Texas Jury Acquits Man For Killing Escort Who Wouldn’t Have Sex With Him

Posted on June 8, 2013 by Ampersand

(UPDATE: Make sure to read the update at the end of the post, which puts a very different spin on the jury’s decision.) From Vanity Fair: Frago went outside where her driver, Christopher Perkins, was waiting. Gilbert came out and … Continue reading →

Posted in In the news, Prisons and Justice and Police, Prostitution, Porn and Sex Work | 36 Comments  

Stand-Up Comedy, Rape Jokes, and the Word “Faggot”

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Ampersand

The New York Times quotes Sarah Silverman: “I need more rape jokes,” she shouted nasally before letting her fans in on what she called a comedy secret, that such jokes are actually not so “edgy” after all. “Who’s going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Homophobic zaniness/more LGBTQ issues, Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer issues, Popular (and unpopular) culture, Rape, intimate violence, & related issues | 6 Comments  

Star Trek: Into Darkness. It’s a White Man’s Universe, Spock.

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Ampersand

I’m seeing a lot about the sexism in Star Trek, Into Darkness. Mostly about the gratuitous scene of Carol Marcus stripping. And I agree, that was annoying and sexist and just plain cheesy and really badly written, to boot. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Popular (and unpopular) culture | 42 Comments  

Non-Consensual Sex Is Evil, Not Non-Conventional Sex

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Ampersand

Public Disgrace is an online pornography series that advertises itself as “women bound, stripped, and punished in public.” It is the creation of a 30-year-old San Francisco–based porn director and dominatrix named Princess Donna Dolore. Princess Donna conceived of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Prostitution, Porn and Sex Work | 71 Comments  

Over a hundred thousand sign petition against Disney’s Merida Makeover

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Ampersand

To celebrate Merida of the Pixar film Brave “officially” joining the Disney Princess line, Disney released some new illustrations of her. In the new illustrations, Merida is even thinner than her already-thin movie version (as Alyssa put it, “what appears … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body, Popular (and unpopular) culture | 22 Comments  

A Poem for Leaving Patriarchal Male Heterosexuality Behind

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Richard Jeffrey Newman

I’ve been reading and thoroughly enjoying a poet too few people read these days, J. V. Cunningham. One day, I will write about why I think he’s worth reading and learning from, even though the kind of poetry he wrote … Continue reading →

Posted in Gender and the Body, Men and masculinity | Leave a comment  

On “the best looking Attorney General in the country”

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Ampersand

So at a party fundraiser, President Obama made a sexist remark about California Attorney General Kamala Harris: You have to be careful to, first of all, say she is brilliant and she is dedicated and she is tough, and she … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, In the news, The Obama Administration | 17 Comments  

The Snuggery: Cuddles As Sex Work

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Ampersand

I was annoyed by this New York Magazine article about a business called The Snuggery, both by the writer’s snideness (“It almost seems like men are paying to get blue balls”) and by the choice to illustrate with a nude … Continue reading →

Posted in Prostitution, Porn and Sex Work | 15 Comments  

Clothes Never Shut Up

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Ampersand

[Description of photo: Legs of a young woman wearing a black skirt. She is lifting one side of her skirt high. We can read labels written at various heights on her leg, suggesting different skirt lengths, starting high on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism, sexism, etc, Gender and the Body | 2 Comments