Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - "I'd hit it"

Jinn · 04-03-2008, 08:24 AM

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So what exactly is this daily sexism you see that makes you so angry Jin?

I really don't know why I'm bothering, since I think this will fall on dead ears, or you're just using it as a ploy to frame me as a crazy liberal. It's hard to *demonstrate* modern day sexism in a forum, simply because most is nonverbally discriminatory, or verbally sexist (but not recorded). I will not deny that it has decreased, simply because it's become unpopular. If we can make it even less unpopular, it might continue to decrease.

You could tell me to lighten up (again) or tell me that these are all jokes. But if you were a little girl, say.. 8 or 9, what would this teach you about yourself? A child is easier for demonstrative purposes, but the "lessons" do not stop as we age. We're constantly learning our "roles" in society based on how our peers and our media present us.

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Originally Posted by portolio.com

The reasons behind the stagnation are tricky. Some people I spoke to suggested that, because of all the overt signs of progress—the Clinton candidacy, a woman speaker of the House, female Fortune 500 C.E.O.'s—the barriers women face today are more subtle and therefore harder to overcome. Basically, the popular perception is that women have made it, so there's nothing to discuss.

Therefore, if you're not a success, it's about you and your abilities (or lack of ability), because we can all certainly see that women have reached the top.

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Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA) has an op-ed in the LA Times where she reveals that "women serving in the U.S. military are more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire in Iraq."

My jaw dropped when the doctors told me that 41% of female veterans seen at the clinic say they were victims of sexual assault while in the military, and 29% report being raped during their military service. They spoke of their continued terror, feelings of helplessness and the downward spirals many of their lives have since taken.

Numbers reported by the Department of Defense show a sickening pattern. In 2006, 2,947 sexual assaults were reported -- 73% more than in 2004.

Harman also writes that there's an "unwillingness to prosecute rapists in the ranks." Only 181 out of 2,212 people investigated for sexual assault in 2007 were referred to courts-martial (prosecution); many others were dealt with by "nonpunitive administrative action" or "nonjudicial punishment," the equivalent to a slap on the wrist. Just horrifying.

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A national poll in Ireland showed that a shocking (well, I guess not) number of people think that rape survivors are totally or partially responsible for being attacked.

More than 30% think a victim is some way responsible if she flirts with a man or fails to say no clearly.

10% of people think the victim is entirely at fault if she has had a number of sexual partners.

37% think a woman who flirts extensively is at least complicit, if not completely in the wrong, if she is the victim of a sex crime.

One in three think a woman is either partly or fully to blame if she wears revealing clothes.

38% believe a woman must share some of the blame if she walks through a deserted area.

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In a study of infibulation in the Horn of Africa, Pieters observed that the procedure involves extensive tissue removal of the external genitalia, including all of the labia minora and the inside of the labia majora. The labia majora are then held together using thorns or stitching. In some cases the girl's legs have been tied together for two to six weeks, to prevent her from moving and to allow the healing of the two sides of the vulva. Nothing remains but the walls of flesh from the pubis down to the anus, with the exception of an opening at the inferior portion of the vulva to allow urine and menstrual blood to pass through, see Diagram 1D. Generally, a practitioner deemed to have the necessary skill carries out this procedure, and a local anesthetic is used. However, when carried out "in the bush," infibulation is often performed by an elderly matron or midwife of the village, with no anesthesia used.

"He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know " -

Amazon.com: He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know: Jessica Valenti: Books

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Originally Posted by Miss Bimbo

An online game, Miss Bimbo, encourages girls (as in under 10 years old) to buy their avatars plastic surgery - face lifts, boob jobs, you name it - in order to be the "hottest, coolest, most famous bimbo in the whole world." Yeah.

Children are given a naked virtual character to look after. They compete against other players to earn "bimbo" dollars so they can dress her in sexy outfits and take her clubbing. They are given missions, including securing plastic surgery at the game's clinic to give their dolls bigger breasts, and they have to keep her at her target weight with diet pills.

Perhaps even worse than the sexist and dangerous messages being sent to young women, is the cavalier response of the Miss Bimbo creators (both men, btw).

[Chris Evans says,] "But there are lots of positive lessons that replicate messages in real life."

While feeding your bimbo too much chocolate has added virtual pounds to the animated girls' hips, feeding her fruits and vegetables will improve her health, Evans points out.

That and diet pills, apparently. Evans also claims that the game is just aiming to be realistic: "The breast operations are just one part of the game and we are not encouraging young girls to have them, just reflecting real life." You know, the kind of real life where nine year-olds get boob jobs.

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No restraining order for woman because she was raped by husband

A forewarning: This is about as bad as it gets.

A Maryland man with bipolar disorder with a history of suicide attempt murdered his children this weekend after a court refused to submit a permanent restraining order requested by their mother partly because she was still "having sex" with him in fear for her and her childrens' lives.

While the psychologist's report claiming that Mark Castillo was not someone of harm to his children was a factor in the decision, Amy Castillo said that her husband told her "the worst thing he could do to me would be to kill the children and not me so I could live without them," which she wrote in the petition for the order.

Nonetheless, Judge Joseph A. Dugan Jr. said, "I am not satisfied that indeed there is clear and convincing evidence of abuse in this case." And brought up the fact that Amy continued to "have sex" with her husband, including "twice on the day he allegedly talked about killing the children," despite Castillo testifying that she was - very understandably - scared of him and worried that if she didn't, he would suspect she was taking action against him.

I'll understand that these don't seem serious to you, simply because you don't take the issue of sexism or racism seriously. It doesn't exist to you, so naturally these won't be terribly effective.