By now you've probably heard about George Will's appalling column attacking campus anti-rape activism, where he says that being a victim is a "coveted status" with "privileges." This is nothing new for Will: he's been writing this kind of misogyist drivel for decades. This time, he's finally seeing some pushback.
Wagatwe Wanjuki, who had to leave college after a rape left her traumatized, collected other survivors' stories at #SurvivorPrivilege.
An Ob-gyn (and rape survivor) sends an open letter to George Will about his rape denialist column. More from Amanda Marcotte and Jessica Valenti.
Meanwhile, at Bob Jones University, rape survivors have been told to repent and look for the "root sin" that caused their rape. And at James Madison University in Virginia, three men raped a woman, videotaped it and distributed the videotape. The university found them responsible for sexual assault and harassment. Their punishment? They will be allowed to finish their education and graduate, after which they will be "expelled."
We have a long way to go.
The good, the bad & the ugly below the orange coat of arms.
Violence:
I diaried earlier this week about Christianity Today's Leadership Journal, which published a story by a convicted statutory rapist who referred to his abuse of an adolescent girl as an "affair." Women inside and outside Evangelical Christianity came together demanding that they #TakeDownThatPost. They did, and apologized, and made a commitment to publishing the voices of abuse survivors, starting with one of their critics.
A student at the University of Washington in Seattle was arrested after making online threats and claiming he would be the next Elliot Rodger.
The horrifying documentary Pimp City focuses on Tenancingo, a town of 10,000 in Mexico whose entire economy is built on sex trafficking.
Chloe Angyal on being a feminist blogger: getting rape and murder threats is the new normal. Melissa McEwan on the need for pushback.
Congolese women activists shut out of Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict.
In Nigeria, Boko Haram continues to abduct girls.
D. H. Kelly: Consent Is Simple:
Communication is certainly a necessary condition of good sex. Does anyone mourn the lack of ambiguity in a lover's responses? ("There's no mystery! I want to wonder whether he secretly hates it!") Does anyone wish their partner were less conscious? Good sex requires mutual enthusiasm and is impossible if one person is only participating out of a sense of obligation or is too stoned to truly engage. Good sex does not suddenly change in nature on the whim of one party, when there's any chance the other party may find the new direction unpleasant or painful. Good sex does not carry on after one party has lost interest. As with sex, so with kissing, cuddling and canoodling of all variety.
Workplace and Economics:
Harassment persists for women who work in construction.
Four women are suing a Papa Murphy's Pizza franchise after finding a hidden camera in the bathroom.
Why women need unions.
Evictions and African-American Women.
Media:
Trinity Syndrome: the Strong Female Character with no actual purpose in the movie.
The NRA offered this creepy ad describing guns as if they were women, right after the Isla Vista shooting rampage against women. (Warning: Disturbing pictures at link.)
On the fear of being called a "ho."
Reproductive Rights:
With new abortion restrictions taking effect in Louisiana, there have been incidents of women illegally buying abortion pills on the street.
Pop culture, abortion stigma, and the new movie Obvious Child.
Uncategorizable:
Got a guy in a bar who won't leave you alone and keeps asking for your number? Give him this one.
Creepy father-daughter purity ball photos.
The state of Alaska will spend $40,000 to put free pregnancy tests in the ladies' rooms at bars and clubs. Because that's totally when you'd want to check, right?
Male judges with daughters are more likely to rule in favor of women's rights. Also true of male legislators.
Good News and Action Items:
Sabana Basij-Rasikh, An Afghani woman who had to go to school disguised as a boy to evade the Taliban, is now opening a girls' school in Afghanistan.
The Feminist Utopia Project is accepting fiction, nonfiction, poetry and artwork on what an ideal feminist world would look like. Get your ideas to them by July 15th!
GrantHer is a new organization that provides small grants, $50 to $500, to women entrepreneurs and activists.
Petition for an end to sterilization abuse in California prisons.
Google has taken down deceptive "abortion clinic" ads that are really anti-abortion organizations. Tell Yahoo to do the same.
The anthology No Selves to Defend, about women of color and self-defense, is now available for purchase. Proceeds go to Marissa Alexander's defense fund.
35 practical steps men can take to support feminism.