A year ago, still stunned that a Trump presidency was actually happening, millions of women and allies took to the streets. Today we’re marching again, having endured a year of attacks: abortion restrictions, attempts at rolling back Title IX protections, and the theft of a Supreme Court seat, to name a few. I’m hoping that today’s march participants will post their experiences & pictures in the comments.
Meanwhile, because patriarchy never sleeps, here are some of this week’s stories. As always, this diary is a group effort. Many thanks to Besame, ramara, SandraLLAP, and the rest of the WOW crew for links & discussion.
Reproductive Rights and Health Care:
YouTube censors lifesaving information from Women on Waves.
A proposed rule at HHS will revive the “conscience clause,” allowing health care providers not only to deny abortions, but to refuse any health care based on “moral objections.” This would include, for instance, simply refusing to treat GLBT people. Funny, the Bible doesn’t mention Jesus demanding proof of heterosexuality when he healed people. Amanda Marcotte has more.
Violence & Harassment:
Larry Nassar, former doctor for USA gymnastics, pled guilty to molesting seven of the 150 women and girls who reported being sexually abused by him. His hearing is now in the sentencing phase, and more than 100 women have stepped up to speak about the impact his abuse had on their lives. Nassar sent a letter to the judge, complaining that it was “too hard” listening to them recount the harm he’d done. The judge was not impressed.
The responsibility for Larry Nassar’s crimes goes well beyond him — he had many enablers who refused to listen to his victims for at least twenty years.
#MeToo PSA made entirely by women.
Nation’s largest janitorial company facing charges for ignoring sexual violence on the job — again.
Violence toward Indigenous women remains an epidemic.
Women seeking asylum have reported sexual abuse by immigration authorities.
YouTube star Chrissy Chambers won a landmark revenge porn lawsuit in Britain.
The always brilliant Sam Bee on the backlash against #MeToo:
Media:
A “men’s rights” activist cut and pasted footage of Star Wars: the Last Jedi to edit out all the scenes with icky girl cooties, leaving all of 43 minutes. No, really.
Photographer reverses gender roles in 1950’s ads.
17 jokes about women in movies that would be funny if they weren’t all true.
Uncategorizable:
Many pixels have been spilled over the story about Aziz Ansari and “Grace,” which reads like the worst-ever live-action version of Baby, It’s Cold Outside. The story resonated with a lot of women. Aziz’s defenders have responded by portraying him, and men in general, as bumblers who can’t understand a soft refusal. There’s also been a lot of condemnation of “Grace,” most of which boils down to “she didn’t do enough to fend him off.” The focus on whether he broke the law is missing the bigger picture; no one’s trying to have him arrested. The disconnect seems to be between those who assume that sex is ethical only when all parties want to, and those who argue it’s fine to apply any amount of coercion (short of physical force) in the hope of getting grudging acquiescence. Ijeoma Oluo ponders the latter:
Men who are fine with women entering into dates with them knowing that the only way they are going to get out of having sex with them is if they fight against it with everything they have.
Men who think that spending an evening feeling sexually frustrated over being aroused by a woman while not being able to have sex is the worst possible outcome for a sexual encounter.
Men who would settle for a woman leaving a sexual encounter with them feeling violated, hurt, and betrayed, than have no sexual encounter with that woman at all.
Good News & Action Items:
Jamila Brown: Self-care as a political act.
Conferences and panels always “couldn’t find” any women scientists to speak. Now 500 women scientists have gotten together to remedy that.
Now tell us all about the march in your town!