Some blew our minds with horrible – see the Next Top Troll contest – some were so amazing they’ve stuck with us for years. It’s a milestone well worth the marking. Thanks for being a part of the community, commenters.
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Earlier this month, the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released the National Transgender Discrimination Survey Report on Health and Health Care (pdf). Reliable statistics on trans* people are notoriously difficult to come by, and among those that exist, many are outdated and/or derived from very small sample sizes. This U.S. survey included over 6,400 trans women, trans men, and people imperfectly grouped together as “gender non-conforming,” from all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. That makes it really big news, and a really important resource for information.
Sadly but far from surprisingly, there’s a lot of bad news. From the key findings of the report:
- Survey participants reported very high levels of postponing medical care when sick or injured due to discrimination (28%) or inability to afford it (48%);
- Respondents faced significant hurdles to accessing health care, including:
- Refusal of care: 19% of our sample reported being refused care due to their transgender or gender non-conforming status, with even higher numbers among people of color in the survey;
- Harassment and violence in medical settings: 28% of respondents were subjected to harassment in medical settings and 2% were victims of violence in doctor’s offices;
- Lack of provider knowledge: 50% of the sample reported having to teach their medical providers about transgender care;
- Despite the barriers, the majority of survey participants have accessed some form of transition-related medical care; the majority reported wanting to have surgery but have not had any surgeries yet;
- If medical providers were aware of the patient’s transgender status, the likelihood of that person experiencing discrimination increased;
- Respondents reported over four times the national average of HIV infection, 2.64% in our sample compared to .6% in the general population, with rates for transgender women at 3.76%, and with those who are unemployed (4.67%) or who have engaged in sex work (15.32%) even higher;
- Over a quarter of the respondents misused drugs or alcohol specifically to cope with the discrimination they faced due to their gender identity or expression;
- A staggering 41% of respondents reported attempting suicide compared to 1.6% of the general population, with unemployment, low income, and sexual and physical assault raising the risk factors significantly.
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Post a short description of something you’ve written this week, along with a link. Make it specific – don’t just link your whole blog. Happy Sunday!
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By now, the story of Juan Williams losing his job over racist remarks is old news. And I think Williams, like Rick Sanchez, deserved to be terminated. Everyone is entitled to their views, but you are not necessarily entitled to express racist views at work (and your views can still be racist even if a lot of people agree with you).
Although I wonder: Why are Sanchez and Williams losing their jobs, while people like Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly and Rush Limbaugh still employed? I realize that Beck et al are largely employed by Fox News, which traffics in bigotry and racism – but O’Reilly, for example, is invited on shows like The View, which airs on ABC. Rush Limbaugh’s radio show is on WABC in New York. Pat Buchanan is regularly on MSNBC.
So what’s different between Rick Sanchez/Juan Williams and Bill O’Reilly/Rush Limbaugh/Pat Buchanan? Hmmm.
In more “media outlets that are not Fox news propping up the racism of white people,” see today’s Danielle Crittenden column in the Huffington Post. Crittenden labels herself a “terrorist profiler,” which she says is different from a racial profiler. Because racial profiling implies that she might be racist! And of course she is not. Her illustration of her great not-racism comes in an anecdote about taking a flight from Paris back to the U.S. She sees two men who look exactly like terrorists: Mid-twenties Arab men dressed in jeans and t-shorts. Call security!
The conclusion of the story is that she gets her family off the flight after she sees the men praying towards Mecca. They take a flight the next day. The original flight had absolutely no problems. But she’d do it again! What?
It takes some chutzpah to write a whole story about how you racial profiled someone, were totally wrong, and you’re not sorry at all. Oh and also everyone should be as vigilant as you about being sure that no young brown men in t-shirts are allowed on airplanes.
It’s also worth noting that the “shoe bomber” Richard Reid and the attempted “Christmas Day bomber” were not young Arab men. Neither was the Unabomber, or Timothy McVeigh, or all of those dudes who regularly kill abortion providers and terrorize patients and clinic workers.
But for all of us who like Danielle Crittenden and Juan Williams are concerned about Muslims in Muslim garb, here’s a whole website dedicated to Muslims wearing things. Muslims wear so many things!
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Anyone who has internet-dated knows the kinds of… characters… that you can come across. But the below message which was sent to a friend of mine may take the cake for Best (worst) Online Dating Message Ever:
hey,
I saw your profile ..and um…well, i thought i’ll write.
From your profile it seems like like making friends….anyhow, if you
are not keen on being friends…stop reading here and delete this
message! however, if you are keen on making friends, can you tell me
about yourself?? like…..what is your greatest quality or trait?
If money wasnt an issue and you could visit any place , where would it
be and why?which animal do you most relate to?
If you could acquire a certain skill without the risk of failure or
without putting any effort, what skilll would you acquire and why?what movie or book do you like most?
whats your greatest passion in life?
ok..last question…..kinda weird, but what do you think of your
nose??!!………………….. lol…its good..i like it..seems to
give you a personality! anyhow…..laters
YIKES. I think they call that “negging.”
Any other online dating horror stories in the house?
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A fascinating look in the New York Times at what $1 buys you. It’s helpful context for people who argue that The Obesity Epidemic wouldn’t be such a big deal, and Americans wouldn’t be in such poor health, if we just at more fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables — and especially specialty organic products — cost money. And if you only have $1 to spend — or only a few dollars to spend — you aren’t going to put it toward buying 10 organic blueberries, or one organic grapefruit.
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This is a guest post by Cameron Diggs. Cameron Diggs is currently a senior at Elisabeth Irwin High School. She has been working for the past year on various projects involving women’s rights, demanding attention to crises that affect women worldwide and advocating for a change in the way the media portrays women and girls.
Whenever we hear the words “human trafficking,” certain images come to mind. Young girls in third-world countries; women being taken from their homes in foreign towns and robbed of their identities; perhaps even cruel, insensitive men raping children and selling them for sex in places that we’ve heard of but have never been to. All of these visions make up the harsh reality of this vicious crime, but what many do not realize is that human trafficking isn’t restricted to places outside of our borders; it isn’t a crime that only affects the impoverished and naïve. Human trafficking is a world-wide issue that has been getting increasingly worse, from the small villages of Punjab, India through the busy streets of Beijing, China and even right here in the United States.
Trafficking has been rampaging through societies around the world for thousands of years but the crime rate for this injustice has been steadily growing throughout the past few decades. Today, the offenders of this horrendous felony disguise themselves as modeling agents, bartenders, owners of massage parlors, or other people in managerial positions who are looking to hire. Once they’ve found their victims, girls ranging in ages 14-22, the traffickers trap and confine these girls into cramped rooms or closed spaces, forcing them to participate in sexual activities with up to 15 men per day and subjecting them to constant physical and emotional abuse.
In response to this repulsive crime, the mock-interview style advocacy video in which I created, entitled “Number One,” explores the horrors of human trafficking and promotes awareness among young women, urging them to recognize the threat that this criminality poses to our society. It is my goal to make, not only girls, but all members of our communities aware of this issue (and realize how close to home it occurs) in order for them to protect themselves from these attacks and reach out to defend others as well – with awareness of this danger comes knowledge, with knowledge comes inspiration, and inspiration makes way for action and change.
It’s crucial for members of our communities to realize that no one looks like a trafficker and that you don’t have to be naïve to fall into a trafficker’s grasp. Human trafficking is a devious crime that hundreds fall victim to every month. In the next year, human trafficking will become the number one crime worldwide. It’s time for all of us to raise awareness, and become more aware ourselves, about the atrocities of this sex trade: we must stop trafficking in its tracks and promote a safer future for girls and women worldwide.
My video is here:
Transcript below the fold.
This post is part of the SPARK blog tour.
SPARK stands for Sexualization Protest: Action, Resistance, Knowledge. SPARK is both a Summit and a Movement designed to push back against the increasingly sexualized images of girlhood in the media and create room for whole girls and healthy sexuality. SPARK will engage teen girls to be part of the solution rather than to protect them from the problem.
The SPARK Summit will launch a grassroots movement to support and stand with girls. Today, Friday, October 22nd at Hunter College in New York City, the Summit is a day to speak out, push back on the sexualization of girls, and have fun while igniting a movement for girls’ rights to healthy sexuality. The Summit will give girls between the ages of 14-22 the information and tools they need to become activists, organizers, researchers, policy influencers, and media makers.
The Summit is focused on working with girl leaders and activists to jump start an intergenerational movement. Attendees will be girls (ages 14-22) and those working closely with them. There’s also a virtual Summit so that girls and adults who can’t make it to New York City can participate!
[click to continue…]
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So noted model-molester and general skeeze-ball Terry Richardson shot the cast of Glee for GQ. Or at least, the young white members of the cast who don’t play gay teens or teens with disabilities. That’s cool. Very edgy. Very cool.
Richardson, as usual, was highly original in his concept: Mostly-naked chicks. Or, more specifically, have all the men fully clothed, but make sure the girls are in their underwear (and when they aren’t in their underwear, make it clear that they aren’t wearing panties). And make sure everyone in the photos is nice and white and young and thin.
Now, look: I’m not outraged because there are OMGSexyLadies in a magazine (I’m not really outraged at all, actually). This is just some tiresome shit. These actresses are lovely and talented ladies, and if they want some sexy photos of themselves in magazines — photos which will hopefully also boost their ratings and get them new projects — more power to ‘em. But there are other actors and actresses on that show, too, who are just as talented (in the case of Amber Riley, I would say significantly more talented), but because they don’t fit the Terry Richardson aesthetic (or the Hollywood aesthetic generally) they’re left out of these kinds of features. (They’re also left out of a lot of the show, and not as fully developed as characters, but that’s another post). Not that I think all would be well in the world if Amber Riley were also sucking on a lollipop on the pages of GQ; the point is that exposure, generally, is good for actors, but the exposure available for female actors skews towards the Sexy. And while there’s nothing wrong with the Sexy, it’s limiting — for the Sexy actresses themselves, who may have other talents (and whose Sexiness is not going to last forever), and for actresses who don’t fit the current model of Sexiness and are therefore ignored in the pages of magazines. Unless it’s a lady-magazine writing a feature about Loving Your Curves.
It’s also the concept behind the photo shoot that’s just exhausting. More thin white girls in underwear! Except we’re edgy, so let’s make it American Apparel underwear and throw in some high socks! And then let’s put a fully clothed dude in the scene with his hand on each girl’s ass, because that sends a clear visual message that (a) he’s powerful, and (b) that, dear GQ gentleman, could be you.
Oh Terry Richardson, you are such a groundbreaking new titty photographer artist. At least no one got a carnation stuck in their vagina this time (and yes, that link goes to a photo of exactly what it sounds like, which is definitely NSFW).
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Violence and terror have been the norm in the towns near Juarez, Mexico for quite some time now. Public officials have been harassed, threatened, and killed, so people aren’t all too eager to step up to the plate.
Except Marisol Valles García.
She’s 20 years old, she’s a student, and she’s the new police chief in Guadalupe, (ETA) near the Texas border, the very same town where the former mayor was assassinated just this past summer.
Her attitude in taking this job is absolutely refreshing:
Afraid? Everyone is afraid and it’s very natural. What motivates me here is that the project [to make the community safer] is very good and can do a lot for my town.
The weapons we have are principles and values, which are the best weapons for prevention.
The job was pretty much a guarantee after nobody else applied. Here’s how she plans on getting things done:
My people are out there going door to door, looking for criminals, and (in homes) where there are none, trying to teach values to the families.
It’s going to be hard work, and I really hope she’ll stay safe. I don’t pray, but she’s definitely going to be in my thoughts.
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You can read the State of World Population 2010 report here, fresh off the presses.
From the United Nations Population Fund website:
Ten years ago, the United Nations Security Council passed a landmark resolution calling on governments to protect women from rape during war time and to tap the power of women to keep the peace and rebuild societies once the fighting has stopped.
Has the resolution made any difference in the struggle against gender-based violence? Are women in war-torn countries faring any better today than they were a decade ago? Do women finally have a place at the table in peace negotiations and in reconstruction?
The State of World Population 2010 will show what has been accomplished in places affected by ongoing conflicts or by military occupation. It will also show the special challenges of countries that have endured both political instability and natural disaster.
Here is a PDF of Resolution 1325.
I would encourage you to take a look at the report, which has a mix of personal stories and statistics and all sorts of things.
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It seems like I can’t get on the subway without seeing someone lugging Freedom around. I finished it a couple of weeks ago, and found the gender dynamics of the book pretty interesting. Are there any other Feministe readers who would be interested in having a book-club-style chat about the novel? Or, if not about the whole novel, about this section, which was excerpted in the New Yorker (and which, readers should be warned, is about sexual assault)?
If there’s enough interest, I’ll set up a day and time.
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I guess this answers the whole “Can feminists read/like Twilight?” question: California State University’s women’s studies program offered a course on Twilight this semester. From their special topics descriptions:
Topics in Women’s Studies: Twilight: The Text and the Fandom
Examines the Twilight saga and the resulting fandom. Explores Twlight in relation to the social and cultural construction of gender and gendered identities in contemporary U.S. culture. Using an intersectional lens emphasizing gender, race, class, sexuality, and belief, provides students with the conceptual and analytical foundations to think more deeply about popular culture and its impact. Covers vampire lore, the romantic core of the series, female characters and fans, the depiction of men and masculinity, religious contexts, race and white privilege, the franchising of Twilight, and various cultural contexts such as abstinence only education and the rise of internet fandoms.
I wonder how quickly this class filled up. Personally, the Women and Revolution in Cuba class seems more my speed. But these Twilight-themed courses are spreading like wildfire… I smell an interdisciplinary degree of some sort.
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