Fuck Yeah, Gender Studies! was set up to discuss gender, sexuality, body politics & related issues from the very personal to the universal & everything in between; to address those gender/sexuality issues that, though of great importance, get fewer column inches than they should.
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So I was online, and I ran across this site called “Safe2Pee”
Its so amazing. It has lists of cities and the locations of genderless/neutral restrooms. I’m pretty sure whoever is worried about this issue would love love love this site because of the added since of…
I agree with neutresex in my preference for all-gender over gender-neutral. Gender-neutral does seem to imply “yeah, we still agree that there’s an overarching gender binary but we’ll tolerate those of you who don’t conform”, whereas all-gender does exactly what it says on the tin, so to speak.
Check out the site.
Very thought-provoking article from Kate Carraway over at Jezebel.
“There’s a crucial difference between a straight slut and a queer slut, and it’s the shame factor. But it’s not shame in the way you might think.
Presumably, queer women who are cool with calling themselves a “slut” base their queer-sluthood on number of partners -– such is the case in Jaclyn Friedman’s recent heat-scoring piece “My Sluthood, Myself,” in which Friedman assesses her straight-slutting on the same terms she does her casual sex with women -– in her estimation, it all adds up to one big slutty statistic. But I’d argue that when it comes to gauging one’s overall sluttiness, volume of sex is secondary to what those partners are packing.” […continued]
Carraway makes a very interesting (and mostly true) point here, and a point that isn’t what most people would jump to, i imagine, when thinking about this topic. She suggests that slut-shaming is a mechanism perpetuated by (hetero) women, not men. Not in an apologists for patriarchy way, of course—she’s not writing in a vacuum or assuming we live in one hence removing phallocratic influence from the table—just in a “hey, lookit” way.
READ IT!
SEE THE END OF ARTICLE FOR WAYS TO HELP
By Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner (source)
Eighteen year old Ebrahim Hamidi has been sentenced to death by a court in the Iranian city of Tabriz, on charges that he sexually assaulted another man. His accuser has since withdrawn the…
Further to my post from yesterday about Ebrahim, I just saw this post from Queerwatch on my dash. There are ways to help at the bottom, so click through and help stop this man from being killed. NOW.
From today’s (Sunday August 8) Observer, page 12.
“An 18-year-old Iranian is facing imminent execution on charges of homosexuality, even though he has no legal representation. Ebrahim Hamidi, who is not gay, was sentenced to death for lavat, or sodomy, on the basis of “judge’s knowledge”, a legal loophole that allows for subjective judicial rulings where there is no conclusive evidence.
Hamidi had been represented by human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei, who has since been forced to flee Iran after bringing to international attention the case of another of his clients, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a 43-year-old Iranian mother of two who has been sentenced to death by stoning for adultery. Mostafaei was due to arrive in Norway yesterday to begin a life in exile while continuing his campaigns on behalf of his clients, including Hamidi. At the same time, human rights activist Peter Tatchell has written to the foreign secretary, William Hague, urging him to contact the chief justice of Iran and ask that the execution be halted. “Ebrahim’s case is evidence that innocent heterosexual people can be sentenced to death on false charges of homosexuality [in Iran],” said Tatchell, co-founder of the London-based gay rights group OutRage. Hamidi was arrested two years ago in the suburbs of the western city of Tabriz in the East Azerbaijan province after a fight with members of another family. Three of his friends were also involved in the incident and were subsequently arrested. Later, the four were accused of homosexual assault on a man and of attempting to abuse him sexually. A person convicted of homosexuality in Iran can be lashed, hanged or stoned to death. The law includes a variety of penalties for different acts: 99 lashes if two unrelated males sleep “unnecessarily” under the same blanket – even without any sexual contact. A boy raped by an adult man would also be lashed if the court decided that he had “enjoyed” the experience. After three days in detention, Hamidi confessed to the crime, allegedly under torture. The other three were cleared of all charges when promised by officials that they would be freed if they testified against Hamidi. However, last month Hamidi’s alleged victim admitted that he had been under pressure from his parents to make false accusations. Nevertheless the local judiciary has insisted that Hamidi should be executed. Mostafaei initially wrote an open letter about Hamidi’s case to highlight the execution of juvenile offenders. But two weeks ago Mostafaei’s wife, Fereshteh Halimi, was arrested and had been kept in solitary confinement in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison without charge until late last night, when the Observer understood that she was released. Mostafaei fled to Turkey, where he was promptly arrested for entering the country illegally. On Friday, however, the Turkish authorities released him after EU diplomats intervened on his behalf. As he left, Mostafaei had repeated his fears for his wife’s safety. “They’ve taken her in as a hostage; it’s kidnapping,” he told the Observer. “Just look at what is happening to my wife and realise the flaws and failings of the Iranian legal system, especially towards Ebrahim Hamidi and Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, who are awaiting execution on basis of false accusations,” he added. Mostafaei, whose office in Tehran is now sealed off, is credited with saving at least 50 people from execution during his career, among them many juvenile offenders. A recent client, Ali Mahin-Torabi, 21, was released in July after Mostafaei’s efforts commuted his death sentence. With Mostafaei exiled, activists are worried for Hamidi. “It’s shocking that although Hamidi’s accuser admitted in a recorded testimony that he had lied, he is still facing execution,” Mostafaei said.” I’ve done some research into this and i can’t find any petitions or anything. There may be something on the Iranian Queer Organisation’s website (there appeared to be on the Google snippet thing) but it’s not working right now. If anybody knows of anything we can do, please please please get in touch.
Openly gay BBC sports presenter Clare Balding has claimed that she has registered a complaint to the Press Complaints Commission following a Sunday Times journalist’s comments about her in his TV column.
UK feminist website thefword.org.uk reports that while writing for last week’s Sunday Times, restaurant critic A.A. Gill said of Balding’s new programme Britain By Bike: “Some time ago, I made a cheap and frankly unnecessary joke about Clare Balding looking like a big lesbian.
“And afterwards somebody tugged my sleeve to point out that she is a big lesbian, and I felt foolish and guilty. So I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise. Sorry.
“Now back to the dyke on a bike, puffing up the nooks and crannies at the bottom end of the nation…”
39-year-old Balding, who battled thyroid cancer in 2009, took to her Twitter account to highlight Gill’s comments, claiming “I don’t mind being referred to as a lesbian. I am, for God’s Sake, but don’t use it as a stick to beat me with.”
“It has so far crossed the line. I usually just put up with it, don’t want to cause a fuss etc. But this affects more than just me.”
She earlier Tweeted to @adebradley: “Thank you for PCC link. Complaint now registered. There’s a first time for everything so here goes.”
Thefword.org.uk claims Balding also issued a letter of complaint to the Sunday Times, to which editor John Witherow responded: “In my view some members of the gay community need to stop regarding themselves as having a special victim status and behave like any other sensible group that is accepted by society.
“Not having a privileged status means, of course, one must accept occasionally being the butt of jokes. A person’s sexuality should not give them a protected status.
“Jeremy Clarkson, perhaps the epitome of the heterosexual male, is constantly jeered at for his dress sense (lack of), adolescent mind-set and hair style. He puts up with it as a presenter’s lot and in this context I hardly think that AA Gill’s remarks were particularly cruel, especially as he ended by so warmly endorsing you as a presenter.”
Balding has since responded to the editor’s letter, claiming: “When the day comes that people stop resigning from high office, being disowned by their families, getting beaten up and in some instances committing suicide because of their sexuality, you may have a point.
“This is not about me putting up with having the piss taken out of me, something I have been quite able to withstand, it is about you legitimising name calling. ‘Dyke’ is not shouted out in school playgrounds (or as I’ve had it at an airport) as a compliment, believe me.
“It may be your job to defend your writer and your editorial team but if you really think that homophobia does not exist and was not demonstrated beyond being ‘the butt of a joke’ then we have a problem.”
If you wish to show your support on Twitter, use hashtag #GoClare. Britain By Bike is on BBC4 at 8.30 on Tuesday nights.
Ugh. John Witherow, you ignorant little prick, you do not respond to a complaint letter about your newspaper by suggesting that “some members of the gay community need to stop regarding themselves as having a special victim status and behave like any other sensible group that is accepted by society”. You respond with “I’m so sorry. Allowing the publication of something so offensive, both personally and to the wider gay community, was a massive oversight. You have my sincerest apologies, etc. etc.”.
Oh, and the LGBT community doesn’t “need” to do anything you say, least of all “behave like any other sensible group that is accepted by society”, because, you know what? We’re not accepted by society. If we were, really, truly, fully, there wouldn’t be idiotic things like that coming out of your mouth, you turd.
Recent (in last fortnight) interview with the gorgeous Skin, Skunk Anansie’s lead singer about all sorts of things including the band’s reformation HOW EFFING HOT SKIN IS.
I am an individual and if you want to feel inspired by what I do, that is a really good thing. Yes I happen to be female and black and bisexual and these are things that are part of me, but they don’t tell the whole picture, it’s too limiting to put people in boxes like that.
God, i love Skunk Anansie. Cannot fucking wait till November. Brixton Academy, oh yes.
As a queer, femme, sometimes female trans* person, as a disabled person, as a mentally ill person, as a poor person, I can state with utter certainty that feminism as a movement has done fucking nothing to help me. Has in fact harmed me directly and personally. I have seen how feminism treats women like me and non-white women and various women whose lives do not fit a very narrow definition of woman and oppression. Non-white women are expected to be grateful — and to display appropriate gratitude — for a movement that failed to consider their lives and experiences and needs and did nothing much for them. Trans* feminine folk are ejected from women’s spaces because we make real women uncomfortable; trans* masculine folk are welcomed into those spaces because their genders aren’t considered real either and there’s a wildly objectivising fetishism of their identities and bodies in certain circles. Sex workers and illegal substance users are, ah, strongly discouraged from participating in feminist events (You can support us from over there. In the dark. Where no one can see you. Where there will be no expectation of reciprocal support.). Disabled people find community meetings and events inaccessible and are shamed for not participating as currently non-disabled folk do — going to meetings and street protests is real activism; writing blogs and being present on-line is not.
We have very different needs. We tend to need things rather low on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: food, water, shelter, security of body and family and health. The fraction of women in the population of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies is of very low importance to me. I need help to stay alive — as does everyone else I’m just more obvious about it — and the feminist movement isn’t going to get me that. The disability rights movement is and a good portion of feminism doesn’t give a shit about disability rights. Nice words maybe but not to the point of, y’know, doing shit. We’re still bitter about the disability tent at the Beijing women’s conference being inaccessible.
So yeah. If y’all still haven’t worked out the connections here, we say “fuck feminism” because feminism has been saying “fuck you” to us for a long, long time.
You want to flounce? Flounce. Take your wounded privilege and good riddance.
—— kaninchenzero at this feministe thread (via withnoapology) (via hoaxzine) (via lipstick-feminists)
I think this is so, so important. This is what made me start up Fuck Yeah, Gender Studies—because feminism, and even the larger and purportedly more liberal school of gender studies, “conveniently” ignores so many people.
Kaninchenzero, i love you.
Namaste,
FYGS.
Elisabeth Hasslebeck, expert on so many things.
Like talking when she should STFU. And being wrong. And saying utterly offensive things seemingly obliviously (or else she’s really, really clever).
I kind of don’t even want to dignify the ridiculousness of what she’s saying with a response. On the other hand, i really do:-
Elisabeth Hasslebeck, you are stupid and ignorant. Not everybody’s perspective of the world sees men at the centre of every scene. That you do is really unfortunate for you; i hope that, at the very least, Whoopi et al are having a good influence on you, teaching you that your prejudices are ill-founded and your assumptions offensive, reductive and completely off the mark at every turn. Perhaps one day you’ll realise that you don’t need to denigrate other women to validate yourself. Do you know how you seem? You seem like a perfectly-moulded creation of phallocracy. Your self-perception, hence your perception of other women, is scarred. Your adamant rejection of lesbianism as nothing but a last resort, a direct consequence of male in/action, betrays that fact: your rejection of female independent thought/action and your assessment of not only yourself but all women as useful only in the constitution of a male pleasure is symptomatic of your enslavement to the phallus.
You’re a crony. Phallogocentrism needs to prevent women from expressing their own pleasure because a woman’s not-pleasure ensures she affirms the man’s narcissism—and you’re completely complicit in that.
You make me sad.
(via queersecrets)
This is heart-rending. A startling remind that domestic abuse isn’t just a hetero problem.
