In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Month: December 2009

Cleveland Passes Transgender Rights Protections

Good news, via Transgriot: on Monday night, the city of Cleveland unanimously passed an ordinance protecting residents against many forms of discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression:

The ordinance approved Monday night expands the city’s existing anti-bias laws to bar businesses from denying jobs or housing to people because of their gender identity or gender expression.

It’s the council’s latest step meant to show that Cleveland is a tolerant city. The city was recently rewarded for those efforts by being named the host city for the 2014 Gay Games, an international sports festival.

A big congratulations to the local trans activists who worked for this. And good for the city of Cleveland — it’s much too common for those attempting to display “tolerance” towards LGBT people to forget the “T” on the acronym. The unanimous vote is also particularly heartening.

Unfortunately, the ordinance doesn’t cover everything. For example, it doesn’t protect a trans person’s right to use the the public restroom or locker room that fits (or in some cases, best fits) their gender identity. As these are significant areas of discrimination against trans people, as well as sites of potential violence, it was a big oversight. Council members say that they may attempt to expand the ordinance accordingly next year; we’ll just have to see whether or not they live up to that.

But despite the shortcomings, the protections just passed in Cleveland are sadly a lot better than those offered to most transgender Americans. Only 13 states and D.C., as well as just over 100 cities and counties, have laws prohibiting any kind of discrimination on the basis of gender identity. And it should go without saying that many of those laws that do exist are incomplete. So whenever these kinds of local protections pass, joyous occasions though they most certainly are, it should also be a reminder of the work that is being done by activists at a federal level, and the fact that such work also desperately needs to be supported.

BOO! It’s a Baby!

I’ve been wondering lately, what is the deal with pregnancy scares*? And by that I don’t mean how does biology work, I mean why are they such a big deal to talk about openly?

I would say that the majority of my friends (at least 80%) have at some point in their lives thought they might be pregnant when they didn’t want to be. Whether single or married, one sexual partner or several, it’s happened to most of us. Even when women aren’t currently sexually active, they still get scared!

Yet I find that it’s one of those things nobody wants to talk about. It’s very secretive like it makes them evil or something. It’s all “please don’t tell anybody, but…” So what’s the deal? What makes people react this way?

I’ve considered slut shaming. Good girls don’t have sex so they can’t possibly get pregnant. If you even think you’re pregnant, it must be because you’re a slut.

But what about the women who are in long-term, monogamous relationships or who are married? They seem to have the same reaction. Is it residual slut shaming or something else? Is everyone just scared about what might be the next step if they are pregnant? Are they ashamed of the hypothetical abortion they don’t even know they need yet?

Or, who knows, maybe being a woman just sucks and this is our way of admitting it.

*I also just want to say that the term “pregnancy scare” is kind of hilarious to me. There is definitely a fear there, but it just sounds funny, like BOO! It’s a babyyyy! Ahhhh! Actually, that’s so funny, I think I just figured out the title for this post…

When Joke Articles Attack: Rise of the Cheetah

So. About this “cheetahs” thing.

“Cheetahs,” as recently invented in the pages of the New York Observer, are what happens when you, a Straight Lady (NOTE: I get that you might not be a straight lady. But the article is talking about those, mostly), are reduced to hanging out in bars and waiting for the guys at the bars to get drunk enough to like you and then having sex with the guys who are drunk enough to like you (or at least the idea of having sex with you) and then hoping that every drunk guy you have sex with will want to be your boyfriend but of course none of them ever DO, because you broke up with your LAST long-term boyfriend, and now you are OLD and everything is TERRIBLE and you should have just SETTLED because no-one WANTS you now and everyone is talking about you behind your BACK using terms for your behavior such as “COCK LOITERING” and aaaaiiiiieeeeee. Basically, it is one of those fantasies of female despair that only ever seem to come from dudes. Or, alternately, ladies in the 3.5 weeks right after they break up with someone in which case that is their grim vision of The Future. I should note that those ladies might mostly be me. But for dudes, fear of That Lady springs eternal! So eternal that they have to write articles about it! Apparently! And then everyone is like, “he is trying to get a rise out of you, this is silly and a joke, calm down,” and I would even be willing to do that under other circumstances.

But the problem, here? A big chunk of the article is actually sort of a rape joke. For example:

Seth had allowed the open bar to get the better of him. He knew he was completely wasted. What he didn’t know was that a predator was watching his every move.

Ummmm?

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Democrat to Defeat: Joe Addabbo

Joe Addabbo is the New York State Senator who represents Howard Beach. He’s a Democrat who was endorsed by the New York State Pride Agenda. His campaign was funded by progressive New Yorkers — pro-choice, pro-marriage-equality voters.

And he was one of eight “no” votes against marriage equality.

Call his district office at718-738-1111, or his Albany office at 518-455-2322 and let him know that a moral vote is a vote in favor of human rights and equality. New Yorkers — and especially New York Democrats — support marriage equality and will donate to any progressive Democrat who challenges him come reelection time.

Protecting the Institution of Marriage

amd_hiram_monserrate

I’ve made my views on Ruben Diaz fairly clear. One jackass I’ve focused less on is Hiram Monserrate, a New York state senator who was one of eight Democrats to vote “no” on the marriage equality bill that failed today. Mr. Monserrate was too cowardly to speak on the senate floor about marriage equality, and instead chose to cast his “no” vote without explanation. So while Mr. Monserrate is projecting his “moral values” onto the rest of us, it’s worth pointing out that those morals include slashing his girlfriend’s face with a broken beer bottle, which required 20 to 40 stitches to close. That was before he violently dragged her, while she was bleeding, through the lobby of their building to take her to the ER. What a guy. (Did you catch that it’s their building? That is, they live together. Unmarried. I think my grandma calls that “in sin.” Just sayin).

Because he was only found guilty of misdemeanor assault, he was able to keep his senate seat. Because he was able to keep his senate seat, he was able to vote against marriage equality today.

You can call Mr. Monserrate’s district office at (718) 205-3881, and his Albany office at (518) 455-2529. Tell him that your moral values embrace equality and deplore violence.

And when it’s re-election time, throw a few dollars toward Jose Peralta. I know I will.

Come on, New York!

If you live in New York state, give your senator a call right now. You can watch the marriage equality debate live here.

UPDATE: The bill lost, 24-38. The only senator to speak out against it was Ruben Diaz Sr; all the other no-voting cowards and bigots stayed silent. Eight New York Democrats — Addabbo, Aubertine, Diaz, Huntley, Kruger, Monserrate, Onorato, and Stachowski — voted no. And yes, that is Democrat Hiram Monserrate, famous for slashing his girlfriend’s face with a piece of broken glass. Those are some morals. It’s also worth noting that while some of the most moving speeches on the Senate floor were given by senators of color and Jewish senators, many of whom referenced their own histories and oppressions, the majority of the “no” votes came from white dudes.

This is such an incredible disappointment.

SYTYCD Top 10

Last week, my prediction was accurate: Karen and Victor were off the show. It was really frustrating to know that Nigel wanted Nathan gone and the other two wanted Victor gone. I was cursing at the t.v. and it was not a pretty sight. But I sucked it up and watched last night. I was… underwhelmed.

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I’m not a big fan of standing up for Mike Huckabee, but…

His clemency of Maurice Clemmons, who is believed to have shot and killed four police officers, should not be an issue. Clemons was sent to jail at 16, sentenced for more than 100 years for burglary and robbery. Huckabee commuted his sentence, and made him eligible for parole. A parole board evaluated the circumstances of the case and paroled him.

In a criminal justice system as vast and over-reaching as ours, it can be nearly impossible to determine who will commit crimes again and who will not. Obviously certain factors play a role in both estimating the probability of reoffense and in determining who should serve longer sentences — the violence involved in the underlying crime, the convicted person’s ties with criminal activity outside of prison, the person’s behavior while inside — but it’s not a perfect calculus. Forcing someone to serve a full prison term also doesn’t guarantee that they will never reoffend.

Huckabee’s decision to commute Clemmons’ sentence was not what killed those police officers. Governors should be able to check an over-zealous justice system in situations like this one, where a minor was sentenced to a century behind bars for an offense that, as far as I can tell, included no physical harm to other people. It turns out that Clemmons was actually a horrible man, and I’m not trying to downplay his evil actions after prison. But it’s important to keep in mind that this series of events is the exception rather than the rule. And as much as I love to criticize Huckabee, this one isn’t on his shoulders.

Also, what Josh said. The commutation file is worth a read.