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

Month: June 2010

Topless Trans Women Told to Cover Up; But Not Arrested Because of “Male Genitalia”

Your WTF of the day, on so many levels.

REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) — Rehoboth Beach in Delaware isn’t a topless beach — but a few transgender women caused a stir by treating it like one.

Police say passers-by complained after they removed their tops and revealed their surgically enhanced breasts over Memorial Day weekend. A lifeguard asked them to put their tops back on. They initially refused, but covered up before police arrived.

Even if they hadn’t, though, Police Chief Keith Banks notes they were doing nothing illegal. Since they have male genitalia, they can’t be charged with indecent exposure for showing their breasts. Banks says there’s no need for a specific law to address the issue.

Rehoboth Beach commissioner Kathy McGuiness isn’t so sure. She says the matter will be discussed at a town hall meeting next week.

This kind of thing makes me glad to live in a place where toplessness is equal-opportunity and not illegal. But that aside, the whole story is weird. I always thought that the problem with female toplessness was OMG BOOBS! But here we have female toplessness and boobs, but it’s not illegal because there’s no vagina involved? (As an aside, how does anyone even know what’s in the pants of the topless trans women?). Of course it’s a good thing that the trans women weren’t arrested, but it’s kind of cold comfort when the reason behind it is, basically, “You aren’t really women.” Wouldn’t this be easier if we just stopped freaking out about boobs and bodies, and if we all just agreed that if some people can have their chests on display in public, everyone can?

I’m sure the upcoming town hall meeting on this incident will be a real treat.

via The Frisky.

UPDATE: A commenter says that the individuals in the story are mis-gendered, and that they’re actually transmasculine/genderqueer. Also, it is a good idea to contact Rehoboth to make sure that trans people are treated fairly.

OK, I actually know the folks who are the topic of this story. The truth of the matter is much worse than it seems, because the media has gotten the details COMPLETELY wrong. These people are actually transmasculine/genderqueer, NOT transwomen! Which does mean that they were technically breaking the law, but the egregious failure of the news media to write a story without -sensational “chicks with dicks” viewpoint bothers me far more than anything else. My friends (who are trying their damnedest to stay anonymous in all this) are shocked at the scale this story has taken on, especially at the aspect leading to a potential new transphobic law being created in Rehoboth! Please contact news organizations and Rehoboth gov’t people to help clear this up and get trans-positive voices heard!

More Patients Denied Care Due to Hospital Policies, Ideological Beliefs

Well, this is gonna piss you right off…

More Patients Denied Care Due to Hospital Policies, Ideological Beliefs, Report Says

June 1, 2010 — An increasing number of patients are being denied certain kinds of medical care — such as abortion or contraceptive services — because of hospital policies based on ideological or religious beliefs, according to a report released last week by the National Health Law Program, the Los Angeles Times’ “Booster Shots” reports. The report analyzed policies at hospital systems representing more than 650 medical facilities in the U.S.

(Tip of the hat to NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, for bringing this to my attention. I love those women.)

New York Expected to Extend Protections to Domestic Workers

This is great news. The bill that New York is considering also protects workers who are undocumented, and requires a series of basic workplace protections:

The State Senate this week passed a bill that would require paid holidays, sick days and vacation days for domestic workers, along with overtime wages. It would require 14 days’ notice, or termination pay, before firing a domestic worker.

The Assembly passed a similar measure last year, and lawmakers expect that the two versions will be reconciled and that Gov. David A. Paterson will sign what they say would be the nation’s first such protections for domestic workers. It would affect an estimated 200,000 workers in the metropolitan area: citizens, legal immigrants and those here illegally as well.

This is long overdue, and it’s a shame that New York is the first state to pass legislation like this (assuming it’s signed, which it looks like it will be). There is some question as to whether it will actually help undocumented workers, who may be hesitant to report violations, but it is a step in the right direction. And other types of workers in New York — deliverymen, grocery store employees — have successfully challenged workplace violations, even where some of the individuals were not here legally.

The bill will also give workers more negotiating power, and will help people who hire domestic workers to parse out what is fair and what isn’t.

But for nannies and parents alike, the legislation, if enacted, could well create a kind of baseline for negotiations over pay, hours and benefits. Now, the dealings typically leave both sides unsure of what is fair, and in the end, employers sometimes feeling guilty and employees feeling shortchanged.

“We are really looking toward healing the divide between employee and employee,” said Sara Fields, program director at the advocacy group Jews for Racial and Economic Justice.

Muslim Women on Sex and the City 2

In light of yesterday’s discussion of SatC, I thought I’d direct your attention to Muslimah Media Watch’s discussion of the film.

If any non-Arab, non-Muslim readers are itching to say (or repeat), “Well, I don’t think it’s racist, and my opinion is valid, too, and also you’re just looking for stuff to complain about!” just please, please remember that these women may have a wee bit more expertise on the subject than you do. Do you enjoy it when a member of a privileged group lectures you on what is and isn’t offensive to your group? No, it’s frustrating and insulting! Stay civil, all.

African-Americans routinely blocked from juries in the South

Shocking, just shocking.

While jury makeup varies widely by jurisdiction, the organization, which studied eight Southern states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee — found areas in all of them where significant problems persist. In Alabama, courts have found racially discriminatory jury selection in 25 death penalty cases since 1987, and there are counties where more than 75 percent of black jury pool members have been struck in death penalty cases.

An analysis of Jefferson Parish, La., by the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center found that from 1999 to 2007, blacks were struck from juries at more than three times the rate of whites.

In North Carolina, at least 26 current death row defendants were sentenced by all-white juries. In South Carolina, a prosecutor said he struck a black potential juror because he “shucked and jived” when he walked.

Studies have shown that racially diverse juries deliberate longer, consider a wider variety of perspectives and make fewer factual errors than all-white juries, and that predominantly black juries are less likely to impose the death penalty.

On the Flotilla Disaster

I’m not going to write too much about this, but here a few articles that may be of interest:

Peter Beinart, not exactly an uber-liberal, writes that we shouldn’t blame the Israeli commandos for the flotilla disaster; we should look at Israel’s right-wing leaders, and their American supporters.

The New York Times op/ed page takes a fairly even-handed response, calling for an investigation and pushing Obama to take a stronger stance.

Tom Friedman writes something typically ridiculous, which seems to be based primarily on who his friends are and what happened when he was in Istanbul this one time. In a post which is truly a thing of beauty, Alex Pareene rips the column apart, and oh-so-accurately describes Friedman as “a barely literate cartoon mustache of oversimplification whose understanding of global politics is slightly less comprehensive than a USA Today infographic and who possesses about as much insight into world events as a lightly vandalized Wikipedia stub entry.”

Megan McArdle — also far from being a staunch lefty — further elaborates on Beinart’s point that the Gaza blockade isn’t only about preventing terrorism (although obviously that’s part of it), but is also a form of collective punishment.

Jeffrey Goldberg is more sympathetic to the Israeli position on this one.

Mattbastard also points out that the flotilla disaster is a side issue, and the real problem is the Gaza blockade.

Daniel Drezner doesn’t mince words when he says that Israel’s response is just fucked up.

Bradley Burston at Haaretz says that Israel is no longer defending itself; it’s defending the siege.

Finally, the importance of context when looking at the videos of the raid.