Monday, October 19, 2009

The Homosexual Agenda


[Kind-of-well-ok-really-stereotypical-but-still-kind-of-funny-and-hot picture via John Coulthart]

In honor of Ally Week (the week for awesome straight folks that support LGBTQ rights)

I wanted to share a comment from a Feministing article by VT Idealist.

Because it is awesome beyond words.


The homosexual agenda

8:00 - Networking reception and mingling with straight people. Coffee and pastries will be provided.

8:30 - Welcome and opeing remarks

9:00 - Initiation of America's youth into Teh Gay

10:15 - Break. Oppurtunity for lusting after straight people in sex-segrated bathrooms.

10:30 - Workshop: Using anti-discrimination laws for your advantage

11:30 - Destroying the sanctity of marriage

12:00 - Lunch and awards reception. Recognition for converting others.

1:00 - Workshop: How to make children ask their parents uncomfortable questions

2:00 - Marriage cermonies involving polygamy, incest, under age children, and/or animals. Because, hey, once you allow same sex marriage, the sky's the limit.

3:00 - Break

3:15 - Workshop: Flaunting your homosexuality

4:00 - Workshop: How to raise your children to be gay, too

5:15 - Cocktail reception

Friday, October 16, 2009

Ally Week

[10/19/09] Check out our Facebook event page here!

From Monica Carr, our Coalition's Secretary:


Hey Everyone,
Hope you are as happy as I am that this week is over! We have some ambitious goals for next weeks Ally Week (October 19-23rd) and hit our first snag in the process. We were not granted permission to table the dates and times we requested (damn you!) Regardless, the week will still go on. We can still have people take the pledge, hand out pamphlets, pledge cards, stickers, etc. Think of it as a grass roots campaign :) We still need people to sign up for what I'm now calling "lobbying hours." The times we are trying to fill are:

Monday: 10/19/09
1:00-
2:00-
3:00-

Tuesday: 10/20/09

11:00-
12:00-
1:00-
2:00-
3:00-
4:00-

Wednesday: 10/21/09
3:00-
4:00-
5:00-

Thursday: 10/22/09
3:00-
4:00-
5:00-
6:00-
7:00-

Friday: 10/23/09
12:00-
1:00-
2:00-
3:00-

Lastly, considering the work load of posters, informative pamphlets (hehe), banners, etc. that still need to be made I'm having another arts and crafts meeting of the sort. I'll be having people over my place tomorrow @ 9pm. I understand this is uber last minute, and no one is obligated to attend, but if you have nothing better to do with your Friday night and feel like spending it with happy feminists and queer activists alike, come make some influential signs! Tempting, isn't it? If this interested you, please text me @ (908) 894-9472 to confirm and I'll send you my address. That's all for now. Thanks for being wonderful <3
Best,

Monica Carr
Secretary of Hunter's Women's Rights Coalition

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Breaking news: Abortion ban defeated - for now


NARAL Pro-Choice america

The anti-choice fringe came within inches of convincing key senators to take abortion coverage away from women who already have it.

Make sure senators know they must reject ALL future attempts to ban private insurance coverage for abortion in the new health-care system.

Please write the Senate NOW!

We scored a critical victory in the health-care debate—but we need your help right now to make sure it sticks.

The Senate Finance Committee narrowly rejected an anti-choice attempt to ban abortion coverage in the new health-care system.

But we are not even close to the finish line.

As the debate moves forward, Senators need to know they must continue to reject any and all attempts to take away abortion coverage from women who already have it.

Help us send as many letters as possible to the Senate in the next 24 hours, urging senators to reject ALL future anti-choice attacks on the health-care bill!

We know that our opponents aren't going to give up as the bill moves to a full congressional vote.

In fact, the victory over the abortion ban is bittersweet: during debate on the bill, the Senate Finance Committee did adopt an amendment restoring funding for Bush's failed "abstinence-only" program.

We must make sure the Senate does not make any more concessions to the anti-choice pressure they're feeling now. Write your lawmakers today!

My best,

Nancy Keenan




Nancy Keenan
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America



Sunday, October 11, 2009

Reflections on a sign from the National Equality March



To those of you about to march, we salute you.

Picture via Twitter user mickjddc.

------------------

Today, in Washington, D.C., an estimated hundred thousand members of the LGBTQ community and their allies marched on our nation's Capitol to make their voices heard.

Their request is basic: full equality.

A tremendous number of pictures have been put up on Twitpic from the protesters themselves, some funny, some evidence of the incredible number of people marching today. The slogans and sign always funny and thoughtful.

Perhaps this one was the most striking. A mixed-race apparently heterosexual couple who came out in support held up a sign that read, "Our marriage was once illegal, too."

The oppression of women, blacks, and the LGBTQ community are often compared. During the primary election, people questioned who would be a more powerful symbol to put in office, a woman, or a black man?

I am done with the Oppression Olympics. No one wins. To pretend that there is no overlap, that there are no LGBTQ individuals of color, to think that any repression, harassment, and violent attacks can be treated in relative terms is not only unwise, it is hurtful.

Women's rights are human rights.
Civil rights are human rights.
Gay rights are human rights.

We believe we are all deserving of equal treatment before the law. Because we are human.

So let us not forget to stand together as we all push for human rights.



UPDATE:

The couple from the first picture have become e-famous! Congrats! You can check out Mike's blog here.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Event: THE RALPH BUNCHE FORUM


Upcoming event, via the Political Science Department of Hunter College:

THE RALPH BUNCHE FORUM
Fall 2009 Speaker Series


Sexual Violence, Peace Mediation, & UN Security Council Res.1820
Anne Marie Goetz
Chief Advisor, Governance Peace & Security
UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women)
Tues., 13 October (Room C-201, CUNY Grad. Center)
6.007.30 pm


Thursday, October 1, 2009

Debate the movie, but stop pretending there aren't facts

So, I've been checking out a message board on Rudius Media, and I thought, "Whatever, internet boys at play. Big whoop." But it pissed me off that their argument against the "1 in 4 women are sexually assaulted" statistic was not counter evidence, but instead "That seems too high a number." WELL THEN, SIR. YOU MUST BE RIGHT -- how can you argue against that kind of logic, I ask you? You cannot. /sarcasm (also, LSAT reasoning FAIL)

And thus, like the little feminist troll that I am, I posted this. AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU POST THIS. EVERY FUCKING WHERE. Because you can debate an idea, but these are facts.

The following statistics are from RAINN:
1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime (14.8% completed rape; 2.8% attempted rape).1

17.7 million American women have been victims of attempted or completed rape.1

9 of every 10 rape victims were female in 2003.2

While about 80% of all victims are white, minorities are somewhat more likely to be attacked.

Lifetime rate of rape /attempted rape for women by race:1
* All women: 17.6%
* White women: 17.7%
* Black women: 18.8%
* Asian Pacific Islander women: 6.8%
* American Indian/Alaskan women: 34.1%
* Mixed race women: 24.4%

Men
About 3% of American men — or 1 in 33 — have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.1
* In 2003, 1 in every ten rape victims were male.2
* 2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape.1

Children
15% of sexual assault and rape victims are under age 12.3
* 29% are age 12-17.
* 44% are under age 18.3
* 80% are under age 30.3
* 12-34 are the highest risk years.
* Girls ages 16-19 are 4 times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault.
7% of girls in grades 5-8 and 12% of girls in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.4
* 3% of boys grades 5-8 and 5% of boys in grades 9-12 said they had been sexually abused.

In 1995, local child protection service agencies identified 126,000 children who were victims of either substantiated or indicated sexual abuse.5

* Of these, 75% were girls.
* Nearly 30% of child victims were between the age of 4 and 7.

93% of juvenile sexual assault victims know their attacker.6

* 34.2% of attackers were family members.
* 58.7% were acquaintances.
* Only 7% of the perpetrators were strangers to the victim.

Effects of Rape
Victims of sexual assault are:7
3 times more likely to suffer from depression.
6 times more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
13 times more likely to abuse alcohol.
26 times more likely to abuse drugs.
4 times more likely to contemplate suicide.

Pregnancies Resulting from Rape
In 2004-2005, 64,080 women were raped.8 According to medical reports, the incidence of pregnancy for one-time unprotected sexual intercourse is 5%. By applying the pregnancy rate to 64,080 women, RAINN estimates that there were 3,204 pregnancies as a result of rape during that period.

This calculation does not account for the following factors which could lower the actual number of pregnancies:

* Rape, as defined by the NCVS, is forced sexual intercourse. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, oral, or anal penetration by offender(s). This category includes incidents where the penetration is from a foreign object such as a bottle. Certain types of rape under this definition cannot cause pregnancy.
* Some victims of rape may be utilizing birth control methods, such as the pill, which will prevent pregnancy.
* Some rapists may wear condoms in an effort to avoid DNA detection.
* Vicims of rape may not be able to become pregnant for medical or age-related reasons.

This calculation does not account for the following factors which could raise the actual number of pregnancies:

* Medical estimates of a 5% pregnancy rate are for one-time, unprotected sexual intercourse. Some victimizations may include multiple incidents of intercourse.
* Because of methodology, NCVS does not measure the victimization of Americans age 12 or younger. Rapes of these young people could results in pregnancies not accounted for in RAINN's estimates.

References
1. National Institute of Justice & Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey. 1998.
2. U.S. Department of Justice. 2003 National Crime Victimization Survey. 2003.
3. U.S. Department of Justice. 2004 National Crime Victimization Survey. 2004.
4. 1998 Commonwealth Fund Survey of the Health of Adolescent Girls. 1998.
5. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. 1995 Child Maltreatment Survey. 1995.
6. U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2000 Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement. 2000.
7. World Health Organization. 2002.
8. U.S. Department of Justice. 2005 National Crime Victimization Survey. 2005.

http://www.rainn.org/get-information...ssault-victims

From the Women's Center at Duke University:

Sexual assault and relationship violence is more common than we like to think. Studies show that 1 in 4 women and 3% of men will be survivors of sexual assault, and one in four women will experience relationship violence, in their lifetimes. http://wc.studentaffairs.duke.edu/sass/survivors.html

From the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault:

24% (1 in 4) of Colorado women and 6% (1 in 17) Colorado men have experienced a completed or attempted sexual assault in their lifetime. This equates to over 11,000 women and men each year experiencing a sexual assault in Colorado. (Sexual Assault in Colorado: Results of a 1998 Statewide Survey. 1998. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault) http://www.ccasa.org/statistics.cfm