Two great events open to the public: NOW-NYC and Sara Benincasa!

The semester winds down with our last two and awesome events:

Maureen Shaw of NOW-NYC will come and give a presentation on
what's going on with the organization and how we can get involved.

Wednesday, December 9th
2 PM - 4 PM
Facebook Event Page

Comedian Sara Benincasa will come and talk to us,
ask generally uncomfortable questions, bring laughs, thoughts,
and her gorgeous self.

Wednesday, December 16th
1PM - 3 PM
Facebook Event Page



BOTH EVENTS will be at
Thomas Hunter Hall Room 309
on the northwest corner of 68th St. & Lexington Ave.
New York, NY 10065

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

The Power of Words: Humor & Prostitution v. Trafficking

Posted by: Sabrina, HWRC President (HunterEquality@gmail.com)



Ah, les mots. Las palabras. WORD(s). Their etymologies clues to our culture, their use evidence of their power. There is no such thing as "just sayin'" (I'm looking at you, CNN). We all know how strong humor can be -- I remember someone asking the following at the Feminist Majority Foundation's National Young Women's Leadership conference:

How do you handle sexist humor?

Simple answer, really. In this case, fight fire with fire. Chris Brown joke?
1. Laugh along, and then finish with, "Oh, domestic violence! So funny. Abusive relationships do it to me every time!"
2. Pretend to wipe away tears.
3. Make sure everyone feels as uncomfortable as you just did.
4. Walk away.

Sarcasm is my favorite way of saying, "Bish plz."

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

But what do you do when the words aren't humorous? Take it from a girl who's hoping to go to law school: Words are path-marks for a line of reasoning. You hear it all the time.

Liberals say: Health insurance reform, undocumented immigrants, pro-choice, anti-choice
Conservatives say: Obamacare, illigal immigrants, baby killers, pro-life

This is why the headlines for Fox and MSNBC vary so greatly: They are not neutral.

For these reasons I support GEMS and Transitions Global in calling out The Portland Mercury. Their front-page article (on the web, I do not know about their print edition) is entitled "Confessions of a Teenage Prostitute."

I do not believe that criminalizing prostitution has helped women in the past; in fact, I believe the opposite.

However -- forced prostitution and trafficking are different issues. The Portland Mercury article itself says,

"In many ways, Kendall's experience is typical of underage girls forced into prostitution. She had no control over her daily activities. She was afraid to leave for fear her pimp would track her and her family down. She was manipulated by a man who knew just how to charm her."

[emphasis mine]

Is this prostitution? Or is this coercion, kidnapping, and rape? How can a sixteen-year-old in Portland be a prostitute if she can't even consent to the sex she's being paid to have (the age of consent in Oregon is 18). She can't. And so I applaud GEMS and Transitions Global for having a good eye and a sharp mind.

Laughter is the reason for RAPE?

I just read the following definition of Lulz on urbandictionary.com and I feel sick.

Beginning as a plural variant of lol, Lulz was originally an exclamation but is now often used as a noun meaning interesting or funny internet content.
Lol -> lul; lols -> luls; lolz -> lulz.

Lulz is the one good reason to do anything, from trolling to rape.

Tell Urban Dictionary how you feel about this definition. This is what I wrote:

I find this definition extremely offensive. With 1/4 women & 1/6 men in college being sexually assaulted, it is insensitive, to say the least.

Posted by,
Jerin Alam
National NOW YFTF
NOW-NYS YFTF Chair