November 2, 2014
- In the wake of Jian Ghomeshi’s firing from CBC on Sunday, the subsequent Toronto Star articles detailing his sexual abuse of more than eight women (which has led to a criminal investigation), and the discovery of the @BigEarsTeddy tweets, there have been a number of thought-provoking pieces on the topic of consent, BDSM, rape apology, victim-blaming, and more. Published before Lucy DeCoutere and Reva Seth went public, GUTS article “Rape Culture: Canada Lives Here?” reflects on the disparity between the initial outpouring of support that was offered to Ghomeshi, and the disbelief and distrust of the victim’s allegations. Other pieces worth reading include Andrea Zanin’s “Poor Persecuted Pervert?”, Owen Pallett’s note, an op-ed in Rabble, Maisoneuve’s “Jian Ghomeshi’s Poison Pen,” Melissa Martin’s “Do You Know About Jian?”, Lyndsey Kirkham’s “Talking to Our Kids and Youth About Jian Ghomeshi,” Chart Attack’s “It Takes a Village to Stop a Predator,” and Hazlitt’s “How Predator’s Get Away With It.” Lastly, check out this short Policy Mic article to learn more about the incredibly brave and moving #BeenRapedNeverReported social media phenomenon started by Toronto Star reporter Antonia Zerbisias, and the #WeBelieveYou campaign.
#ibelievelucy #ibelievewomen And yes, I've been raped (more than once) and never reported it. #BeenRapedNeverReported
— Antonia Zerbisias (@AntoniaZ) October 30, 2014
- Writer Guillaume Morissette weighs in on the demise of the alt-lit community following allegations of sexual assault against it’s “boy prince,” Tao Lin. While much has already been written about the topic, Morissette’s piece uniquely positions itself against the assessment that the alt-lit crowd is primarily a “boy’s club.”
- Halloween may be over, but as an ode to the holiday, here is a series of absurdly delightful Ouija Board Amazon reviews. A sample review: “I was trying to contact my grandmother. Did not work. Think my apartment is now haunted. Do not recommend. (1 star)”
- “My Quest To Seduce the Grim Reaper in The Sims 4” is a bizarrely satisfying read about what it takes to hack a computer game, and the discovery of the ways gaming culture trains us to “expect sex.”
- Most of you have probably seen or heard of the anti street harassment PSA, “10 hours of walking in NYC as a woman,” that was trending online this week. Since the video’s release on Tuesday, there has been a lot of discussion about the way it was edited, with white men noticeably absent in the shots of the woman walking. As Roxanne Gay commented on Twitter, “The racial politics of the video are [f*****] up … Like, she didn’t walk through any white neighborhoods?” NPR, The Daily Dot (discussing the Joyce Carol Oates debacle), Vice, and Brooklyn Magazine offer more insight on the topic.
- In a disturbing video released on Friday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau is recorded saying that the kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls have been “converted to Islam and married off.” Human Rights Watch has captured the stories of 30 women and girls who were abducted by Boko Haram between 2013-2014 in a report called “Those Terrible Weeks in Their Camp: Boko Haram Violence Against Women and Girls in North-east Nigeria.”
- Hazlitt reviews Jill Lepore’s new book, The Secret History of Wonder Woman, “which convincingly demonstrates that the most beloved superheroine of all time was created by an amorous cabal of feminists and sex radicals.”
- “When I’m feeling low about my work I remember the words of labor activist, Dolores Huerta:‘Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.’” The Crunk Feminist Collective shares some powerful “words to live by”