In order to acquire power in her party, Pauline Nyiramasuhuko participated in Rwanda’s horrifying genocide and mass rape of Tutsis. She has become the first woman to be accused of such crimes in the international arena. A NYTimes feature tells the story of this woman, her actions and an otherwise horrifying account of what it means when power corrupts, regardless of gender.

Norway has put a law into place that requires at least 40% of all boardroom members must be women. Of course, meritocracy folks are outrage and i was temporarily on their side, until i read the responses by the government. Apparently, they’ve been demanding higher equality for a while, but the old boys network hires the old boys network and the only way that they see that change is going to happen is if the old boys network is forced to seek out, educate and hire women that they value. It’ll be rough at first, but it seems to be worth it…

::bounce::bounce::bounce:: someone is actually taking up the project of writing genderqueer monologues for their senior thesis! i’m sooo psyched!

I consider myself a feminist. I work for an organization working to end violence against women. Yet, this does not mean that i am opposed to prostitution, stripping, phone sex or pornography. I do not see them as one and the same. Certainly, some of this is violent and atrocious, but to say that the sex industry as a whole is is problematic. What is violent is the abuse that women who choose these professions receive, often because they are required to take on pimps for protection. Often, these pimps are police officers who are abuse these women terribly under the guise of “protection.” I have a problem with this. I have a problem with how the sex industry, by being underground, creates a systemic mechanism for putting women at risk.

Every person sells their body. They sell their hands, their minds, their smile, whatever. Often, in marriages, women trade their bodies in return for protection. Labor is involved and labor is about the sale of bodies, and labor brings money. If we must sell our bodies, women should have a right to choose what part of their bodies they sell. If a woman chooses to sell her vagina for hard-earned cash rather than protection, that is her right. She should be protected; her choice of profession should be honored and she should be given the rights and protections afforded all laborers under the law. Making sex work illegal does not eliminate it; it eliminates the protections that women have for safety and protection. Thus, i continue to be appalled by organizations, working under the notion of feminism, to end sex work; they are asking for increased abuse of women. End violence, yes. Control and ostracize women to do so, no thank you.

This is old, but always important. By going to the breast cancer site and seeing the ads for their sponsors, you help fund a free mamogram for underprivileged women. The more clicks that they get per day, the more that they can fund free mamograms. Consider paying a visit whenever you can.

There are four different site that you can support this way:
the breast cancer site
the rainforest site
the hunger site
the animal rescue site

Yay! The CBA and its definition of community standards is being challenged! What does it mean to define a community online? What is a community standard? For example, if something is A-OK in San Francisco, but not in Missouri, is it OK for the Internet community? Are we going to go with a least common denominator standard? Of course, adding the sexuality component into the mix should be quite interesting.

[Details: National Coalition for Sexual Freedom and Barbara Nitke vs. John Ashcroft over the Communications Decency Act]

seeing no justice, a rape victim chooses death.

violence must end. criminals must be punished. punishment serves to socially acknowledge that certain behavior is unacceptable. punishment can happen legally or socially. to end violence, we must overcome both.

until the violence stops…

More details on the massive human rights violations in Gujarat, including the systematic raping of women and burning them alive.

Other info:
pucl report

Men may slip drugs to women in order to rape them, but women seem to be using similar drugs to poison their breasts for easy thievery. Hmm.. violence vs. theft. In either case, it shows the desire of a women’s body and the power that men have in this society. Fascinating.

In the process of learning about this article, i also stumbled upon an interesting blog – supermodels are lonelier than you think (and other striking news about beautiful women)…

While doing research on transgender issues, i ran across a lot of surgery images (like this one). I always saw these images and smiled, because i knew that their owners were finally in a position where they were proud of what they saw in the mirror. But, as most of these folks are going through the Benjamin Standards of Care, they are seeking out genetalia that looks like what is portrayed in their daily images (although not all). Even though i support trans folks in their right to seek a body that reflects who they are, i’ve also always supported ISNA’s fight to let intersex folks keep the genetalia that they are born with. I have a problem with the medical and social normative functions that force young children into outcast roles. Yet, while i had run across tons and tons of research on intersex kids and trans folks, i had never run across such a wide range of genital differentiation as i found in this medical literature. On one hand, i feel badly for many of the owners of these genitals, particularly those that cause other major medical problems. At the same time, it makes me so angry that we live in a society that can’t honor these differences – c’mon now, i can think of a few women that would very much appreciate penile duplication. But again, i do believe in personal choice.. i just wish that society wouldn’t be so full of pressure..