Category: Feminist and Social Justice High Horse

It’s on like Donkey Kong?

~ Sahara ~ 1 Comment

At the end of March, President Obama made April 2014 National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month.

Sexual assault: Unwanted sexual contact that stops short of rape or attempted rape. This includes sexual touching and fondling.

I’ve survived this. I’ve never said it in this way before, but I have survived this. Twice.

Those times weren’t traumatic. They weren’t violent. I knew both the guys. (Many survivors know their assailant!) I didn’t like it and I felt icky afterward; I still feel icky to think about it. Despite this, I never thought of it as sexual assault. I’ve always thought: You know, we were both drinking the first time, and he said he was really ashamed about it afterward. And the second time, well, I was “sewing my oats” that summer and that was just part of it. You got burned. I never considered it assault.

But it was.

Continue reading “It’s on like Donkey Kong?” →

“Why Won’t You Educate Me About Feminism?”

~ Sahara ~ 2 Comments

I have had this exact conversation. Multiple times.

Anne Thériault's avatarThe Belle Jar

He doesn’t hate women.

Above and beyond everything else, he wants you to know this: he does not hate women.

He has two daughters, for god’s sake, and a wife that he adores beyond anything else, and a sister that he texts every day and a mother who is the strongest person that he’s ever known – yes, stronger than any of the men he’s met. So don’t think that this is because he hates women.

If anything, his real problem is loving women too much.

See, he just wants his daughters to grow up safe and happy. And to be honest, some of the things that you’re saying – that these feminists are saying – are troubling to him.

He just wants to have a sort of academic chat. Peer to peer. Grownup to grownup. That’s all. He’s not saying you’re wrong – not by a long shot! He…

View original post 1,183 more words

Feminazi

~ Sahara ~ 6 Comments

Inspired by another blog post that appeared in my reader, (and PSA, you should get tested to see if you’re a feminist – they gave us a sure-fire way to determine that HERE.), I was reminded of a meme that helps us understand Feminism and it’s sister, Feminazi:

Except it isn’t. At all.

Hey baby… wanna fight?

~ Sahara ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday was one of those days I love and hate my work. We had a Christmas party for the clients, and it went really well – it was a lot of fun, and I was seeing some things I’m going to miss when I’m gone.  For example, the clients were in groups playing Pictionary and one of them was trying to draw “Angels we Have Heard on High.”  One of the guys said, totally serious: “Angels got high.” I was rolling with laughter, and it’s something I’m going to miss when I’m gone from here.

Then, we served lunch to anyone in the community, like we always do, and I got harassed by one of the guys. He took something I said to my boss and twisting it around sexually. I was embarrassed and angry and I put him out for the day. Things got better and I was walking to get some coffee before an afternoon meeting, and there was this guy in front of me…

Continue reading “Hey baby… wanna fight?” →

Facebook Freedom isn’t Free

~ Sahara ~ 1 Comment

WordPress references Facebook’s recent trouble with offensive content by asking: Is it a websites job to moderate the content users post? Or should users have freedom to say what they want? Is there a happy medium? If so, how would you structure it?

The second question asks: “…should users have freedom to say what they want?” The assumption underlying this question is that, currently, ‘all’ users have freedom to say what they want.  Is that true? I don’t think so.

Continue reading “Facebook Freedom isn’t Free” →