As the Kavanaugh hearings go on, women’s lives very literally hang in the balance. Yet when women speak up, we get mocked as hysterical. Speaking up for ourselves is “screaming” or “screeching.” Gosh, why can’s we just sit quietly and voice our disagreements in a whisper when someone’s kind enough to give us permission?
Sometimes it’s time to get up, shout your lungs out, and say #ImSoHysterical.
As always, WOW is a team effort. Thanks to officebss, elenacarlena, Clio2, Besame, SandraLLAP, and all the WOW crew for links and discussion.
Reproductive Rights:
A federal court struck down the “fetus funeral” law in Texas.
A historian on life before Roe v. Wade.
Violence and Harassment:
A male principal dancer at the NYC Ballet is being sued over harassment.
A Mormon woman at a church meeting was physically hustled from lectern by two men as she publicly accused a former head of the church's Missionary Training Center of rape (video included). The accused man has partially admitted to the alleged 1984 incident in the basement of the MTC, and to other sexual misconduct, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The complainant has been seeking legal redress, without success so far.
Birmingham, UK airport puts a warning system in bathrooms for people being transported against their will, whether for trafficking, FGM, or forced marriage.
Gurbaksh Chahal, who once called himself “America’s most eligible bachelor,” sentenced to 6 months for domestic violence.
Chinese billionaire leaves US despite arrest on suspicion of sexual assault.
Philippine dictator Rodrigo Duterte is at it again with his rape “jokes.”
Noam Dworman, owner of the Comedy Cellar, defended Louis CK after his unannounced appearance last week. Now after getting some blowback, he’s complaining that, “I’m very upset with him because my life has been substantially affected and his life has not, and I’m not sure he’s aware of it. I’m not sure that he gave it sufficient thought.” Gee, what must that be like?
Work:
In 1974, Jocelyn Bell Burnell made a discovery, but her male supervisor got the Nobel Prize. Now she’s won a $3 million physics prize.
We call it labor, yet often fail to recognize pregnancy and giving birth as work.
The gender gap in professional entomology.
Mari Okada: From teenage recluse to anime superstar.
Intersectionality:
A harrowing story of the intersection of Islamophobia and domestic violence.
Why is Mel Gibson still making movies? His latest is as racist and sexist as you’d expect.
Aretha Franklin’s family didn’t know what they were getting when they had Rev. Jasper Williams Jr. speak at her funeral. He belittled single mothers, which Franklin was, and criticized Black Lives Matter, which she strongly supported. Where’s the respect?
Uncategorizable:
Indonesian province bars unrelated men and women from dining together. (Paging Mike Pence!)
What do women need in our clothes? FUNCTIONAL POCKETS!
Good News and Action Items:
Contact your Senator and tell them Brett Kavanaugh is unacceptable for the Supreme Court.
A 10-year-old girl finds a way to honor slain civil rights hero Edwin Pratt.
All hail Melitta Bentz, inventor of the coffee filter.
Jim C. Hines will do more of his awesome role-reversal book covers as a fundraiser to fight violence against women:
Nike ad from Mexico: