Padaviya

stfufauxminists:

From the petition:

“Ms. Kelly, on November 21, you told Bill O’Reilly that pepper spray (as used by Lt. John Pike to assault the UC Davis protestors) is “a food product, essentially.” That was, of course, ridiculous.

While you allowed that the spray was “abrasive and intrusive”, you wondered if it had been diluted (reportedly, it hadn’t).

To back up your claim that pepper spray is a food product, please consume as much of it as was sprayed on each protestor’s face, in one sitting, on camera at Fox News. You may mix the spray with one serving of food or drink, as I am not a sadist. Then, please relate the effects to your audience.”

h/t Being Liberal

Season Twelve’s far-fetched scenarios are so far removed from reality that they jeopardize some of our best efforts to raise awareness about sexual assault and increase survivors’ access to victims services. Instead, SVU is perpetuating our national delusion that rape is not a serious epidemic nor something likely to occur in our own lives.

In the two years I spent working as a volunteer advocate providing trauma counseling to rape victims in an emergency room, none of my cases packed the shock value one finds now in the stories on SVU. In fact, they were quite mundane compared to the TV series’ favored tales of poisoning, revenge, dark dungeons and religious cult rituals. The emergency room testimonials I was privy to–those quotidian, common experiences of rape–have not found their voice on SVU this season.

I am thinking, for example, of one teenage girl I met in the ER who had been raped by her sister’s boyfriend. He used verbal intimidation and his dominant strength to carry out the attack, but very little violence (apart from the rape, which itself is an act of violence). But she had no bruises, no cuts, no broken bones. And it was over in 10 minutes. There would be no subsequent trail leading detectives to uncover some egregious corporate scandal of grandiose proportions, an underground black market for selling babies, or some rare, poisonous concoction. But does that make this girl’s trauma any less worthy, less urgent, less heart-wrenching?

If Olivia Munn, the former videogame show host introduced to Daily Show viewers three weeks ago, survives her tryout, she’ll be the first new female correspondent on the show in seven years. With the notable exception of Samantha Bee, who’s been on since 2001, female correspondents have been a short-lived phenomenon. As fiercely liberal and sharp-eyed an observer as Jon Stewart can be, getting women on the air may be his major blind spot.

…

Given its politics and the near-universal adoration with which it’s met, the current iteration of The Daily Show is held to a different standard by the viewing public. But behind the scenes, numerous former female staffers tell us that working there was often a frustrating and alienating experience.

The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media has recently issued a report of the results of studies conducted about gender in media. The results can be viewed here (PDF). Among them:

Study 1: G-rated movies from 1990-Jan. 2005:

• Fewer than one out of three (28%) of the speaking characters (both real and animated) are female.
• More than four out of five (83%) of the films’ narrators are male.
• 85.5% of the characters in G-rated films are white, 4.8% are black, and 9.7% are from “other” ethnicities.

Study 2: G-, PG-, PG-13, R-Rated Prevalence and Portrayal, 1990-2006

• 73% of the characters are male. This translates into a ratio of 2.71 males to every 1 female.
• Females were over five times as likely as males to be shown in sexually revealing clothing, which was defined as attire that enhances, exaggerates, or calls attention to any part of the body from neck to knees.
• Females were nearly three times as likely as males (10.6% vs. 3.4%) to be shown with a thin figure.
• Style of presentation affects how females are featured in G-rated films. Animated females are more likely to be shown in a thin and sexy light than are live action females.

One of Britain’s TV channels, Channel 4, will start airing commercials for abortion services next week.

Britain will air its first TV advert for abortion services next week, a sexual health company said Thursday, sparking a furious response from pro-life groups.

Marie Stopes International, which runs clinics across the country, said the ads for advice on unplanned pregnancy and abortion would provide much-needed information on where to turn for help.

The campaign, which airs for the first time Monday on Channel 4 television and runs until the end of June, asks viewers “Are you late?” in reference to a woman who has missed her period.

It directs those facing an unplanned pregnancy to Marie Stopes International’s telephone helpline.

“Last year alone we received 350,000 calls to our 24-hour helpline,” said company chief executive Dana Hovig.

“Clearly there are hundreds of thousands of women who want and need sexual health information and advice and access
to services.”

The plans drew sharp criticism from pro-life groups.

“I can only express utter disbelief that this is being allowed,” said Michaela Aston, a spokeswoman for charity Life.

“To allow abortion providers to advertise on TV, as though they were no different from car companies or detergent manufacturers, is grotesque.”

But Darinka Aleksic, campaign coordinator for Abortion Rights, told the Guardian newspaper the ads were an “important breakthrough in the support services on offer to women.”

In 2008, more than 195,000 abortions were performed on women in England and Wales and 91 percent were paid for by the state-funded National Health Service.

ABC, it seems, refused to air the commercial during Dancing with the Stars and limited the number of times the ad could be shown overall. (Though ABC is now claiming it did not reject the ad, other reports say Lane Bryant is right and ABC is just trying to save face.) FOX, on the other hand, demanded edit after edit. The network rejected the ad three times before Lane Bryant threatened to cancel plans to buy ad time altogether. FOX ultimately decided to let it air during the last ten minutes of American Idol.

what not to wear

according to that bitchy pair on tv you mustn’t wear a pink and black plaid mini kilt with black fishnet shirt, black studded belt, knee high skull socks and danger pumps
even if you are a beautiful twenty-something dj/designer
who can rock it well

so what would they say of me
in my blush frothy tulle ballerina mini skirt
or my frayed hem jeans?

i have worn hats with veils, eccentric platforms
men’s engineer boots and prom dresses
ripped t-shirts and torn stockings
a piece of orange satin wrapped into a dress
distressed knit “depression wear”
and silk kimono patchwork big enough for clowns
i’ve had bleached hair with black roots
pale powder face without blush
too-big silver hoops
mostly i’ve worn my heart
bleeding all over both my sleeves
it’s not a pretty sight, my dears
and now my fear
like ridiculous armor to keep you out

hey tv bitches, bring it
at least i still
got up this morning
and wrote this thing

WHAT HAVE YOU WORN THAT YOU “SHOULDN’T” HAVE

The Dallas Police Department has charged Erykah Badu with disorderly conduct for removing her clothes in public during her “Window Seat” music video shoot, making good on the investigation that was still in progress as of this morning. The singer is now subject to a fine of up to $500.

If there’s any situation that personifies the media’s continued dismissal of all people not white, it’s the case of Zoe Saldana. The fierce Dominicana is everywhere these days, including on the covers of three national magazines: Nylon, Glamour, and Essence, thanks to her leading role in Avatar. I say dismissal because she’s been around for over a decade and appeared in popular films like Guess Who? and Star Trek, but until now hasn’t garnered the mainstream media attention of her white peers. But even amongst all the warm and fuzzies of her success, there’s an ugliness to the media coverage she’s receiving.