At the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department “Choose Purity” event on Saturday, girls (and only girls) were treated to such a feast of fear-mongering and baseless scare tactics that it’s hard to believe that the event happened in real life and not as the plot point of a dark comedy in the vein of Election…
It seems the Obama Administration is making good on its campaign to prevent sexual assault on college campuses — and by proxy provide teachable moments about rape culture to the entire nation. Earlier this week, the White House released the first report (PDF) from the newly created sexual assault task force. In tandem with the…
[Trigger Warning: Sexual violence, sexual assault, sexual abuse, suicide, depression] Yesterday news broke that du Pont family heir Robert Richards IV will not be going to prison following a conviction of raping his three-year-old daughter. You read that right. A man who was convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting his daughter for at least two years,…
Trigger Warning: rape, violent crime Even as the Justice Department reports that our nation’s crime labs are processing more rape kits, there is a greater backlog than ever in analysis of potential evidence. Indeed, it is estimated that there are as many as 400,000 untested kits sitting in evidence storage all across the country. Considering…
Trigger warning: body issues, eating disorders A few days ago a conversation about fat-shaming blew up all over twitter through the hashtag #fatmicroaggressions. And while a lot of times my twitter feed gets fractured along race lines — especially when it comes to feminist discussion — this particular conversation transcended, nay included, a broad spectrum…
I woke up this morning to a screaming toddler who did not want to put clothes on. Instead, she ran naked — face beet-red with fury and tears — incoherently ranting between body-heaving sobs. Finally, we caught her and put her in the shower, letting cool (not cold) water run over her body and gently…
This week is Transgender Awareness Week (#TransWk), which leads up to Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20. I actually think there should be a whole month dedicated to trans* awareness, education, and discussion. As a culture, we are so rigid in our concept of gender and gender identity. Too often the fluidity represented by…
It’s that time of year again. People are putting out pumpkins, the air is peppered with the smell of crisp autumn leaves (or so I remember from my pre-desert days), and the same dull, sexist, racist pre-packaged Halloween costumes are lining the shelves. I don’t remember ever getting a costume that came in a plastic…
Last week the House voted 217-210 to cut $40 billion over the next decade from the nation’s food stamp program. Considering that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cost $78 billion last year, that’s a pretty substantial cut to the nation’s largest social safety net for the hungry. It’s a stunningly calculated move by the…
*Massive trigger warning for sexual abuse and related crimes* There I was sitting in a waiting room, scrolling through my twitter feed when I happened upon the Salon article reporting on how celebrated atheist and scientist Richard Dawkins has decided that “mild pedophilia” does not cause “lasting harm.” Say what?! In a recent interview with…
The Sin City Siren 