This Is What Happened to CeCe
Cece McDonald stood up to bigots and survived a hate crime. Now she’s in the county jail waiting to be tried for second degree murder.
This is a story about intersectionality – what happens when a young trans woman of color goes up against white supremacy, misogyny and transphobia. It’s a story about what happens when you have to fight for your life.
...read more9th Circuit Says Prop 8 is Unconstitutional
...read moreA federal appeals court on Tuesday declared California’s same-sex marriage ban to be unconstitutional, putting the bitterly contested, voter-approved law on track for likely consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Some Transformative Justice Links
In the wake of recent conversations, I’ve been looking around for further resources on transformative justice. I haven’t been able to do a lot of intense follow-up on the topic lately, because in mid-January I had major spinal surgery (after breaking my neck in an accident back in 2011); this obviously has involved many painkillers and a lot of sleep and not-working as much as possible. However, I have been able to do some reading, and I want to share some of what I’ve found most compelling.
...read moreHero of the Day
...read moreWhen Samira Ibrahim makes a rare foray into the streets of her hometown of Sohag in Upper Egypt or to a demonstration on the streets of Cairo, she has the distinct feeling of being watched.
“I never feel comfortable,” she said during in an interview in a Cairo cafe. “The only place I can feel like myself is in my home with my family. Everywhere I go, I feel there are eyes on me. They want me to forget everything and just go away.”
Ms Ibrahim, 25, is taking on, under her own name, a battle against the powerful ruling generals. She is the only named plaintiff in several legal cases against the officers who conducted “virginity tests” on 17 women protesters detained by the military last year.
Ladies, let’s all calm down.
Rick Santorum doesn’t actually want to take away your birth control! Hahaha. Silly ladies, thinking that when he said “One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is, I think, the dangers of contraception in this country. . . . Many of the Christian faith have said, well, that’s okay, contraception is okay. It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be,” it meant he opposed birth control access. Even sillier ladies, thinking that when he said Griswold v. Connecticut (the Supreme Court case striking down state laws prohibiting birth control) was decided wrongly, he meant that states should have the right to outlaw birth control.
...read moreSchools Must Protect Students from Sexual Violence
This is a guest post by Katherine Greenier.
Sexual violence in schools and on campus is a pressing civil rights issue. When students suffer sexual assault and harassment, they are deprived of equal and free access to an education.
Personhood Amendments and the Pro-Life Long Game
I’m writing in the Guardian today about the real purpose of personhood amendments. A taste: Pro-lifers don’t actually believe that a fertilised egg is the moral equivalent of a newborn baby – if they did, there would certainly be major pushes for research on why more than half of all these cellular human beings are [...]
...read moreStopping Police and DAs from Using Condoms to Convict Sex Workers
By Crystal DeBoise, cross-posted at On The Issues Magazine Last winter, “Sheila,” a sex worker in her early 20s, had just finished her counseling session with me at the Sex Workers Project, and was heading out the door. Sheila was seeking counseling from the Sex Workers Project to help her make a career change, but [...]
...read moreVote no on bullshit
On Tuesday, November 8, the people of Mississippi vote on Initiative 26–the “personhood amendment”–which declares that personhood begins at the moment of fertilization. It’s just as ridiculous as it sounds and has no basis in science or law–just in conservative morality and controlling women. So, y’know, same ol’. Initiative 26 adds just 35 words to [...]
...read moreDomestic Violence is an Every Day Issue
This is a guest post by Katherine Greenier.
While October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it may be the grim August murder of Crystal Ragin and her three children in Newport News that serves as the year’s most dramatic reminder that more must be done to protect women from violence.
FBI redefines rape to mean, like, rape
The FBI’s official definition of rape, via its Uniform Crime Report, has remained unchanged since 1927: “the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will.” Obviously, this is problematic on a number of levels–basically, every word except for “the” and “of.” 1. the carnal knowledge – excluding any assault with fingers or foreign [...]
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