November 2011
72 posts
October 2011
57 posts
Needs More Love
I was asked to speak at the AIGA National Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on October 13th as part of their Emerging Designers Symposium. This is the talk I gave.
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The following day, I attended a workshop about preventing gender violence, facilitated by Katz. There, he posed a question to all of the men in the room: “Men, what things do you do to protect yourself from being raped or sexually assaulted?”
Not one man, including myself, could quickly answer the question. Finally, one man raised his hand and said, “Nothing.” Then Katz asked the women, “What things do you do to protect yourself from being raped or sexually assaulted?” Nearly all of the women in the room raised their hand. One by one, each woman testified:
“I don’t make eye contact with men when I walk down the street,” said one.
“I don’t put my drink down at parties,” said another.
“I use the buddy system when I go to parties.”
“I cross the street when I see a group of guys walking in my direction.”
“I use my keys as a potential weapon.”
The women went on for several minutes, until their side of the blackboard was completely filled with responses. The men’s side of the blackboard was blank. I was stunned. I had never heard a group of women say these things before. I thought about all of the women in my life — including my mother, sister and girlfriend — and realized that I had a lot to learn about gender.
” —Why I Am A Male Feminist (via newwavefeminism)
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“Too many of us still believe that “self-respect” for a woman means chastity and modesty. If she’s wearing revealing clothing, enjoys attention, and maybe even likes sex outside of a committed monogamous relationship, we call her a “slut” — and accuse her of not respecting herself. Perhaps she does respect herself, perhaps she doesn’t. (Promiscuity is not perfectly correlated with low self-esteem, despite what a lot of pop psychologists tell you.) But in the end, it doesn’t matter. Women aren’t commodities whose value is based on their own fluctuating sense of self-worth.”
—Hugo Schwyzer (I want my daughter to grow up in a world in which all men are safe, responsible, reliable — The Good Men Project Magazine)
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“The fact that Christians think it’s fair that non-Christians go to hell is important and here’s why: It’s the first step in dehumanizing someone. When you think of someone as less than human, less important, less worthy, you set up a mentality in which it’s OK to treat that person less than humanly. So it’s not just about getting them through their day, it’s a justification for bigotry and it deserves to be analyzed.”
—Good Reason News (via greaterthanlapsed)
Much ado about cleavage: Premier's attire inflames NDP dinosaurs #bcpoli →
theprovince.com
Sad but interesting that a woman’s attire still provokes this kind of reaction. David Schreck has been known to go off on rants in his pre and post-caucus days, but I still find it hard to believe that a tasteful navy blue dress with a modest v-neck was such a trigger for him! (insert tasteless joke about infant feeding patterns here). Too bad the leader of the NDP hasn’t made a point of speaking out on Mr. Schreck’s behaviour given his continued ties to the NDP.
So depressing. It’s like I don’t even know you NDP.
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