Category Archives: sexism

Project Veritas: how fake news prize went to rightwing group beloved by Trump

James O’Keefe’s organisation specialising in media stings received donations from Trump’s foundation but was caught red-handed peddling a false story

Source: Project Veritas: how fake news prize went to rightwing group beloved by Trump

This past week, the trials began for seven of the 230 defendants facing 70 years in prison for protesting Trump’s inauguration. The case has wide-reaching implications for activists, including feminists, and we all should pay attention.  ICYMI: During protests of Trump’s inauguration on January 20th, police used a technique called

Source: Feministing

Ellen Page says Brett Ratner outed her as gay in sexual remark when she was 18

Actor says Ratner urged another woman to have sex with her to ‘make her realize she’s gay’ before Page had come out to herself

Source: Ellen Page says Brett Ratner outed her as gay in sexual remark when she was 18

She said Ratner had made the comment about her being gay during a cast and crew “meet and greet” before filming began: “I was a young adult who had not yet come out to myself. I knew I was gay, but did not know, so to speak. I felt violated when this happened … This man, who had cast me in the film, started our months of filming at a work event with this horrific, unchallenged plea. He ‘outed’ me with no regard for my well-being, an act we all recognize as homophobic.”

The actor Anna Paquin, one of the X-Men stars, backed Page’s account on Friday, tweeting, “I was there when that comment was made. I stand with you.”

It’s no accident that sexual harassers rise up the ranks | Jessicca Valenti

For too long, we’ve lauded men’s domination and aggressiveness as a sign of leadership rather than possible red flags

Source: It’s no accident that sexual harassers rise up the ranks | Jessicca Valenti

Harvey Weinstein, for example, was well-known for being a bully. He yelled and demeaning the people around him, including men. Leon Wieseltier, formerly of The New Republic, was called “thuggish” and “gleefully mean.”

Roy Price, ousted at Amazon for harassment, wasn’t just accused of sexism in his interactions with women but in the way he chose programming. And Mark Halperin, accused by multiple women of harassment, once argued that there was “nothing illegal” about Donald Trump’s alleged groping.

This isn’t to say that we should only be wary of men who yell or hold explicitly sexist views. NPR is arguably one of the most progressive bastions of media around, yet when senior vice president Michael Oreskes was known to harass women, he was simply given a “father-son talking to” by another editor.

What would happen if we stopped viewing these kinds of behaviors as the remnants of men from “another era,” stopped excusing them as less-than-charming side effects of idiosyncratic brilliance?

It’s true, there’s nothing illegal about being a boor or a sexist jerk. You can’t fire someone for being an asshole. But you can notice particular kinds of bad behavior and flag them as a problem, rather than a boon, for a man’s career

The 14 Stereotypes That Facebook Assigns To All Of Us: SFist

Zuckerberg and company seem stuck in a cushy Silicon Valley mindset that assigns actual reality to the milk-and-cookies stereotypes that investors and advertisers are comfortable with. The monster they’ve created is being used for far more sinister purposes than what falls within purview of the company advertising parameters. Facebook remains flat-footed and clumsy in response to troll accounts that literally call for U.S. violence, and internationally, use of Facebook to cause real-life mass violence.There is a popular Silicon Valley notion that tech execs like Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and Sergey Brin are the best and brightest minds of our era. But if their platforms are being used in ways they didn’t anticipate and still can’t control, well, doesn’t that inherently make them not best and brightest minds of our era?

Source: The 14 Stereotypes That Facebook Assigns To All Of Us: SFist