“Miss Piggy”. “News Bimbo”. “Extremely Unattractive”. “Grab ’em by the Pussy”.

C6ZL8eAWAAIh-zk

Via Twitter.

Mr. Tweet has been at it again, this time tweeting out his “tremendous respect” for women, even as a whole lot of women are out on the streets today, fighting against fascism, and the Fascist-in-Chief. Mr. Tweet has been met with scorn, and I daresay, many near-fatal eyerolls.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday posted a tribute to International Women’s Day on his Twitter feed, and it was met with instant ridicule and disgust from across the web.

The president, who is notorious for making sexist remarks and was even infamously caught on camera bragging about grabbing women’s genitals, wrote on Twitter that he has “tremendous respect for women and the many roles they serve that are vital to the fabric of our society and our economy.” He also asked his fellow Americans to join him in “honoring the critical role of women here in America & around the world.”

Given his past words and actions, many Twitter users reacted with instant mockery of the president’s supposed “tremendous respect” for women.

It should not be forgotten that Trump has also been accused of domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and rape. It’s more than obvious that he doesn’t have the slightest problem with any of those, especially as he’s bragged about being a serial sexual assaulter. He also has a seriously skeevy view of at least one of his daughters. Oh, and let’s not forget that Violence Against Women grants are poised to be cut. Also, there’s that hideous thing he’s trying to pass off as healthcare, which prominently features removing basic care for women. Yeah, there’s tremendous respect for you.

You can see some of the reactions here.

76 Scientists On A Glacier.

The women of Homeward Bound. CREDIT: Anne Christianson.

The women of Homeward Bound. CREDIT: Anne Christianson.

…Seltzer’s colleagues were more knowledgeable than your average gaggle of tourists. The travelers on her trip were all scientists, and several of them focus specifically on climate change. What’s more, her 75 companions on the three-week trip were all women, bound together on the largest-ever, all-female expedition to Antarctica. The trip was the focal point of a year-long leadership development program called Homeward Bound, which aims to groom 1,000 women with science backgrounds over the next ten years to influence public policy and dialogue.

While women made up more than 50 percent of the US workforce in 2016, they represented only 24 percent (edit Charly 17.06.2023 – new link) of workers in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math. Representation in public policy is even worse: Women hold less than 23 percent of parliamentary positions worldwide, and less than 20 percent of Congress is female. The founder of Homeward Bound told Reuters that inspiration came from the trip from hearing two scientists joke that a beard was a requirement to land an Antarctic research leadership role.

[…]

Steltzer echoed similar experiences. “At one point in time, women were present in equal measures to myself at a peer level,” she said. “But now that I’m in my early 40s, an associate professor, in many environments I’m in there are fewer women. There are ways we can do better.”

[…]

For Anne Christianson, a younger Homeward Bounder, the trip took on special importance for her work. Christianson is completing a Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota, and her dissertation focuses on how climate change disproportionately affects women in developing countries. She points out that, while it was easy to see the consequences of climate change watching glaciers in Antarctica, it’s important to keep in mind how climate change threatens women around the globe.

“We have these cascading impacts [of climate change] on women that simply aren’t seen in men,” Christianson said. “Women generally don’t have enough capital to build our own resilience to climate change.”

Rising temperatures are melting Antarctica. CREDIT: Anne Christianson.

Rising temperatures are melting Antarctica. CREDIT: Anne Christianson.

For Westerners, it’s easy to see climate change as a threat to poor and rural women in distant, impoverished countries. But climate change isn’t just melting glaciers in Antarctica and flooding cities in Bangladesh. It’s already imperiling women within the United States, and the threat is getting more dire. Over 83 percent of poor single mothers in New Orleans were displaced in the post-Hurricane Katrina housing crisis — a statistic that bodes ominously for future climate disasters.

“We’ve already had our own climate refugees in the Gulf and in Alaska,” Christianson said. “The majority of people in poverty in this country are women who will be less able to adapt to what’s coming with climate change. Having more resources allows you to move away from sea-level rise and heat waves, to switch jobs, to find alternate sources of food and fuel.”

Even for progressives in the United States, the link between climate and gender can be hard to grasp. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA) attempted to start a conversation on the issue in 2015 in by proposing a resolution to recognize “the disparate impact of climate change on women and the efforts of women globally to address climate change.” The bill moved nowhere fast in Congress and became a target for right-wing media, as outlets like Breitbart, The Daily Caller, and Fox News mocked a line in the bill that linked climate-induced food insecurity to prostitution.

[…]

Both Christianson and Steltzer say the female perspective in science is more important now than ever.

“There is a certain understanding that women scientists have of how hard it is to be heard, and right now all scientists are understanding what women scientists have experienced,” Christianson said.

“We’ve been in this state before, but a lot of our male colleagues haven’t,” Christianson said. “Because we’ve had to fight so hard for our personal rights, now that we’re trying to make our voices heard in our field of interests, and now that men are joining us for the first time, really, we can have more of a leadership role in how to make our voices heard.”

According to Hayhoe, that’s already happening. Female leadership in climate at the international level as playing a role in shifting the climate conversation.

Excellent reading, highly recommended. Full story here.

More good reading: Women are leading the way in HIV research.

Facebook, Oh, What The Fuck?

facebook_reactions

Everyone knows Facebook’s incredibly fucked up policies concerning nudity, and it looks like they’ve dropped the ball yet again. Since 2015, Marines have been uploading illicit images of fellow Marines who happen to be women, inviting all manner of commentary, and it’s not pretty. I do realize all the fallout here doesn’t belong on FB, but a share of it does. As for the rest, Jesus Fuck, the military, what an unbelievable mess it is.

The U.S. Department of Defense is investigating hundreds of Marines who used social media to solicit and share hundreds — possibly thousands — of naked photographs of women service members and veterans.

Since Jan. 30, more than two dozen women – many on active duty, including officers and enlisted service members – have been identified by their rank, full name and military duty station in photographs posted and linked to from a private Facebook page.

In one instance, a woman corporal in uniform was followed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina by a fellow Marine, who surreptitiously photographed her as she picked up her gear. Those photographs were posted online in the Facebook group “Marines United,” which has nearly 30,000 followers, drawing dozens of obscene comments.

One member of the Facebook group suggested the service member sneaking the photos should “take her out back and pound her out.” Others suggested more than vaginal sex. “And butthole. And throat. And ears. Both of them. Video it though… for science.”

Senior officials with Headquarters Marine Corps have verified that incident as well as the distribution of photographs of other active duty and veteran women through the page and links out to a Google Drive.

The photo sharing began less than a month after the first Marine infantry unit was assigned women on Jan. 5 and underscores ongoing problems of sexual harassment within the military ranks and could hurt recruitment of women. Officials within the Defense Department confirmed it also puts service members at risk for blackmail and jeopardizes national security.

The activity on the Marines United page was uncovered by The War Horse, a nonprofit news organization run by Marine veteran Thomas Brennan. Within a day of Brennan contacting the Marine Corps headquarters on Jan. 30, social media accounts behind the sharing had been deleted by Facebook and Google at the Corps’ request and a formal investigation by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service has been launched.

However, it is clear that the actions taken so far have not fully stopped the activity: photos of the woman followed at Camp Lejeune were posted on Marines United on Feb. 16, more than two weeks after the linking accounts had been shut down. The Marine who shot those photos has been discharged from active duty, Marine Corps officials confirmed.

“We need to be brutally honest with ourselves and each other: This behavior hurts fellow Marines, family members, and civilians. It is a direct attack on our ethos and legacy,” Sgt. Major Ronald L. Green, the most senior enlisted Marine on active duty wrote in an email response. “It is inconsistent with our core values, and it impedes our ability to perform our mission.

The service is deeply concerned about the damage the incident could do to the Marines, according to a document provided to generals yesterday warning them of the upcoming story.

Yes, I imagine they are deeply concerned, but as usual, they are not at all concerned with the right things. Perhaps a bit less focus on creating killing machines, and a bit more on being a decent human being, for fuck’s sake. Apparently, a good many of your recruits need to be taught that either being a rapist or encouraging rape is wrong.

…The War Horse submitted multiple requests for additional comment to the Secretary of Defense and Commandant of the Marine Corps. Both declined to comment on specifics of the situation, citing the ongoing investigation.

However, in his email, Green added additional perspective, repeatedly denouncing the “degrading and demeaning behavior” of Marines United members and encouraging Marines — and all service members — to be “a voice of change” for the better.

“As Marines, as human beings, you should be angry by the actions of a few,” Green wrote. “Ultimately we must take a look in the mirror and decide whether we are part of the problem or the solution.

“…We need to realize that silence is consent — do not be silent.”

Yes, it would be nice to see the military address the rampant rape culture infesting it, but it seems all that happens every time there’s an inconvenient spotlight on such behaviour, is lip service. Time to step up, don’t you think? What happened to the standard you walk past is the standard you accept?

The full story is here, and much worse than the excerpts included here.

Texas: Wrongful Births Bill.

(Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock).

(Monkey Business Images/ Shutterstock).

The Texas GOP introduced yet another anti-abortion bill that would give doctors the right to lie to their patients about their pregnancies. Texas Senate Bill 25, also known as the “wrongful births bill” has made its way to the Texas Senate floor, and would prevent lawsuits against doctors if a baby is born with a disability.

In reality, the bill allows doctors to withhold information about the risk of a disability from the parents, particularly in cases when the doctor thinks the individual might decide to have an abortion if provided with the information.

[…]

The Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs passed the bill — which would legislate how much information a woman is allowed to receive about her own pregnancy — to the full Senate on Monday morning.

Right, because why on earth should a woman have the right to know exactly what’s going on in her body? Golly, there are men out there who can decide what’s important, don’t worry your cute little pink brains, women! It might be a good idea for women to find out just how religious their doctor might be, as that might have one hell of an impact on you at some point.

Full story here.

A Planned, Personal Thank You.

pastor-800x430

Pastor Greg Locke.

Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke is well known for his spittle-flecked invectives over most everything, but mostly over…women. Everyone knows everything is the fault of women, right? One woman made a donation to Planned Parenthood in Mr. Locke’s name, and he had a meltdown over it. He really, really doesn’t want anyone to ever do this again, so…

In the video below, he howls about the fact this thank you card was sent to him and wants to make it crystal clear that he doesn’t in anyway support women’s health care at Planned Parenthood. He warned that such donations in his name are a waste of time and he’ll deposit any thank you cards in the trash. So, whatever you do, don’t waste your time donating to the Planned Parenthood clinic closest to Greg Locke’s church—Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee—and don’t waste your time making sure a thank you card gets mailed to him at:

Greg Locke
c/o Global Vision Bible Church
2060 Old Lebanon Dirt Rd
Mt Juliet, TN 37122

Via Daily Kos.

Bring me one woman who has been left behind. Bring me one. There’s not one…

A one-month dosage of hormonal birth control pills is displayed Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif. CREDIT: AP /Rich Pedroncelli.

A one-month dosage of hormonal birth control pills is displayed Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, in Sacramento, Calif. CREDIT: AP /Rich Pedroncelli.

The Trump administration may weaken or eliminate the provision for full coverage of contraception in the Affordable Care Act, experts say, and it may not require any action from Republican allies in Congress.

The provision that allows women to receive full coverage for birth control — including insertion and removal of an IUD — could be eliminated or at least weakened through regulations, guidance, or law. Reproductive rights advocates are also waiting to see whether the Trump administration will continue to defend the mandate in the courts on Tuesday.

Newly minted Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price has a record of dismissing women’s need for full coverage of birth control. In an interview with Think Progress in 2012, Price said, “Bring me one woman who has been left behind. Bring me one. There’s not one … The fact of the matter is this is a trampling on religious freedom and religious liberty in this country.”

During his confirmation hearing, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) asked Price about his 2012 statement on birth control because her constituents say birth control without a co-pay is essential to their health care. Price refused to commit to full coverage of birth control.

“There are avenues in the heath care system that doctors and hospitals take to make sure people can get the health care they need,” Price answered.

Price seems to think contraception is like having a doctor fill up a bag with pharmaceutical samples of something or other, to help out patients who can’t afford prescriptions. That sort of thing is usually done for a one time treatment. Contraception doesn’t work like that. As a former physician, I’m sure Mr. Price is aware of that, but that’s not as important as preventing people from having healthcare, especially those awful women. The way Price and his fellow travelers feel about it, contraception is a lifestyle choice, not a health issue.

Planned Parenthood clinics told NPR that, since the election of President Donald Trump, they have received more calls than usual from women interested in booking appointments for IUDs. An IUD is one of the most effective methods of birth control, since it is more than 99 percent effective. Without coverage provided by the mandate, a woman who works full time at minimum wage may have to pay a month’s salary for the cost of getting an IUD, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Women who use contraceptives consistently and correctly only account for 5 percent of all unintended pregnancies. But with financial barriers to access — especially access to effective but costly methods such as IUDs — women’s ability to prevent unintended pregnancies is significantly hampered.

41 years ago, I got an IUD through planned parenthood. At that time, I was a paid member, so it didn’t cost me a thing. I don’t remember the membership cost, but it was around 25 or 35 dollars. Way back then, people in general were favorable towards accessible, inexpensive birth control. There was still a very heavy stigma attached to single parenthood, and it was still considered to be shameful to be pregnant out of wedlock. The stigma was starting to fade in 1975, but it was still strong enough that the reasoning was contraception and pregnancy prevention was better than a bunch of single mothers. It was also easy  and hassle free to obtain an abortion back then. How things have changed.

In addition to what is happening in the courts, it is possible that an executive order could greatly expand exemptions for companies with religious or moral objections. A leaked draft of an executive order, first obtained by The Nation and Reveal earlier this month, would significantly weaken the contraception guarantee.

The order would appear to exempt any “closely held for-profit corporations” with moral or religious objections to meeting the requirements of the provision and lets them exclude coverage for contraception. Under the Obama administration’s religious accommodation, insurance companies have to provide separate coverage to women at no additional cost. Kinsey Hasstedt, senior policy manager for the Guttmacher Institute, said the draft is cause for concern, even though an official order has not been released.

“The leaked draft executive order would expand accommodations so it would be simpler for employers to reject some or all birth control options,” Hasstedt said. “It would be a dramatic expansion of exemptions.”

This draft uses broad terms to define religious freedom and requires the Department of Justice to defend “religious freedom.” It does specifically mention objections to abortion, contraception, and premarital sex, however.

The Religious Reich Republicans have been salivating for ages over the chance to kill off accessible, affordable contraception, and it looks like that chance has arrived. Think Progress has the in-depth coverage on this issue.

Real Men and Real Women…

Walt Unks, Winston-Salem Journal.

Walt Unks, Winston-Salem Journal.

A billboard between Winston-Salem and Greensboro has caught the eye — and the ire — of some who think it is a slam on gender equality. The sign reads, “Real men provide, Real women appreciate it.”

The billboard belongs to Whiteheart Outdoor Advertising, a company operated by Bill Whiteheart. He is a former Republican member of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners and was known for being socially and fiscally conservative, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

The billboard was purchased by a company that wishes to remain nameless, Whiteheart said. It went up Friday and will remain for about 30 days.

A Whiteheart billboard costs about $2,000, he said.

Whiteheart said his company’s job is to convey a message, not to take sides on it.

[…]

The owner of a Winston-Salem women’s boutique called Kleur has organized a demonstration against the billboard’s message for Sunday at 11 a.m.

“We are NOT protesting that the sign is capable of existing, or the people who put it up, or the ad agency, or the right to put it up. We are protesting patriarchy and sexism, and that this antiquated way of thinking about women exists at all,” the group’s Facebook page said.

The protest takes place at the billboard’s location on I-40 West, headed into Winston -Salem from Kernersville. It is about 85 miles northeast of Charlotte.

Via News Observer and Charlotte Observer.

DC: Leading Lesbian Superhero Is Back!

bwreb_1_15

Batwoman returns as part of DC’s Rebirth event.

Kate Kane, a.k.a. lesbian superhero Batwoman, is back! Part of DC Comics’ Rebirth event, Batwoman: Rebirth quickly gets new readers up to speed. The first issue in the series is available in comics stores and at Comixology today. When Batwoman debuted in 2011, she became the first LGBT character to star in an ongoing monthly comic book from a mainstream publisher. Marguerite Bennett (DC Comics Bombshells,Batgirl,Earth 2: World’s End) will be writing the new adventures of the heroine, with art by Steve Epting.

“There has never been a heroine I have loved more than Batwoman,” Bennett says. “Her flaws, her ferocity, her struggle to rise above her own history and find a way to serve the greater good and those she loves — she’s always cut me straight to the bone. To be a queer woman and to see a queer woman as not just a part but a pillar of the Bat family was life-changing, inspiring, and gave me the courage to pursue this career in comics. The opportunity to add to Kate Kane’s story and legacy is both an honor and a sincere dream come true.”

You can see much more at The Advocate.

Women: what I call them is, is you’re a ‘host.’

Host-parasite-coevolution-theory-of-sexual-reproduction

Oklahoma legislators are trying to ban abortion, nothing new there. One of the bills wants any woman seeking a termination to first have permission from whoever did the impregnating. Rep. Justin Humphrey wrote HB 1441, and he expanded on his reasoning:

At first, Humphrey said that the original intention of the bill was to ensure that fathers are involved in supporting a child from conception. “I was wanting fathers to have to pay child support at the beginning,” he said, but that specific language was excised from the bill.

Ultimately, he said, his intent was to let men have a say. “I believe one of the breakdowns in our society is that we have excluded the man out of all of these types of decisions,” he said. “I understand that they feel like that is their body,” he said of women. “I feel like it is a separate — what I call them is, is you’re a ‘host.’ And you know when you enter into a relationship you’re going to be that host and so, you know, if you pre-know that then take all precautions and don’t get pregnant,” he explained. “So that’s where I’m at. I’m like, hey, your body is your body and be responsible with it. But after you’re irresponsible then don’t claim, well, I can just go and do this with another body, when you’re the host and you invited that in.”

Let that sink in a bit. If you’re capable of getting pregnant and live in Oklahoma, you might want to get out, screaming all the way. Why is it, that women bear all the responsibility for “pre-knowing” something? Don’t men also “pre-know” they are wandering about with a loaded penis? Also, you dimwitted dipshit of a person, you can use contraceptives, correctly, and still end up pregnant. This is known as shit happens. Jesus Fuck.

The Intercept has the story.

Hopper vs Calhoun.

Grace Hopper. Photo: Kay Peterson/Archives Center, National Museum.

Grace Hopper. Photo: Kay Peterson/Archives Center, National Museum.

Grace Hopper won out at Yale University, replacing Calhoun, and at least one person is all manner upsetty about it.

Yale University announced it would change the name of Calhoun College to instead honor Grace Murray Hopper, who was one of the first programmers of the Harvard Mark I computer during World War II and also helped develop the Mark II and Mark III computers. The school had originally been named for John C. Calhoun, who held several high-profile positions in government, including vice president, senator, and secretary of state. Calhoun called slavery a “positive good.”

So who’s upset? Geraldo Rivera, who apparently had some sort of position there. Oh, he was an associate fellow, whatever that means.

On Sunday, media personality Geraldo Rivera announced he had stepped down from his role as an associate fellow at Yale, following the university’s decision to rename a college that had once been dedicated to a staunch slavery supporter. … Rivera described the university’s decision to cease honoring a champion of slavery and instead recognize a female computer scientist as “intolerant” and “lame.”

Does anyone care what Mr. Rivera thinks? I certainly don’t, and I’m very happy to hear that Yale has done the right thing here. Think Progress has the full story.

Bringing Back the Specter of Illegitimacy.

Shutterstock.

Shutterstock.

I well remember the stigma of single parenthood back in the 1960s and 1970s. It was still a heavy stigma, and people had little regard or concern for single women raising a child/children. It was still considered to be highly shameful. Women who had the courage to be open single parents without made up stories about being widowed or what have you brought down societal scorn, but it’s thanks to those parents who had such courage that much of that stigma receded, although never completely eradicated. It took many generations to stop the open contempt of children deemed bastards. It really should not be needed to say that fostering judgmental biases which can impact children in the worst way is wrong, but it seems someone needs to inform Tennessee republicans that hanging “bastard” on a child is not at all okay.

A bill filed by a Tennessee Republican aims to make children born through artificial insemination illegitimate.

WMC reported that state House Representative Terry Lynn Weaver is sponsoring HB 1406 to repeal Tennessee current statute, TCA 68-3-306, which declares that children born through artificial insemination are the “legitimate” child of the mother’s husband.

The text of the new bill says it immediately “repeals statute that deems a child born to a married woman as a result of artificial insemination, with consent of the married woman’s husband, to be the legitimate child of the husband and wife.”

Last year, Weaver was one of 53 GOP lawmakers who got involved in a same-sex marriage divorce that dealt with the custody of a child born through artificial insemination. Weaver and the other lawmakers asserted that the lesbian wife of the child’s mother should not be considered a “legitimate” parent under the current statute.

Amazing, isn’t it, what republicans waste their time on. They could be doing good, but no, they find it much more important to fuck over parents and children. :snarl:

Via Raw Story.

“It’s not prison. You can quit,”

CREDIT: iStock.

CREDIT: iStock.

The South Dakota Patriarchy, er, politicians strike again. This time, they are making sure of no protections for pregnant workers. After all, women really shouldn’t be working in the first place, they should be at home, waiting on a man.

On Monday, eight male lawmakers in South Dakota voted down a bill that would have required reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers so they can safely stay on the job.

Instead of offering protections against discrimination, unsafe conditions, and getting fired, one of the men had a different solution for pregnant employees. “It’s not prison. You can quit,” Republican state Rep. Wayne H. Steinhauer, who voted against the bill, said during a hearing, according to Rewire.

“You’ve got a choice every day. You make a choice whether you come to work,” he went on. “And I’m here to tell you, if a person’s not allowing you to breastfeed at work or making appropriate accommodations at work, we can pass this law, but you don’t want to work for that guy. Get the heck out of there.”

Oh, sure, you could pass that law, but you didn’t, because it’s ever so much more important to grind women into the dirt. Much more necessary to drive home just how subhuman you think women are in the first place. It wasn’t quite enough to pass draconian laws stripping women of their bodily autonomy. This is such blatant misogyny that it’s on the stunning side. Nothing like baldly stating that people in the workplace definitely don’t need to aspire to being better human beings. Interesting to note the assumption that the boss would be male. Also the assumption “you don’t want to work for that guy!” Nothing like assuming you know what any given woman should think or want. The fact that people probably need their job doesn’t seem to factor in, either. Seems to me that a whole lot of people would prefer to “not work for that guy”, but they do anyway, because they need their job, and a person can still like their actual job while not liking their boss.

This isn’t about bosses, though. This is about broad workplace policies. It’s about removing discrimination. It’s about protection and recourse in the face of harassment. Little things, y’know. Mr. Steinhauer, you have a choice every day, too. You could show up at work and actually do your job. As that seems inimical to you, perhaps you should get the heck out of there. Go home and wait on the little woman or something.

Think Progress has the full story.