Sex, Power, and Politics Blog

First of All I Want To Say That I Miss This Class So Much 🙁 All Of You Are So Wonderful!

Secondly, Great News! Yesterday December 21, 2009 Mexico City Legalized Same Sex Marriage.  The Bill Passed 39-20.  This Change Will Give Homesexuals Couples More Rights Including: The Right To Adopt 🙂  The Bill Now Defines Marriage as The ‘Free United of Two People’.  Yay!

I Miss You All, Hope You Have a Wonderful Xmas! 🙂

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-me xico-gays22-2009dec22,0,250742.story?track=rss

I found this article about violence against women, specifically in Cairo. After focusing on issues on a more international level in our resource packs I thought this article was relevant to the class. The article made me more aware of the severity of harassment and violence against women internationally.  While this is something that we think we may know about, it is something we often forget because it does not affect us directly.  Reading about the struggles women are facing daily can help us to understand no matter how far we’ve come in the US in regards to women’s rights, other countries still have so far to go.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iidoHMTy-5acCoKKFeK5eXO3eOMAD9CJP4SO1

Lawmakers are trying to repeal the ancient law against adultery in New Hampshire. Adulterers now would get a $1,200 fine, but some of the previous punishments show hold old it is: standing in the gallows or up to 39 lashes! Interestingly, people are comparing this to gay marriage and sodomy laws: trying to regulate consenting adults’ behavior in the bedroom.

They have tried to repeal this bill before, and have failed! Some conservatives feel repealing this law would weaken marriage. (Even though this law is very rarely enforced).

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34405141/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

Alex Corwin reports on the insensitive and potentially triggering use of the word “rape” on Facebook and explains how to report it. I think many people in our class would agree that we should not allow rape jokes to be commonplace, so I think many people would be horrified at the use of “rape” on Facebook. I suggest reading over Corwin’s short article and even doing your own search for “rape” groups. I quickly did a search myself and found the following group. The description of the group Facebook Rape!:

To all who spy a computer terminal with a facebook proflie still logged on, and use the opportunity to deface said profile. And of course, all who have suffered.

The noble art of facebook rape (known in the trade as fraping) is almost second nature to users, and people who leave their computers unattended should expect the consequences to be dire.

This seamingly popular use of the word rape diminishes the horror of rape and impact on its victims. I was not aware that there is such a craze on the term “Facebook rape”. There was also a group related to Facebook Rape! called Facebook Rape Support Group, which seemed like a good thing at a first glance, but then I realized it just reinforces the use of the term “Facebook rape.”

I urge people, like Corwin does in his article, to find these groups–that diminish the horror of actual rape by using the word for less serious matters–and report the groups on racist/hate speech.

Scientists have identified the gene that keeps females female. An international team found that the action of a single gene is all that stops females from developing male physical traits, including testes and facial hair.

When this gene was artificially “switched off” in adult female mice their ovaries began to turn into testes and they started to produce a level of testosterone found in healthy male mice.

Read the rest here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/genetics/article6952050.ece

http://familyinequality.wordpress.com/

This is an interesting blog by a man who has made publicizing the inequalities behind the existence of the family unit a goal in his blog.  He often references news stories that show how inequalities exist between the “haves” (families) and the “have nots” (everyone else).  By looking at the privilege that comes along from being in the “norm” of a family unit, we can see the pressure that one feels to conform to the societal institution of marriage.

So I was watching snl last weekend when Blake Lively was hosting. They did a little skit regarding the whole Tiger fiasco that is taking place. In this skit they break several times for Tiger, played by Kenan Thompson,  to be abused by his wife, played by Lively. Now I know that Tiger had a few transgressions that were found out in these past few weeks but I do not think approaching the situation in a satire regarding domestic violence is the correct way to make fun of the situation. Another question could be should this even be made fun of? Domestic violence is not funny, nor should it be made into a skit for all to see. No matter if it is a husband that cheated or a revengeful wife violence is never the solution and it should not be marketed as one.

Take a look at the video and tell me what you think? Am I overreacting and is it just a funny skit? Or should we take a look at what we are laughing at and if it is a laughing matter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeTrs-X6FPs

After discussing the gay marriage debate so much in class, and not being able to come up with any real ways of solving the marriage problem within the U.S., I decided to research marriage/partnership laws in other countries.  While Warner mentions the French PACS and domestic partnerships, civil unions seem to be most common.  I found this article about Ireland and how it is embracing civil unions for same-sex couples…which I found very interesting because Ireland is primarily Catholic and conservative in religious views!

In addition, the article points out that nine EU countries legally recognize civil unions, and four others legally recognize same-sex marriage…wouldn’t civil unions be a step in the right direction??

http://features.csmonitor.com/globalnews/2009/12/07/ireland-once-a-catholic-bastion-promises-civil-unions-for-same-sex-couples/

“I’m an unmarried heterosexual woman, and since I probably won’t be using my right to get married, I would like to give it away. I would like to sell it to the highest bidder and donate the proceeds to an organization that supports LGBT rights since the government designed to protect all of us is picking and choosing based on what they think is icky, weird, or unkown to them.

Bid now, and you can have my super wonderful privilege and legal ability to get married as many times as you want in a classy place like the one pictured. You don’t have to know the person, you don’t have to like them, you don’t have to think through your decision to get married or anything – you can just do it! Because you can! Come on, it’s cool to get married, and think of the pictures you’ll have to show people of this person that they will definitely think is so wrong for you and probably is! But heavens to BETSY, do NOT marry someone of the same gender because that would be a mockery of the institution of marriage.”

Read the rest of the description of the auction here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220520532631&ssPageName=ADME:L:LCA:US:1123

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/us/08scotus.html?hpw

This article introduces the Supreme Court’s recent agreement to hear a case concerning the Hasting College of Law and a member of a Christian legal group. This group discriminates against homosexuals as leaders in the group, therefore the law school does not wish to rent out their facilities as meeting grounds for the discriminatory group. On the other hand, the group member claims that the law school is discriminating against their freedom of religion. This will be interesting to see the verdict. Religous vs. homosexual discrimination… the battle continues!