We did it! FBI Director Robert Mueller gave final approval to update the archaic definition of rape.

We did it! FBI Director Robert Mueller gave final approval to update the archaic definition of rape.

We did it thanks to you and the more than 160,000 emails we sent requesting a change in the way the FBI Uniform Crime Report defines rape.

With a modern, broader definition, FBI  statistics will finally show the true breadth of this violence that affects so many women’s lives. Women’s groups will work to ensure that this more accurate and complete data will lead to increased resources to combat and reduce the incidence of rape.

The old definition, adopted over 80 years ago, had been extensively criticized for leading to widespread underreporting of rape. Defined as “the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will,” it excluded rapes involving forced anal sex and/or oral sex, rape with an object (even if serious injuries resulted) and rapes of men, and was interpreted by many police jurisdictions to exclude rapes where the victim was incapacitated by drugs or alcohol, or otherwise unable to give consent. The old rape definition excluded many rapes against women and all against men.

The new definition, as it appears on the FBI website, is: “Penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.”

This is a major policy change and will dramatically impact the way rape is tracked and reported nationwide. Thank you for your continued support throughout this campaign. Please take a minute to thank Director Mueller and the FBI, who finally changed the archaic definition of rape. Together, we are helping to make sure that all rapes will be counted.

For women’s lives,

Ellie Smeal

Eleanor Smeal
President
Feminist Majority Foundation

GLAAD and HRC take out full page ad condemning new ABC “comedy” Work It

cassket:

ABC is set to premiere a not at all funny sitcom called Work It about two men who dress as women to get jobs. If you are not sure how this has any comedic value and think it only serves to hurt the trans community then you are not alone. Ridiculing people for who they are is in no way funny.

Variety ad condeming Work It

And fortunately the folks at GLAAD and the Human Rights Campaign have taken out a full page advertisement in Daily Variety, the industry newspaper, condemning the new show and also educating the public on the issues facing the trans community. It is all too rare that the media highlights something positivein the trans community and shows like Work It move us in the opposite direction.

Here’s an excerpt of the ad:

Since ABC has a record of positive portrayals of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, they should know how offensive this show is, and that it even has the potential to jeopardize the safety of many transgender Americans in the process.

Transgender Americans — who can be legally fired in 34 states today simply for being who they are — face an inordinate amount of workplace discrimination that images like those on Work It perpetuate. In fact, 97% of self-identified transgender people reported being harassed or abused at work, and 26% — that’s one in four — reported losing their jobs because they are transgender.

Click here to sign the petition to tell ABC that Work It Doesn’t Work It

(via transqueery)

Source: feministing.com

This transman is committed to making it better

Read more

…Until our LGBT and queer communities and the world at large acknowledge the violence and hatred that trans people – and especially trans women – face on a daily basis, I am committed to bringing awareness to the problem by calling out sexism, transphobia and trans-misogyny when I see it. This transman is committed to making it better for his fellow trans folk by being out, honest and courageous in the truth he speaks and writes. I encourage everyone reading to examine your own thoughts about gender conformity and to eliminate the language and fear that constricts each of us.

THE THIN WOMAN: Sex and romance

rev:

huruma:

Since I don’t believe that romantic love is any more meaningful than platonic attachment and should not be held to a higher standard, I disagree with the assumption that romantic relationships should progress toward some ‘higher goal’ rather than just being appreciated for what they are. If there’s no expectation for best friends to cohabit, I don’t see why romantic partners should view doing so as necessary or as proof of their ‘commitment’ to one another. Since platonic friends don’t have ceremonies to officialize their relationships, I don’t really see the point in weddings, even though I’m not opposed to them or cohabitation. Marriage as a legal institution, which evolved so men could legally own women as sexual property, should be abolished since it perpetuates the idea that romantic relationships warrant actually being legally recognized by the state in a way that the deepest emotional bonds between close platonic friends aren’t. I think a lot of the importance people place on romantic relationships ultimately comes down to the issue of procreation, since the point of marriage has traditionally been for men to ensure paternity by claiming ownership of their wives’ sexuality. Good platonic friends who want to raise children together should not have to be romantically interested in one another in order to do so. Aside from my issue with procreation in general (I think it would be a good idea if humans at least temporarily stopped reproducing, if not on the basis of risk aversion than for ecological reasons as well as the fact that any resources that will be spent on an unborn child could have been spent on already existing children), I don’t see anything wrong with platonic friends who aren’t romantically interested in one another living together and raising a child together, whether the child is adopted or the biological offspring of both, whether the parents are a heterosexual man and woman, two hetero women, 3 homosexual men etc. makes no difference to me. Actually, I think platonic love is a much better basis for deciding who to have or raise children with.

…

I believe jealousy is mostly a conditioned response based on the view of other people as sexual property, the erroneous belief that jealousy is ‘proof’ of truly valuing someone or maybe even the ego boost that someone is interested in you alone. Whether sexual jealousy is ‘hardwired’ in humans or not, I don’t see why it’s the one negative emotion people are expected to accept as inevitable and insatiable.

This is great. I recommend you click on the title to read the whole thing.

(via theanimalawake)

Source: huruma

garbagepizza: HIV is not a simple virus. It’s an epidemic fueled on sexism, homophobia, racism, transphobia and classism. Today on world aids day i challenge you to not linger in despair. I challenge you to demand changes to the broken system.
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garbagepizza:

HIV is not a simple virus. It’s an epidemic fueled on sexism, homophobia, racism, transphobia and classism. Today on world aids day i challenge you to not linger in despair. I challenge you to demand changes to the broken system.

(via ethanthegeek-deactivated2013042)

whenrobotsreproduce:

A friend of mine posted a picture of his daughter on facebook today wearing this, granted, pretty cute t-shirt with two glasses-wearing beavers that said, “Smart like Dad.” He commented that they’d tried to find one that said “Smart like Mommy,” too, but that the only alternative was “Pretty like Mommy.”

Yup. Nice to know that in 2011, kids still get to choose what they want to be: smart like a man or an object for other people’s viewing pleasure like a woman.

(via fuckyeahfeminists)

Source: search.gymboree.com

This might interest you :)

fuckyeahfeminists:

http://www.change.org/petitions/mcdonalds-restaurant-alter-your-sexist-packaging

It is a petition for Mcdonald’s to alter their sexist packaging, and make it equal for men and women. Please sign it, but If it’s not your cup of tea then maybe you can post it anyway. Thanks for your time, Jade :)