Is catcalling a crime?

Today we’re going to talk about an issue that’s been hot in the news lately: catcalling. There are a lot of mixed feelings in the media about how we should react to it, or whether or not it’s a bad thing. To many men it seems like a small issue, probably because they’ve never experienced it in their lives. So before we talk about it, let’s take a moment and consider how it makes women feel.

In the best-case scenario, catcalling makes us feel uncomfortable. In the worst-case scenario, it makes us afraid to walk down the street alone. So in reality, regardless of what kind of issue it is, if it’s appropriate, how much is appropriate, etc., it really comes down to this: it makes us uncomfortable, we don’t like it, you should respect us and stop. But for some people this simplicity is too overwhelming, and it becomes a much bigger issue.

Let’s take one sentence that I think encapsulates the absolute hypocrisy of this man’s argument. “Then carry a gun.” He spends a significant amount of time arguing that catcalling isn’t a problem and that women are overreacting, yet one of his final points is to carry a gun, perhaps the definition of an overreaction. And I think it’s crucial that we recognize that this is a huge part of the problem. Catcalling: instead of men changing their behavior, women should carry firearms. Why are we, as women, responsible for the inappropriate actions of men? We see this with rape too. In order to avoid being raped, I’m supposed to: never go out at night, always walk with a buddy, carry mace, have a rape whistle, learn some form of martial arts, and never wear anything that reveals my chest, thighs or ass. Why don’t we just teach people that rape is bad? And we shouldn’t do it? We as a society are approaching these issues all wrong. Instead of being proactive, we’re being reactive. Women (and men) get raped, so we have to change how we live our entire lives, instead of passing legislation and supporting a society where cases of rape are better handled.

Catcalling is the same principle – we’re approaching it the wrong way. Instead of finding solutions we’re choosing to put all the responsibility on the victims, rather than the oppressors. So I’d like to encourage everyone to look at the issues in a different light, where instead of punishing victims we actually hold society to a higher standard to help prevent these issues in the first place.

 

The Dating Game

So if you keep up with some of the seedier corners of the news world, you probably know about Julien Blanc. This self-proclaimed “dating coach” was actually kicked out of Australia because he was so offensive to the general public that they asked him to leave.

His misogynistic approach towards “dating” is infinitely closer to rape than romance, and it’s absolutely disgusting. As we addressed earlier, feminism does not mean that we are against men, but this is a man who is completely out of control. Not only does he violate women’s rights, but basic human rights and simply common decency. He incites men to commit acts of violence towards women, and is known for coining moves such as the “choke opener” and forcing women’s faces into his crotch. The co-founder of his company, Real Social Dynamics, even committed a rape and publicly showed the video on Youtube

This type of bigoted and violent behavior is unacceptable. Blanc even posts on his twitter and instagram with the hashtag #ChokingGirlsAroundTheWorld, featuring pictures of himself choking women around the globe. And yet, there are people that defend him and even started a petition in his defense.

I completely understand how difficult it is in the dating world (or the casual sex world, as it may be), and that sometimes nice guys need a little push. But that does not mean that condoning violence against women is suddenly appropriate or even legal. So you’re shy? Maybe try talking to a girl before you choke her. Or maybe just stop telling her about your mother (or whatever).

People with attitudes like Julien Blanc – that women are inferior, disposable and that it’s ok to do them harm if it’s “all in good fun” – are the problem. They perpetuate negative gender roles and stereotypes that chauvinists use as an excuse to commit heinous acts against women. It doesn’t matter if she’s a stripper, or an escort, or if she’s mean and rejected you in high school – this is not an excuse for violence. If a woman’s not interested in you, that’s her right. Get over it.

Sources for this article can be found here, here, here and here.

Spotlight: Laverne Cox

Our spotlight for today is Laverne Cox – actress, activist and artist. Many of you know her from her part of Sophia on Orange is the New Black, but I’d like to take a bit to discuss her amazing work in the fight for transgender equality. Miss Cox has written many powerful articles and critical pieces about the disparate treatment of transgendered individuals in this country and around the world – an injustice that is unfortunately still very prevalent in our society.

 

Laverne Cox is also a public speaker, an advocate for basic human rights. Her mission is simple, powerful and strong. She has also been an integral part of the documentary Free CeCe, the story of a persecuted transgender woman sent to a men’s prison. She’s a powerhouse in the movement towards gender equality and an inclusive society. Her work is influential, and she’s a great role model for all men and women.

Transgender acceptance is an integral part of gender equality and breaking down stereotypes that define and plague our society. If there’s prejudice towards women in society (which there is), then there is arguably even more prejudice towards transgenders, which is why it’s so important to embrace this movement. So I’d like to take a moment to thank Laverne Cox for all of her advocacy for those who have been repeatedly oppressed. You are an inspiration, and an important piece of the puzzle and progress that has been made so far.

The Princess Complex

So I’d love for everyone to check out this article and photo gallery which I think includes some really powerful images about women in the entertainment and how we view women as main characters, or heroes, both in life and in our digitalized worlds.

This photo gallery was created as a response to the severe feminization of Princess Merida from Pixar’s Brave. If you saw the previous post about the media’s reaction to Brave, I think you’ll know how we feel about the media’s response to her, so this is a fantastic reaction article.

Artist David Trumble created these drawings to show that it’s unrealistic for us as a society to continually pigeon hole women in this overly-feminized stereotype. He explained as such: “The statement I wanted to make was that it makes no sense to put these real-life women into one limited template, so why then are we doing it to our fictitious heroines?”

 

And he’s absolutely right. And for those that would like to argue “it’s only a movie,” let’s not forget that movies and the entertainment industry do in fact play an important role in our society. What we see affects us, including the perpetuation of women as damsels in distress in something that seems simple, like a movie.

 

The Burden of Proof

At the end of October the Washington State Supreme Court gave a ruling stating that the burden of proof cannot be put on rape defendants to prove that their victims gave consent. (An article with more details can be found here.)

The state laws previous required that defendants charged with rape had to prove with a preponderance of evidence that consent was given in order to escape conviction. In response to their new ruling they stated that it was the prosecutor’s responsibility to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that a crime had take place, not the other way around.

Originally Washington law forced rape victims to prove they had not consented – which discouraged victims from reporting, and led to the change shifted the burden of proof regarding consent to the defendant. Only now the supreme court is claiming that this is a misinterpretation of the law.

While I understand that in the letter of our laws traditionally places the burden of proof on the prosecution, there’s seems something strange about it all. If the victim doesn’t have to prove they didn’t consent and now the assailant doesn’t have to prove that they did, where does the burden of proof lie? This decision seems to make it even more unclear, and critics think it will make it harder to prosecute sex offenders.

I think it’s difficult to maintain a balance of fairness and equity in the court systems – you want to make sure that true criminals are convicted, but also that innocent people don’t get sent to prison for crimes they didn’t commit. I know that this is no easy task, but I’m also not sure that this reformed legislation will make it any easier.

Just a little girl power

Shout out to Ellie Goulding for not putting up with any of the bs.

 

It’s not just women

BuzzFeed recently published this article, a series of photographs of 25 men who quote their sexual assailants to the camera. The images themselves are very powerful and the quotes are absolutely heart-wrenching. The article is a part of a series of Project Unbreakable, an inspiring online platform that gives victims an outlet to increase awareness of sexual assault and a resource for survivors.

It seems that every time there is a case of male rape (especially by a female assailant), there’s a plethora of comments along the lines of “why is he complaining?” “but he got laid!” or, “don’t tell me he didn’t enjoy it.”

And these have got to stop.

People seem to think that because many men have a strong sex drive, that somehow absolves their rapists. It doesn’t. Rape is rape. No matter what gender the victim or the assailant is. And rape and sexual assault are problems that many men have to live with, just like women and transgendered individuals.

This BuzzFeed article got over 600,000 notes on tumblr, a most of them showed an amazing spirit of community and support for these victims. We cannot stress enough that a victim (or a survivor) is a victim regardless of age, race, gender or sexual orientation.

 

Thank you, Louie C.K.

Let’s not forget how impactful comedy and other forms of popular media can be in the fight against things like catcalling, harassment and assault. The jokes are entertaining, but they have a hard truth to them that we shouldn’t ignore. But thank you, Louie C.K., for taking a stand against the objectification of women.

 

The True Face of Sexual Harassment

A lot of people don’t realize how prevalent sexual harassment is in the workplace – not just in America, but across the globe. Though many claim that women are “overreacting” and that actions or words treated as sexual harassment were “misconstrued,” the fact of the matter is, is that the line between appropriate and inappropriate office behavior isn’t that hard to spot. And that goes both ways, for both genders. Sexual harassment does not become okay because a male victim is supposed to “like it” or feel lucky for the attention.

In the United States, 1 in 4 women report sexual harassment in the workplace. (Article found here.)

Over 70% of women in the European Union have reported sexual harassment in their work as well. (Article found here.)

In Wales, 1 in 4 women reported being sexually harassed while they were out in public. (Article found here.)

And these are just numbers found in countries that complete thorough statistics and surveys on a large sample of their population. Imagine what we would find if we could ask every woman in the world about the time or times she has been sexually harassed.

I think we would be shocked with the results.

But let’s look back at these numbers. At least 25% of women (and that’s probably conservative) going out for drinks or going into work, have been sexually harassed. But what does that even mean? It means they’ve been touched in appropriately, others have made unwanted sexual advances towards them, or they’ve been spoken to or called disparaging sexual names.

I wouldn’t call this an overreaction. Even if you’d like to argue that these men or women committing the act of harassment don’t have bad intentions (however far you’d like to imagine those to be), the intentions, in the end, are not the issue. The issue is that this makes us feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, ashamed or unsafe, and it’s inappropriate in pretty much every setting.

This is unacceptable. In order to to change society, we have to change as individuals. This means that if you see something (or if something happens to you) you have to say something. I know that’s easier said than done, but it would make you feel better and hopefully encourage this person to change their behavior. And there are, in some countries at least, legal and organizational protection for victims of sexual harassment in the workplace – so don’t forget to educate yourself.

It only takes one person to be the difference they want to see in the world.

Spotlight: Joss Whedon

This post’s person of honor is Joss Whedon – talented artist of self-proclaimed feminist. In an interview he did with Vulture Magazine he eloquently described what it takes to be a male feminist in today’s society.

“Action is the best way to say anything. A guy who goes around saying “I’m a feminist” usually has an agenda that is not feminist. A guy who behaves like one, who actually becomes involved in the movement, generally speaking, you can trust that. And it doesn’t just apply to the action that is activist. It applies to the way they treat the women they work with and they live with and they see on the street.”

The core of Half The World’s mission statement is bringing men together with women in the discussion about feminism and women’s rights. That’s why it’s fantastic that such a prominent male role model is speaking out in this positive way – and hopefully others will follow in his footsteps.

Whedon does a great job of connecting the feminism theory to the practical applications in the workplace and everyday life. We as a society need to change the way we think about women, and how we act around them before any real change can happen. So often misogyny becomes trivialized in daily life and people like to say “oh, you’re just overreacting.” But it’s the truth. If we can’t change how we view women and women’s right on an individual level, we’ll never change it on a societal level.

But Joss Whedon’s on board, so I think we’re off to a decent start.