Misogyny and Sexism in the News

[Kobi]

Each year, an ever-increasing number of men, women and their families are joining the award-winning Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®: The International Men's March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence. A Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® Event is a playful opportunity for men to raise awareness in their community about the serious causes, effects and remediations to sexualized violence.

There is an old saying: "You can't really understand another person's experience until you've walked a mile in their shoes." Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® asks men to literally walk one mile in women's high-heeled shoes. It's not easy walking in these shoes, but it's fun and it gets the community to talk about something that's really difficult to talk about: gender relations and sexual violence.










http://walkamileinhershoes.org/

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This campaign, started by a man, is perhaps well intentioned but really irks me. From the red stiletto on the web banner, to the pictures of men in fashionable heels, to the "tips for walking in heels" suggestions, it stinks of stereotypical images and perceptions of women, and of how a woman dresses invites sexual assault.

"A playful opportunity for men to raise awareness in their community about the serious causes, effects and remediation's to sexualized violence." Playful and sexual violence are two concepts that should never be associated.

I find it very sexist. Is it just me?

[Kobi]

Like the infamous Evolution Campaign, this new Dove promotion is quite compelling. After publishing research showing that 60% of girls drop out of sports because of body-image issues, the company is out with a new ad campaign focusing on adult women's distorted self-image.

In the video, women are instructed to sit down in a room and to answer questions about them. A man asks them to talk about their facial features. Little do they know that they are being sketched by an FBI trained forensic artist.

After the women self-describe with words like: "big jaw", "protruding chin", "fat rounder face," and "pretty big forehead" they are asked to leave the room without seeing the drawing. After, the same women are asked to come back but this time they are describing another woman rather than themselves. The descriptions suddenly get more positive. She has "bright eyes that lite up when she spoke" and a "nice thin chin." The forensic artist uses these descriptions to draw a new sketch of the same women.

When the female subjects are shown the two drawings, they are dumbstruck. The difference between how others see them and how they view themselves is so shocking that some of them are brought to tears.

"I should be more grateful to my natural beauty. It impacts the choices and the friends that we make, the jobs we apply for and the way we treat our children. It impacts everything. It couldn't be more impactful to our happiness" says one of the women.

We spend a lot of time as women trying to analyze and fix the things that aren't quite right and we should spend time appreciating the things that are right" explains another.

Because the video is powerful, it doesn't mean it's perfect. It's true that women are way too harsh on themselves, but this campaign seems to imply that it's somehow from fault of their own. Sure, women should actively avoid self-defeating thoughts about their appearance, but is realistic to exclusively blame women for feeling bad about their bodies? Dove is owned by Unilever, who also owns Axe, a notoriously misogynistic brand that only values females for their sexual currency. It's companies like Axe that promote the idea that women are simply ornamental and to be appreciated for their body. Isn't paradoxical that Axe's marketing strategies feed the insecurities that Dove purports to be countering?

Objectification isn't just something feminists came up with to confuse chauvinistic pigs, it's an actual psychological term. Researchers interested in the topic have shown that "objectification theory" is the process by which a societal focus on the female body as object impacts women’s understanding of their own bodies as defined through external characteristics rather than internal cues. Women come to understanding their bodies through the perspective of an outsider rather than through a process of introspective thought. Because of this mind-set, women tend to be more critical of themselves because they are taught to police their bodies.

It goes without saying that self-objectification is linked to mental problems such as anxiety, body shame, reduced probability for peak motivation and diminished awareness of internal bodily states. Women come to rely on others for validation because that's how they come to view themselves: through others.

Research on self-objectification also explores the extricable link between self-objectification and women's unhappiness. It turns out that the more women self-objectify, the more unhappy they are. Objectification interrupts the state of flow, which is fundamentally necessary in the pursuit of happiness.

Feeling unhappy because of your body. Not being able to see your own beauty until someone else points it out. Does this sound familiar? Looks like the women in the Dove's video are suffering from a mean case of self-objectification! So what's the best remedy for it? According to experts, the best place to start is by reducing the number of images that portray female objectification. If Dove is so committed to their self-esteem campaign, maybe they should start by walking across the hall to whatever ding-bags are creating Axe commercials and tell them to knock it off. Instead of trying to fix women's self-esteem, let's prevent it from being shattered in the first place.

http://www.policymic.com/articles/35...than-you-think

[Kobi]

Reuters) - A New Jersey principal's ban on strapless dresses at a junior high school dance because they would be "distracting" to boys has enraged parents, who called on Tuesday for its reversal on the grounds it violates their daughters' constitutional rights.

The dress code shreds the 14th Amendment right to equal protection since girls for the past six years have been wearing sleeveless fashions to the dance at Readington Middle School in Readington Township, New Jersey, said parent Charlotte Nijenhuis.

Parents petitioned the school board on Tuesday to overturn the policy before the June 12th dance.

The school's principal, Sharon Moffat, said in a letter last month that a "dress with straps" was the only style that would be allowed.

Nijenhuis said she called Moffat to ask why strapless dresses had been forbidden. "She told me, ‘It is because it's distracting to boys and inappropriate','" Nijenhuis said.

Moffat did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Another parent, Michelle D'Amico, said she was "livid" that her 14-year-old daughter was being prevented from wearing the same strapless dress that her older daughter had worn six years ago. "It's completely unjust," D'Amico said.

The Readington Township School District said in a statement on Tuesday that it "has a policy regarding dress code which is being universally applied to the school day and school events. We regret that a small number of families are upset by this and we welcome their input and communication."

At least one student, Claudine Nijenhuis, 14, said she planned to defy the ban and press her right to bare arms.

"Basically by saying 'it distracts the boys' you're also saying that it is our fault on how they control their own behavior," the teenager wrote in a letter to the principal. "I will still be attending the dinner dance function, but I will also be wearing a dress with no straps."

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/jersey-pare...192227543.html

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It is refreshing to see a 14 year old woman who understands and addresses the sexism in this. Maybe it will help the female principal look at her internalized sexism and blaming the victim mentality.

[femmeInterrupted]

Originally Posted by Kobi

Each year, an ever-increasing number of men, women and their families are joining the award-winning Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®: The International Men's March to Stop Rape, Sexual Assault & Gender Violence. A Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® Event is a playful opportunity for men to raise awareness in their community about the serious causes, effects and remediations to sexualized violence.

There is an old saying: "You can't really understand another person's experience until you've walked a mile in their shoes." Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® asks men to literally walk one mile in women's high-heeled shoes. It's not easy walking in these shoes, but it's fun and it gets the community to talk about something that's really difficult to talk about: gender relations and sexual violence.










http://walkamileinhershoes.org/

-----------------------------------------


This campaign, started by a man, is perhaps well intentioned but really irks me. From the red stiletto on the web banner, to the pictures of men in fashionable heels, to the "tips for walking in heels" suggestions, it stinks of stereotypical images and perceptions of women, and of how a woman dresses invites sexual assault.

"A playful opportunity for men to raise awareness in their community about the serious causes, effects and remediation's to sexualized violence." Playful and sexual violence are two concepts that should never be associated.

I find it very sexist. Is it just me?

It's not just you.
I'm very familiar with the work of the White Ribbon Campaign, from which this endeavour sprang forth.

There is something deeply sexist about the message it brings. The 'amusement factor' of watch men tromp down the road in stiletto heels aside, there's something very 'publicity stunty' about the whole thing. Is the best way to bring issues of male violence to women ( sexual or not) by wearing your mother's or girlfriends high heels and assuming that 'walking a mile in her shoes' is going to make a difference? Let's face it, heels on or not, the power imbalance in the gender divide, and the resultant violence and oppression it brings isn't brought to surface by what feels like a well intentioned ally effort, but none the less, is still sexist. The notion that by walking in high heels they have actually 'felt what it's like to be a woman walking through this world' is as ridiculous as a white person donning black face and 'walking a a person on colour through this world' to high light racism and the violence it brings.

My other issue is creating an 'amusing' connection with sexual violence. There is no "humorous light" to sexual assault. There is no brevity and fun to it, during or after. When seen through the lens of survivors, it becomes a disgusting display. Again, the ally-ship is appreciated, but I am left with the feeling that this was and is a 'gimmick'.

[Kobi]

TOKYO (AP) — An outspoken nationalist mayor said the Japanese military's forced prostitution of Asian women before and during World War II was necessary to "maintain discipline" in the ranks and provide rest for soldiers who risked their lives in battle.

The comments made Monday are already raising ire in neighboring countries that bore the brunt of Japan's wartime aggression and have long complained that Japan has failed to fully atone for wartime atrocities.

Toru Hashimoto, the young, brash mayor of Osaka who is co-leader of an emerging conservative political party, also said that U.S. troops currently based in southern Japan should patronize the local sex industry more to help reduce rapes and other assaults.

Hashimoto told reporters on Monday that there wasn't clear evidence that the Japanese military had coerced women to become what are euphemistically called "comfort women" before and during World War II.

"To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time," Hashimoto said. "For soldiers who risked their lives in circumstances where bullets are flying around like rain and wind, if you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. That's clear to anyone."

Historians say up to 200,000 women, mainly from the Korean Peninsula and China, were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers in military brothels.

China's Foreign Ministry criticized the mayor's comments and saw them as further evidence of a rightward drift in Japanese politics under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"We are appalled and indignant about the Japanese politician's comments boldly challenging humanity and historical justice," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily media briefing. "The way they treat the past will determine the way Japan walks toward the future. On what choice Japan will make, the Asian neighbors and the international community will wait and see."

Asked about a photo of Abe posing in a fighter jet with the number 731 — the number of a notorious, secret Japanese unit that performed chemical and biological experiments on Chinese in World War II — Hong again urged Japan not to whitewash history so as to improve relations with countries that suffered under Japanese occupation.

"There is a mountain of definitive iron-hard evidence for the crimes they committed in the Second World War. We hope Japan will face and contemplate their history of aggression and treat it correctly," Hong said.

Abe posed, thumbs up, in the aircraft during a weekend visit to northeastern Japan.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed disappointment over what it called a senior Japanese official's serious lack of historical understanding and respect for women's rights. It asked Japan's leaders to reflect on their country's imperial past, including grave human rights violations, and correct anachronistic historical views.

Hashimoto said he recently visited Okinawa in southern Japan and told the U.S. commander there "to make better use of the sex industry."

"He froze, and then with a wry smile said that is off-limits for the U.S. military," he said.

"I told him that there are problems because of such formalities," Hashimoto said, explaining that he was not referring to illegal prostitution but to places operating within the law. "If you don't make use of those places you cannot properly control the sexual energy of those tough guys."

Calls to the after-hours number for U.S. Forces in Japan were not answered.

Hashimoto's comments came amid continuing criticism of Abe's earlier pledges to revise Japan's past apologies for wartime atrocities. Before he took office in December, Abe had advocated revising a 1993 statement by then Prime Minister Yohei Kono acknowledging and expressing remorse for the suffering caused to the sexual slaves of Japanese troops.

Abe has acknowledged "comfort women" existed but has denied they were coerced into prostitution, citing a lack of official evidence.

Recently, top officials in Abe's government have appeared to backpedal on suggestions the government might revise those apologies, apparently hoping to ease tensions with South Korea and China and address U.S. concerns about Abe's nationalist agenda.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga repeated the previous government position and said those women went through unbearable pain.

"The stance of the Japanese government on the comfort women issue is well known. They have suffered unspeakably painful experiences. The Abe Cabinet has the same sentiments as past Cabinets," he said.

Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura said Hashimoto's remark was unhelpful given the criticism Japan faces from neighboring countries and the U.S. over its interpretation of history.

"A series of remarks related to our interpretation of (wartime) history have been already misunderstood. In that sense, Mr. Hashimoto's remark came at a bad time," Shimomura told reporters. "I wonder if there is any positive meaning to intentionally make such remarks at this particular moment."

Hashimoto, 43, is co-head of the newly formed Japan Restoration Party with former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who is a strident nationalist.

Sakihito Ozawa, the party's parliamentary affairs chairman, said he believed Hashimoto's remarks reflected his personal views, but he expressed concerns about possible repercussions.

"We should ask his real intentions and stop this at some point," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-mayor...042050746.html

[femmeInterrupted]

Originally Posted by Kobi

TOKYO (AP) — An outspoken nationalist mayor said the Japanese military's forced prostitution of Asian women before and during World War II was necessary to "maintain discipline" in the ranks and provide rest for soldiers who risked their lives in battle.

The comments made Monday are already raising ire in neighboring countries that bore the brunt of Japan's wartime aggression and have long complained that Japan has failed to fully atone for wartime atrocities.

Toru Hashimoto, the young, brash mayor of Osaka who is co-leader of an emerging conservative political party, also said that U.S. troops currently based in southern Japan should patronize the local sex industry more to help reduce rapes and other assaults.

Hashimoto told reporters on Monday that there wasn't clear evidence that the Japanese military had coerced women to become what are euphemistically called "comfort women" before and during World War II.

"To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time," Hashimoto said. "For soldiers who risked their lives in circumstances where bullets are flying around like rain and wind, if you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. That's clear to anyone."

Historians say up to 200,000 women, mainly from the Korean Peninsula and China, were forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers in military brothels.

China's Foreign Ministry criticized the mayor's comments and saw them as further evidence of a rightward drift in Japanese politics under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"We are appalled and indignant about the Japanese politician's comments boldly challenging humanity and historical justice," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily media briefing. "The way they treat the past will determine the way Japan walks toward the future. On what choice Japan will make, the Asian neighbors and the international community will wait and see."

Asked about a photo of Abe posing in a fighter jet with the number 731 — the number of a notorious, secret Japanese unit that performed chemical and biological experiments on Chinese in World War II — Hong again urged Japan not to whitewash history so as to improve relations with countries that suffered under Japanese occupation.

"There is a mountain of definitive iron-hard evidence for the crimes they committed in the Second World War. We hope Japan will face and contemplate their history of aggression and treat it correctly," Hong said.

Abe posed, thumbs up, in the aircraft during a weekend visit to northeastern Japan.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry expressed disappointment over what it called a senior Japanese official's serious lack of historical understanding and respect for women's rights. It asked Japan's leaders to reflect on their country's imperial past, including grave human rights violations, and correct anachronistic historical views.

Hashimoto said he recently visited Okinawa in southern Japan and told the U.S. commander there "to make better use of the sex industry."

"He froze, and then with a wry smile said that is off-limits for the U.S. military," he said.

"I told him that there are problems because of such formalities," Hashimoto said, explaining that he was not referring to illegal prostitution but to places operating within the law. "If you don't make use of those places you cannot properly control the sexual energy of those tough guys."

Calls to the after-hours number for U.S. Forces in Japan were not answered.

Hashimoto's comments came amid continuing criticism of Abe's earlier pledges to revise Japan's past apologies for wartime atrocities. Before he took office in December, Abe had advocated revising a 1993 statement by then Prime Minister Yohei Kono acknowledging and expressing remorse for the suffering caused to the sexual slaves of Japanese troops.

Abe has acknowledged "comfort women" existed but has denied they were coerced into prostitution, citing a lack of official evidence.

Recently, top officials in Abe's government have appeared to backpedal on suggestions the government might revise those apologies, apparently hoping to ease tensions with South Korea and China and address U.S. concerns about Abe's nationalist agenda.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga repeated the previous government position and said those women went through unbearable pain.

"The stance of the Japanese government on the comfort women issue is well known. They have suffered unspeakably painful experiences. The Abe Cabinet has the same sentiments as past Cabinets," he said.

Education Minister Hakubun Shimomura said Hashimoto's remark was unhelpful given the criticism Japan faces from neighboring countries and the U.S. over its interpretation of history.

"A series of remarks related to our interpretation of (wartime) history have been already misunderstood. In that sense, Mr. Hashimoto's remark came at a bad time," Shimomura told reporters. "I wonder if there is any positive meaning to intentionally make such remarks at this particular moment."

Hashimoto, 43, is co-head of the newly formed Japan Restoration Party with former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who is a strident nationalist.

Sakihito Ozawa, the party's parliamentary affairs chairman, said he believed Hashimoto's remarks reflected his personal views, but he expressed concerns about possible repercussions.

"We should ask his real intentions and stop this at some point," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/japanese-mayor...042050746.html

This is terrible. There is TONS of evidence, including survivor testimonials, that this systemic rape took place. Shame on him!

http://www.amnesty.org.nz/files/Comf...-factsheet.pdf

[Kobi]

Originally Posted by femmeInterrupted

This is terrible. There is TONS of evidence, including survivor testimonials, that this systemic rape took place. Shame on him!

http://www.amnesty.org.nz/files/Comf...-factsheet.pdf

What was making me speechless was the convenient reframing of what occured in an attempt to make it not only acceptable but necessary.

"To maintain discipline in the military, it must have been necessary at that time," Hashimoto said. "For soldiers who risked their lives in circumstances where bullets are flying around like rain and wind, if you want them to get some rest, a comfort women system was necessary. That's clear to anyone."

That one statement, the attitude and beliefs it suggests is the hallmarks of the patriarchial and paternal bullshit which perpetuates and fuels sexism and misogyny.

To hear someone attempt to dismiss it as "necessary" in 2013 is disturbing. Is also a good reminder why the war on women keeps rearing its ugly head all over the world.

[femmeInterrupted]

Originally Posted by Kobi

To hear someone attempt to dismiss it as "necessary" in 2013 is disturbing. Is also a good reminder why the war on women keeps rearing its ugly head all over the world.

That's the exact truth of it.
I can't even understand how anyone can NOT SEE that. Especially women.

[Kobi]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers say they're outraged that for the second time this month a member of the armed forces assigned to help prevent sexual assaults in the military is under investigation for alleged sexual misconduct.

The back-to-back Army and Air Force cases highlight a problem that is drawing increased scrutiny in Congress and expressions of frustration from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Lawmakers said it was time for Hagel to get tough with the military brass.

"This is sickening. Twice now, in a matter of as many weeks, we've seen the very people charged with protecting victims of sexual assault being charged as perpetrators," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said. "It's an astonishing reminder that the Pentagon has both a major problem on its hands and a tremendous amount of work to do to assure victims — who already only report a small fraction of sexual assaults — that they are changing the culture around these heinous crimes.

"Secretary Hagel needs to act swiftly to re-examine sexual assault services across the department to ensure that these disturbing betrayals of trust are ended," Murray said.

Hagel said he was directing all the services to retrain, re-credential and rescreen all sexual assault prevention and response personnel and military recruiters, his spokesman, George Little, said after Tuesday's announcement that a sergeant first class at Fort Hood, Texas, was accused of pandering, abusive sexual contact, assault and maltreatment of subordinates.

The soldier, whose name was not released, was being investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Command. No charges had been filed.

Little said Hagel was angry and disappointed at "these troubling allegations and the breakdown in discipline and standards they imply." He said Hagel met with Army Secretary John McHugh earlier Tuesday and ordered him to "fully investigate this matter rapidly, to discover the extent of these allegations and to ensure that all of those who might be involved are dealt with appropriately."

The Fort Hood soldier had been assigned as an equal opportunity adviser and coordinator of a sexual harassment-assault prevention program at the Army's 3rd Corps headquarters when the allegation arose, the Army said.

"To protect the integrity of the investigative process and the rights of all persons involved, no more information will be released at this time," an Army statement said.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., said in a statement he was "outraged and disgusted by the reports out of Fort Hood."

McKeon, noting he has a granddaughter in the Army, said he saw "no meaningful distinction between complacency or complicity in the military's latest failure to uphold their own standards of conduct. Nor do I see a distinction between the service member who orchestrated this offense and the chain of command that was either oblivious to or tolerant of criminal behavior. Both are accountable for this appalling breach of trust with their subordinates."

He called on Hagel to conduct a review of the military and its civilian leadership "to determine whether they continue to hold his trust and his confidence to lead in this area."

Just last week an Air Force officer who headed a sexual assault prevention office was himself arrested on charges of groping a woman in a Northern Virginia parking lot.

Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement his panel was considering a number of measures to counter the problem, including changes to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and will act on them next month.

"Tragically, the depth of the sexual assault problem in our military was already overwhelmingly clear before this latest highly disturbing report," Levin said.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said she intends to present new comprehensive legislation on Thursday to overhaul the military justice system by removing chain-of-command influence from prosecution of sex abuse crimes.

"To say this report is disturbing would be a gross understatement," Gillibrand said.

"The sad thing is that this is not a unique case,"Anu Bhagwati, former Marine captain and executive director of the Service Women's Action Network, said in an interview. "Week after week, we're hearing of cases across the branches of military leaders taking advantage of their positions of authority. "

The Pentagon is struggling with what it calls a growing epidemic of sexual assaults across the military. In a report last week, the Defense Department estimated that as many as 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted last year, based on survey results.

Of those, fewer than 3,400 reported the incident, and nearly 800 of them simply sought help but declined to file formal complaints against their alleged attackers.

There also is an ongoing investigation into more than 30 Air Force instructors for assaults on trainees at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, and the recent arrest of the Air Force's head of sexual assault prevention on charges of groping a woman.

An Arlington County, Va., police report said Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Krusinski was drunk and grabbed a woman's breast and buttocks in a parking lot earlier this month. The woman fought him off and called police, the report said. A judge has set a July 18 trial date for Krusinski.

Congressional anger over these incidents and two recent decisions by officers to overturn juries' guilty verdicts in sexual assault cases has precipitated a storm of criticism on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is holding up the nomination of Air Force Lt. Gen. Susan Helms, tapped to serve as vice commander of the U.S. Space Command, until McCaskill gets more information about Helms' decision to overturn a jury conviction in a sexual assault case.