The Washington Post’s Express magazine used the symbol for masculinity to illustrate a report on a women’s march on Washington (Source: Washington Post Express).
No comment. Just the standard head shake.
Via Raw Story.
I came across this wonderful response to the phrase ‘man up’ thanks to Wisconsin senator Steve Nass, who is all manner of bent over a course at UW-Madison: “Unpacking Masculinity At UW-Madison” and seeks to address the ways “media, hook up culture, alcohol, violence, pop culture” create expectations of masculinity.
Sen. Nass was terribly alarmed, and fired off an email:
Sen. Steve Nass, a frequent UW System critic, sent an email to his fellow lawmakers on Wednesday entitled “UW-Madison Declares War on Men and their Masculinity — Not a Joke.” The email accuses UW-Madison of being part of a national liberal effort to rid male students of their “toxic masculinity.”
“Our friends at UW-Madison, not happy enough with labeling ‘whiteness’ as a societal problem, now are attacking another social ill …, Men and their masculinity,” the email says.
“The supposedly underfunded and overworked administrators at our flagship campus have scrapped (sic) together enough dollars to offer a six-week program open only to ‘men-identified students,” the email goes on. “In short, the highly paid leaders at UW-Madison now believe that Wisconsin mothers and fathers have done a poor job of raising their boys by trying to instill in them the values and characteristics necessary in becoming a Man.”
The email concludes by encouraging legislators to reform the UW System in the next state budget.
What Sen. Nass misses entirely is that a lot of young men are seeking paths through all the baggage hanging from the concept of masculinity so that they can be themselves, in happiness, in pride, and in security. Why that would be awful, when toxic masculinity is right there, after all, it’s worked for thousands of years, right?
I visited the course site, and it all looks good to me, I wish such courses were all over the place.
Via Associated Press and Raw Story.
The competition for Phobie of the Year was devilish in 2016, but one man out-hated all the rest. Pat McCrory, the outgoing governor of North Carolina, even outdid Vice President-elect Mike Pence.
At least in Indiana, where Pence was governor, he backed down when business representing millions of dollars threatened to leave the state over its Religious Freedom Restoration Act — also known as a “license to discriminate.” Pence signed a fix to the law so discriminating against LGBT people wasn’t allowed under the RFRA’s protections. In North Carolina, though, even as jobs left the state and performers canceled concerts and millions piled up in lost revenue, McCrory and Republicans refused to rethink what they passed in House Bill 2.
Lawmakers hadn’t approved a RFRA exactly. Instead, they passed a law banning any locality from including LGBT people in antidiscrimination ordinances. In other words, they wanted to ensure that discrimination against LGBT people remains legal no matter where you go in North Carolina. They also barred transgender people from using the bathroom that matches their gender identity in any government building, without citing a single incident caused in North Carolina by letting transgender people use the bathroom of their choice.
There’s much more at The Advocate, including the Phobie Finalists:
Some of the biggest names in the comic book industry are contributing their talents to Love Is Love, a 144-page comic book made in collaboration by IDW Publishing and DC Comics to benefit Equality Florida, and honor the victims, survivors, and families of the attack at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.
Contributors include Brian Michael Bendis, Gail Simone, Scott Snyder, Grant Morrison, Jock, Cat Staggs, Paul Dini, James Asmus, Ming Doyle, and a ton more as well as names outside of the comic industry like Damon Lindelof, Patton Oswalt, and Patty Jenkins.
This oversize comic contains moving and heartfelt material from some of the greatest talent in comics, mourning the victims, supporting the survivors, celebrating the LGBTQ community, and examining love in today’s world. All material has been kindly donated by the writers, artists, and editors with all proceeds going to victims, survivors, and their families.
Eeeeeeeeeee. They’re here. :D
Pretty, ain’t it?
We found ourselves right away, here’s Dakota Greasemonkey.
And me.
The internal marker on mine was placed on my suggestion of George Takei.
If you missed out, you can still get one!
Warwick Players: (left) Lucas; (center) Cian; (right) Tom.
A message, from the always fabulous Warwick Rowers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVxVRO-rLmc
The video is also available at warwickrowers.org.
As Plus previously reported, there has been a 147 percent increase in homophobic attacks in the United Kingdom since the Brexit vote, and the men’s Warwick rowing team worries the recent Trump victory will amplify this globally. So, three of its players did exactly what they had to do: strip naked and send a Christmas message to Trump and Pence themselves.
Lucas, Tom, and Cian (all members of the team) stripped in front of Westminster, the seat of British government and spoke directly to world leaders, urging them to speak against the growing resentment of minority, women’s and LGBT rights across the globe.
“We are here because we have a message for the new leadership team in the United States and for all leaders around the world,” Lucas said.
“As straight allies,” Tom chimed in. “We believe that everyone should have the same human rights, regardless of gender or sexual identity.
“And as athletes,” added Ciao, “we believe that sport can play a vital role in creating an inclusive, healthy and happy world for everyone.”
“This year, as every year,” said Lucas, “we have shed our clothes as a symbol of breaking down barriers, a demonstration of the contribution that sport can make to health and wellbeing [one or more guys flexes their guns, tenses their abs, etc], and as a reminder that we are all equals in this challenging journey called life.”
“So, President Elect Trump and Vice President Elect Pence,” Tom pronounced, “We’re sending you our world famous calendar. In it, as here, we stand naked in front of the world to do what we can to make a difference.”
Via Plus.
The Ark is lit up with a big totally-not-gay rainbow.
Ken Ham has decorated the “ark” with xmas lights, in a bid to take back the rainbow from all those icky queer folk.
On his website this week, Ham announced that he would be lighting up the Ark in rainbow colours as a Christmas treat.
He wrote: “Our special Christmas event at the Ark Encounter started on Friday, December 16. We’ve decorated the whole Ark property with beautiful Christmas lights. And, for added ‘wow factor’, we’ve lit the whole Ark in beautiful rainbow colors. It’s gorgeous at night!”
Simply gorgeous, dahling.
However, he wants to make crystal clear that it’s not rainbow as in ‘gay’, but rainbow as in ‘God will bring death to sinners’.
Ham wrote: “In recent times the rainbow has come to represent… the LGBTQ movement.
“Indeed when the US Supreme Court legalized gay ‘marriage’ last year, the White House was lit up in rainbow colors.
“Sadly, people ignore what God intended the rainbow to represent and proudly wave rainbow-colored flags in defiance of God’s command and design for marriage.
“Because of this, many Christians shy away from using the rainbow colors. But the rainbow was a symbol of God’s promises before the LGBTQ movement—and will continue to be after that movement has ended.
“As Christians, we need to take the rainbow back and teach our young people its true meaning.”
Ham then prophesied a global catastrophe that will exterminate sinners like gay people.
He wrote: “Although God promised He would never judge the earth with a global Flood again, He is coming to judge sinful mankind a second time. This coming judgment won’t be with water but with fire.”
Right. So, you want to teach children that the rainbow is a symbol of El Shaddai’s promise he’s really, truly over his genocidal tantrums, but of course, that promise only applied to grisly deaths by water, and the fire is coming. Christianity, warped to the core.
Via Pink News.
Roy Cooper (Wake Forest University/Flickr).
Following a surprise move by the Charlotte City Council, Gov.-elect Roy Cooper said Monday that Legislative leaders have promised him to call a special session Tuesday to repeal House Bill 2.
“Senate Leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore assured me that as a result of Charlotte’s vote, a special session will be called for Tuesday to repeal HB 2 in full,” Cooper said in a statement. “I hope they will keep their word to me and with the help of Democrats in the legislature, HB2 will be repealed in full.
“Full repeal will help to bring jobs, sports and entertainment events back and will provide the opportunity for strong LGBT protections in our state.”
Cooper’s announcement followed the Charlotte City Council’s 10-0 vote Monday morning to rescind the LGBT ordinance that prompted House Bill 2.
One piece of great news, on a day which is going to be an all around bad one for those of us who aren’t into fascism.
The Charlotte Observer has the full story.
From Think Progress: Charlotte surprisingly repeals LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance in advance of hyped HB2 repeal.
In a 10–0 vote, the Charlotte City Council abruptly repealed the city’s LGBT nondiscrimination ordinance Monday morning in what appears to be a deal with the North Carolina legislature to repeal HB2. This is a compromise they’ve rejected twice before, and it’s unclear what motivates their sudden faith that state lawmakers will actually put an end to the discriminatory law.
Indeed, there’s every reason to believe that both Charlotte and Governor-elect Roy Cooper (D) have been duped.
The Religious Reich have a Xmas wish list, one they fully expect Santa Trump to fulfill. Just the wish list here, click over to Right Wing Watch for the grisly details.
After jettisoning all of their rhetoric about public morality and personal character in order to help Donald Trump get elected, Religious Right activists are now hoping the president-elect fulfills the promises he made to the social conservative movement during his campaign.
Trump, who received the support of around eight in ten white evangelical voters, spent months boasting that he is a “great Christian” who will restore the long-lost holiday of Christmas and create “the strongest Christian lobby.”
[…]
“Like President-elect Trump, we have much to celebrate this Christmas season,” the National Right to Life Committee declared in its December newsletter, rejoicing in Trump’s anti-choice policies and Cabinet picks.
As Christmas approaches, Religious Right activists are reminding Trump of the good deeds they did to help elect him and demanding that he, in turn, deliver on his promises. Here are just 12 of the gifts the Religious Right is expecting from Trump in the new year:
- Nominate conservatives to the Supreme Court.
- Repeal the Affordable Care Act.
- Sign the First Amendment Defense Act.
- Rescind Nondiscrimination Protections.
- Defund and Investigate Planned Parenthood.
- Reinstate the Mexico City Policy.
- Codify The Hyde Amendment.
- Sign a 20-week Abortion Ban.
- Sign The Conscience Protection Act.
- Repeal The Johnson Amendment.
- Federal Voucher Funding.
- Curb Immigration, Ban Muslims and Stop Refugee Resettlement.
The details aren’t pretty. If all this is managed, we’ll be well past the welcome to fascism stage. Via Right Wing Watch.
If you missed out on The Gay Agenda Kickstarter (the agendas are almost ready to mail out! excitement!), don’t despair. You’ll be able to order one at The Gay Agenda.
Rep. Garland Pierce (D-Scotland) addresses protestors during a special session at the North Carolina Legislature. CREDIT: AP Photo/Gerry Broome.
The Republican-controlled North Carolina legislature is not happy that voters last month chose a Democratic governor and a liberal majority on the North Carolina Supreme Court. And today, they could take advantage of an “emergency” legislative session to pass a series of bills that would minimize the impact of the voters’ choices by limiting the power of the other two branches of government.
This is from an earlier article on Think Progress, about the panicked coup attempt by NC repubs, who aren’t at all happy that Cooper won the election. In doing so, they have pulled out the dirty tricks playbook:
The Republican leaders of the North Carolina legislature called an emergency special session this week ostensibly to send funding to parts of the state devastated by Hurricane Matthew. Yet they used the opportunity to rush through a series of bills designed to limit the power of incoming Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who unseated Republican Pat McCrory by a narrow margin in November.
“It now seems to me the hurricane session was just a ruse to get us here,” Sen. Jane Smith (D-Columbus) complained.
Rev. Dr. William Barber, the president of the North Carolina NAACP, agreed, and called the move “an insult to the democratic values held by all people of goodwill in this state.”
“It is immoral, it is unconstitutional, and this illegal session is a direct attack on the people of North Carolina,” he said. “To convene in Raleigh under the pretext of a special session called by the Governor to provide relief to those affected by the hurricane and wildfires continues the worst of this extremist legislature’s legacy: making unjust laws to give more power to themselves, on the backs of those most vulnerable.”
There are now active protests taking place once again in North Carolina, where it just wasn’t enough for the voters to speak their mind and oust McCrory.
Via Think Progress.
Herblock March 29, 1950 cartoon that originally defined McCarthyism.
McCarthyism hadn’t been long over when I was born, and the effects of the hunt for communists and other undesirables had far reaching ripples. The John Birch Society was still going strong, and Russia was most definitely perceived as The Enemy. This sentiment echoed right on down the 1960s, and I remember being called a commie hippie more than once. Anything conservatives didn’t like was labeled “commie” – engaged in activism for peace? Commie. Against the Vietnam war? Commie. And fluoride in the drinking water was a commie plot, too. You couldn’t get away from the intense anti-Russia sentiment, it was everywhere, and there was a great and abiding fear of Russia, too. The Cold War was everywhere, and Nikita Khrushchev was in the news every 5 minutes for years.
If there was one thing you could count on from conservatives, it was their united hatred and fear of Russia. Although this quieted down in subsequent decades, it never really went away, in spite of Gorbachev and Glasnost. There were always cons somewhere, pointing a trembling finger at Russia. Given all that, it’s remarkable just how much things have changed, in a very short time.
A new YouGov/Economist poll found that among registered Republicans and Trump voters, more than a third now hold a “favorable” view of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Though a majority still view Putin negatively, right-wing media — which spent years holding Putin up as a “better leader” than President Barack Obama — set the stage for Republican opinions to shift in the autocrat’s favor, leading to a nearly 50-point swing in support from conservatives in just over two years. And after the United States intelligence community publicly disclosed that its members believe Russia interfered in the 2016 election, many right-wing media figures doubled down on their support for Putin and are downplaying Russia’s involvement in the election.
Putin is an authoritarian “strongman” who has cracked down in Russia on freedom of speech and freedom of the press, signed into law draconian anti-gay legislation, and invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula, part of Ukraine. Nevertheless, for years, right-wing media have praised Vladimir Putin as a great leader, comparing him favorably against Obama. Fox figures have consistently lauded the Russian autocrat as “a real he-man” and have claimed that Putin has “come to the diplomatic rescue” of President Obama. One Fox host even went so far as to proclaim that she would like Putin to be president of the United States “for 48 hours,” so he could fight ISIS. In 2014, conservative commentator Pat Buchanan suggested that Putin is “one of us” and applauded him for “planting Russia’s flag firmly on the side of traditional Christianity” with his policies against reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights — evidence, Buchanan suggested, that God is on Putin’s side in his clash with the West. Even conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh once admitted that Putin was “saying things I agree with” when the Russian president announced that he “opposed the adoption of Russian orphans by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender foreign couples.”
Primed by right-wing media, Trump voters now hold a more positive view of Putin and Russia. Since July 2014, Republican voters’ opinions overall of Putin have improved by 56 points, and in 2016 they voted for a candidate in Trump who is openly sympathetic to the autocrat and even invited his government to hack personal emails from Trump’s Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. According to the poll, 35 percent of Trump voters and 37 percent of registered Republicans now hold a “favorable” view of Putin.
Now, even though the U.S. intelligence community has stated that its members are “confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations,” some right-wing media are siding with Putin and downplaying the severity of the hacks.
My, my. A complete shift from Enemy to Saviour. Via Media Matters.
Transcript below the fold.