![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
(no subject)
May. 27th, 2012
Radical feminists are acting like a cult
Twitter has been flooded with controversy for the last week about the RadFem2012 conference, currently booked into the Conway Hall, which announced its membership as restricted to "women born women and living as women" (it originally said "biological women", but that got changed after much mockery). This disturbed the trans community, which it is meant to exclude, but also those feminists who regard trans-exclusion as something other than radical.
To be clear, I know no trans women, still less trans men, who want to spend time in a space organized by people who slander us. However, one of the main speakers at the conference is Sheila Jeffreys, who has a forthcoming book critiquing trans medical care. In much of her earlier writing (see, for example, page 71 of this journal), she calls for "transsexualism" to be declared a human rights violation and then surgery banned by international law, so it's fairly clear that we have an interest in the debate. What Jeffreys proposes has, of course, other implications for all women – the Vatican would love to make similar declarations about reproductive freedom.
There is also, more importantly, the question of whether what Jeffreys and her supporters say about trans people constitutes hate speech. As of two days ago, the Conway Hall expressed their concerns about the legality of trans exclusion, and about hate speech, to the conference organisers.
One of the problems with the Internet is that it is possible for people to lock themselves further and further into a restricted mind set where they hear no other voices. On the other hand, it makes it possible for those with a strong stomach to overturn every stone and find out just what people are saying and thinking. It's clear that Jeffreys and her supporters are very hurt and disappointed that so many younger women don't agree with her – Jeffreys blames the corrupting influence of post-modernism and queer theory; "trans-critical" lawyer Cath Brennan - who uses Twitter to deride trans people's experiences and mock non-trans feminists who are their allies - is also a RadFem2012 attendee.
Of course, the trans issue is only one aspect of the conference. Its mission statement makes it clear that this is a "female-only, activism-focused conference with a radical feminist agenda". Space will not be given to anti-feminist sentiments, which is arguably another way of saying that, on most crucial issues, the party line is predetermined and that any dissent from correct "radical feminist" thinking will be stigmatised and driven out. Jeffreys makes it clear in many of her writings that post-modernism and queer theory are the enemy, and that piercing, tattooing, BDSM and role play are all pollutions of a feminism that is nothing to do with choice or preference, everything to do with commitment. Indeed, the Radical Feminist Hub, to which she contributes regularly, links to resources arguing that what it calls "penis-in-vagina" sex is a bad idea, from which women should choose to refrain.
There are many debates within feminism, and the women's movement ought not to be a monolith of orthodoxy. There are, for example, legitimate arguments on both sides of discussion of sex work – whether the stress should be placed on prohibition or harm reduction, say. But such a debate will not be allowed at RadFem2012. I hate to say this of other feminists, but aspects of their feminism – the anti-intellectualism, emphasis on innate knowledge, fetishisation of tiny ideological differences, heresy hunting, conspiracy theories, rhetorical use of images of disgust, talk of stabs in the back and romantic apocalypticism – smack less of feminism than of a cult.
Source.
To be clear, I know no trans women, still less trans men, who want to spend time in a space organized by people who slander us. However, one of the main speakers at the conference is Sheila Jeffreys, who has a forthcoming book critiquing trans medical care. In much of her earlier writing (see, for example, page 71 of this journal), she calls for "transsexualism" to be declared a human rights violation and then surgery banned by international law, so it's fairly clear that we have an interest in the debate. What Jeffreys proposes has, of course, other implications for all women – the Vatican would love to make similar declarations about reproductive freedom.
There is also, more importantly, the question of whether what Jeffreys and her supporters say about trans people constitutes hate speech. As of two days ago, the Conway Hall expressed their concerns about the legality of trans exclusion, and about hate speech, to the conference organisers.
One of the problems with the Internet is that it is possible for people to lock themselves further and further into a restricted mind set where they hear no other voices. On the other hand, it makes it possible for those with a strong stomach to overturn every stone and find out just what people are saying and thinking. It's clear that Jeffreys and her supporters are very hurt and disappointed that so many younger women don't agree with her – Jeffreys blames the corrupting influence of post-modernism and queer theory; "trans-critical" lawyer Cath Brennan - who uses Twitter to deride trans people's experiences and mock non-trans feminists who are their allies - is also a RadFem2012 attendee.
Of course, the trans issue is only one aspect of the conference. Its mission statement makes it clear that this is a "female-only, activism-focused conference with a radical feminist agenda". Space will not be given to anti-feminist sentiments, which is arguably another way of saying that, on most crucial issues, the party line is predetermined and that any dissent from correct "radical feminist" thinking will be stigmatised and driven out. Jeffreys makes it clear in many of her writings that post-modernism and queer theory are the enemy, and that piercing, tattooing, BDSM and role play are all pollutions of a feminism that is nothing to do with choice or preference, everything to do with commitment. Indeed, the Radical Feminist Hub, to which she contributes regularly, links to resources arguing that what it calls "penis-in-vagina" sex is a bad idea, from which women should choose to refrain.
There are many debates within feminism, and the women's movement ought not to be a monolith of orthodoxy. There are, for example, legitimate arguments on both sides of discussion of sex work – whether the stress should be placed on prohibition or harm reduction, say. But such a debate will not be allowed at RadFem2012. I hate to say this of other feminists, but aspects of their feminism – the anti-intellectualism, emphasis on innate knowledge, fetishisation of tiny ideological differences, heresy hunting, conspiracy theories, rhetorical use of images of disgust, talk of stabs in the back and romantic apocalypticism – smack less of feminism than of a cult.
Source.
"Dear whoever you might be, I'm still waiting patiently."
mood: 
you think there's a word?
you think there's a word?music: The Civil Wars, "My Father's Father"
---
I've had much worse birthdays than yesterday.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1){kind=small}
readingthedark came down in the late afternoon. We had dinner at Tortilla Flats. We played an absolutely abominable game of "World of Warcraft" Monopoly (and why the hell are the Draenei represented nowhere in the game?!), and, in theory, Geoffrey won. We had some frozen caramel and cashew ice-cream pie thing. I got stoned. We talked too much. I got to sleep just as the sun was rising.My thanks to all the "happy birthday" wishes yesterday. There were something like four hundred via Facebook, and, honestly, that just freaks me right the fuck out. Thank you for being there.
---
Spooky is still having a Caitlín Was (Most Years) Actually Born on the 27th of May Sale in her Dreaming Squid Dollworks and Sundries Etsy Shop. Cool and bow-tie stuff, with FREE SHIPPING, which will run through Monday. In order to take advantage of the sale, you need to use this code during checkout: CRKBIRTHDAY. Buy something bow tie, kittens!!! No, really!
---
Looking back from -08, here is what I will say: I want such very simple things. That's actually true. Instead, my life has presented me with a baffling array of complexities. I didn't say that quite right. "Baffling complexities" isn't actually what I mean. If the cosmos had some collective consciousness, if all our gods and goddesses and demons were anything more than fairy tales, they might understand what I meant to say. Those things I wish I had, though – those things I still hope for to the point I feel ashamed and ungrateful for not being gladder for what I have instead – they are so simple they might take your breath away.
Breathe In,
Aunt Beast
(no subject)
Jackson, Miss., schools to no longer handcuff students
Public schools in Jackson, Mississippi, will no longer handcuff students to poles or other objects and will train staff at its alternative school on better methods of discipline.
Mississippi's second-largest school district agreed Friday to the settlement with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which had sued over the practice of shackling students to a pole at the district's Capital City Alternative School.
Nationwide, a report from the U.S. Department of Education showed tens of thousands of students, 70 percent of them disabled, were strapped down or physically restrained in school in 2009-10. Advocates for disabled students say restraints are often abused, causing injury and sometimes death.
The Mississippi lawsuit was filed in June 2011 by Jeanette Murry on behalf of her then-16-year-old son, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It said staffers routinely restrained students for hours for offenses as minor as dress code violations, forcing them to eat lunch while chained to a stair railing and to shout for help when they needed to go to the bathroom.
The settlement, approved by U.S. District Judge Tom Lee, says all district employees will stop handcuffing students younger than 13, and can only handcuff older students for crimes. In no case will employees shackle a student to a fixed object such as a railing, a pole, a desk or a chair.
"It's apparent there were severe problems that we hope now are being addressed and will be alleviated," Lee told lawyers in court Friday, just before signing the settlement order.
Troubles at the alternative school helped spark the proceedings that have jeopardized the accreditation of the entire 30,000-student district.
The suit also reinforces criticism of alternative schools statewide. A 2009 report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that such schools "overemphasized punishment at the expense of remediation." That report urged that alternative schools focus instead on "intensive services delivered by a well-qualified staff in a highly structured but positive environment," so that students could return to and succeed at regular schools.
Nationwide, there are no federal standards, although legislation is pending in Congress. The U.S. Department of Education says Mississippi is one of 13 states with no statewide rules governing restraints.
National experts have said seclusion and restraint should only be used in emergencies when there's a threat of someone getting hurt. But people who aren't properly trained resort to restraints when students get out of control, they say.
Source
Public schools in Jackson, Mississippi, will no longer handcuff students to poles or other objects and will train staff at its alternative school on better methods of discipline.
Mississippi's second-largest school district agreed Friday to the settlement with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which had sued over the practice of shackling students to a pole at the district's Capital City Alternative School.
Nationwide, a report from the U.S. Department of Education showed tens of thousands of students, 70 percent of them disabled, were strapped down or physically restrained in school in 2009-10. Advocates for disabled students say restraints are often abused, causing injury and sometimes death.
The Mississippi lawsuit was filed in June 2011 by Jeanette Murry on behalf of her then-16-year-old son, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It said staffers routinely restrained students for hours for offenses as minor as dress code violations, forcing them to eat lunch while chained to a stair railing and to shout for help when they needed to go to the bathroom.
The settlement, approved by U.S. District Judge Tom Lee, says all district employees will stop handcuffing students younger than 13, and can only handcuff older students for crimes. In no case will employees shackle a student to a fixed object such as a railing, a pole, a desk or a chair.
"It's apparent there were severe problems that we hope now are being addressed and will be alleviated," Lee told lawyers in court Friday, just before signing the settlement order.
Troubles at the alternative school helped spark the proceedings that have jeopardized the accreditation of the entire 30,000-student district.
The suit also reinforces criticism of alternative schools statewide. A 2009 report by the American Civil Liberties Union found that such schools "overemphasized punishment at the expense of remediation." That report urged that alternative schools focus instead on "intensive services delivered by a well-qualified staff in a highly structured but positive environment," so that students could return to and succeed at regular schools.
Nationwide, there are no federal standards, although legislation is pending in Congress. The U.S. Department of Education says Mississippi is one of 13 states with no statewide rules governing restraints.
National experts have said seclusion and restraint should only be used in emergencies when there's a threat of someone getting hurt. But people who aren't properly trained resort to restraints when students get out of control, they say.
Source
Novo is Recruiting! [H - Steamwheedle Cartel US]
mood: 
cheerful
cheerfulI've been with Novo for almost a year now after being recruited on wow_ladies myself, so I can assure you that we're a pretty fantastic bunch! We recognize real life suddenly happening, are friendly to couples, and are 100% against hate speech (I have personal examples of all of these if you want examples too!). Plus we're super laid back and joke around about pretty much everything, but also can down bosses and loot purples with the best of them!
Raid Time
- Wed/Thurs 8PM - 10PM EST
We have 5 minute breaks every hour on the hour.
Gear is not an issue - if you have the right playstyle and attitude that meshes with ours, you'll have so much gear that you won't know what to do with it afterwards (pending RNG of course ;P ).
Raiders Wanted
- one tank
- dps
If you want to get more specific, we're looking for a non-warrior tank since that's our current tank. And dps? If you're consistent and show up on time, then we want YOU! No really, as mentioned, it doesn't matter if you're undergeared - if you have the right attitude and are willing to work hard, we can always gear you up!
Interested?
Check out our rules and then throw us an application! Questions can be left on this post, or whispered to Tristesse (that's me!) or our GM Dranoz, or just check out our website. :D We're always happy to bring potential guildies into a run or just into Mumble to chat first!
P.S. we were previously Novo Ordum Mundi in case the name sounds familiar and you don't know why! We're not sure if we're sticking with the Novo with or without the Ordum Mundi yet.
Media References to Fanfic, the week ending 5/26/12
In a widely-published story for the Associated Press, Leanne Italie wrote that Not all that long ago E L James was Snowqueens Icedragon, cranking out her sexed-up "Twilight" fan fiction online. Well, faster than you can shriek your safe word, her kinky "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy has fanfic of its very own in the same place where she first serialized her story under a different title. Italie goes on to quote many actual, honest-to-goodness fanfic writers, none of them named Henry Jenkins. Responding to this story for EW Popwatch, Hillary Busis asked, What happens if one of these stories eventually morphs into another “original” novel? Will all fiction one day be traceable back to Twilight? Is the publishing landscape destined to be clogged with imitations of imitations, each more poorly written than the last?
Another interesting 50SoG article was by Alyssa Rosenberg, for ThinkProgress: The novel, a self-published best-seller that started as Twilight fan fiction and subsequently landed print publication and a major movie deal, is essentially a conventional romance about a broken man rescued by the love of a good woman. But Fifty Shades‘ embrace of BDSM isn’t tight enough to leave a bruise, or to open up a serious conversation about power in intimate relationships.
( In other 50SoG news... )
In things non-50SoG, The Boston Phoenix had a piece on an upcoming fanfic reading: Fanfiction is a tricky thing. It can be good, it can be godawful, and it can be just plain creepy.
And, finally, in a really nice piece for Forbes, Jeff Bercovici quoted Josh Whedon on fanfic: There isn’t a better barometer of the kind of success that I crave, which is that people haven’t only enjoyed the work; they’ve internalized it. I don’t, obviously, spend all my days reading it because that would make me creepy, but it’s a huge, huge thing for me that people have taken it into their lives.
Another interesting 50SoG article was by Alyssa Rosenberg, for ThinkProgress: The novel, a self-published best-seller that started as Twilight fan fiction and subsequently landed print publication and a major movie deal, is essentially a conventional romance about a broken man rescued by the love of a good woman. But Fifty Shades‘ embrace of BDSM isn’t tight enough to leave a bruise, or to open up a serious conversation about power in intimate relationships.
( In other 50SoG news... )
In things non-50SoG, The Boston Phoenix had a piece on an upcoming fanfic reading: Fanfiction is a tricky thing. It can be good, it can be godawful, and it can be just plain creepy.
And, finally, in a really nice piece for Forbes, Jeff Bercovici quoted Josh Whedon on fanfic: There isn’t a better barometer of the kind of success that I crave, which is that people haven’t only enjoyed the work; they’ve internalized it. I don’t, obviously, spend all my days reading it because that would make me creepy, but it’s a huge, huge thing for me that people have taken it into their lives.
June 2010
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Page Summary
Powered by LiveJournal.com
