The major focus this week has been on the celebrity nude photo “leak” scandal (which wasn’t a leak at all; the pictures were stolen). Other people managed to be terrible too, of course! This shit never stops. (As usual, trigger warnings for pretty much everything apply.)
Lots of people had lots to say about the stolen celebrity nudes this week. The short version is, “Blame the hackers, not the victims, otherwise you’re an asshole (and you damn sure shouldn’t seek out the pictures)” but if you’re looking for more in-depth analysis:
While Jennifer Lawrence has been the celebrity that most coverage has focused on, the full list includes dozens of names.
Why the affected celebs shouldn’t have to just laugh this off and pretend it’s all OK.
What these scandals teach us about how society views women.
Roxane Gay on how celebrities are Othered just like anyone else who isn’t a straight white dude.
Along with having strong laws against revenge porn and otherwise releasing people’s private pictures without permission, we need to do a better job teaching people about consent.
Inside AnonIB, a site where assholes gleefully shares nudes and bikini pics from just about everybody; the “fun” is that the women didn’t consent to have their pictures shared.
The irony of men who are paranoid that the NSA is spying on them and violating their privacy, but blame the women for taking nudes in the first place because why should they expect privacy?
On voyeurism and why some people like to feel like they have power over celebrities (since after all, it’s not like there’s a shortage of naked ladies on the internet).
Even Forbes called the theft of the pictures a “sex crime” and reminded everyone that the women in question didn’t do anything wrong.
Christ, even a writer at Playboy acknowledged that while her first instinct was to want to see the pictures, she realized that JLaw didn’t want her to see them and that’s more important. Though one of the senior editors posted a super offensive list of ways to avoid having your nude pics shared online, so it’s not like they’ve totally jumped on the feminist bandwagon or anything. (Beware of possible NSFW pics in the banner and such; those change too frequently for me to say for sure whether they’ll be safe or not.)
Also, those pics of McKayla Maroney and Liz Lee (which were revenge porn, not part of the hack, but they were also released this week) were fucking child pornography because they were taken when they were underage. Given that some of the other celebs are also pretty young, they might not be the only ones.
A big fuck you to artist XVALA, who announced he plans to add some of the leaked images (uncensored, of course), to his art show as “commentary” on why we should fear the internet or some wankery like that.
Only fucking Redditors could think it was hilarious to donate to the Prostate Cancer Foundation in Jennifer Lawrence’s name because she inspired men to prevent prostate cancer by masturbating. (The charity returned the money and politely told them to fuck off.)
Horrifying: The New York Times outlines the sexual abuse of at least 1,400 children in Rotherham, England, over a 16-year period.
California passed a law requiring colleges to have an affirmative consent standard and to educate students about sexual assault. Problem is, the local media has been giving equal coverage to people who are willfully misrepresenting the bill and claiming that it’ll lead to men being falsely accused of rape.
Chaumtoli Huq, a former lawyer for the Public Advocate’s office in New York, is suing the NYPD for arresting her for no reason in July and roughing her up in the process. She was standing outside a restaurant in Times Square after a protest because her husband and kids had gone inside to use the restroom; an officer told her to leave and when she explained why she was there, he pushed her against a wall and arrested her. He also told her “In America, wives take the names of their husbands” when he found out she hadn’t taken her husband’s name. She had to accept a plea deal because she was about to travel to Bangladesh to work for improved factory conditions and didn’t have time to fight in criminal court.
As her senior thesis performance art piece, Emma Sulkowicz is planning to carry her mattress with her to classes until Columbia University expels her rapist or he decides to leave of his own volition.
Police “swarmed” a Texas high school in search of the “suspect” who abandoned a “possible fetus” in the bathroom; but later announced that it was a miscarriage, not anything criminal. Here’s a big “fuck you” to the guy who chastised her for not carrying the baby to term and dropping it off according to the state’s Baby Moses laws, because maybe she wanted to have the baby! Don’t go spouting bullshit before you know what happened. I hope the poor girl is OK; I can’t imagine going through that and then having a fucking police helicopter deployed to look for me. (Wonkette’s take on the incident is pretty awesome.)
A 12-week-pregnant Montana woman who tested positive for drugs was arrested and charged with criminal endangerment of a child under the state’s fetal harm laws.
Good news! Same-sex marriage bans were struck down in Wisconsin and Indiana. Bad news… a district judge upheld Louisiana’s ban. Fucker. RH Reality Check analyses the constitutional logic behind this decision and how it could affect future cases.
Terrible People of the Week
Tahreem Zeus Rana, an Atlanta police officer who allegedly killed a woman he met online and then set her body on fire to cover his tracks.
Guy Dietz, a registered sex offender who hired an exotic dancer to come to his house, at which point he told her he was a cop, “arrested” her, and raped her while threatening to invent charges against her to send her to jail.
CeeLo Green, who tweeted that it’s not really rape if the victim is unconscious and doesn’t remember it. Earlier this week, he pleaded no contest to charges that he slipped a woman Ecstasy in 2012; he claimed they had “consensual relations,” but she couldn’t remember what happened.
Frankie Grande, singer Ariana Grande’s brother, who joked on Big Brother 16 that two male contestants should rape one of the women on the show.
Marian High School in Detroit, for firing a lesbian teacher because her “non-traditional” pregnancy violated the school’s Catholic doctrine and that she couldn’t hide it from students even if they granted her the leave of absence they asked for because she knew it violated their rules. And also for trying to bribe her into resigning by saying they’d keep paying for her health insurance through the spring if she didn’t speak out about them wanting her to leave.
Gina Miller, who wrote on the anti-LGBT website BarbWire that women send mixed messages if they dress like “strumpets” but turn down offers of sex and that products like nail polish that detects roofies just encourage women to be irresponsible and put themselves in danger.
Outnumbered, because everyone on the damn show on Wednesday was going on about how women shouldn’t drink too much or walk home alone because they might get raped, and why don’t we warn men about not drinking so much that they accidentally rape someone? (Hint: Because that’s not really what happens.)
Emily Yoffe (“Dear Prudence”), for telling a bisexual woman who’s married to a man that she should stay in the closet so she doesn’t “discomfit” her friends and family. What about her comfort? It doesn’t matter when or how she realized she was bi or that she doesn’t plan to cheat on her husband or open their marriage; telling her she has to hide this perpetrates stupid stereotypes about bisexuality.
The hosts of Politichicks, who went on Fox News to promote their new book and proved that they have absolutely no idea what feminism is. (I seriously can’t pick just one quote; it’s all too headdesk-worthy.)
ESPNW, for their fantasy football intro for women that boils players’ rankings down to relationship-based categories like “Marriage Material” and “It’s Complicated.”
The Sunday Telegraph, for a headline reading, “Mother of three poised to lead the BBC.” No mention of Rona Fairhead’s qualifications, just that she’s a mom, because that’s what matters in the the first woman to ever (potentially) hold that position.
The South Carolina DMV, for refusing to issue a driver’s license to a 16-year-old gender-nonconforming male who wears makeup on a daily basis unless he took it off for his ID photo.
Y’all know I’m usually up at arms about sexism in school dress codes, but let’s not forget they can be racist, too. A Louisiana student has missed ten days of school already because his dreadlocks violate the South Plaquemines High School dress code prohibition against long hair; he follows the Rastafari religion, which prohibits him from cutting his hair due to a verse in Leviticus. An elementary school in Texas refused to let a boy with long hair attend his first day of kindergarten even after his mom explained that he’s Navajo and Kiowa and again, his religion considers long hair to be sacred. (And of course rules that prevent boys from having long hair are sexist, because we don’t want boys to look like girls!)
Recommended Reading
If you only read one thing this week, go read Lauren Jackson’s post about misogynoir and how black women are frequently turned into memes.
Related, Lifetime’s Girlfriend Intervention plays on tired tropes of sassy black women helping white women be more hip.
Why it’s OK for Kirsten Gillibrand not to reveal the names of exactly which congressmen made inappropriate comments about her body. Workplace retaliation is a real thing that women have to deal with when calling out coworkers, and I imagine it’d be about a billion times worse for her.
Charlotte Church talks about how the music industry demoralizes women.
17 myths about sexual assault, many of which make it easier for rapists to get away with it.
11 ways to solve rape that are better than nail polish.
Why one Christian leader is starting to denounce the Quiverfull movement (even if he still ignores some of the dangerously patriarchal teachings of his own institution).
Transgender people talk about how they were treated differently in the workplace depending on whether they were presenting as male or female. Unsurprisingly, transmen were suddenly treated as much more competent after transitioning, while transwomen suddenly found themselves being dismissed.
Feminism and marriage are not mutually exclusive.
Why posing for nude photos as a way of accepting your body is a feminist act.
An excellent defense of bathing in male tears.
Children’s books that address real issues like gender identity and gun violence.
On the etymology of “slut” and why Zoe Williams thinks Aldi stores in Australia shouldn’t have banned an old Roald Dahl book that used it meaning the old definition of “lousy housewife.”
Don’t fat shame 2-year-old girls. Or anyone, obviously, but leave kids the fuck alone.
Five “men’s” jobs that were actually pioneered by women.
Actually analyzing the bones of Vikings buried with swords shows that some of them were women; most archaeologists just assumed they were dudes because of sexism. (Definitely check out the comment linked in the update for a more informed perspective, but maybe pass up some of the other comments.)
If Spiderman were drawn like the cover of Spider-Woman #1, thanks to The Oatmeal. (Oh so NSFW.)
Lessons on feminism from Marge and Lisa Simpson.
The Daily Show has been on fire lately; they took on the sexist congressmen who felt the need to comment on Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s body and Jessica Williams absolutely eviscerated catcallers.