Feminist Monday, April 17

Good morning, my furies. How are you today? Shall we get started with the Monday morning rage?

Today's activism checklist from Jen Hofmann. And today's video:

Literary/Entertainment: I wasn't sure under which category to place this link. Since I recently wrote an article on the subject for Skiffy and Fanty (it should be up soon) and it's a story near and dear to the heart of SF, I'm going to place it here. Study: We're Teaching Artificial Intelligence to Be Just as Racist and Sexist as Humans. From the article, "Caliskan insists that these sorts of problems are a fact of life for the way that machine learning works currently, but that there are solutions that can be implemented in the future. For one, it would be beneficial to hire more AI developers who are people of color and/or women and have a more acute awareness of these biases from the jump. But also, Caliskan said, there’s a need for transparency as to how these machines are being taught." Cons Need to Stop Using the “We’re Just Fans” Defense When Things Go Terribly Wrong. In general, cons should stop blaming outside factors when they're called out on biases. They should also do something about accessibility, rather than blaming the hotel. It's time to be inclusive, or die the slow death of not having a new audience. Is it difficult to change? Speaking as a white woman who writes professionally--IT IS. It can be quite painful at times. But you know what? I view inclusion as part of my job. It is not my job to decide who belongs in SF/F and who doesn't. It's not the job of cons to do so either. Here are a couple more articles on the same subject: OdysseyCon and Why Serial Harassers Are Safe In Our Community by K. Tempest Bradford and ODYSSEY CON FUCKS UP BUT GOOD by Natalie Luhrs. See also Five Geek Social Fallacies. Next up: White Privilege, Explained in One Simple Comic. Great article by Emily Asher-Perrin over at Tor.com: The Peril of Being Disbelieved: Horror and the Intuition of Women. And Sculptor of Wall Street's bull wants 'Fearless Girl' moved. One of my favorite things about that article is the statement by the artist that the bull stands for "freedom in the world, peace, strength, power and love" because nothing says "Peace, Love, Dove, and Peter Frampton!" like an angry bull pawing the ground. ROFL. John Scalzi talks about Punching Nazi's. And on the fun side: Custom Women's Armor Is Practical, But Also Cool.

General:  Chechnya has opened concentration camps for gay men. Holy shit, we should not be okay with this. Concentration camps are not a good thing. And that's just another reason why Russia isn't the US's friend, GOP. Elizabeth Warren on the Persistent Wage Gap: "That Has to Stop". The Woman Who Saved New York City from Superhighway Hell. I'd venture to say that she'd not be terribly happy about the new wave of real estate moguls making their way through cities now--both in the US and outside of it. On Easter, Mary Magdalene will be maligned as a prostitute. Except she wasn’t. That one has bothered me for most of my life. And the lack of representation in Christianity is the biggest reason why I quit Christianity. I have to put up with second class citizenship every day of my life. Why should I do the same in the afterlife? Spirituality's purpose is to uplift, comfort, and inspire. Being told I'm not as worthy as a white male is not something I find calming. The opposite, really. Trump privately signs anti-Planned Parenthood law. Historically whenever states rights are touted in the US, it has been to enact or protect a bigoted law. In fact, its first proponents in America were racist southerners interested in keeping slaves. (Yes. That's before the Civil War, y'all.) And that's why I roll my eyes every time I hear that stance. The next link contains references to abuse. Trigger Warning: Out of Reach. No. It's not okay to be racist and run a business. No. It's not part of your constitutional rights. Yes, you should have your license removed if you engage in bigotry. If you can't handle having Americans of all races in your home then perhaps you shouldn't operate a hotel. ‘One word says it all. Asian’: Airbnb host reportedly leaves guest stranded because of her race. Next: The Deadliest Shootings In 2016 You Didn’t Hear About. Saffiyah Khan, Woman In Birmingham EDL March Photo, Tells Story Behind Viral Picture. Another Trigger Warning for abuse: About Uber.