Feminist Monday, November 26

Image from https://rosie.org.au/blog/can-white-feminism-explained/ which is a great article on White Feminism.

Good afternoon, y'all. If you're American, I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving and that there weren't any overly heated arguments over the dinner table. (And if there were, I hope they were fruitful ones.) Mine was drama-free like I like it. For me, Thanksgiving is not about the myth of pilgrims and indigenous people eating together in peace just before the pilgrims turn on the indigenous people by killing them with germs, guns, and racism--it's about Family. It's about renewing that connection. It's also about friends who are also my family. It's about reaching out to one another with love and thankfulness. There was a lot of that this year, and I'm glad.

If you're not American, I hope you had a lovely weekend.

Okay. Links and videos time!

Entertainment/Literary: Author Jim Hines discusses World Fantasy Con Guest of Honor Policies. It's time to admit there's a problem and to do something about it, WFC. There's a new class offering over at Writing the Other. Building Inclusive Worlds | Master Class. If I had the money, I'd take it. I highly recommend it. And in a related story, here's How Fantastic Beasts Failed at Representation, and What J.K. Rowling Can Do About It. Bill Konigsberg writes about his experience at a literary convention in “Proud Fierce Papa Bear” – The Speech. No one should have that experience at a convention. Everyone should feel safe. There's no excuse for that crap. None.

Spirituality: Beyond the gender binary in Pagan practice, Issues with the Gender Binary in Public Paganism, and Gender Essentialism is a Problem, Pagans. And Religious Trauma Syndrome: How some organized religion leads to mental health problems.

General: The women killed on one day around the world. Make sure you have a good long look at the chart that breaks it down by continent. The Americas are second on that list for highest number of femicides per year. Africa is first. Let that sink in. (While the USA isn't all of the Americas, it is a major part population-wise. The fact that the US doesn't budge that needle much? Well, when I say that misogyny is deeply engrained in America, I mean it.) From the article: "Africa was where women ran the greatest risk of being killed by their intimate partner or family member, the UN report says. It occurred at a rate of 3.1 deaths per 100,000 people. Asia had the greatest number of women killed by intimate partners or family members in 2017, with a total of 20,000." and "The new UNODC report suggests that a large share of violence against women is "widely underreported to authorities and that a large share of such violence is hidden". What does it take to make a woman's killing important enough to be reported? In addition, there is a connection between mass shootings, domestic abuse, and misogyny in the US. We've known about it for years. See also: 5 Statistics That Explain the Link Between Domestic Violence and Mass Shootings, The Link Between Domestic Violence and Mass Shootings, I Have Written The Same Story On Mass Shootings A Dozen Times, Pastor who railed against ‘gun-free zones’ shot woman in the head after she refused sex with him: police, and The domestic violence-mass shooting link cannot be ignored. It cannot be, but it has been. It's long past time to consider why. Most of those articles are years old. Again, What does it take to make a woman's killing important enough to be reported? Filed under Racism and Colonialism in Anthropology: We thought the Incas couldn’t write. These knots change everything. In American Politics: How Brenda Snipes and other black election workers got falsely targeted by Trump. In Fashion: Universal Standard's Size 00-40 Line Is Now Available. And Conservative Group Rants About Same-Sex Kiss At Macy’s Parade, Twitter Reacts With Love. I saw that kiss and was so happy. I knew there'd be push back, though. Go Macy's for not buckling under the pressure of hate. In a related story, Chinese writer Tianyi sentenced to decade in prison for gay erotic novel. Filed under Toxic Masculinity: The Anger of the White Male Lie.