Quotes

Mother sues over daughter’s suicide attempt in school isolation booth | Education | The Guardian

~ mcequality

A woman whose daughter tried to kill herself while in an isolation booth at an academy school is to take legal action against the government.

The child, who cannot be named, has autistic spectrum disorder and mental health problems, but was put in an isolation booth by her school in Kent for more than a month.

Prior to the intervention of lawyers in mid-March, she had spent every day since mid-January in isolation, meaning she had to remain silent throughout the day and had no directed teaching.

via Mother sues over daughter’s suicide attempt in school isolation booth | Education | The Guardian

Designers behind Princess Awesome to launch gender-neutral clothing for boys | World news | The Guardian

~ mcequality

A children’s clothing company which revolutionised gender-neutral clothing for girls has turned their attention to boys, launching a crowdfunding campaign on Tuesday that reached 50% of its funding aim in the first hour.

Frustrated that they couldn’t find shirts for their five sons with unicorns on them or bright colours, animals, sparkles and rainbows, Eva St Clair and Rebecca Melsky decided to make them themselves.

“Gender stereotypes work both ways,” said St Clair. “Things that have been deemed ‘for girls’ do not appear on boys’ clothing anywhere and that limits what all kids can be and do.

via Designers behind Princess Awesome to launch gender-neutral clothing for boys | World news | The Guardian

Lucy Flores on Joe Biden: 'I Want Him to Change His Behavior'

~ mcequality

When asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper what she would say to critics who accused her of being “politically motivated” in her decision to speak out about Joe Biden’s inappropriate behavior, former Nevada assemblywoman Lucy Flores said: “I would say politics was definitely the impetus.”

In her response, Flores upended the script that women are expected to follow, one in which they must play defense against cynical, sexist attacks that insist women come forward against powerful men for fame or personal gain. Instead, Flores, a former candidate for Nevada’s lieutenant governor, said she told her story at precisely this moment because Biden is now considering running for president. Addressing his behavior with women should be part of that vetting process. It is, in other words, absolutely political.

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via Lucy Flores on Joe Biden: 'I Want Him to Change His Behavior'

Ironic Racism Is Just Racism – MEL Magazine

~ mcequality

Remember them when right-wing ideologues, who would rather be spewing the same Islamophobic garbage they’ve poisoned us with since 9/11, take a brief pause to condemn “hate” and “violence” — without speaking to the seed of that rage. Or when the edgelords of 8chan and YouTube defend their toxic content as “just memes” and “trolling” — as though humor is never a weapon (or a recruitment tactic). Remember, too, that hate can’t be pried from the crucible in which it was forged. There’s no such thing as ironic racism — not when defenseless human beings were massacred in their place of worship.
Much of the media narrative around the attacks has been centered on the alleged shooter’s manifesto and all the shitposting it contains. Frankly, let me save you some time: Where the alleged killer’s polemic is concerned, you can skip most of it. You already know this person, one in an endless sequence of men radicalized online. Their fixations vary mildly, but all rise from a single bedrock. Strip away the pages upon pages of self-mythologizing, and you will eventually find it, stated in very few words:

via Ironic Racism Is Just Racism – MEL Magazine

Judge Overturns Dress Code Requiring Girls to Wear Skirts

~ mcequality

First #LeggingsGate, now this: a judge in North Carolina has ruled against a charter school’s sexist dress code requiring girls to wear skirts, deeming it unconstitutional.The New York Times reports that the ruling was part of a multi-year effort spearheaded by three girls attending Charter Day School in Leland, North Carolina. The students, ages 5, 10, and 14, launched a petition calling for an end to the school’s uniform policy prohibiting girls from wearing pants, arguing (correctly) that it was unfair for their movement to be restricted when the boys were free to move as they pleased.

via Judge Overturns Dress Code Requiring Girls to Wear Skirts

Mum’s plea for girls to ditch leggings sparks protests – BBC News

~ mcequality

A letter written by a mother concerned by the number of women wearing leggings on a university campus in Indiana has sparked backlash and protests.
“I’m just a Catholic mother of four sons with a problem that only girls can solve: leggings,” Maryann White wrote in a letter published in the student newspaper.
Ms White explained that the sight of leggings “obtruded painfully” on her during a visit with her four sons, and made it “difficult for young guys to ignore” women’s bodies.
“Think of the mothers of sons the next time you go shopping and consider choosing jeans instead,” she suggested to the female students of the University of Notre Dame.

via Mum’s plea for girls to ditch leggings sparks protests – BBC News

Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Girls Say Hell No to Boys Ranking Their Looks

~ mcequality

It’s a scene cut straight from an episode of My So-Called Life: a list of high school girls, ranked by their attractiveness, gets circulated at school. Except this time, the girls on the list don’t let the gross ranking slide on the basis of “boys will be boys.”

The Washington Post reports on Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland, where a list of 18 girls ranked by their looks (with a scale of 5.5 to 9.4) was passed around at the school earlier this month. Despite the ubiquity of such lists among pimple-faced teen boys with too much time on their hands, the girls were understandably violated.

via Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School Girls Say Hell No to Boys Ranking Their Looks

Report: European Parliament Screwed Up Their Chance to Amend Copyright Directive By Voting Wrong

~ mcequality

The European Parliament approved a massive, sweeping overhaul of online copyright rules on Tuesday, leaving the extremely controversial Articles 11 and 13 untouched on as the EU Copyright Directive cruised through the legislative body. According to a report on TechDirt, they may have done so in part because several members of the European Parliament cast incorrect ballots on a key vote to allow amendments.

Article 11, sometimes called the “link tax” by detractors, requires web platforms to obtain a license to link to or pull quotes from news articles. It is ostensibly intended to ensure that publications get a slice of the revenue that big services like Google News pull in, but critics say it could undermine the ability of users to share content across the web.

via Report: European Parliament Screwed Up Their Chance to Amend Copyright Directive By Voting Wrong

Period poverty: Free sanitary products for schools is ‘huge step’ – BBC News

~ mcequality

overnment funding for free sanitary products in all English secondary schools and colleges has been welcomed as a “huge step” by campaigners.
Amika George, 19, who started campaigning on period poverty two years ago, said the move would make a “massive difference” to girls who struggled to afford tampons and pads.
But campaigners said it should also include primary schools.
Chancellor Philip Hammond made the announcement in his Spring Statement.
He said the government was responding to concerns from head teachers that some girls were missing school because they could not afford sanitary products.
One in 10 girls between the ages of 14 and 21 in the UK have been unable to afford sanitary products, while 49% have missed an entire day of school because of their period, according to research by Plan International.

via Period poverty: Free sanitary products for schools is ‘huge step’ – BBC News

Women in tech: Success still hangs on relationships and privilege

~ mcequality

Google’s overall workforce, for example, is currently 30.9 percent women, who make up 21.9 percent of tech positions and 25.5 percent of company leadership. At Facebook, women comprise 36 percent of global personnel, 22 percent of technical roles and 30 percent of leadership. Twitter’s numbers are similar, with 38 percent women overall, 17 percent in technical jobs and 33 percent in leadership. Most tech companies have reported comparable statistics in recent years. These numbers are certainly better than they were a few years ago, but the increase is marginal at best.

via Women in tech: Success still hangs on relationships and privilege