Women’s soccer is a passion of mine and while USA is my team, even I had to admit that at this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Spain was a dominant force. Their team was among the best, if not the best, that I had watched in my time as a fan. I spent the cup in awe of their ability. This came at a time in which women’s sports are beginning to gain traction, more people than ever watched the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, the University of Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team broke the record for highest attendance at a women’s sporting event, and the World Cup itself was gaining viewership. This team was poised to make history and make history they did. In front of the eyes of the world they brought home Spain’s first ever Women’s World Cup Final victory. Unfortunately, the attention on their victory did not last.
During their celebrations, Vice President of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales kissed player Jenni Hermoso without her consent. Within the week Spanish soccer shut down. No longer were discussions of the women’s team about their victory, but instead about this kiss and the perpetrator who refuses to step down.
The public outcry has been somewhat unique compared to many incidents in women’s sports. In past instances the supporters of the women that were impacted by these events are majority women as well, especially within the realm of support from other athletes, but this time was different. Players from men’s and women’s teams across Spain made statements in open opposition to Rubiales continuing to hold his office. Athletes from both sections of Spanish soccer have pledged to refuse to play for Spain so long as Rubiales remains in office.
Are there instances that have played out in a similar manner in other settings? I’m curious if there has been similar support for a woman in this sort of situation outside of sports.
Facebook is one of the world’s largest virtual communities and plays host to a wide array of services and people from across the world. This is, of course, a for-profit company focused on constant growth and two years ago in a leak from inside the company we learned at what cost they would pursue this growth.
Human trafficking has been an issue in online circles since the invention of the chat room if not before. Facebook has become among the new biggest platforms traffickers use to find victims, especially for domestic work in the Middle East. In the leak, one document appeared that examined the extent to which Facebook and its related products were being used in the practice of human trafficking. This document was called “Domestic Servitude: This Shouldn’t Happen on Facebook and How We Can Fix It.” The document details specific strategies that should be employed to combat this practice on Facebook, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears despite being entirely paid for by the company. What programs were put in place quickly became defunct, many of the suggestions were never implemented at all. The reason for this? Taking an aggressive stance would hurt Facebook’s bottom line. The company was afraid of “alienating buyers,” meaning the buyers of people sold into domestic servitude.
Many women have come across ads on Facebook and Instagram from “employers” boasting of great pay and excellent working conditions. These women would then contact these employers via Facebook Messenger, Instagram’s direct message feature, or even Whats App which is a messaging app owned by the same parent company. Many of these stories describe victims and traffickers meeting, making arrangements, and even reimbursing plane tickets without ever leaving the Facebook ecosystem. The documents leaked from within the company reveal that Facebook has known about this problem for many years and yet has been relatively lethargic when it comes to enacting solutions that they paid researchers and law-enforcement experts to come up with.
Reading UnFree, we have spoken a lot about what happens when the women arrive in the country of their employment, but this piece by the Wall Street Journal is an exploration in to the nefarious ways these women often come to arrive in the countries. The agencies involved in this creation of this un-freedom are the ones to blame, but there is something to be said of Facebook facilitating this knowingly simply because they fear that alienation of traffickers would hurt the company’s bottom line.
This article is about how prosecutors are recommending 8 years of probation for Jamarcus Glover, the ex-boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, upon him pleading guilty. Also, Glover’s items that were confiscated by police must remain in police care and he can move out of state as covered in the plea deal. Glover and his partner, Adrian Orlandes Walker, were in a drug-dealing ring in Lousiville. Glover used to be the on-again-off-again boyfriend of Breonna Taylor but their relationship ended before Glover’s drug crime. Glover was the reason why Breonna Taylor’s home was raided by Lousiville police because police assumed he would be there or drugs would be there. Louisville Police didn’t announce that they were the police when they used a battering ram to enter Taylor’s apartment. Taylor and then-boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, (no connection with the other Walker mentioned in this blog post) were woken up by it and Walker fired his gun at police thinking that it was an intruder. Walker shot a police officer in the leg which caused the police to fire back which then resulted in Breonna Taylor’s death. In the article, it states that Breonna’s family thinks that the level of force the Louisville police was unnecessary seeing as Glover was a “low-level offender”.
I choose this article for my blog post because today in class we went over the Gabby Pepito case and its impact on the media. We also went over “white girl syndrome” and the manhunt for the “missing bride”. We also went over the “Say Her Name” campaign. Breonna Taylor’s story is documented in the “Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor 20/20” series on ABC News. Breonna Taylor has brought about discussions on the issue of protecting black women as highlighted by celebrities such as Megan Thee Stallion. Breonna Taylor has also been at the forefront of the issue of police brutality against people of color. The article, states that no officers out of the six were arrested in this case but in January two officers were fired. Breonna Taylor’s family was able to ban “No-knock warrants” in Louisville and requires Louisville police to wear body cameras.
Over the weekend, Actor Alec Baldwin was shooting for the movie Rust. While he was shooting the movie, he was given a prop gun that was actually filled with live ammunition. Killing the films cinematographer, Halyna Hutchins. The bullet reportedly went through her chest, then striking Joel Souza, the films director and wounding him.
The full story of this tragedy has yet to release. Tragedies like these are more common in Hollywood than most think. There have been numerous deaths and injuries on the sets of movies and TV’s. Alec Baldwin wrote on twitter “that he was heartbroken and cooperating with the police.” There is more to come on this story.
(The blog will not let me copy and paste my sources for some odd reason.)
Alec Baldwin Was Told Gun in Fatal Shooting on Set Was Safe, Officials Say – The New York Times.
‘My heart is broken’: Alec Baldwin releases statement on prop gun death – MSNBC
Tourette’s Syndrome is a neurological tic disorder characterized by unwanted involuntary motor movements and/or repetitive speech patterns. The rise of Tik Tok over the pandemic saw numerous subgroups of individuals and advocates group together to form various niche communities on the social networking app. One such disability advocacy community being the Tourette’s Community, fighting stigma and connecting with other ‘Tic Tokers’ on the app. Many advocates raise awareness for their neurological condition by being vulnerable and sharing stories of a day in their life with tics, educating others on the disorder, humanizing those with the condition, and creating a support system for those impacted by the disorder. One such Tik Tok Tourette’s Star being Evie Meg, who has a book coming out about her syndrome called My Nonidentical Twin on October 28th.
However, some worry that the rise of Tourette’s Tik Tok has contributed to the increased diagnoses of teen girls with Tourette’s syndrome. There has been a recent increase in patients reporting to doctors with tics over the pandemic, particularly in teen girls, many of whom suffered from other mental illnesses such as anxiety or depression, and found themselves on the mental health community of tik tok, eventually being exposed to the Tourette’s TikTok community as well. Most Tourette’s patients first present symptoms of a tic disorder between the ages of 5 and 10, but these teen girls have no previous history of tics, and are showing symptoms consistent with the videos and particular tics they see on TikTok, such as shouting “beans” at inappropriate times without any specific stimuli or context. These behavioral changes are indicative of a sociogenic illness, which is “spread” through social media. This does not mean that these teen girls are faking the illness in any way, however there is a distinction between Tourette’s Syndrome and this sort of functional Tourette’s-like mass sociogenic illness. This functional neurological disorder appearing among teen girls should not be taken as less serious then classic Tourette’s syndrome, but is a distinct disorder in its own right.
Dr. Caroline Olvera, a neurologist and movement disorders fellow at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, is continuing to study the rise of this sociogenic disorder among teen girls and states that “Historically, and currently, I believe that women’s medical complaints are sometimes minimized compared to men. For example, the term ‘mass sociogenic/psychogenic illness’ was previously called ‘mass hysteria,’ referring to the uterus, and thus the underlying assumption may be that this is a phenomenon only affecting women who have gone ‘crazy’ or ‘hysterical.’” Dr. Olvera emphasizes the importance of taking this condition seriously, and relates it to how medical conditions more prevalent in women have historically been downplayed or demonized.
This gender disparity in how we view and treat various medical and neurological conditions in society prevents young women from being able to be taken seriously and get the help that they need. Sociogenic illnesses need to be taken seriously and further studied no matter the demographic.
With new variants of the Corona Virus showing up more regularly, it is possible that another lockdown is upon us. With the article I chose to reference, it talks about how during the lockdown, Domestic Violence cases rose in 7 countries. The article mentions the United States DV cases increasing by 8.1% during stay at home orders. The other countries mentioned in the article were Australia, Argentina, Mexico, India, Italy, and Sweden, however the US was referenced more in the research because of our current crime and DV records already on case.
If a second lockdown was to occur, do you think those in abusive relationships are going to be safe? In class we talked about why individuals feel forced to stay in abusive relationship, because they would fall apart with no support from another individual. It’s apparent that when couples are forced to be together every minute of the day, they tend to snap towards their partner as well as become tired of them easier compared to pre-lockdown. What are some healthy relationship management skills couples could practice to prevent emotional burnout from their significant other if another lockdown was to occur?
Link to article: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2021-02-25/domestic-violence-increased-in-7-countries-after-pandemic-lockdowns-review-finds
In a 2017 post titled “Sexual Harassment and Hollywood’s Earliest Cartoons” the author, Gabrielle Bellot, explained that recent claims of sexual harassment from Harvey Weinstein that started the #MeToo movement are what inspired her to investigate sexual harassment in Hollywood. Upon hearing about these claims she was reminded of sexual harassment depicted in old cartoons. Depictions of harassment towards women can be found in Hollywood through cartoons as well. A few examples are: Mickey Mouse, Little Red Riding Hood, and most importantly, Max Fleischer’s Betty Boop cartoons.
Whether the Betty Boop cartoon was meant as a children’s cartoon or an adult cartoon is up for debate. There are many specific episodes where Betty Boop is so obviously being harassed and even almost raped. The cartoon mirrored instances of the real world, bad ones. Episodes of Betty Boop depict stalking, sexual harassment in the workplace, and even an instance where rape is implied in the show. While most of these actions might go over the heads of children, adults can clearly see the problem.
These types of cartoons were released around the time that the entertainment industry in Hollywood was being exposed. In the 1920’s, many scandals involving sexual assault, drugs, and even murder were being exposed to the public and being brushed under the rug in the courtroom. Hollywood releasing such controversial cartoons could either be seen as a cry for help or as a way to simply say “this is how stuff is around here”. Normalizing sexual harassment towards women could easily be done through cartoons like this. Which could explain why this type of harassment is still around today. Actions like the ones depicted in the cartoon such as workplace sexual harassment had the power to influence little boys. According to learning theory, used in psychology, actions like these could be learned. For example, a boy that witnesses a man getting what he wants with a woman in a cartoon at a young age may be more subconsciously willing to do the same when he gets in the same position of power when he is older. A little boy who watched a cartoon of many people in a work force working together and including both men and women might subconsciously be more open to working with both genders.
Another theory based on why the cartoons were created could be found if you look a little deeper. In the episode “Betty Boop’s Big Boss”, Betty responds to a help wanted sign, clearly describing a position for a girl. Betty is asked what she can do and she responds by singing the boss a song. The boss is then shown daydreaming about what it would be like to be with Betty. While she is still singing, he sends all of the other girls away. Betty Bopp is then shown “provoking” the boss. While it may look like Betty Boop is the one provoking the boss, some people may see it differently. From his perspective, he may presume Betty’s actions or words are sexual advances. In reality, Betty’s naturally high pitched voice and friendly mannerisms may have been wrongly interpreted as flirtatious. After the boss hires Betty, she begins to work but then suddenly, Betty hits the boss with a piece of the typewriter and he snaps out of it. He asks Betty for a kiss and she rejects him. After being rejected the boss starts to walk towards her, when Betty tries to run away, the door is locked. Betty calls the police, but even they can not get to him because he is up high in his building. This part may suggest that a woman being harassed may not get justice if the abuser has a lot of power or is a member of the upper class. After the police fail to get the boss, Betty tries shooting him with a pencil sharpener. The boss only yells out once but still has a smile on his face. This could also be interpreted as Betty not having enough power to stop him. Finally, the only way to take down the boss is by shooting at the base of the building. The building falls with the boss still in it but Betty Boop goes down as well. This shows that Betty was not able to ask for help without going down along with her abuser. This has been the case for many women that have spoken up about their harassment in the workplace, even in Hollywood.
Bellot explains that “Harassment was braided to the industry from its beginnings; there were many Weinsteins before Weinstein”. Although this was a recurring problem, there were many women who were afraid to speak up about their abuse. The issue being spread through cartoons may have been a tool to help people cope. The cartoons may have helped them watch and laugh through the situation. On the other hand, they may have mirrored these Hollywood scandals to raise awareness in a discrete way. Women were not safe if they spoke up. In “The Limits of #MeToo in Hollywood”, Margaret Talley explains that even though laws were made to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, these laws were not abided. Thanks to activists like Tarana Burke and Alyssa Milano, and movements like the #MeToo movement, women in the United States are finally getting the justice they deserve.
Personally, I feel that businesses, regardless of the goods or services provided, should be able to make decisions about whom to serve/service based on their own religious beliefs. I think that this couple chose to elevate this issue way beyond what was necessary, if you don’t like a business owner and their beliefs – why do you even want to give them your business? Perhaps I am looking at this situation from too much of a simplified point of view, but I think that it’s as simple as the signs you see on businesses everyday: “No shirt, no shoes, no service.” If business can turn people away because of what they are wearing, why should they not be able to refuse service to someone based on their strongly held religious beliefs?
As this has been a huge topic of discussion lately and I just wanted to see what others thought about it. Do you agree with the ruling? Why or why not?
Although I have only ever taken an uber once or twice, this article struck me pretty hard – knowing that my mother and many other women I know regularly utilizes the ride sharing app. It seems to me that there should be a fairly rigorous interviewing process to become a driver for any of the ride sharing companies, seeing that the most common reason people I know that use the app is to ensure a designated driver (of sorts) and safe passage home after an evening out. The fact that these drivers are taking advantage of women at their most vulnerable points, when they are paying for a service that is intended to ensure their safety, is beyond disgusting.
How many of you regularly use apps such as uber? Do you know anyone that has been taken advantage of in these types of situations?
Have you ever watched a movie and noticed the significant difference in violence against the woman versus the man? In this article, it talks about how women are overly sexualized when it comes to violent acts against them. Not only are women being killed or hurt in films, but a lot of the times it has some sort of sexual tendency towards it. A perfect example of this is the beginning of the movie “Halloween”. As the little boy is stabbing his sister to death, she does not have on any clothes and is almost sexually moaning as she is dying. As gruesome as that sounds, it is integrated into our society to not really notice these things. When I first watched Halloween, I did not notice that at all, but watching the scene again, after reading this article was mind blowing. And it is not just horror movies that portrays women different in violent, it’s just about everything. Comedy, thrillers, etc. To add onto how men are portrayed with violence, it shows that they can never be hurt, and that they are too strong to feel general pain. The media only shows what the society wants, and it creates this idea that leads to violence in general.
