UK: Covid inquiry: 'Macho' culture and 'obvious sexism' in No10 'damaged Covid response', says Helen MacNamara

Article here. Excerpt:

'The senior civil servant who was the subject of Dominic Cummings’ “violent and misogynistic” messages has said Boris Johnson let the country down by not tackling the “toxic” culture he presided over.

Helen MacNamara, who was one of the country’s highest ranking female officials, told the UK Covid-19 Inquiry on Wednesday that sexism in No 10 damaged the response to the pandemic.

She also said Matt Hancock displayed “nuclear levels” of overconfidence and a questionable record on the truth while a key figure in the Covid response as health secretary.

She also expressed “profound regret” for being one of the many officials fined after lockdown-breaching parties but hit out at the culture that preceded the rule-breaking.

Ms MacNamara wrote in her evidence that the “very obvious sexist treatment” that women in No 10 and the Cabinet Office experienced hindered their work.

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Why boys underperform girls in school

Article here. Excerpt:

'Anyone who thinks this is a patriarchal society needs to look at high school graduation rates.

The Associated Press recently reported that boys have a lower graduation rate than girls nationwide. In 2018, one researcher estimated girl graduates outnumbered boy graduates by 45,000. You can see this disparity in the Clark County School District, too. For the 2021-22 school year, the female graduation rate was 84.3 percent. For males, it was just 78.5 percent.

Girls also earned 1,543 advanced diplomas, compared with 914 for boys.

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One-of-a-kind Florida Man Games include evading arrest, beer belly wrestling and other competitions

Article here. I just had to post this. Excerpt:

'The first-ever Florida Man Games are set for Feb. 24, 2024, in St. Augustine, Florida — and this competition is unlike most others.

The Florida Man Games originate from the bizarre news headlines that often come out of the Sunshine State.

Florida Man Games founder Pete Melfi is no stranger to these wacky headlines, as he has covered them for many years.

Melfi had a vision to convert strange, viral "Florida man" headlines into a hilarious competition, and the Florida Man Games were born.'

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The Misandry Problem

Article here. Excerpt:

'Today I’m going to ask you to take misandry seriously, because Wesleyan University has a misandry problem. I know it’s a tough ask, but I hope after a laugh with your friends you’ll consider what I have to say, and hopefully bring along a little compassion. Although there are many other significantly more harmful forms of bigotry in American society, change is most realizable at a local level. And while not as serious as other forms of discrimination, misandry is prevalent enough in Wesleyan culture to warrant some discussion. It is common in many progressive spaces, and Wesleyan is no different. And with men making up about 46% of Wesleyan students, I believe there’s good reason to address one of the most accepted forms of bigotry on our campus.

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Ex-Cardinals executive Bill Bidwill Jr. a bloody mess after wife hit him ‘a hundred times’:

Article here. Excerpt:

'Former Arizona Cardinals executive Bill Bidwill Jr. was covered in blood after being hit “a hundred times” by his wife, which included being struck in the head by a glass of beer, during a June 9 domestic dispute, according to police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

Bidwill Jr.’s face was bloody when cops arrived outside his home in Paradise Valley, Ariz., where he said his wife Nicole was unhappy about a carpet installation.

“She was very upset at me,” Bidwill Jr. told cops, according to TMZ Sports.

“I’m sitting on the couch, and she’s screaming at me. And I was trying to not escalate because she has a very bad temper.

“And then she started hitting me, and I just started defending myself.”'

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High mobile phone use may impact sperm count, study says

Article here. Excerpt:

'Male sperm count has fallen by more than 50% globally in the last 50 years, leaving researchers scrambling to understand why. Could it be pollution, PFAS and other potential toxins in our food and water, an increase in obesity and chronic disease, or even the ever-present mobile phone?

A new study explored the role of cell phones and found men between the ages of 18 and 22 who said they used their phones more than 20 times a day had a 21% higher risk for a low overall sperm count. The men also had a 30% higher risk for a low sperm concentration, a less important measure of sperm count in a milliliter of semen. The study did not specify whether the men called or texted or used their phones to do both.'

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Complaints allege N.Y. college programs discriminate against men, white people

Article here. Excerpt:

'These changes are driven by an unprecedented wave of federal civil complaints filed by a small group of men against colleges and universities across the country alleging the programs or scholarships discriminate on the basis of sex or race. At least 42 colleges in New York have received such complaints, the Times Union found.

The complainants want to eliminate what they describe as anti-male, anti-white and anti-Asian bias infecting college campuses. But others argue these changes may eliminate or weaken programs that boosted historically marginalized groups and didn’t harm other people.

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, in its determinations, has largely decided these programs and scholarships are in conflict with federal discrimination laws and pushed schools to change their practices. Some colleges and universities have altered their scholarships or programs after a complaint is filed in order to avoid an investigation by the department.'

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The Link Between Facial Masculinity and Sexual Harassment

Article here. Excerpt:

'A compelling research literature indicates that leader behaviors can shape the prevalence of sexual harassment in a given organization. A similarly compelling research literature indicates that the prevalence of men at higher levels in an organization’s hierarchy can also shape the prevalence of sexual harassment in a given organization. Too many men at the top, and leaders who tolerate sexual harassment, tend to result in more sexual harassment.

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Students demand reinstatement of lecturer who admitted keying a male professor's car and is accused of stalking him

Article here. Excerpt:

'Students at Berkeley University are campaigning for the reinstatement of a suspended professor who was forced to take leave after she was found guilty of stalking and harassing a professor at another University of California campus.

Professor Ivonne del Valle, a tenured associate professor of colonial studies in Berkeley's department of Spanish and Portuguese, accused Professor Joshua Clover of harassing her online.

She became convinced that Clover, an English and comparative literature teacher at UC Davis, had hacked her computer in some way and manipulated her accounts.

She felt he was writing veiled insults about her colleagues on Twitter, and began writing him messages, leaving him voicemails and turning up outside his home. She stalked his mother, and forced him to move house.

Over the course of five years, the situation unraveled, and she was suspended in the fall of 2021, KQED report.'

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Reason Aussie men are quitting therapy in droves

Article here. Excerpt:

'After centuries of toxic masculinity and the notion that manliness means boys can’t cry and grown men don’t talk about their feelings, a therapist’s client list has taken a giant gendered swing.

“I definitely think, especially since Covid, that there’s been a lot more messaging around mental health, getting support and that it’s OK not to be OK, and that’s definitely driven an increase in men going to therapy,” Stella Ladikos, therapist and founder of Meraki Mental Health Training, told news.com.au.

“In my own private practice I’ve been seeing a lot more guys come to therapy and at the moment most of my regular clients are actually men, which is really, really promising to see.”'

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Air Force Moves to Deadlifts as Way to Determine Job Qualifications, Opening Up Positions to More Women

Article here. Excerpt:

'Recruits will now be required to deadlift anywhere from 40 pounds to 110 pounds to qualify to join the Air Force and get certain jobs, after the service revised a more than 40-year-old test used to determine new airmen's eligibility for different career fields.

The change is part of the updated Strength Aptitude Test, which had been in place since the 1980s, to evaluate how much weight recruits can deadlift, which requires lifting a weight from the ground to a standing position. The old method tested how much weight they could clean and press, which requires picking up and hoisting a weight overhead.'

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Scots teachers 'suffering misogynistic and physical abuse' in classrooms

Article here. Excerpt:

'Teachers are being physically attacked and suffering misogynistic abuse in classrooms across Scotland. Details of attacks were heard during an emergency summit on violence in Scots schools on Wednesday

The Scottish Government met with teachers, unions, parents and child experts for the second phase of the three-part meeting, chaired by Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth. It was called after the Record highlighted a series of sickening attacks involving school children in the Our Kids ... Our Future campaign.

The panel heard first-hand accounts from teachers who said they have been assaulted while trying to break up fights, avoided rocks being thrown at them and suffered from misogynistic abuse.'

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Scots teacher admits having sex with 15-year-old schoolboy in her car after she messaged him on social media

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A Review of 'Men Who Hate Women'

Article here. Excerpt:

'We live in a world where it’s okay for men to be violent toward women—whether they be his girlfriend, wife, friend, or simply a stranger—because not all men are like that and not all men hate women. But if we as women talk about patriarchy, masculinity, or male privilege then we’re immediately counterattacked by those who believe that any conversations about masculinity are an immediate attack on men themselves.

Laura Bates said it best herself, writing, “Those who speak of “toxic masculinity” are not criticizing men but rather defending them: describing an ideology and a system that pressures boys and men in our societies, in our families, to conform to unrealistic, unhealthy, and unsustainable ideals.”

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Students strut in heels to raise awareness to domestic violence

Article here. Excerpt:

'The clack of stilettos echoed throughout East Campus Oct. 21 as Delta Alpha Sigma Multicultural Sorority hosted their Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event.

At Brazos Park, participants sped down University Center Mall, looping near the Central Library before returning to the park while strapped in shiny red heels.

The event featured a special speaker and a race with obstacles, games and prizes. The event aimed to actively confront gender stereotypes and expectations, bringing awareness to domestic violence. All proceeds from the event went to SafeHaven of Tarrant County.

As a male, art education junior Emilio Infante Hernandez said with his privilege he can be a strong advocate for situations that impact women.

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Comic Katherine Ryan speaks after Russell Brand scandal: 'all men are sick'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Appearing to address the saga, Ryan said on stage: “Men are sick, that’s right, all men". She went on to joke about her credentials as a feminist comic. "What a relief for me that I finally have a son. So that when people correctly accuse me of unfairly targeting all men in my stand-up comedy, I can say, no not me, I have a little boy, a baby son, far from it" she said. "That is the perfect smokescreen for my feminist agenda. My two year old is a toxic male who plays with monster trucks day in and day out."'

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