Article here. Surprised it wasn't already illegal. Well to be fair - if Maine allows boys to be genitally mutilated, why not girls? Excerpt:

'However, the bill passed in the House was nothing more than political theater — a show bill.

On Wednesday, the State Senate unanimously passed LD 1904, the strict FGM ban holding the mutilator, consenting parents/guardians and the transporters accountable for this barbaric form of child abuse.

That is not the bill the House passed.

First, the House brought forward one of the two minority reports from the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee — that the bill ‘ought not to pass.’ And the motion almost prevailed.

In fact, 65 swamp creatures — entirely made up of Democrats and independents — voted AGAINST banning FGM.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Quotas to get more women into key positions in politics, business and the arts must be introduced to address a massive imbalance of power in Britain, according to equality campaigners.

With a statue of suffragist Millicent Fawcett set to become the first of a woman in London’s Parliament Square on Tuesday, analysis from the Fawcett Society Sex and Power Index has shown that men still overwhelmingly dominate positions of power in every sector of society.

The figures show that women make up only 6% of FTSE 100 chief executives, 16.7% of supreme court justices, 17.6% of national newspaper editors, 26% of cabinet ministers and 32% of MPs.

“When we see this data brought together it is both shocking and stark – despite some prominent women leaders, men haven’t let go of the reins of power and progress is painfully slow,” said Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A woman who answered the door Friday at the home of Hernando County Commissioner Nick Nicholson said she served for months as a “sex slave” to the elected official.

Valerie Surette, who called herself a 30-year-old stripper with an on-and-off drug problem, was one of two women named in charging documents when Nicholson was arrested Thursday on prostitution-related charges.

Nicholson, 71, preyed on her “vulnerability” and that of other women like her, Surette said. She had sex with Nicholson in exchange for a place to live and cash for groceries, drugs and drug rehabilitation, she said.

“I had originally agreed to the arrangement,” Surette said. “I did work at a strip club, but that’s different. Here, I was a sex slave. … Whatever he wanted, I had to do."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Scientists have edged one step closer to creating a male pill, new research suggests.

Thirty hours after infusing male macaques with a compound known as EP055, their sperm were unable to move, a study found.

Lead author Dr Michael O'Rand, from the University of North Carolina, said: 'Simply put, the compound turns-off the sperm's ability to swim, significantly limiting fertilization capabilities.' 

None of the monkeys suffered side effects, which is thought to be due to EP055 having no effect on male hormones, according to the researchers.  

Most female birth-control pills contain a mix of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which can cause weight gain, erratic moods and nausea.

In addition, all of the monkeys' sperm were moving as normal within three weeks, suggesting the treatment is reversible, the research adds.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Last month, two gay men were refused entry to a bar in Leeds, with bouncers saying it was for "mixed couples only". Hundreds of people contacted the BBC to say it was normal for groups of men - gay or straight - to be turned away from bars. So is it fair - or legal?
...
At 11pm, they got a taxi into the city centre and tried getting into a bar. They weren't drunk, they weren't rowdy, and - says Matt - "we don't look the roughest".

Despite that, they weren't allowed in. Why? Because they were men.

"The bouncer just said: 'Not tonight lads,'" says Matt, an IT apprentice. "We were like: 'What?' And he said: 'There's too many lads. You're not coming in.'"

They tried a second bar, and were told the same. A third bar repeated the message: no girls, no entry. Matt was disappointed, but not surprised.

"We are lucky if we go out in town and don't get turned away from somewhere," says Matt. So he is used to being barred from bars - but he doesn't think it's right.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'This puzzles me. It is routine for many colleges and universities, particularly mid-level liberal arts schools, to discriminate against women in admissions. Believing that they have "too many women," these schools refuse admission to female applicants whose academic credentials would have been more than sufficient for a male applicant. Why don't we hear more complaints from feminist organizations?
...
Maybe feminist organizations don't want to draw too much attention to how well females are doing these days in school, because it hurts the narrative that women are the underdogs. But women form a 56% majority of college students. And they are a majority of those in law, medical, and dental school.

Alternatively, maybe the leaders of feminist groups are reluctant to speak out for fear of undermining the case for affirmative action for racial and ethnic minorities. They may perceive themselves as part of a broad coalition of left-leaning activists first and advocates for women in particular only second.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Our state’s flagship public university can no longer hide behind federal student privacy laws when it comes to shielding the people it’s disciplined for sexual misconduct from scrutiny.

A unanimous three-judge N.C. Court of Appeals panel ruled Monday that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill must disclose the identities of students and faculty members it has judged responsible for sexual assault and sexual harassment.

The ruling is a win for open government advocates — The Daily Tar Heel student newspaper, WRAL-TV owner Capital Broadcasting Co., The Charlotte Observer and The Herald-Sun of Durham are the plaintiffs — and it will subject both the accused and the system that judges them to necessary public scrutiny.

Article here. Excerpt:

'federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Duke University filed by a former student who claimed Duke's response to an alleged sexual assault was inadequate and created a hostile educational environment.

The former student, Arianna Qayumi, sued Duke, claiming that the university violated her rights under the federal Title IX law. She claimed that she was drugged and raped by two students in 2011 and that one of them videotaped her being assaulted. Qayumi contended the university was deliberately indifferent and negligent in its response, ultimately leading her to transfer to another school.
...
"However, given Ms. Qayumi's clear statements in 2011 to Duke administrators that she did not want to participate in any disciplinary proceedings and recurring statements of hesitation thereafter, no rational jury could find that Duke's response was clearly unreasonable," Eagles wrote in the ruling.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A woman jailed for falsely accusing her boyfriend of rape has now been sent back to prison for killing a man in a drink-drive crash.

Kate Woodhead, 39, climbed behind the wheel of her car while drunk and careered down a 40mph road at around 75mph.

Trevor Smith, 53, who was a front seat passenger, died instantly when Woodhead lost control of the blue Audi A3 and smashed into a tree.

Woodhead was today jailed for nine years for causing death by dangerous driving.

She was previously handed a three-year term for falsely accusing a boyfriend of rape.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A male college student member of the National Coalition For Men (NCFM) has entered Day 10 of a hunger strike dedicated to drawing attention to male discrimination and has issued the following statement: 

Article here. Not just race here but sex, too. Would two black women have been tossed like this? When it comes to being "presumed dangerous" and treated badly, these events have a gender component. When men react badly to being treated badly, people only say, "See what I mean?" It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Excerpt:

'Rashon Nelson initially brushed it off when the Starbucks manager told him he couldn’t use the restroom because he wasn’t a paying customer.

He thought nothing of it when he and his business partner, Donte Robinson, were approached at their table and were asked if they needed help. The 23-year-old entrepreneurs declined, explaining they were just waiting for a business meeting.

A few minutes later, they hardly noticed when the police walked into the coffee shop — until officers started walking in their direction.

“That’s when we knew she called the police on us,” Nelson told The Associated Press in the men’s first interview since video of their April 12 arrests went viral.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Man-haters, rejoice! The Female Liberation Army is here to save us. Or at least, keep us fired up and entertained. Fresh off a run at Europe’s top film festivals, including a premiere at the Berlinale, Karlovy Vary, and Panorama, comes “The Misandrists.” Directed by legendary gay filmmaker Bruce LaBruce (“Gerontophilia,” “Hustler White”), “The Misandrists” follows the dissidents of the FLA, a militant lesbian separatist cult whose primary goal is to dismantle the patriarchy — by any means necessary.
...

Article here. Excerpt:

'Despite an uptick of Title IX reports of sexual assaults of students, only one sanction has been placed on any of the accused in the current academic year.

Nearly 50 Title IX sexual assault reports have been submitted during the current school year, on course to exceed last year’s number. However, last year, five out of 48 respondents saw consequences for the complaints alleged against them. This year, there has only been a single respondent found in violation out of the 47 reports submitted. Currently, 10 of the 47 reports are still under review.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Many government-funded Swedish preschools are “gender-neutral” and teach youngsters to reject their natural inclinations toward masculine or feminine activities, instead requiring them to do activities usually associated with the opposite sex.

“A preschool’s approach to gender has now become a common question before enrollment,” the New York Times reported in a profile of these schools. Swedish teachers “are doing what they can to deconstruct” gender.

Since 1998, state curriculum has required teachers to “counteract traditional gender roles and gender patterns.”

Schools go about this in different ways, largely based on their leadership. Many Swedish children begin going to these programs when they are just one year old.

Article here. Excerpt:

'How do we get in front of this? How do we protect girls and women from predators? How do we raise boys to do better?

“We’ve been having a lot of conversations about masculinity and how we move forward in this #MeToo movement,” Warshaw told me. “How do we involve men, and where do we put the ownership in making change?”

“When girls are empowered, it’s a win for everyone,” Carey added. “Sometimes, when boys see girl-power spaces, they think it’s a girl thing, solving girl problems. They don’t see themselves as part of a portrait where girls and boys are shoulder-to-shoulder equals. This might be an opportunity to say, ‘Boys, you can be a partner in solving this problem.’”
...
"I think that no one should be separated because of their gender,” a girl named Maeve said. “Even in the smallest things like volleyball and baseball or the big things like being the president or working at a candy shop.”