Article here. Excerpt:

'Glenn Close hopes people in the entertainment industry can learn from the reckoning of sexual harassment and assault in Hollywood.

The 70-year-old actress recently sat down with Jezebel alongside “Crooked House” co-star Max Irons to discuss the upcoming thriller and the recent wave of sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood heavyweights, like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.

Close said she was never “preyed upon” by Weinstein, but said he was “known to be a pig.” The producer has been accused of sexual misconduct, ranging from harassment to assault and rape, by more than 60 women.

Throughout the interview, Close partially blamed biology for predatory behavior, and pointed to “the male DNA.”

Article here. Excerpt:

'Sweden’s adults could be convicted of rape unless they receive a verbal or non-verbal sign of consent from their partner at each step of their sexual encounter, according to a new law set to come into force next year.

“It should be obvious. Sex should be voluntary. If it is not voluntary, then it is illegal,” Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who leads a center-left coalition, said during a presentation in Stockholm. “If you are unsure, then refrain!”

As with other ‘Yes means Yes’ initiatives, at any trial it will now fall on those accused of rape to prove that their actions were welcomed by their partner, rather than on the accuser to show that they did not consent – which Lofven said will “put the victims’ interests first.”

Standing next to the PM, Justice Minister Morgan Johansson said that the line on what constitutes a sufficient show of consent will be decided on a “case-by-case” basis, but added that he “expects the number of rape convictions to rise.”

Johansson openly declared that the law, which is expected to be enforced from July 2018, was launched as a purposeful “signal to Sweden’s men and boys.”

“If men’s violence against women is to cease, it’s the men who have to change,” stated Johansson, who has allotted some $120 million of extra funds next year for the police to combat sex crimes.
...
Although affirmative consent has been implemented in several states in the US in relation to college campuses and schools, Sweden is to become the first country to turn it into a universal law, Denmark having voted down a similar proposal.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Some years back, I decided I had to quit the teaching profession to which I had dedicated half my life.  The modern academy, I felt, was so far gone that restoration was no longer possible.  Indeed, I now believe that complete collapse is the only hope for the future, but as Woody Allen said about death, I'd rather not be there when it happens.

Article here. And the best part: No false allegations, no divorces, no child support/alimony, no nothing you don't want. Anyone who thinks it's men who are the endangered sex is not paying attention, at least as far as survival into the future is concerned. With technology, a single-sex human race is possible. But unlike natural single-sex species, the individuals will all be male, not female. Excerpt:

'Dr David Levy, a world leading artificial intelligence researcher, will explain how the genetic information of cells can be manipulated to create a baby with human and robot DNA in his key note speech at the Third International Congress on Love and Sex with Robots.

Speaking at the conference in London on Wednesday, December 20, Dr Levy will explain how advancements in cell biology and bio robotics have led to his extraordinary conclusion.

Ahead of his speech, Daily Star Online can exclusively reveal extracts of his radical research paper, titled “Can Robots and Babies Make Humans Together?”

In his conclusions, Dr Levy, author of Love and Sex with Robots, will argue that “it is possible” for humans and robots to make babies given “recent progress in stem cell research and artificial chromosomes”.
...
In April 2016, Stanford University and the Valencia Infertility Institute announced a project in which human sperm, with tails, were created from skin cells.

In September 2016, researchers led by Tony Perry at the University of Bath reported that they had discovered a method of creating offspring without the need for a female egg.

This research allowed Dr Levy to conclude that a baby can be conceived without IVF treatment or sexual intercourse.
...

Link here. Excerpt:

'It’s not because they turn down talks more often, or because there aren’t enough women to invite.

Article here. Excerpt:

'For years, my female friends and I have spoken, with knowing nods, about a sexual interaction we call “the place of no return.” It is a kind of sexual nuance that most women instinctively understand: the situation you thought you wanted, or maybe you actually never wanted, but somehow here you are and it’s happening and you desperately want out, but you know that at this point exiting the situation would be more difficult than simply lying there and waiting for it to be over. In other words: saying yes when we really mean no.
...
There are other names for this kind of sex: gray zone sex, in reference to that murky gray area of consent; begrudgingly consensual sex, because, you know, you don’t really want to do it but it’s probably easier to just get it over with; lukewarm sex, because you’re kind of “meh” about it; and, of course, bad sex, where the “bad” refers not to the perceived pleasure of it, but to the way you feel in the aftermath.'

The NYT is keeping a list. Not comprehensive but something. Excerpt:

'In early October, Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood producer, was fired from his namesake company after multiple women came forward to accuse him of rape and sexual assault.

In what appears to be a seismic shift in what behavior is tolerated in the workplace, a cascade of high-profile men, many in the entertainment and news media industries, have since been fired or forced to resign after accusations of sexual misconduct that ranged from inappropriate comments to rape. This page will be updated periodically.

45 Firings and Resignations

The men in the list below have been fired, resigned or experienced similar professional fallout.'

Article here. Excerpt:

MATT DAMON IS RIGHT. There is a big difference between patting someone on the rear and rape or child molestation.

Article here. Excerpt:

'I am concerned that we are throwing knee-touching into the same basket as rape, which does a grievous disservice to mere knee-touchers and rape victims both. I am concerned that we are increasingly wont to confuse genuine abuse of power in the workplace with often distant memories of men who have made failed – ‘unwanted’ – passes. In the complicated dance of courtship, someone has to make a move, and the way one conventionally discovers if one’s attraction is returned is to brave some gentle physical contact and perhaps accept rebuff. Were I still a young woman looking for a partner, I would not wish to live in world where a man had to secure a countersigned contract in triplicate before he kissed me.

I am concerned that we are casting women as irremediably scarred by even minor, casual advances, and as incapable of competently and sensitively handling the commonplace instances in which men are drawn to them sexually and the feeling doesn’t happen to be mutual.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Leo Marsh was once knocked out so hard in the ring that the first word he woke up to was: "Eight."
...
Last week, the boxing coach and member of the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame was found not guilty of sexual assault and sexual exploitation laid in Dec 2015.

In an exclusive interview with CBC News, Marsh explained, "For the first time in two years I can be who I am and not be afraid of what people would think of me. I'm 65 years old. I have a bad heart. And I spent my whole life building up a name that my children could be proud of.

"I'm watching this person who has lived a normal life," Lee said. "Who has been volunteering for nearly five decades, teaching kids how to box. Watched his reputation go down in flames and watched his life just dismantle itself, waiting for the trial to happen."
...
Marsh believes the complainant was pushed into making the allegations by a pair of adults who had a grudge against him.

Article here. Excerpt:

'A football player for the University of Oklahoma was accused of rape and slapped with an emergency protective order this month, however, after police began an investigation; it appears that the charges were false and lodged by the woman after the player rejected her.

The Sooner’s starting running back, Rodney Anderson, found himself accused of rape after first meeting a woman named Courtney Thornton at a bar on November 16. Thornton alleged that Anderson took her back to her apartment, and then raped her. The 23-year-old Thornton applied for an order of protection on December 4 when news broke of the accusations.
...
However, after an investigation, police say that the woman’s story fell apart. The charges were deemed unprovable, according to the DA.

Story here. Submitter's comments are in the first comment. Excerpt:

'For two months now, as accusations of sexual misconduct have piled up against Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced mogul has responded over and over again: “Any allegations of nonconsensual sex are unequivocally denied.”

Consent is a concept central to law on sexual assault, and will likely be an issue in potential legal cases against Weinstein, who is under investigation by police in four cities, and others accused in the current so-called “reckoning.”

But the definition of consent — namely, how it is expressed — is a matter of intense debate: Is it a definite “yes,” or the mere absence of “no”? Can it be revoked? Do power dynamics come into play? Legally, the definition varies widely across the nation.

Letter here. Jump the paywall by Googling the first paragraph text. Excerpt:

'He squeezed a handful of flesh. Now Sen. Al Franken is history. But what does that mean—a handful of flesh? Squeezing one’s waist? A shoulder? An arm?

A simple accusation and one’s entire life can be ruined. Simple as that.

During a recent group discussion, I told a woman participant I am afraid of her. Surprised, she said, “Afraid of me?” I explained, not just her, any woman today, adding, I am afraid to ride an elevator with a woman today unless there are others present. I will get off first.'

Letter here.

'In her recent letter to the Tribune (“A witch hunt”), writer Dorie Chaille Tiseth hit the nail on the head. I, too, have been shocked by the rapidity and fury with which the #MeToo movement has swirled across the country, upending lives and leaving us stunned.

Article here. Excerpt:

'A police force has been ridiculed for warning people to get consent before they 'bump into that special someone under the mistletoe' — or else they could be committing 'rape'.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) posted the 'nonsense' message yesterday, drawing hundreds of mocking comments attacking the force for 'trivialising' rape.

The force, which has 159,000 Twitter followers, posted: 'If you bump into that special someone under the mistletoe tonight, remember that without consent it is rape #SeasonsGreetings.'

And it wasn't long before the warning was shared hundreds of time across the social media platform.'