Article here. Excerpt:

'As a secondary school teacher of nearly 20 years experience, I’ve seen many ways in which toxic masculinity can manifest itself in the classroom.

I should be angry with the boys whose behaviour brings to life the cultural menace that is toxic masculinity. But I’m not. Working with these boys generates a sensation deeper than anger.

It’s a heavy and stomach-turning combination of feeling disgusted, threatened and disempowered by boys living out adopted values that are simply not their own. These young people have been damaged by our contemporary culture and they need our help.

At its best, toxic masculinity in schools looks like behaviours we’ve explained away for decades by saying, “it’s just boys being boys”. Offensive things, like penises drawn on desks, using loud and aggressive voices, derailing class discussions with sexualised and suggestive comments directed at both teachers and other students, and contributing to a classroom culture that makes it difficult for anyone to learn.

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'Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is facing backlash for engaging in a “culture war” with a video bashing straight men in the wake of the Nashville school shooting.

On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez blasted “straight men” as the sexual predators that society should be concerned about in the defense of drag queen shows.

“Many of these disgusting and insinuating attacks on trans and LGBTQ people are actually projections of what predatory cisgender and often straight men do when left alone in the presence of women or sometimes horribly children,” Ocasio-Cortez said in an Instagram video. “Don’t get it twisted because a lot of people attacking drag are projecting.”'

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'Two former football players from The Ohio State University (OSU) were acquitted on rape and kidnapping charges last month based upon a "consent video." The defendants claim they were advised by school officials to film such videos to absolve them of potential rape allegations.

On February 4, 2020, a 19-year-old female OSU student visited the apartment of a fellow OSU student and football player, Amir Reip. When the case was initially reported to Columbus police, the female—whose identity has not been revealed in news coverage—stated that she engaged in consensual sex with Reip but withdrew consent in the middle of the activity.

The key piece of evidence for the jury’s acquittal was a video filmed immediately after the sexual activity concluded. The woman, pictured naked and crying, states in the video that the encounter was consensual, but she later told police that she only said this so Reip and Wint would eventually let her leave the premises.

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'Broom says she’s especially outraged over what happened next. Students, including Jordan, returned to Cobb MS the following week. Broom says she met with the school’s other assistant principal who had not been at school for several days.

“She reopened [the case] because she can, is what she said,” said Broom.

This assistant principal reportedly handed Jordan a more severe punishment: 45 days at an alternative school.

“That is not him and I don’t know what she heard or why she decided to say that’s what she heard, but we’re talking about Jordan,” she said.

Her son, she says, is a jokester and a good kid who always makes people laugh.'

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'A two-and-a-half-year drama has moved from a local campus disciplinary panel to a federal court room.

It involves a former University of Maryland student accused and later exonerated of a sexual assault accusation who has now filed a civil lawsuit against the school, two Title IX coordinators and two former students who were part of a campus sexual assault advocacy group. The suit is asking for at least $1 million in damages.

According to the lawsuit, on Oct. 27, 2020, a student referred to in the suit as “Jane Roe” accused two students — including the plaintiff in this case who uses the pseudonym of “John Doe” — of sexually assaulting her.

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'Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Judiciary committee, introduced the Ensuring Fairness for Students Act to codify due process in Title IX proceedings for students who are accused of sexual assault or harassment on school campuses. The bill would require schools to investigate and adjudicate formal complaints.

“The Biden White House wants to roll back fair proceedings on school campuses by making students guilty until proven innocent. That is not justice. Students’ rights don’t end where schools begin, and this bill makes sure that these serious investigations pursue justice without bias,” said Kennedy.'

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'A masculinity activist has warned schools that they are partially responsible for the popularity of misogynistic 'influencer' Andrew Tate.

The 36-year-old, accused of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to exploit victims, has been detained in a Romanian prison since December 29.

Speaking to The Times, Mark Brooks, a co-founder of the Men and Boys Coalition, said Tate's toxic masculinity was popular because boys are 'unfairly treated by society' and warned schools are not addressing problems adequately.

Mr Brooks warned of a lack of male teachers and whether the institutions were 'actually boy friendly'.

This comes as a new YouGov survey about what it means 'to be a man' found that almost a third of young men thought society did not care about them.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'National is demanding Marama Davidson apologise to cis white men over her comments from Saturday. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins says he considers the matter closed.

Davidson clarified her comments on Monday after criticism over her comments about cis white men committing violence, saying she should have been clearer but had just been hit by a motorcycle and was being followed down the street by far-right network Counterspin Media.

She had initially said as prevention of sexual and family violence minister, she knew it was white cis men who caused violence. Her clarification said violence happened in every community and was unacceptable in any, but women were overwhelmingly more likely to be victims of family and sexual violence.'

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'Concerns about sexual harassment have “morphed into an institutional misandry”, a Conservative former minister said.

Senior Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope warned that the public debate about harassment was having a damaging impact on the mental health of men and boys, as a Bill aimed at creating a specific offence of sexual harassment cleared the Commons.

The Protection from Sex-based Harassment in Public Bill received an unopposed third reading from MPs, and will now face scrutiny in the House of Lords.

Warning about the impact of the public discussion around sexual harassment, Christchurch MP Sir Christopher said: “There seems to be an inability to hold two notions in our heads, that sexual assault is bad and that treating men as inherent sex pests is also bad.

“A reasonable worry about assault appears to have morphed into an institutional misandry.”

Article here. Excerpt:

'Stanford University announced its 2023 Surgical Residency Intern Class earlier this month.

The new class will start their residency programs at Stanford’s School of Medicine in June 2023. The Ivy League school made the announcement on Twitter.

One Twitter user, @EndWokeness, pointed out the surprising amount of women and nonwhite individuals that are entering the prestigious school’s residency program.

“Stanford’s 2023 surgical team: 92% women (US: 50% women) 69% nonwhite (US: 38% nonwhite) 0% white men (US: 30% white men),” the Twitter user wrote, suggesting the university may be accepting candidates based off of their race or gender.'

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'Governor Kathy Hochul today announced a new client feedback initiative that will improve understanding of the challenges New Yorkers face enrolling in the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC. Announced as part of Governor Hochul's 2023 State of the State address, the New York State Department of Health will partner with Code for America to pilot a live, online chat program that will help the agency gather client feedback to improve the WIC program and enrollment statewide.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'When more women are empowered to lead, everyone benefits. Decades of studies show women leaders help increase productivity, enhance collaboration, inspire organizational dedication, and improve fairness.

Despite these benefits, only 10% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women. How can businesses create more opportunities for women in leadership spaces using psychological science?

Industrial/organizational (I/O) psychologists offer a host of evidence-backed strategies for helping close the gender gap. These include earlier identification of leadership potential, training for men and others already in power to serve as allies, and formal mentoring and sponsorship programs.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Marama Davidson yesterday said, “I am the prevention violence Minister, and I know who causes violence in the world, and it’s white cis men’.

Clearly the Minister misspoke and she didn’t actually mean that her Ministerial position has led her to believe that all white cis men cause all the violence in the world.

The irony of stating white cis men cause the violence in the world only to be run over by a Māori Destiny Church Biker an hour later is too great.'

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Wikipedia on Marama Davidson

Article here. Excerpt:

'Back in June of 2021 I reported on video game writer Chris Avellone’s libel lawsuit against two women who had accused Avellone of sexual assault on Twitter. Avellone publicly denied the accusations and announced he was taking both women to court over their statements.

Now, nearly two years later, the case has been settled. Avellone’s accusers, Karissa Barrows and Kelly Bristol, have signed a joint statement retracting their previous claims on social media and clearing Avellone of any wrongdoing. A seven-figure payment to Avellone is part of a confidential settlement between the parties according to Avellone's lawyers.
...

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'A female teacher who admitted to having sex with her 16-year-old student in the backseat of her car has avoided jail after the judge deemed she was not a predator.

Monique Ooms, 31, of Maffra, was sentenced on Friday by County Court of Victoria Judge John Smallwood to a four year community corrections order, with 300 hours of community work for the crime.

She pleaded guilty this month in Victoria's Latrobe Valley County Court to four counts of sexual penetration of a child under her supervision and care.

Over 30 minutes, Judge Smallwood outlined the contributions to society Ooms had contributed and the hardship she had endured in the community after being outed as a child sex offender.

The court heard Ooms had been abused in the street by strangers and was sacked from her jobs at a pharmacy and the local pub.

Her local Country Fire Association had given her the boot and the footy club no longer wanted a bar of her.