Article here. Excerpt:

'I like being a woman. I have never felt even remotely bad about being a female member of the species. Chalk it up to an adolescence miraculously devoid of the unrelenting glare of women’s magazines, a fantastic relationship with my supportive parents, or being born in the good ol’ United States of America, but I’ve always known that being a girl is pretty awesome.

And the only time it even occurs to me to feel bad about my sex is when feminists start telling me I’m doing everything wrong.

The most recent feminist triumph had nothing to do with advocating for the right of women to drive in Saudi Arabia or for the right to life of unborn children killed simply for the crime of being girls or any other such problem. It was a campaign organized by high-achieving and popular women such as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg to, um, “ban” everyone else from using the word bossy. I already listed seven of the problems with this campaign (e.g. girls don’t need over-protection, victims of unduly assertive people need a word to use to combat bad behavior, not everyone’s a leader and it’s time to stop shaming people who aren’t.)

But one major problem with the campaign is that it has taken a word that wasn’t gender specific and made it into one. So in the name of feminism, we have forever joined the term “bossy” with “girl-trait” in everyone’s minds. What are you going to do for an encore, feminism?

In response to the campaign, Elle magazine came up with an even better idea: “While We’re Banning Stuff, Let’s Ban Sorry“:
...

Link here. Excerpt:

'* Scholarship Opportunity for 4 Weeks Work
*$37,715 - $44,460 p.a. + Generous Super
* Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Darwin, Hobart, Adelaide

A scholarship is offered in each state and territory every year for Australian women studying at TAFE or equivalent level, courses in electronics technology, electrical engineering, communications engineering, computer systems/shared technology or similar.

Successful applicants will receive four weeks paid work in the Technology Division of the ABC, plus a $1,000 educational book allowance.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Connecticut Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers recently acknowledged in The Hartford Courant, there should be established guidelines for appointing guardians ad litem; there must be a mechanism for holding guardians ad litem accountable, including a method to limit their fees or remove them for failing to complete their required tasks in accordance with their orders of appointment; Guardians ad litem should be subject to a published code of conduct.

Story here. Excerpt:

'Penalization of Sexism

For the purposes of this Act, the concept of sexism will be understood to mean any gesture or act that, in the circumstances of Article 444 of the Penal Code,* is evidently intended to express contempt for a person because of his gender, or that regards them as inferior, or reduces them to their sexual dimension, and which has the effect of violating someone’s dignity.

Anyone found guilty of [such conduct] will be punished with a prison sentence of one month to one year, and a fine …, or one of these penalties alone….

* The relevant part of Article 444 Belgian Penal Code refers to the following circumstances/contexts in which the speech/conduct is required to take place:

“Either in public meetings or places;

Or in the presence of several people, in a place that is not public but accessible to a number of people who are entitled to meet or visit there;

Or in any place in the presence of the offended person and in front of witnesses;

Or through documents, printed or otherwise, illustrations or symbols that have been displayed, distributed, sold, offered for sale, or publicly exhibited;

Or finally by documents that have not been made public but which have been sent or communicated to several people.”
...
Vrielink reports that the law will indeed cover not just face-to-face insults, but also things said about people in print or in other forms of mass communications. Thus, I infer, it would be a crime to publish newspaper articles or blog posts that say a politician, journalist, criminal, or whoever else is inferior because of his or her gender, or intentionally show contempt for the person because of his or her gender, or “reduce them to their sexual dimension,” and which has the effect of violating someone’s dignity.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The departure of Alberta's first female premier this week, in the face of mounting public and party pressure, has reignited a familiar question: Did sexism play a role in her demise?
...
The Progressive Conservative premier made mistakes, McLellan said, but her caucus and voters — both male and female — had unfair expectations of her as a female leader.

"There seems to be some standard that somehow it's OK for men in public life to act a certain way. But if women do that, that makes them not nice ladies," she said.
...
Former Saskatchewan NDP premier Lorne Calvert said it may be telling that Redford isn't the only female premier to leave office recently.

Article here.

'After a few male students accused of sexual assault sued their institutions under Title IX, alleging that they were discriminated against on the basis of gender in campus disciplinary hearings, experts suggested they faced an uphill battle in proving that to be the case.

Article here. Excerpt:

A masculist crusader says feminism has come at the cost of men.

The comments were sparked by new research showing New Zealand blokes get a "raw deal" in education, health and wellbeing.

Men are more likely to fail at school, ditch university, end up in prison and commit suicide than women, according to the AUT study.

Meanwhile, females are racing ahead in education, commanding flexible working conditions and have longer life expectancy.

Self-described masculist Kerry Bevin said the women's rights movement went too far and men are paying the price in the "feminist aftermath".

"It's way out of kilter and the boys are suffering," he said. "You've now got men who are primary breadwinners but doing work at home and sports on the weekends. These guys are the true soldiers and don't get enough recognition."

Story here. Excerpt:

'Mel Gibson is reported to be considering another legal battle with his ex Oksana Grigorieva.

The 58-year-old is alleged to be seeking more custody of his four-year-old daughter Lucia that he shares with the Russian pianist, who he pays $20,000 a month in child support to.
...
An insider told the website: 'Oksana is terrified that Mel is going to go to court and ask Judge Scott Gordon to give him sole custody of their daughter, Lucia, because of a recent incident.
...
A report by TMZ claims that Grigorieva recently filed legal documents claiming she can only afford to pay $372 per month towards debts listed at $438,000.

The hard-up Russian pianist is in dire financial straits, with her position made much worse a fortnight ago when a judge ruled the Lethal Weapon star did not have to pay the $375,000 remaining on their settlement after she breached a confidentiality clause.

According to TMZ she is asking the court to clear the balance of her debts after five years, despite the fact she will have only stumped up $22,320, just five per cent of what she owes.

This amounts to just over one installment of the $20,000 she receives in child support from the Braveheart star to care for their four-year-old daughter Lucia.

Oksana filed for bankruptcy less than four years after knocking back a reported $15m child custody settlement offer from the megarich actor, who is worth an estimated $425m.

Previous legal documents filed showed she is claiming she is so broke she has just $10 in cash to her name, and has $48,000 in assets and $438,000 in debts.
...
During her bitter custody battle with the Mad Max actor she sacked more than 40 lawyers.
...

Story here. Excerpt:

'A judge granted bond, set at $50,000 in cash, to a former teacher charged with having sex with several students. The judge set bond for Lori Quigley for all three counts she faces.

Police arrested Quigley a week ago at her Georgia home. She resigned from her math teaching job about a week before her arrest.

An arrest affidavit shows investigators claimed Quigley had a sexual encounter in her classroom with two students at the school in September and October of 2012. A third encounter with one of the two students, according to investigators, took place at a Waffle House in Georgia this past January.

Judge David L. Cavender ruled Quigley must have no contact (in person, by phone, by email or social media) with students or former students of the county school system other than family members. She has to stay in the county where she lives and cannot leave the state of Georgia without prior approval of the court.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A 21-year-old woman was sentenced to two years in prison for having forced sexual intercourse with an 8-year-old boy 50 times.

Loren Morris, who was 16 when the abuse started five years ago, was given the sentence on Tuesday, a month after she was convicted at trial at Worcester Crown Court in England. The abuse lasted two years and came to light after the child was heard bragging about the encounters at school.

The Daily Mail reports that Judge Robert Juckes QC gave Morris a more lenient sentence because she stopped sexually assaulting the boy after she realized it was "wrong."

Story here. Excerpt:

'An Arizona woman accused of convincing a boy she was a teenager and giving him a sexually transmitted disease may have had sex with other minors, police said.

Anna Areola-Hernandez, 23, was arrested Thursday and faces charges including sexual conduct with a minor, child molestation, unlawful age misrepresentation, and an adult posing as a minor for sexual conduct, according to AZ Family.

Court documents show that Areola-Hernandez had a six-month relationship with a 13-year-old boy she first met at a Phoenix mall. She allegedly told the teen that she was 15-years-old, and had sex with the child several times.

In February, the child's mother contacted the police after finding out Areola-Hernandez has lied about her age, and had allegedly given her son an STD.

Story here. Excerpt:

'Alan Cumming [link added] wants to tell you about his penis. He wants it to be a shining example to the world. In a candid interview with Drew Grant this week in the New York Observer, the 49-year-old Scottish actor reveals his strong opinions on “Girls,” naughty cellphone pictures, and, most controversially, circumcision. Or as he puts it, “genital mutilation.”

“There’s a double-standard, which is that we condemn the people who cut off girls’ clitorises, but when it happens to boys,” Cumming says. “I mean, it is the most sensitive part of their bodies, it has loads of nerve endings, and it can go horribly wrong. I’m speaking out against it … I’m just so suspicious of the medical industry, which just flings pills at people to ensure everyone is reliant on things. ‘Here are some pills, Mommy. Take them, and we’ll take your baby away and hack its thing off, and then we’ll bill you for that too.’”

Story here. Excerpt:

'Sevi Poblete strode proudly across the University of Rochester campus wearing 3-inch, black leather high-heeled boots that, for him, represented all women who suffered from sexual assault or abuse.

In honor of his friends and other victims of sexual violence, Poblete chanted: "Stop, Ask, Clarify!" as he led dozens Saturday to "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes," an event sponsored by Rochester's Survivor Empowerment Group (SEGway) and the University Health Services Health Promotion Office.

The internationally recognized campaign encourages men to literally walk one mile in women's high-heeled shoes, to bring awareness to sexual assault and violence.

"(Wearing the heels) makes it more meaningful and sets an example for other people who want to participate in future events" Poblete said. "For me it was more about the message."'

Article here. Reverse the sexes, change a little dialogue, and you have an international boycott of the company on your hands. As it is now, their sales have probably gone up. Excerpt:

'The ad's title, "Can You Sock Me?" telegraphs the premise of a young boy asking the question to his mother, who eagerly obliges in this double-entendre drivel. (Watch it, above.)

And that's not even the latest shlock from the European sock company, which appears to have a legitimate Facebook page packed with negative comments. The company's new ad (below) features a young man killing his hospitalized grandpa so he can take his socks.

The majority of YouTubers, both English- and French-speaking, expressed disgust with the "Can You Sock Me?" bit. "Someone looked at this and thought it was a good idea. Think about that for a moment," one wrote. Another penned, "Fock you, Burlington. Child molestation jokes aren't a good way to sell your crap."'

Story here. Excerpt:

'An 11th grade English teacher resigned last week after she was accused of having sexual relations with a student at a Pennsylvania high school.

Emily Nesbit, 31, was charged with institutional sex assault, a third-degree felony, on Friday. Police said Nesbit admitted meeting an 18-year-old male student for sex in a classroom after hours at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg.

Nesbit is charged based on her position as a teacher, without regard to the age of the student. If convicted she could face up to seven years in prison, prosecutors told ABC 27 News.'