Article here. Excerpt:

'In 1999 Jackson Katz headlined a documentary that powerfully revealed the mask of masculinity, a pretense of stoicism and readiness for violence that many men feel compelled to put on, at least part of the time. The film, Tough Guise: Violence, Manhood, and American Culture, became a staple in classes on gender across the country.

Last week marked the release of Tough Guise 2 and SocImages was given the honor of debuting an exclusive clip from the new film. In the segment below, Katz explains that men aren’t naturally violent but, instead, often learn how to be so. Focusing on socialization, however, threatens to make invisible the socialization agents. In other words, Katz argues, men don’t just learn to be more violent than they otherwise would be—they are actively taught.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Sexism in the workplace is rife, according to a new study commissioned by employment law firm Slater & Gordon. Sixty per cent of women, the report suggests, have had a male colleague behave ‘inappropriately’ towards them. Now, putting aside the obvious point that an employment law firm may have a vested interest in unearthing potential new cases, the report hardly stands up to scrutiny. Do the 1,036 women who participated in the survey represent a cross-section of society or is the data based on self-selection? Are there any editorial processes or judicial procedures in place to decide what does and does not constitute sexism, or is it merely a case of ‘it is if she says it is’? And then there’s the issue of context. In the report, incidents of harassment includes everything from having a colleague putting their hands up a woman’s skirt, to touching their legs or thighs and placing their hand in the small of a woman’s back. Surely there is a difference between your boss randomly groping your breasts and that over-familiar male colleague slapping your thigh after they have told a dirty joke?
...

Article here. Excerpt:

'To be or not to be? Circumcised that is. Unfortunately for men, when this question arises, we are too young to have any input.

Circumcision is a surgical procedure that removes the foreskin covering the head of the penis. It’s a practice that has been around for thousands of years dating back to 2400 BC Egypt. In our day, many parents have their sons circumcised within their first few months of life due to culture, religion or personal preferences.

Article here. Excerpt:

'A group of 100 protesters – including many topless women – recently marched the streets of Athens, Ohio chanting, "Blame the system, not the victim" and "Two, four, six, eight, stop the violence, stop the rape." Organized by an Ohio University student organization called "f*ckrapeculture," the protest was designed to bring attention to what the founders believe is a toxic culture of sexism and sexual violence infecting their campus.

F*ckrapeculture cofounder Claire Chadwick explained to the campus newspaper, "The name of our organization and the statements that we've made are loud. But it's because we need to be heard." But saying something loudly does not make it true or just.

... However, as universities reexamine their sexual assault policies, administrators should be wary of the demands of these "rape culture" activists. Not only is their movement built on a foundation of dubious statistics and a distorted view of masculinity, but it has already led to policies that have proved devastating to those who have been falsely accused.
...
Unfortunately, Warner is not alone in his grievances. Across the country, students accused of sexual assault are regularly tried before inadequate and unjust campus judiciaries. At most schools, cases of sexual misconduct are decided by a committee of as few as three students, faculty members or administrators. At Swarthmore College, volunteers are now being solicited via email to serve on the Sexual Assault and Harassment Hearing Panel. Such a panel is far more likely to yield gender violence activists than impartial fact finders. In a court of law, we rely on procedural safeguards to ensure unbiased jury selection and due process. But on the college campus, these safeguards have vanished.
...

Article here. Excerpt:

'KITCHENER, Ont. - An Ontario woman accused of poisoning two young kids in her care has now been charged in the alleged poisonings of six babies and toddlers, including a newborn, as well as an adult.

Police said Friday the new charges come as a result of their investigation into the woman, who ran a home daycare in Kitchener, Ont., from 2009 to 2011.

With the new charges, she is now accused in the alleged poisonings of eight children and a 32-year-old adult, all residents of Kitchener, or Guelph, Ont.

Police allege a suspect gave them an over-the-counter eye care product containing Tetrahydrozoline that if ingested can cause abnormal drowsiness, low blood pressure, respiratory problems and decreased heart rates, especially in young children.
...
Detectives discovered that another child who had been under the woman's care in July 2010 had similar symptoms, and recovered after a few days in hospital, according to police.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Oxford University will penalise basketball teams playing in an inter-college league unless they have at least one woman in.

The college basketball league introduced the gender quota in a bid to get more young women playing the sport.

But team captains say they struggle to recruit female students and that the new rules - which award one point for a win with an all-male team but three points for a win by a mixed team - are unfair.
...
League coordinator Zoe Fannon, who imposed the quota, said the move was necessary to because many women at the university “didn’t know how to go about” taking up basketball.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'If the goal is to reduce or eliminate rape, getting men to stop raping would seem the logical solution. But this would involve an honest conversation about our devotion to a warped and toxic vision of masculinity, sex and power that would completely uproot the current social order. It’s easier to just tell women to stop drinking.

Our unwillingness to confront men lets this behavior, born of a sense of entitlement and misplaced ideas of what constitutes power, go unchecked. If we stopped blaming binge drinking (or short skirts, or too-high heels, etc.) we could concentrate on having men not just understand that “no means no,” and that all forms of sexual contact require consent, but also learn to reject that force, domination and coercion are natural markers of masculinity and manhood. Until we reckon with those concepts, women will continue being expected to prevent their own rapes.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Authorities at the University of Northern Iowa said an alleged sexual assault reported at the ROTH dorm in September never happened.

Officers with UNI’s police department began their investigation after a female student told them she had been attacked by two men in her room around 2:30 a.m. Sept. 15.
...
According to court records, in September Richmann told officers that two men followed her into her room, robbed her and sexually assaulted her. UNI put out a campus-wide alert with a description of the suspects.

Investigators were able to identify the men suspected in the incident, and they told officers there had been consensual sexual activity, court records state. Richmann later gave a statement admitting the sex was consensual, records state.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'AN EASTER Ross woman who cheated on her boyfriend then cried rape after having sex with a man she met in a pub was jailed for 14 months at Tain Sheriff Court.

Sentencing Charlene Seel, Sheriff Jamie Gilchrist said she used the man for sex then stigmatised him when she falsely accused him of raping her.

Seel (22), of Kirkside, Alness had earlier pleaded guilty to falsely claiming to have been raped by the man on November 26 or 27, in 2011 at an address in Invergordon.

But in court Sheriff Gilchrist said the social work reports caused him concern because although Seel had pleaded guilty, what was contained in the reports amounted to a plea of not guilty and she had shown no remorse.

Seel’s solicitor Alison Foggo said the Sheriff must ignore the terms of the report.'

Article here. Excerpt:

"While wolf whistling and pay inequality might rankle, it seems that not all sexist behaviour is seen as a bad thing, according to a new study.

'Benevolent sexism', where women are treated as helpless entities in need of protection, is seen in a positive light by many - particularly those women with a strong sense of entitlement.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Official figures show that almost one million boys in English state schools had some form of learning difficulty, behavioural problem or speech and language impairment last year compared with just 511,570 girls.

In all, almost a quarter of boys aged five to 19 had some form of difficulty that prevented them playing a full part in lessons, while just 13.7 per cent of girls were diagnosed.

It follows the release of data showing that boys are much less likely to pass primary school tests in the three-Rs or go on to gain good GCSE grades.
...
Chris McGovern, a former head teacher and chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, said: “The number of children with special needs has grown incredibly over the last 20 years and it often comes down to poor training and teachers who cannot control children. Classifying children as having special needs is too often a ready excuse.

Article here. Excerpt:

Maine governor Paul LePage is passionate about ending domestic violence. We share his desire to stop abuse, but we want him to acknowledge male victims and female abusers. We want him to tell the truth.

In a recent news article LePage repeated the long-debunked "[Men] are 80 percent of the perpetrators" factoid.

The governor has stated that he experienced domestic violence as a child at the hands of his father, so maybe that's why he has fallen for "bad stats" that paint men as monsters and ignore female perpetrators. We have compassion for him. But he's an elected official now, and he should be offering accurate information, not pushing a political agenda.

Hundreds of studies have shown that both genders commit domestic violence in similar numbers. Intimate partner abuse is not a gender crime. Both men and women are capable of hurting each other. And both can be victims.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A New Hampshire woman has been sentenced to nine to 30 years after pleading guilty in the torture of her 18-year-old son.

Christine Gelineau, a 53-year-old from Concord, reached an agreement with prosecutors Thursday, pleading guilty to first-degree assault and witness tampering, CBS Connecticut reported.

The teen, who is now 19, has two other alleged abusers he has yet to face. In court, he spoke to his now "ex-mother."

"Dear ex-Mother,” he began, reading from a statement as his abuser sat sobbing nearby in an orange prison jumpsuit, the Concord Monitor reported. “What you did to me is unforgivable. You beat me, starved me, almost chopped my penis off, threw my clothes away, wouldn’t let me bathe. You almost killed me by having me take three [antidepressants] and two muscle-relaxers."
...
Daniel Tyler Cantrell, 20, and the victim's 29-year-old cousin, Amy Nason, are also charged with torturing the man.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Verizon announces more than $100,000 in grants to domestic violence prevention efforts across North Carolina. The funds will support programs that educate youth and men about healthy relationships and domestic violence with a goal of stopping the cycle of abuse.

Attorney General Roy Cooper reports(i )a 15 percent increase in North Carolina domestic violence deaths in 2012. During October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM), victim care agencies across the state work to drive home the need for change.