The Riot

So…let’s get this out of the way right now. This a recent Ralph Lauren ad. Apparently, Bobblehead Chic is the new black. Or something.

Seriously, this ad is terrible. So terrible, in fact, that several well-known and read websites posted the ad along with criticism/mockery of it.

And then, Ralph Lauren’s lawyers made them stop.

Cory Doctorow says it better in his article here and gives much more of the ins and outs of the legality of the situation. But the basic point is, this sort of censorship is ridiculous. I’m sure if the articles were mindlessly praising the advertisement, they’d have been allowed to remain online.

But this is Twitter. And Twitter has the power of reblog. So I’m asking you, readers, if you have a Tumblr REBLOG IF YOU BELIEVE IN OUR FREEDOM TO CRITIQUE. Reblog if you believe we still have the right to say we don’t like something, especially when it’s something as harmless as an epically terrible fashion ad.

So, if you haven’t heard by now, the ACLU is suing the state of Mississippi over a faith-based abstinence rally held in May for students.  The rally included Christian themes, opened with a minister’s prayer and is being regarded as a massive violation of the First Amendment’s guarantee of separation of church and state.

Lt. Governor Phil Bryant voiced his displeasure with the ACLU suit, claiming that there is nothing wrong with teaching abstinence to young women.

“I was so disappointed that the ACLU has decided that we don’t need to tell young women in the state of Mississippi about our faith; we don’t need to explain to them that abstinence, we believe, is related to our faithful Christianity beliefs.”

Okay, Phil, I’m gonna stop you right there.  Let’s look at this bit by bit with a little thing we call “logic.”

On one hand, you’re right, there’s nothing wrong, legally, with teaching abstinence.  However, since statistically studies have proven that abstinence education doesn’t work, it seems like logically this was…well, maybe not WRONG, but certainly not the best choice.  After all, studies how shown that abstinence education doesn’t prevent young people from having sex, it just means they are less likely to use protection.  A study of students who took “virginity pledges,” a cornerstone of abstinence education, showed that these students were more likely to shun condoms and birth control.

Of course, that could have something to do with you teaching them that condoms don’t work and birth control causes breast cancer.

But back to you Phil.  You mentioned you didn’t see anything wrong with teaching young women about Christian morals.  And once again, you’re part right.  There’s nothing legally wrong with teaching kids to be good to each other and help each other out, you just really can’t bring Christ into it.  Because you can teach the morals without teaching them to worship Jesus, honestly.  Believe it or not, most major faiths have a similar moral basis: be good to each other, help each other out, respect yourself and your loved ones, be honest.  But when you put one above the other and say “Well, if you have sex, baby Jesus will cry?”  That’s the problem.  You’re not being sued for teaching young women abstinence, you’re being sued for teaching young women that Jesus wants them to be abstinent.

And have you noticed my repeated “young women” thing here, Phil?  I hope so, because it sure stuck out in your little statement above.  I’m guessing, since this was for all students, you had boys in the audience as well, being asked to chant “Stop!  Don’t touch me there!  This is my no-no square!”  But you site that young women, specifically, have to be taught abstinence.  If I’m correct, and gimme some leeway, it’s been awhile since I read the Bible, isn’t abstinence supposed to be an across the board thing?  So…shouldn’t your statement have been “young people?”

Oh, except for the part where young women are targeted by abstinence education while there is still this attitude of “boys will be boys,” when it comes to men.  Either that, or you’re so steeped in your Christian fundamentalist thinking, you really believe that women are in need of male guidance to “control” their sexuality.  Because if you don’t teach girls not to have sex before marriage, they’ll run around doing everyone and everything, right?  And I’m sorry, I keep trying to wrap my head around that logic, but it’s pretty much impossible.

Along those lines: Jennifer’s Body opened this past week in theatres nationwide.

In closing, Phil, yeah, you were wrong here.  You were very wrong and your defense on manages to back up everything the nay-sayers of abstinence education have been saying for years, other than simply “it doesn’t work.”  You’re just trying to teach your faith in public schools without making it look like you’re teaching your faith in public schools.  You are exploiting a loop hole at the cost of the health and well-being of your students and it makes me ill.

Reblogged because it belonged here.

nonotyou:

Kat reposted a nice piece about true rape prevention, which reminded me of this little list I whipped up a few months ago. As I just did a college RA training yesterday, re-reading this made me laugh. I mean seriously, the “tips” they give potential victims are so condescending. It’s fun to turn the tables.

Sexual Assault Prevention Tips Guaranteed to Work!

1.   Don’t put drugs in people’s drinks in order to control their behavior.

2.   When you see someone walking by themselves, leave them alone!

3.   If you pull over to help someone with car problems, remember not to assault  them!

4.   NEVER open an unlocked door or window uninvited.

5.   If you are in an elevator and someone else gets in, DON’T ASSAULT THEM!

6.   Remember, people go to laundry to do their laundry, do not attempt to molest someone who is alone in a laundry room.

7.   USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM! If you are not able to stop yourself from assaulting people, ask a friend to stay with you while you are in public.

8.   Always be honest with people! Don’t pretend to be a caring friend in order to gain the trust of someone you want to assault. Consider telling them you plan to assault them. If you don’t communicate your intentions, the other person may take that as a sign that you do not plan to rape them.

9.   Don’t forget: you can’t have sex with someone unless they are awake!

10. Carry a whistle! If you are worried you might assault someone “on accident” you can hand it to the person you are with, so they can blow it if you do.

And, ALWAYS REMEMBER: if you didn’t ask permission and then respect the answer the first time, you are commiting a crime- no matter how “into it” others appear to be.

Hey, folks, due to a lack of entries, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cancel The Riot’s Photo Contest.  We’ll try again at a later date, promise.

Stop patting yourselves on your backs.  You’re going to cut yourselves on your exposed shoulderblades.

Okay, okay, that was low.  And nasty.  Because with all the problems women of all shapes and sizes have with body image, it’s really not right for any of us to poke fun at each other.  These days, nobody’s happy with their body, not even the airbrushed girls in magazines.  There’s always something you want to change, something you wish was bigger, smaller, tighter, better.  And it sucks for all of us.

But, Glamour, you really think you’ve done a public service, don’t you?  You are shaking your own hands madly over the fact that you put a 180 lb girl in your September issue.

Which, okay, yay for featuring Lizzi Miller, who’s bigger than your normal model.  However, you have the audacity to claim she is representative of the normal-sized woman.

She is 5 feet 11 inches tall.

That is NOT average.

Yeah, see, the weight is a little different when you take that into account, isn’t it?  Because, trust me, that woman at 180 and me or one of my other 5’ 3” to 5’ 5” friends at 180?  Look very, very different.  But you wouldn’t know because those are just the faceless women who read your magazine and send you letters proclaiming how forward thinking you are for showing a woman with a slight belly and some stretch marks.

Don’t get me wrong, this IS a big step for women’s magazines.  And the model in question is absolutely gorgeous.  But at the same time, she is still branded with the label of “plus sized model” while wearing a size 12 or 14.  She’s “average” but at the same time “plus sized.”  Um…what?

This comes less than a year after the attempted censorship of Amanda Palmer’s video for “Leeds United” by her label, Roadrunner, because of her “uncommercially large belly.”  Her fans, in response, started what they call the “Rebellyon,” a posting of pictures of their own bellies, of all shapes, sizes and sexes.  Palmer herself pleaded publically to be dropped from the label for a combination of the censorship and being told “it was a shame that someone as smart and talented as me could not make a commercial record that they could sell. and he thinks that someday i’ll see the light and write some better songs.”

And now, Glamour, you’re claiming that the reactions to Lizzi’s picture as well as recent debates about fattism and reality shows such as “More to Love” “only strengthens our commitment to celebrating all kinds of beauty.”

Glamour, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t know REAL beauty if it kicked you in your expertly make-up-ed face.

In closing: kiss my uncommerically large size 20 ass.

The first ever Riot Photography contest is set to end August 31st, 2009.  If need be I will push back the date AGAIN, if only to encourage more entries.  Come on, folks, I know you’ve all got ideas on how to start a riot, lemme see ‘em!