Academia in a nutshell, or why I didn’t go get my Ph.D.
(thanks to Donna for the link)
holy crap.
Her lawsuit against Day is now on appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, in part because of the victim-blaming actions of the trial court judge. Judge Phillip Brown, despite a Georgia rape shield law, compelled Ross to disclose every person she had ever dated, or engaged in any sexual activity with, including their names, dates of interaction, and contact information. This evidence was supposedly to show “consent;†the actual purpose was to humiliate the victim and discourage her and other victims from pursuing these cases. Under Georgia state law, and federal law, a victim’s sexual history with third parties is supposed to be irrelevant. The result of this case is that any victim who brings a civil claim for sexual battery in Georgia must be prepared to discuss all of her previous sexual partners. The judge ultimately found Ross was not raped in part because, as all that testimony showed, she was not a virgin.
Just a Question (or 20)
My friend Doug McKeown was doing some spring cleaning and found this tidbit of Queer Nation propaganda in his files. It’s the Heterosexual Questionnaire, which asks, among other things, “If heterosexuality is normal, why are a disproportionate amount of mental patients heterosexual?”
You can see the full-size version here.
Five More
There is a “10 Things About Yourself” Thing going around, like the spring flu, and while I previously answered “Five Things You Don’t Know About Me,” I feel like I owe everyone another five now. So here goes:
6. I played flute from age 10 – 20. I probably still can, though I haven’t tried in a long time.
7. I am very very very fond of elephants. I think perhaps I was one in a previous life (if you believe in that sort of thing, which i don’t, except that it’s a handy explanation for why I have such a thing for elephants).
8. I have lived in only 4 apts in the entire 20 years I have lived in NYC, & three of them were in upper Manhattan. (The fourth is the apt I live in now, in Brooklyn.)
9. I have 20/15 vision.
and finally
10. the first short story I wrote, aged 9, was a bad knockoff of A Wrinkle in Time.
Interview Question
I am sick of being asked the interview question, “So why are you looking for part-time work? Why not full-time?†and answering, “I’m a writer. I work part-time so I have time to write†and having the interviewer look at me like a dog that’s been shown a card trick.
Prince Caspian Arrives Today
& I am going today, because I have to, because I did for The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe, and because I’m really really hoping that the water god looks as cool in the movie as he does in the trailer.
But Eddie Izzard as Reepicheep (well, his voice) should be entertaining, even if the Trufflehunter the Badger isn’t (though if he’s anything close to the Beavers, he’ll be fantastic).
They’re shooting Dawn Treader next, which is my favorite.
Two Bits
Two bits of good news: Khadijah Farmer won the suit against Caliente Cab Company, & not just that:
Among the workplace practices that Caliente Cab agreed to adopt in the settlement was to add gender identity and expression to its corporate nondiscrimination policy; to adopt a gender-neutral dress code for its employees; and to amend its employee handbook to state “persons patronizing or employed at Caliente have the right to use the bathroom facilities consistent with their gender identity and expression.â€
The second piece of good news – well we’re hoping it will end up being good news – is that California’s Supreme Court just lifted the Same Sex Marriage Ban. There are a few potential downsides – like gay marriage becoming a presidential election issue again – but for now I’ll leave you with Shannon Minter:
Shannon Minter of the National Center for Lesbian Rights said same-sex marriage advocates could not have hoped for a more favorable ruling by the Republican-dominated court. “It’s a total victory,” Minter said.
I just love that a trans person was the one who argued the case, and won.
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Utah Mine Update
The deaths were avoidable, the 150-page report said, because five months before the August disaster in the north section of the mine, a similar collapse had occurred in a southern section, offering clear “red flags” indicating that the mine was unstable. Rather than informing federal mining officials about the March collapse, the report said, the mine operator cleaned up the site and went on with work in a nearby section.
The whole report is at TruthOut. Thanks to Miss Carolyn for sending it on.
Thanks
Thank you so much, everyone, for the lovely birthday wishes and the lovely (de facto) birthday party. We had a wonderful time seeing a lot of old friends, new friends — fantastic people all.
It’s still hard to believe we’re 39. I really don’t think I ever expected to live this long. But now that I have, I suppose I should have a plan.
& For those who are wondering, no, we didn’t win the lottery. ha.