Transitioning Times

Recently, in light of crimes committed in California against women who were perceived to slight an individual, people have started posting under the heading/hashtag YesAllWomen, stating that no, not all men rape, or beat, or harm women, but all women have, at some point, experienced harassment, abuse, or discrimination in their lives.  Below are just a few examples; I strongly encourage you to search #YesAllWomen on Twitter or Tumblr to learn more. Many argue that social media campaigns like this don't do anything.  It's just another case of people saying one things behind a computer keyboard/smartphone and another in real life.  Well, I would argue that these days, social media IS real life.  And if people are talking about misogyny, and rape culture, and discrimination, even if it isn't solving the problem, talking about it is a step in the right direction.  It is hard to read the information posted under this heading on Twitter and Tumblr, but I do it to...

An  opinion piece  was recently published in Time calling for an end to the rape culture hysteria.  There has, of course, been some backlash from the feminist blogosphere.  Essentially, what the opinion piece says is that rapists should be held accountable for raping people.  Yes.  Absolutely.  We agree wholeheartedly...however.  If these rapists are not being held accountable by their schools, or law enforcement, or the criminal justice system at large, can we really attribute that to each of those individual people being incompetent?  What does it mean when every person a victim speaks to asks them weighted questions about their behavior prior to the assault?  What does it say about the messages young men receive when we have to have PSA's about victims needing to be awake to consent?  Doesn't this assume that these young men have received a contradictory message at some point?  That it's okay to take what you want from a p...