The (female) co-editor of Mother Jones, Clara Jeffrey, tweeted about the death of a skilled American sniper who had recently been murdered at a gun range. She wasn’t mocking him or his death, but rather stating that if even a talented shooter couldn’t stop a determined gun attack, maybe we should keep discussing the gun laws in our country. The outpouring of sexual harassment on Twitter was prompt and vicious. Among gender-neutral insults like scumbag and worthless ass, she was called a whore, bitch, slut, and other derogatory names. I’m really disappointed by how unsurprising it is that women who share their opinions on the internet can expect to receive that kind of harassment pretty regularly. Continue Reading →
violence
Recent posts
The Politics Of Regulating Guns And Regulating Sexuality
Buckle up, folks, I’m going to draw a number of parallels and ask you to put on your metaphorical thinking-caps while reading this post. Maybe you don’t automatically think “vaginas!” when you’re tuning into the gun debate in America, but I do, and I think you should consider doing the same. Here’s why. Continue Reading →
Violent Sex, PTSD, And Ethics
A journalist who worked in Haiti, and consequently had to deal with the symptoms of PTSD, has found that violent sex is helping her cope with the trauma. While her account of the healing process is an interesting read, it’s also important to keep in mind, as Clarisse Thorn reminds us, that the journalist is still responsible for ethically representing the people she interacted with there (in this case, the journalist revealed details about a sexual assault survivor’s life that could further put her in danger, against the survivor’s express wishes). This ethical quandry is unfortunate, because sex as a tool for healing seems really fascinating. Follow us on Twitter @mysexprofessor. Follow Jeana, the author of this post, @foxyfolklorist. Continue Reading →