NEWSWOMEN'S RIGHTS

I had mistakenly thought that Fox New's Liz Trotta could not spew anything more hateful or ignorant than last week's broadcast claiming that military women should expect to be raped. How wrong I was.

While Trotta presents a multitude of straw man arguments, each as tempting as the last to chase down the rabbit hole, I will, unlike her, attempt to stay the course with this. This week, she attempts to defend herself from her critics, whom she claims simply do not understand what the military is "really" like. Because we apparently need a journalist to tell us Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen what it's like to be in the military. It is clear from her scripted response that Fox has not required her to read any of the actual complaints. Had she taken the time, she would know that the mass majority of those who spoke out against her are far more aware of our military and how it operates than she.

Trotta boasts of "tours of duty" during various wars in which she was imbedded, again, not as a soldier, but as a journalist. I find it ironic that Ms. Trotta claims to have earned the respect of the troops, the troops she is defaming and the troops who so adamantly want her gone. She says she has nothing but respect and admiration for our nation's service members, yet continues to denounce the contribution of the some 20% who happen to be female and to consider the rest capable of rape. Amazing, coming from someone who, in the same breath, claims to be "very sensitive to the needs of the forces." Which needs would that be, Ms. Trotta? Your supposition on their need to rape when at war?

Something different is beginning to happen all over Australia. Every day people are taking a stand on local, state and national issues that matter to them, and they’re winning.

Change.org launched in Australia six months ago. There was a simple goal -- enable anyone, anywhere, to start, join and win campaigns about issues that are important to them.

In the last few months people have started petitions on Change.org leading to incredible results:

• For the first time ever, Apple has invited independent inspectors to monitor working conditions in its factories after wall-to-wall media coverage in four continents of Mark Shield’s 200,000 strong petition on Change.org
• After 25,000 people joined a Catholic priests’ Change.org campaign, the Qld government pledged to end the “gay panic” defence that allowed people to defend murder by claiming the victim was gay and “came onto you” first.
• A program forcing nurses to pay $18,000 to return to life saving work is reviewed for breaching anti-discrimination laws after over a thousand people join nurse and mother-of-three’s Change.org petition.
• Explosive media coverage and 50+ advertisers pulling out of Kyle Sandilands’ radio program after he made a series of abusive comments.
• A huge victory for workers at Baiada Poultry -- the main supplier of chicken to Coles -- who have secured safe working conditions and an end to bullying and harassment by management.
• A family saved from being sent into religious persecution and danger.

Now -- and in just a few short months -- we’re a community of more than 150,000 people, who have together achieved some amazing victories.

From 2003-2008, I was a United States Marine. Trained as a Russian Linguist, I worked as a Security, Governance, and Economics Analyst. "Property of male Marines" was never in my job description, and therefore I should never have had to "expect" to be raped. Nowhere in my enlistment contract, not even in the fine print, did I agree to sexual assault as a part of the job. Fox News pundit Liz Trotta's comments suggesting that servicewomen should "expect" to be raped because they're in "close contact" with their male colleagues are beyond ignorant; they fall into the category of hate speech.

Not only does Ms. Trotta's twisted stance set women's rights back several decades, once again telling us that despite our abilities and qualifications, we should not be allowed to work in our chosen profession so as to avoid "tempting" violent criminals whom she desires to see continue their employment, but she goes even further to suggest that any male in our armed forces is completely capable of raping his colleagues.

In doing so, she has successfully degraded the entirety of the US military and painted the image of a lawless Old West in an organization that is run on order and discipline. Ms. Trotta has expressed a belief that those in uniform should not be protected by basic laws which govern and protect all other Americans, nor should we be held accountable to these laws. In expressing these beliefs, she demonstrates how very little she actually understands our military, and how extremely unqualified she is to speak on our behalf.

Brett Simon thought that when Chris Brown beat up then-girlfriend Rhianna right before the 2009 Grammys, that the victim was Rhianna herself. You know, the person with all the bruises.

But then he heard: Grammy Executive Producer Ken Ehrlich thinks that the awards show was the victim "of what happened."

"I think people deserve a second chance, you know," Ehrlich said. "If you’ll note, he has not been on the Grammys for the past few years and it may have taken us a while to kind of get over the fact that we were the victim of what happened." When Brett saw that Chris Brown was back performing on the prestigious show last night, while still on probation for the domestic assault, he was upset. When he heard that the Grammys thought they were the real victims, he really had to do something. That's when Brett started a Change.org petition demanding an apology.

Ehrlich's statement suggests that Brown was barred from the awards show not as a consequence of physically harming his girlfriend, another Grammy performer, but because the Grammys were upset with him for -- what? making them scramble to find replacement performers with Rhianna healing and Brown under arrest?

"I started this petition because I realized that something was not right in this country when women beg to be beaten by someone just because he is a good looking Grammy winning performer," Brett explained, commenting on a slew of "Chris Brown can beat me" tweets. "Those tweets along with Grammy producer Ken Ehrlich's comment insinuating that he and the Grammys were the victims of Chris Brown's abusive behavior are proof of a disconnect between society and the reality of domestic violence. The Recording Academy, the Grammys, and Ken Ehrlich need to demonstrate to the public that they understand that domestic violence is not something to be ignored, tolerated, and rewarded."

A girl’s television cartoon that appeals to boys and girls, men and women, is a rarity. For a cartoon to have such broad appeal, its lead characters must be dynamic and empowered—not the nauseatingly sweet-and-pink stereotypes found in most girl-oriented programming.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic has this kind of appeal. Currently in the middle of its second season and slated for a third, it’s one of the best children’s cartoons on television.

The reason: When Hasbro decided to launch My Little Pony for a new generation of children, it invited former Powerpuff Girls animator Lauren Faust to reimagine the classic brand. Faust she brought a feminist sensibility to her work, creating interesting characters that entertain and inspire viewers.

Viewers like my three-year-old son, who adores the show—and parents like me, who are choosy about what their children view.

On a recent weekend, while shopping for a child’s birthday present at Target, we came across a My Little Pony section. My son was delighted to see so many characters from a favorite show, and the talking My Little Pony Princess Celestia toy caught his attention. It has a bright yellow button on its hindquarters, and my son loves buttons. He was entranced when a button's press lit up her wings. But the button also made her talk—and boy, was her talk annoying.

After a month and more than 50,000 petition signatures, an open letter, numerous radio shows, TV segments, blog posts, articles, and even YouTube videos about the company, LEGO has decided to listen to girls! On Sunday, February 5, Michael McNally, Brand Relations Director, sent an email to SPARK Movement. SPARK, a girl-fueled movement to end the sexualization of girls, is a coalition of more than 70 organizations and reaches tens of thousands of girls and those who support their healthy development. LEGO has accepted SPARK’s request for a meeting to discuss how they can go back to offering all LEGO toys to both boys and girls and to respect girls’ hunger and desire to play with toys that challenge them creatively and intellectually.

In response to their new Friends line, which includes Barbie-like, skinny, mini-skirted girls in settings such as a beauty salon, a bakery, and a splash pool, SPARK demands that LEGO, the third largest toy company in the world, encourage girls to build, construct, imagine, dream and create a world that can include both hair stylists and rocket scientists, cupcake bakers and fire chiefs. In SPARK’s Change.org petition, they demanded that LEGO stop selling out girls. More than 52,000 people have signed on already, and the conversation about LEGO Friends has become global.

LEGO has defended the Friends line, saying that it’s the result of 4 years of research into how girls play and what they want, and that they have plenty of other offerings for girls. However, LEGO’s website features 86% male characters, and the majority of the female characters come from the new Friends line. LEGO’s marketing strategy consistently ignores girls who have interests beyond make-up and cupcakes. Putting the focus of LEGO on “beauty” as opposed to creativity places unnecessary limits on girls’ interests. While there is nothing wrong with an interest in pastel-colored LEGOs, making “looking pretty” as opposed to “building things” the focus of a multi-million dollar advertising campaign serves only to limit all kids in the long run.

In September, a horrifying video came to light at Abia State University in Nigeria, depicting five men gang-raping a young woman as she begged them to just kill her. Concerned citizens in Nigeria and around the world, activists, and bloggers called for the "ABSU5" to be brought to justice, denouncing the culture of impunity that led these criminals to believe they could get away with taping and distributing their assault. Yet University and Abia State officials refused to take action, denying the violent act occurred in their jurisdiction without investigating. The Assistant Commissioner of Police, J.G. Micloth, even claimed that the brutal attack looked consensual -- or was punishment for the girl somehow shaming her boyfriend -- to excuse their failure to act.

More than 90,000 Change.org members worldwide signed a petition by Adetomi Aladekomo, a Nigerian rape survivor now living in Canada, calling for these men to be arrested and prosecuted. Finally, last month Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mohammad Adoke intervened in the case, demanding that the Inspector-General of Police investigate the assault. Carol Aije, a Nigerian lawyer who deals with sexual violence cases across the country and has collaborated with the Change.org campaign, directly petitioned the Attorney General's office urging this action, adding to the protests occurring online and on the ground.

This is significant progress. But the campaign isn't over. Though Attorney General Adoke ordered a full investigation, it hasn't happened yet. And Nigeria's law enforcement has been all stirred up, with former Inspector-General Hafiz Ringim removed from his position for incompetence dealing with terrorism. For the campaign to succeed, international attention must continue to make sure that the new Inspector-General, Mohammad Abubakar, follows through with the investigation, and the Attorney General keeps an eye on the proceedings.

Adetomi also hopes to see a law strengthening violence against women legislation, which would also help victims such as Franca Ogbu, a student deeply disfigured by an acid attack whose assailant remains at large. To add your voice to Adetomi's campaign and help bring the gang-rapists to justice, you can sign the petition here.

Every Super Bowl has those one or two ads that everyone is talking about around the watercooler the next day. Remember last year’s Chrysler commercial starring Detroit and Eminem? And that adorable (and notably genderless) kid in the Darth Vader costumewho magically started the family car?It’s no wonder companies spend big ad bucks on the big game. $3.5 million for a 30 second spot buys access to over 110 million viewers, many of whom tune in as much for the ads as for the game. In fact, 66 percent of female viewers say they watch as much or more for the ads, compared to 46 percent of male viewers.

Yet the same polls suggest that men are regularly more satisfied with the ads than women. Why? Because many Super Bowl advertisers turn to sexist, racist, and otherwise offensive stereotypes to market their wares. GoDaddy is a regular offender, showcasing racecar driver Danica Patrick as a sex object rather than a driving champion. And last year Pepsi Max went for a double whammy of racism and sexism with an ad that may or may not have been poking fun at First Lady Michelle Obama. And who could forget Groupon’s ad from last year, making light of the plight of the people of Tibet to promote their services?

Some folks choose to skip watching the bowl altogether rather than rage at the ads. But this year there’s a way to voice your displeasure and make a real change in the way Super Bowl ads are framed. Miss Representation, the movie turned movement to challenge the portrayal of women and girls in the media, is calling for Super Bowl viewers to tweet their displeasure with sexist Super Bowl ads by using the tag #NotBuyingIt. Viewers on this tag will be asking others tweeting about the #SuperBowl who the ad was directed at and what message was sent about gender.

Facebook recently launched a "Women Connect" app, calling it "an online platform for organizations and causes to connect and share information with supporters about issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment.” Apparently, it's a part of Facebook's "Diversity campaign."

Taking action to further gender justice is admirable, but some people see Facebook's internal actions as out of step with this stated mission. The top comment to greet me on the Women Connect page, ranked up through users hitting the "Like" button, reads: "I'm glad that FB is supporting this but they also need to get their own house in order - for example by taking down misogynist & pro-rape pages and dropping their stupid censorship against images of breastfeeding."

The almost 200,000 people who signed the Change.org petition demanding that Facebook remove pages promoting sexual violence and violence against women would most likely agree. As would the thousands of Change.org members telling Facebook to leave breastfeeding pictures alone.

In November, Facebook took some action after a #notfunnyfacebook Day of Action on Twitter denounced their excuse for pro-rape pages: "what one person finds offensive another can find entertaining – just as telling a rude joke won’t get you thrown out of your local pub, it won’t get you thrown off Facebook." A number of pro-violence pages were removed, but Facebook still missed the point, permitting the hate content to remain live if the tag [Humor] or [Satire] was simply added in front of the page title. Facebook users can report content as abusive internally, however when the policy is to protect rape apologism, that won't get rid of the pages.

In these modern times, athletes are considered heroes and icons to thousands, sometimes millions, of people. Even compared to the idols we make of celebrities and musicians, athletes remain our anointed heroes. They often come with backstories that are the stuff of movies (sometimes literally) with tales of overcoming poverty, racism, broken homes, and a variety of other hard knocks. And most of all, athletes remind us of the human potential. They show us the human form in perfection. They dazzle us with their almost superhuman abilities. And it’s thrilling drama.

These characteristics make athletes intoxicating heroes. And that’s why they must be held accountable when they stumble or fall. They must be made an example of, because they represent what we wish we could be on our best of days.

We’ve such failings play out in almost every major sport:

• Football star Michael Vick‘s animal abuse.
• Basketball star Kobe Bryant’s recent hate speech directed at a ref.
• Baseball’s Mel Hall is currently serving a sentence of 45 years for rape and sexual assault.
• In fact, see a list of crimes by pro athletes across multiple sports here.

In huge professional sports clubs like the National Football League and the National Basketball Association, of course there will be a few bad apples or bad scenarios from time to time. What matters is how those events are handled. And whether it’s because of a sense of right and wrong or merely a glance at the bottom line, major sports franchises, players, and organizations are looking at the issues of hate speech, sexual assault, and even bullying with a critical eye.