Every other Saturday we will post links relevant to survivors. Please feel free to discuss these links in the comments, or post more links! Trigger warnings appreciated, and self-promotion welcome.
Captain Heartless wrote about the twisted logic used for trauma. [tw: trauma, rape culture, coercion]
Everyday Feminism posted an article about why we need mental healthcare without asexual erasure. [tw: invalidation, coercion]
The UK’s Crown Prosecution Services published a report misleadingly entitled “Violence Against Women and Girls, crime report 2014-2105.” The report erased the experience of thousands of male and transgender victims, which were actually included in the data. Ally Fogg published an open letter to CPS in The Guardian, cosigned by several others. A letter was published in response, but failed to address the issues raised, so Ally Fogg responded:
“I for one do not believe in taking gender out of the analysis of sexual and intimate offences. I believe gender issues are crucial to understanding why so many such crimes occur, and what kind of support is needed by victims. What I cannot accept is a cruel and misleading approach which focusses entirely on the gender of victims when they are women and girls and entirely ignores and erases gender when the victims are men and boys, or worse, when the experiences of those men and boys are subsumed into descriptions of violence against women and girls.”
Another great piece by Miri: Don’t Tell People How (Not) to Feel
A paper by Karen Cuthbert exploring the intersection of asexuality and disability was published by the British Sociological Association. (Pay walled.) Abstract:
“This article explores the intersection of asexuality and disability by means of a qualitative study with asexual-identified disabled persons. The article discusses the ways in which the asexual community is normatively constructed. Although figured as disabled-friendly, the findings suggest that this is conditional on the denial of any causal links between asexuality and disability, and that this can be thought of in terms of the construction of the ‘Gold Star’ asexual. The article also examines how coming to identify as asexual is constrained when one is already marked as ‘disabled’, and more broadly argues that alternative identities or orientations are reliant on a pre-existing ‘normality’. Looking at asexuality in tandem with disability also allows us to interrogate the asexual subject of existing asexuality research and writing, and uncover the implicit privileges being assumed.”
Ania Cebulla wrote about how to make social gatherings more accessible for your disabled friends:
“When you punish me for saying no by excluding me from things, you make it harder for me to be able to say no when I need to. I need you to keep asking and keep trying. That said, if you keep saying you want to see me, but only ever suggest events you know to be unlikely to be comfortable for me, then I will notice that pattern.”
New Zealand has a new anti-troll law that only makes the most vulnerable Internet users even more vulnerable to abuse.
“Under the new system, trolls who mass-dox or denial-of-service attack a victim could make all of her online presence disappear with impunity, and face no penalties at all for abusing the procedure. If the victim did manage to attempt a counterclaim to keep her online life intact, it would require that she disclose her home address and other details to her attackers.”
The LA Times published an interview with Whitney Phillips about trolling and privilege. [tw: discussion of verbal abuse, including rape threats]
An article at Wired pointed out that rape scenes are lazy writing. Zoe Stavri points out that it’s also lazy directing. [tw: gratuitous sexualized rape scenes, misunderstandings of what constitutes consent, black-and-white discussion of gray area]
Kat Riascos wrote about how black women are seen as Mammy and never given room for self-care. [tw: racism, marginalization of black trans and queer women]
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