In the week since Donald Trump's outrageous comments from 2005 were revealed there have been myriad flimsy attempts to defend him and his words as "locker room talk."
Let's me be both clear and honest. This is in no way typical of "locker room talk." I know because, as a man, I have heard and partaken in such talk: in locker rooms; in frat houses; even in bar bathrooms. I have heard comments that can be described as crude and demeaning, but NEVER, not once, not even from drunk strangers have I heard descriptions, and laughter, about sexual assault. That is not normal.
That is not "locker room talk." Yes, there are men who still talk - and worse - act the way Trump talks and acts, but they are not common and that is not the norm. Trump is not speaking for men because he is not a real man. A real man may want to have sexual experiences with women, but he respects them and he would never force it, nor joke about it. Real men are better than Donald Trump. He is not a real man, he is a sociopath.
As always, happy Wednesday and happy reading.
This Day in History
1915 - Germans execute a British nurse who had voluntarily stayed behind in occupied Belgium to tend to wounded German and Belgian soldiers. She was accused and plead guilty to helping British and French soldiers escape German occupied territory. The nurse, Edith Cavell, was killed by a firing squad, and a statue of her stands in London's Trafalgar Square today.
Fearing Women in Power
What is it about powerful women that makes all of us, men and women, uncomfortable (from the Atlantic)? The double standard to which we hold women in positions of authority is astounding and ugly. Case in point, after many events Hillary Clinton is told she should smile more, but I don't think I've seen Trump smile even once in the last few weeks. What about Hillary's hair, have you noticed it? We should talk about it, just like we talk about the bald, wigged, and top-hat wearing male presidents of yore. The offensive double standards to which women are held are not only morally unjust, they're harmful to all of us. Case in point, one of the most qualified presidential candidates ever is in a tight race with a racist sociopath.
Is Marriage Worth It?
Traditional marriages are structured around economic and biological necessities, neither of which are as necessary as they once were. It may be less expensive for a woman to find a man than artificial insemination, but Pulitzer Prize winning author Jared Diamond argues in his book The Third Chimpanzee that the primary purpose of sex for humans is no longer procreation.
Similarly, women are no longer economically dependent on men. The foundations of traditional marriages are crumbling, causing many to ask, is marriage worth it (from Newstatemen)? What happens as the this cornerstone of society evolves? Even as marriage becomes less common, research shows how much children benefit from two parent households. It feels as though disruption will result from the confluence of these two trends.
Thank you to Katrina in DC for sharing this link!
Sex Ed: Less Healthy than Sex
At the root of sexism is...sex? American society has some serious cognitive dissonance about sex. On the one hand it's too taboo to discuss in schools, but on the other hand we have no problem with school age children seeing scantily clad women on TV selling cars, beer, and (insert product here). One of the primary ways we perpetuate sexism and rape culture is by refusing to teach children about sex and relationships in a healthy, positive way, which is particularly discouraging since both sex and relationships should be and often are very positive!
Much of the blame for this can be laid at the feet of abstinence-only sex education, which can verifiably be called one of the most self-defeating ideas ever (from Mother Jones). Far from decreasing rates of teenage sex, states that encourage abstinence only sex ed have the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the nation, and young men and women are unprepared for how to have safe sex, and how to build healthy, respectful relationships.
Defeating sexism and eliminating many of the negative consequences of uneducated sex requires robust sex education - abstinence should absolutely be included as a safe option in the curriculum - and an emphasis on how to teach young women and particularly young men, how to respect each other and the relationships they build. Failing this will only lead to more of the same bad outcomes we see today: high rates of STDs; teen pregnancy; and more horrifying actions and comments from Stanford swimmers and deplorable presidential candidates.
Gaming the System
Also known as a tale of two strippers (from NY Mag). These women hustled wealthy patrons out of massive amounts of money, until they were ultimately caught by the police. This is a story with no good guys, although the strippers are certainly the more sympathetic party. More than anything, this tale is an example of how a system that pays men extraordinary sums while forcing women to strip for paltry collections of $1 bills is unfair and unsustainable, as well as what consequences exist because of that system.
An Elegant Beauty
I was hoping to title this Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, but I realized you couldn't see this elegant beauty's eyes in the picture I took. Rest assured, they were magnetic blue. Rarely do I see a striking Husky this pretty, so I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this one. I don't have the name of the dog or the human who is lucky enough to spend time with her, but I'm glad I ran into them both!
Will's Weekly Trivia
Please be sure to share Willful Intent's new opt-in form with friends, and submit any thoughts and dog pics via the feedback form!
IF you choose to answer the question, respond to staton.will@gmail.com with your answer. Please note that by competing you are giving me permission to publish your first name in the trivia leader board each week.
Last Week:
1. Who created the computer that cracked the Nazi Enigma machine? ONE POINT
2. Which form of social media is rapper DJ Khaled famous for using? ONE POINT
3. Which two candidates participated in the first televised presidential debate? ONE POINT
Answers:
1. The British mathematician Alan Turing created the Enigma-cracking computer.
2. DJ Khaled is a Snapchat titan.
3. The first televised presidential debate was between JFK and RMN.
This Week:
1. What is Richard Nixon's middle name? ONE POINT
2. The author's last name is similar to a famous American suffragette, who is she (full name, not last name only)? ONE POINT
3. What year did the Supreme Court decide Roe v. Wade? ONE POINT
