Support New York Benefit Show, December 4th!
‘In the Wake of It Gets Better’ article from the Guardian
I’ve been struggling to articulate a concise and succinct critique of Dan Savage’s It Gets Better project since I posted about it however many weeks ago. I’m not sure how many ‘drafts’ have been saved and scrapped how many times over, but I do know that this Guardian article successfully captures a majority of my qualms. And I don’t really recall having read something this forward-thinking in any of the major international papers in quite a while, so that is also somewhat heartening.
Woman Forced by Police to State That Non-Consensual Sex Was Not Rape
This is so horrifying.
Reposted from change.org.
“Though I didn’t agree or consent to it (it) was not rape.” Does that sentence make sense to you? It shouldn’t. If you don’t agree or consent to sexual intercourse, that’s called rape. But a South Carolina rape survivor reports that she was forced to write this statement by Marion police after being assaulted by one of their own.
Call for Submissions: At the Seams
From The Depths band member accountability.
Here is an example of a band who is dealing with a member’s accountability in a way that is supportive of the survivors and the community at large.
http://www.fromthedepths.info/news1.html
Or read the band’s statement below the cut.
Support New York Benefit show at Hank’s Saloon, this Thursday!!
So, there is a Support New York benefit this Thursday with like, only the awesomest bands playing, some of whom even feature SNY collective members!
Aye Nako
The Butts (Seattle)
The Facts We Hate
Hey Baby
Hot Mess
Titfit
Very Okay
+ more TBA
at 8pm at
Hanks Saloon
46 3rd Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
$6-$10 sliding scale. Don’t forget this is a benefit!
Here is the facebook invite.
Support New York is looking for a logo!
the kids at Support New York
Rescuing Persephone
The Survivor Theater Project is a Boston-based theater company. RESCUING PERSEPHONE is their original play about sexual violence, childhood sexual abuse, and the experience of living in a society that tries to ignore such traumas. The actors are themselves survivors of sexual violence and childhood sexual abuse, and they draw from their personal experiences to deliver an emotional, highly-charged performance. This is their first time performing in New York.
More information here.
Facebook event invite.
It Gets Better Project
Regardless of any of the totally valid critiques of Dan Savage, sometimes he is super awesome, and his It Gets Better Project is one of those moments.
“Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother’s property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.
Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.
“My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas,” a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. “I wish I could have told you that things get better.”
“Rise of Rape Talk” by Kira Cochrane
The Guardian recently ran a really powerful editorial by Kira Cochrane about the ways that rape jokes and the vernacularizing (is that a word?) of rape helps maintain and uphold the patriarchy and the rape culture we live in. While ultimately depressing, there is something heartening about the fact that this article ran in such a mainstream publication.
Here it is:
The rise of rape talk
Boxer David Haye is far from alone in his casual use of the word ‘rape’. In all walks of life, rape jokes and rape analogies are becoming commonplace
Boxer David Haye, who was unrepentant about his ‘gang rape’ comment on the Today programme this week. Photograph: Mike Marsland/WireImageHe was given every chance to apologise. But on the Today programme yesterday, the world heavyweight champion, David Haye, seemed unrepentant. On Tuesday, publicising his upcoming bout against Audley Harrison, he promised to “violate” his opponent, adding that the match would be as “one-sided as a gang rape“. A wave of criticism crashed over him, and on Thursday, when asked by a Today presenter whether he would like to issue a mea culpa, and address his allusions to rape, Haye ducked the question and simply offered this strange explanation: “You’ll have to wait and see the fight first,” he said, “I’m talking about the one-sidedness of the fight.” He wasn’t actually going to gang rape Harrison, he added, which was certainly good to know.
supportny.org 
