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This article/video discusses the 16 days of activism fighting against the violence of women and girls.

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The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual campaign that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs through International Human Rights Day on 10 December.

Led by civil society, the campaign is supported by the United Nations through the Secretary General's UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women initiative. This year, the UN marks the 16 Days under the theme " UNiTE! Activism to end violence against women and girls ".

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In focus: 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence | UN Women - Headquarters

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The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an annual campaign that begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs through International Human Rights Day on 10 December. Led by civil society, the campaign is supported by the United Nations through the Secretary General's UNiTE by 2030 to End Violence against Women initiative.

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Muskan Khan and several other women have begun battling with the government over a hijab ban in schools.

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Mandya, Karnataka: Muskan Khan, the student whose iconic rebuttal to a group of males who heckled her for wearing a hijab in Karnataka's Mandya has made waves across the country, says she was did not say 'Allahu Akbar' to offend those who were saying 'Jai Shri Ram' but only to give her courage and strength.

Khan was heckled by a mob at the gate of PES College of Arts, Science and Commerce in Mandya on Tuesday, February 8 because she was wearing a hijab. She, however, refused to surrender to their pressure and proceeded to go into the college. As the group started chanting 'Jai Shri Ram', she responded with 'Allahu Akbar'.

A lone Muslim girl on the way to her college in Karnataka, India is being heckled and harassed by a Hindu right-wing mob for wearing a hijab! pic.twitter.com/DiVjCbqpdW

- Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) February 8, 2022

The hijab ban began in December 2021, when six female students of the Government Pre-University College for Girls in Udupi were barred from attending classes wearing the headscarf. Several other colleges have also barred girls in hijab from entering the college. Meanwhile, some Hindu students began wearing saffron shawls as a form of 'protest'.

The six girls have been protesting against the authorities and filed a writ petition in the Karnataka high, saying their fundamental rights are being violated. The court passed an interim order on Thursday, February 10, saying students should not wear 'religious dress' until it decides the matter.
'Strength and courage'
Khan has been wearing a hijab since she was 7 or 8 years old. "I'm not doing any communalism, nor did I say 'Allahu Akbar' to offend those who were saying 'Jai Shri Ram', " she said. "I was so scared at that time. I was trembling and took Allah's name, so that he would help me out. When I said 'Allahu Akbar', I got the strength and courage to face the situation. I call his name during times of difficulty, and that's why I've been honoured with so much respect in the whole world. I'm so thankful for it."

Recalling the incident, Muskan told The Wire, "That day, I didn't even know that there was a protest. When I went to college, many boys and men surrounded me and told me that if I wanted to go inside, I should remove my hijab. They said, 'If you want to study here, then remove your headscarf, otherwise go home'."

"I just ignored them, entered the gate and parked my bike. But still, they were coming in my way, in my face and raised slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram'. They were asking me to remove my hijab again and again. I was so enraged, especially when they asked me to remove my headscarf then and there itself," she said.

"I wasn't scared at all after the incident. I was standing for my rights. But my mother and father feared a lot as I'm a girl. Because I might have unintentionally made enemies," Khan said about how she felt.

When The Wire asked her what the headscarf means to her, Muskan said, "Hijab is my first priority. No one is forcing me to wear it. It's my right, my dignity and my respect. I can never leave it. I feel safe wearing it."

In a message to not just hijab-clad Muslim girls, but to all the young women, the teenage student said, "Don't be scared of anyone. Remember God during times of difficulty, pray to him. He honoured me with so much respect in the whole world. He'll do the same even to you. Just be strong and fight for your rights."

Videos of Khan have been going viral on social media and she has received praise for her courage. She is being hailed as an icon of resilience - not just for Muslim women fighting against the hijab ban - but also for all women refusing to surrender or give up for their rights.
Also Read: Denying Students Educational Services for Wearing Hijab Is Unconstitutional
When asked if any complaint or action was made against the group of males from her college who heckled her, she said, "No, how could that happen? They are my brothers. I would never do that to them. Today, they're a little misguided but tomorrow they'll realise and come back to the right path. I have faith."

Muskan's father Hussain Khan had earlier told The Wire, "When she went near the college, she called and told me that there's some uproar. I told her not to worry and just go bravely inside."

Khan said her teachers came to her rescue and said her safety is their responsibility. "They asked me to come to college like before. My principal said that the men wearing saffron shawls were outsiders and assured me that next time, something like this wouldn't happen," she said.

According to Hussain Khan, who is the owner of a gym in Mandya, the college authorities were unaware of the men, who "barged into the college" wearing saffron shawls and chanted 'Jai Shri Ram'.

Khan, who is a second-year student of commerce, said she aspires to be a lawyer. "I first want to solve this ongoing matter and then think further about it," she said, replying to why she wants to be a lawyer.

Talking about her inspiration in life, she said, "My parents are my inspiration. They're always with me."
A right-wing campaign
Images and visuals of Khan bravely resisting the right-wing mob were widely shared on social media. Several people started using her image as profile pictures and posted it on their status.

Following this, a pro-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) propaganda website 'Kreately' - promoted by Kapil Mishra - tried to defame her. It morphed Khan's face on to another image of a young woman in jeans - to claim that she normally did not wear a headscarf.

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I Didn't Say 'Allahu Akbar' To Offend Those Who Said 'Jai Shri Ram': Muskan Khan

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Mandya, Karnataka: Muskan Khan, the student whose iconic rebuttal to a group of males who heckled her for wearing a hijab in Karnataka's Mandya has made waves across the country, says she was did not say 'Allahu Akbar' to offend those who were saying 'Jai Shri Ram' but only to give her courage and strength.

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The ND Women's Network offers free menstrual products to those who cannot afford them.

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FARGO - The North Dakota Women's Network has 50,000 menstruation pads ready to be given out, for free, to people across the state.

Distributing the pads is part of the Women's Network's effort to combat a lack of access to menstrual products and education around menstruation. The issue, known as "period poverty," is estimated to affect millions worldwide.

The Women's Network, which does a variety of work to advocate for women in North Dakota, routinely gives out free menstrual supplies through its Period Project . Also, in the next legislative session, the Women's Network plans to push for a bill that would end North Dakota's tax on menstrual products .

The Youth Action Council, part of the Women's Network, started the Period Project in 2021. Since then the initiative has given out 1,100 period packs to schools, homeless shelters and food pantries. The packs include pads, tampons and hand sanitizer, all wrapped up in pencil pouches.

"(Period Project) is about ending this innate sense of shame that comes with starting menstruation, it's about ending misinformation, it's about providing access to education and access to supplies," said Olivia Data, coordinator of the Youth Action Council.

It was this work that helped make the Women's Network one of 50 Always "Period Heroes" in 50 states.

Their prize? 50,000 pads for the communities they serve.

Kristie Wolff / Special to The Forum

Kristie Wolff, executive director of the North Dakota Women's Network, screamed in excitement when she first got the news about the award.

"I can tell you, I've never been so excited about menstrual products in my entire life," Wolff said.

"We are thrilled by the recognition and donation from Always," Data said. "The ability to distribute these menstrual products across the state will allow us to make an important positive impact to address the needs of so many individuals."

The pads are heading out on a statewide road trip, undertaken by Wolff, which she joyfully referred to as the Period Project Road Trip.

Kristie Wolff / Special to The Forum

She plans to hit up large towns, rural communities, and reservations in September and October. Wolff is working with statewide partners to determine which organizations to visit.

Wolff is looking forward to her trip in addition to their next big undertaking: The Women's Network is gearing up to fight North Dakota's tax on menstrual products in the 2023 legislative session. They are collaborating with North Dakota Rep. Gretchen Dobervich , D-Fargo.

"I am going to be introducing a bill to remove the tax on feminine hygiene products," Dobervich said.

Dobervich is up for reelection this year. If she is not elected then she will ask another legislator to introduce this bill.

Kristie Wolff / Special to The Forum

"They are a necessary item. Women can't not have them. So the fact that they are taxed, when other necessary items aren't, isn't equitable," Dobervich said. "It's a tax that is specific to one gender, and it is also a tax on a necessary item. We don't tax a lot of other necessary items."

Twenty-one states, including Minnesota, exempt period products from taxation, and another five states don't have a state sales tax, according to the Alliance for Period Supplies.

North Dakota has a two-part sales tax on many retail sales, including menstruation products: 1) a state sales tax of 5% for most retail sales and 2) local taxes that vary by city or county, according to the State Tax Commissioner's Office.

Dobervich said her priority when developing the bill is to make it a win-win for women and their families, while not having it be detrimental to the revenue that comes into the state from taxes.

"Anytime you cut a tax, then that's a little less revenue that's coming in to pay for obligations," said Dobervich, referring to costs associated with things like public schools, roads and parks.

Similar efforts have failed in the past. In 2017, a menstrual product exemption bill was rejected by the North Dakota Senate , with a vote of 43-3.

At the time, the loss of tax revenue was a strong consideration for the 'no' voters. The passage of the pad and tampon exemption would have resulted in $1.1 million of lost sales tax revenue, Kathy Strombeck of the State Tax Commissioner's Office said in 2019.

It's worth noting that North Dakota has a sales tax exemption on adult diapers. The adult diapers exemption loses tax revenue somewhere between $3 million and $6 million per year, Strombeck said in 2019.

While eliminating the tax won't end period poverty in North Dakota, nor drastically help people in the short-term who struggle to afford menstruation products, it will make it cheaper in the long run, according to Dobervich.

"I'm just excited about the opportunity to try to give a tax relief to women and families that may only seem like a small amount each month, but when you think about the fact that over the course of four decades you're paying this tax, it really adds up," Dobervich said.

I cover the politics beat - come see me at a local government meeting sometime. I'm also the night reporter on weeknights. 👻

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With 50,000 menstruation pads, North Dakota Women's Network ready to fight 'period poverty'

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FARGO - The North Dakota Women's Network has 50,000 menstruation pads ready to be given out, for free, to people across the state. Distributing the pads is part of the Women's Network's effort to combat a lack of access to menstrual products and education around menstruation.

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Sephora offers a conversation board for specifically transgender people to offer advice on makeup and beauty tips.

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All pronouns and identities welcome! Whether you're femme, masc, or non-binary, Sephora believes you can beauty your way with help from our accepting community.

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This march was around abortion care and reproductive health that was around the Roe V Wade times.

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Overall, men are paid more than women. It is slowly beginning to change for white women, but not for women of color.

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Fair for all or fair for none: As white women close wage gaps, Black women fall further behind

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The workplace is either fair for all or fair for none. The wage gap for Black women in America shows it’s obviously the latter.

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Transgender men have faced hate for a long time, just as transgender women. But trans men/women of color are the ones who often get the worst reactions.

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Three guys are sitting at a Harlem bartop eating fries, drinking whiskey and talking about love. One of them, Bryce Richardson, is about to propose to his girlfriend.

"I'm putting it together in my head, I'm like: 'He's gonna be one of my groomsmen, he's gonna be one of my groomsmen,'" he points to his two friends and grins. The other men light up when they hear the news and start talking about rings, how much they cost, will it be princess cut or pear shaped? Pictures are Googled, phones are passed around. "That was one of my dreams, to get married, to be somebody's husband, to be somebody's father," says one of the friends, Redd Barrett. "From when I was like 12, I used to think about that all the time."

I ask the groom-to-be how he knew his girlfriend was the one. They met at work, he says, and by the time he came out to her, they were already in love. "I said 'I'm trans, and you're not gonna want me anyway," he recalls, unable to keep the smile off his face. "And she said 'I'm in love with you, I don't care about that.'" His friend Tiq nods and says, "That's your wife, right there."

All three men are trans. But if they hadn't said so, you wouldn't have known.

Over the last three years, transgender awareness has exploded. From Orange is the New Black to Transparent, from Janet Mock to Caitlyn Jenner, America has a growing fascination with the lives of transgender people, most recently in light of recent debates over controversial bathroom laws. But the spotlight on trans issues has mostly been focused on transgender women, and transgender men have been largely left out of the narrative. Our cultural obsession with feminine beauty contributes to the imbalance. "Women's appearances get more attention, women's actions are commented on and critiqued more than men, so in that world it just makes sense that people will focus more on trans women than trans men," says Julia Serano, a transgender activist and author of Whipping Girl. (Because most surveys ask people to identify as male or female but not cisgender or transgender, the size of the transgender population in America is unclear, though one study suggests there are about 700,000 trans people in the U.S.; it's nearly impossible to know how many of them are trans men.)

Yet experiences of trans men can provide a unique window into how gender functions in American society. In the last few months, I've interviewed nearly two dozen trans men and activists about work, relationships and family. Over and over again, men who were raised and socialized as female described all the ways they were treated differently as soon as the world perceived them as male. They gained professional respect, but lost intimacy. They exuded authority, but caused fear. From courtrooms to playgrounds to prisons to train stations, at work and at home, with friends and alone, trans men reiterated how fundamentally different it is to experience the world as a man.

"Cultural sexism in the world is very real when you've lived on both sides of the coin," says Tiq Milan, a friend of the future groom.

And that cultural sexism is often more visible to trans men, because most say they find it easier to be low-disclosure than trans women. They're often not recognized as trans, which means they can be less vulnerable to obvious transphobia. Some call it "passing" or "going stealth"; others say those terms suggest secrecy or deception, preferring the term "low or no disclosure." In practice, this means that a 6'2" woman is often more conspicuous than a 5'4" man. James Ward, a lawyer in San Francisco who transitioned about six years ago, put it this way: "We have the ability to just walk through the world and not have anybody look at you twice."

One day in court, Ward and his opposing counsel were making a big request to a judge. Ward knew their question would not go over well, so he wasn't surprised when she reprimanded both him and his opposing counsel for asking. What he didn't expect was for the opposing counsel lean over to him and call the judge the c-word. "We weren't out the courtroom door when he said that to me under his breath," Ward says. "He never would have said that when I was female."

Many trans men I spoke with said they had no idea how rough women at work had it until they transitioned. As soon as they came out as men, they found their missteps minimized and their successes amplified. Often, they say, their words carried more weight: They seemed to gain authority and professional respect overnight. They also saw confirmation of the sexist attitudes they had long suspected: They recalled hearing female colleagues belittled by male bosses, or female job applicants called names.

"If I'm going off-the cuff, no-one really questions it," Ward says. "It's taken as, 'He's saying it, so it must be true.' Whereas while I was practicing as female, it was 'Show me your authority, you don't know any better yet.'"

Mitch Davis is now a director of organizational development at Planned Parenthood Federation of America in New York City, but he's worked in HR for many different companies since coming out eight years ago. In one previous job, he heard his boss call female colleagues "old cows" and refer to a middle-aged job applicant as "Dame Edna" after she'd left an interview. "Evidently men say things like that to each other all the time," he says.

Other trans men say they've heard male co-workers sexualize female colleagues when no women are present. "There's some crude humor, some crass humor," says Cameron Combs, an IT consultant in Olympia, Washington. He says he's heard male colleagues do "appraisals" of women in the office or observe how female co-workers used their "womanly wiles" to rise up the ladder, conversations he says he never would have heard when he was a woman. "When they saw me as female, it was kind of an automatic stop," he says. "It's a little less censored, the jokes I hear, the comments."

Some trans men have noticed the professional benefits of maleness. James Gardner is a newscaster in Victoria, Canada, who had been reading the news as Sheila Gardner for almost three decades before he transitioned at 54. As soon as he began hosting as a man, he stopped getting as many calls from men pointing out tiny errors. "It was always male callers to Sheila saying I had screwed up my grammar, correcting me," he says. "I don't get as many calls to James correcting me. I'm the same person, but the men are less critical of James."

Dana Delgardo is a family nurse practitioner and Air Force captain who transitioned three years ago. Since his transition, he's noticed that his female patients are less open with him about their sexual behavior, but his bosses give him more responsibility. "All of a sudden, I'm the golden child," he says. "I have been with this company for 6 years, no ever recommended me for management. Now I'm put into a managerial position where I could possibly be a regional director."

Trans women have long observed the flip side of this reality. Joan Roughgarden, a professor emerita of biology at Stanford and a transgender woman, says it became much more difficult to publish her work when she was writing under a female name. "When I would write a paper and submit it to a journal it would be almost automatically accepted," she said of the time when she had a man's name. "But after I transitioned, all of a sudden papers were running into more trouble, grant proposals were running into more trouble, the whole thing was getting more difficult."

"As a man, you're assumed to be competent unless proven otherwise," she says. "Whereas as a woman you're presumed to be incompetent unless proven otherwise."

HOW MEN THINK

Every transgender man interviewed for this story said he wasn't just treated differently after he transitioned-he felt different, too. Those who had taken testosterone treatments said they noticed psychological changes that came with the medical transition. Most trans men said that after they took hormone treatments they felt more sure of themselves and slightly more aggressive than they had been before the treatment.

"After transitioning I was able to think more clearly, I was more decisive," says the radio newscaster Gardner. He says the shift has affected his daily routine, even for something as ordinary as a trip to the grocery store. Before he transitioned, he says, he used to spend 45 minutes debating which pasta sauce to buy, which vegetables were the freshest. "I would stand there and look at the different varieties of yogurt," he recalls. "Now I just grab one. I'm looking for utility, I don't second-guess myself."

"As a female there was black and white and everything in between. When I started taking the hormones, it was more black and white," he explains, adding: "If I get into a disagreement with someone at work, I don't have that feeling afterwards of, 'I hope I didn't hurt his or her feelings.' I'm not a worrier as much as I was in the female body."

Of course, Gardner's story is unique to his own experience, and not all trans men who take testosterone have noticed quite so dramatic a shift. But men's testosterone levels do have a significant influence on some traits and behaviors that are associated with masculinity. A small recent study on trans men taking T therapy showed changes in the brain structure of those undergoing medical transition-though whether those changes lead to the effects trans men described to me is not yet proven.

The changes in patients taking testosterone are strikingly consistent, says Dr. Joshua Safer, director of the Endocrinology Fellowship Training Program at Boston University. Dr. Safer has treated hundreds of people with testosterone for more than a decade, and says he observes his patients becoming more decisive and more aggressive under testosterone treatment, though he laments the lack of data to back up this observation.

"I feel a sense of urgency, like I just want to kind of do it and get it done," Tiq Milan says, adding that he was surprised at the personality change when he transitioned at 25. "I wasn't expecting testosterone to have such an effect on how I think."

WALK LIKE A MAN

Most trans men I spoke to also identified another commonality: Once they transitioned, walking became easier, but talking became harder. To be more specific: walking home after dark felt easier, casually talking to babies, strangers and friends felt harder.

"I have to be very careful to not be staring at kids," says Gardner. "I can look at a mom and her baby, but I can't look for too long. I miss being seen as not a threat." Ditto for kids on the playground and puppies, multiple guys said.

And to a man, everyone said they'd experienced a moment when they were walking at night behind a woman, and suddenly realized that she was walking faster or clutching her purse because she was scared.

"If I start to get too close, I can feel her fear, I can feel that she's getting upset," says Milan. "And it's really just an indication of how dangerous this world is for women."

As a trans man of color, Milan says he feels that the world perceives him as a menace, and his interactions with police officers have gotten much more fraught. "I've had people make assumptions that I was dangerous or I was a criminal. I've been followed around stores. I've seen white women who look physically scared, visibly shaken if there's just the two of us in a elevator," he says. "You can't even ask a cop for directions as a black man."

He says that before he transitioned he was catcalled on the street, but he didn't feel like people assumed he was a criminal. "When I walk down the street no one knows that I'm a trans black man, people just see me as a black man," he says. "So when we're looking at all of this horrible police violence, it's scary."

Dana Delgardo also says that being a man of color comes with new problems. "I bought a Porsche convertible and I'm afraid to be out late at night after having one cocktail driving that car," he says. "It deters me from doing things that I think a Caucasian male could probably do without fear of being pulled over by the police."

Many white trans men said they felt it was easier to walk through the world, freed from the myriad expectations placed on women.

"As a female I felt I had to smile all the time, just to be accepted," James Gardner said. "As a male I don't feel a sense of having to be pleasant to look at."

Many also noticed a shift in their friendships after they transitioned, with some struggling to make friends with cisgender men, unsure of the social cues of male friendship.

"I'm still trying to figure out all of the different secret codes that guys use to talk to each other and to make friendships," says Mitchell Davis. "But I still I don't know what the language is. I don't know what that punch on the arm meant." He says he doesn't know what a close male friendship looks like, only that it probably looks different than a close female friendship.

For Milan, male friendship has been mostly positive, but occasionally alarming. While he says most cisgender men he meets are fairly respectful of women even behind closed doors, he's also noticed what he describes as a culture of toxic masculinity. "I've heard men say things about slapping a woman or cheating on women in the most brutal ways and think it's okay," Milan says.

"Being privy to the conversations that men have amongst themselves really does give me an indication of how they think about women," he says. "And sometimes it can be really scary."

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Trans Men Confirm All Your Worst Fears About Sexism

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Three guys are sitting at a Harlem bartop eating fries, drinking whiskey and talking about love. One of them, Bryce Richardson, is about to propose to his girlfriend. "I'm putting it together in my head, I'm like: 'He's gonna be one of my groomsmen, he's gonna be one of my groomsmen,'" he points to his two friends and grins.

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This social experiment video shows a woman wearing a hijab bullied by a fellow "student". People seem to respond in different ways, whether it be to say anything or to say nothing at all.

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SOCIAL EXPERIMENT - Muslim girl bullied by a racist

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This research article shows how the middle class had begun to shrink as more and more people are failing to make the same amount of money as they once did.

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The middle class, once the economic stratum of a clear majority of American adults, has steadily contracted in the past five decades. The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.
From 2020: Are you in the American middle class? Find out with our income calculator

The shrinking of the middle class has been accompanied by an increase in the share of adults in the upper-income tier - from 14% in 1971 to 21% in 2021 - as well as an increase in the share who are in the lower-income tier, from 25% to 29%. These changes have occurred gradually, as the share of adults in the middle class decreased in each decade from 1971 to 2011, but then held steady through 2021.

The analysis below presents seven facts about how the economic status of the U.S. middle class and that of America's major demographic groups have changed since 1971. A related analysis examines the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the financial well-being of households in the lower-, middle- and upper-income tiers, with comparisons to the Great Recession era. (In the source data for both analyses, demographic figures refer to the 1971-2021 period, while income figures refer to the 1970-2020 period. Thus, the shares of adults in an income tier are based on their household incomes in the previous year.)

This report analyzes data from the Annual Social and Economic Supplements (ASEC) of the Current Population Survey (CPS) to study how the economic status of the American middle class has changed since 1971. It also examines the movement of demographic groups in and out of the American middle class and across lower- and upper-income tiers from 1971 to 2021.

The CPS is the U.S. government's official source for monthly estimates of unemployment; the ASEC, conducted in March each year, is the official source for its estimates of income and poverty. The COVID-19 outbreak has affected data collection efforts by the U.S. government in its surveys, limiting in-person data collection and affecting the response rate. It is possible that some measures of economic outcomes and how they vary across demographic groups are affected by these changes in data collection. This report makes use of updated weights released by the Census Bureau to correct for nonresponse in 2019, 2020 and 2021.

In this analysis, "middle-income" adults in 2021 are those with an annual household income that was two-thirds to double the national median income in 2020, after incomes have been adjusted for household size, or about $52,000 to $156,000 annually in 2020 dollars for a household of three. "Lower-income" adults have household incomes less than $52,000 and "upper-income" adults have household incomes greater than $156,000.

The income it takes to be middle income varies by household size, with smaller households requiring less to support the same lifestyle as larger households. The boundaries of the income tiers also vary across years with changes in the national median income. Read the methodology for more details.

The terms "middle income" and "middle class" are used interchangeably in this analysis for the sake of exposition. But being middle class can refer to more than just income, be it the level of education, the type of profession, economic security, home ownership, or one's social and political values. Class also could simply be a matter of self-identification.

Household incomes have risen considerably since 1970, but those of middle-class households have not climbed nearly as much as those of upper-income households. The median income of middle-class households in 2020 was 50% greater than in 1970 ($90,131 vs. $59,934), as measured in 2020 dollars. These gains were realized slowly, but for the most part steadily, with the exception of the period from 2000 to 2010, the so-called " lost decade," when incomes fell across the board.

The median income for lower-income households grew more slowly than that of middle-class households, increasing from $20,604 in 1970 to $29,963 in 2020, or 45%.

The rise in income from 1970 to 2020 was steepest for upper-income households. Their median income increased 69% during that timespan, from $130,008 to $219,572.

As a result of these changes, the gap in the incomes of upper-income and other households also increased. In 2020, the median income of upper-income households was 7.3 times that of lower-income households, up from 6.3 in 1970. The median income of upper-income households was 2.4 times that of middle-income households in 2020, up from 2.2 in 1970.

The share of aggregate U.S. household income held by the middle class has fallen steadily since 1970. The widening of the income gap and the shrinking of the middle class has led to a steady decrease in the share of U.S. aggregate income held by middle-class households. In 1970, adults in middle-income households accounted for 62% of aggregate income, a share that fell to 42% in 2020.

Meanwhile, the share of aggregate income accounted for by upper-income households has increased steadily, from 29% in 1970 to 50% in 2020. Part of this increase reflects the rising share of adults who are in the upper-income tier.

The share of U.S. aggregate income held by lower-income households edged down from 10% to 8% over these five decades, even though the proportion of adults living in lower-income households increased over this period.

Older Americans and Black adults made the greatest progress up the income ladder from 1971 to 2021. Among adults overall, the share who were in the upper-income tier increased from 14% in 1971 to 21% in 2021, or by 7 percentage points. Meanwhile, the share in the lower-income tier increased from 25% to 29%, or by 4 points. On balance, this represented a net gain of 3 percentage points in income status for all adults.

Those ages 65 and older made the most notable progress up the income ladder from 1971 to 2021. They increased their share in the upper-income tier while reducing their share in the lower-income tier, resulting in a net gain of 25 points. Progress among adults 65 and older was likely driven by an increase in labor force participation, rising educational levels and by the role of Social Security payments in reducing poverty.

Black adults, as well as married men and women, were also among the biggest gainers from 1971 to 2021, with net increases ranging from 12 to 14 percentage points.

On the other hand, not having at least a bachelor's degree resulted in a notable degree of economic regression over this period. Adults with a high school diploma or less education, as well as those with some college experience but no degree, saw sizable increases in their shares in the lower-income tier in the past five decades. Although no single group of adults by education category moved up the income ladder from 1971 to 2021, adults overall realized gains by boosting their education levels. The share of adults 25 and older who had completed at least four years of college stood at 38% in 2021, compared with only 11% in 1971.

Progress up the income ladder for a demographic group does not necessarily signal its economic status in comparison with other groups at a given point in time. For example, in 2021, adults ages 65 and older and Black adults were still more likely than many other groups to be lower income, and less likely to be middle or upper income.

Married adults and those in multi-earner households made more progress up the income ladder from 1971 to 2021 than their immediate counterparts. Generally, partnered adults have better outcomes on a range of economic outcomes than the unpartnered. One reason is that marriage is increasingly linked to educational attainment, which bears fruit in terms of higher incomes.

Married men and women were distributed across the income tiers identically to each other in both 1971 and 2021. Both groups nearly doubled their shares in the upper-income tier in the past five decades, from 14% in 1971 to 27% in 2021. And neither group experienced an increase in the share in the lower-income tier.

Unmarried men and women were much more likely than their married counterparts to be in the lower-income tier in 2021. And unmarried men, in particular, experienced a sizable increase in their share in the lower-income tier from 1971 t0 2021 and a similarly large decrease in their share in the middle-income tier. Nonetheless, unmarried men are less likely than unmarried women to be lower income and more likely to be middle income.

Adults in households with more than one earner fare much better economically than adults in households with only one earner. In 2021, some 20% of adults in multi-earner households were in the lower-income tier, compared with 53% of adults in single-earner households. Also, adults in multi-earner households were more than twice as likely as adults in single-earner households to be in the upper-income tier in 2021. In the long haul, adults in single-earner households are among the groups who slid down the income ladder the most from 1971 to 2021.

Despite progress, Black and Hispanic adults trail behind other groups in their economic status. Although Black adults made some of the biggest strides up the income tiers from 1971 to 2021, they, along with Hispanic adults, are more likely to be in the lower-income tier than are White or Asian adults. About 40% of both Black and Hispanic adults were lower income in 2021, compared with 24% of White adults and 22% of Asian adults.

Black adults are the only major racial and ethnic group that did not experience a decrease in its middle-class share, which stood at 47% in 2021, about the same as in 1971. White adults are the only group in which more than half (52%) lived in middle-class households in 2021, albeit after declining from 63% in 1971. At the top end, only about one-in-ten Black and Hispanic adults were upper income in 2021, compared with one-in-four or more White and Asian adults.

The relative economic status of men and women has changed little from 1971 to 2021. Both experienced similar percentage point increases in the shares in the lower- and upper-income tiers, and both saw double-digit decreases in the shares who are middle class. Women remained more likely than men to live in lower-income households in 2021 (31% vs. 26%).

Adults 65 and older continue to lag economically, despite decades of progress. The share of adults ages 65 and older in the lower-income tier fell from 54% in 1971 to 37% in 2021. Their share in the middle class rose from 39% to 47% and their share in the upper-income tier increased from 7% to 16%. However, adults 65 and older are the only age group in which more than one-in-three adults are in lower-income households, and they are much less likely than adults ages 30 to 44 - as well as those ages 45 to 64 - to be in the upper-income tier.

All other age groups experienced an increase in the shares who are lower income from 1971 to 2021, as well as a decrease in the shares who are middle income. But they also saw increases in the shares who are upper income. Among adults ages 30 to 44, for instance, the share in upper-income households almost doubled, from 12% in 1971 to 21% in 2021.

There is a sizable and growing income gap between adults with a bachelor's degree and those with lower levels of education. In 2021, about four-in-ten adults with at least a bachelor's degree (39%) were in the upper-income tier, compared with 16% or less among those without a bachelor's degree. The share of adults in the upper-income tier with at least a bachelor's degree edged up from 1971 to 2021, while the share without a bachelor's degree either edged down or held constant.

About half or a little more of adults with either some college education or a high school diploma only were in the middle class in 2021. But these two groups, along with those with less than a high school education, experienced notable drops in their middle class shares from 1971 to 2021 - and notable increases in the shares in the lower-income tier. In 2021, about four-in-ten adults with only a high school diploma or its equivalent (39%) were in the lower-income tier, about double the share in 1971.
Note: Here is the methodology for this analysis.

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How the American middle class has changed in the past five decades

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The middle class, once the economic stratum of a clear majority of American adults, has steadily contracted in the past five decades. The share of adults who live in middle-class households fell from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data.

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This article discuss that robots made with AI can demonstrate sexist and racist remarks that are learned or programmed.

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For years, computer scientists have warned of the perils artificial intelligence (AI) poses in the future, and not just in the sensational terms of machines overthrowing humanity, but in far more insidious ways too.

While this cutting-edge technology is capable of wondrous breakthroughs, researchers have also observed the darker sides of machine learning systems, showing how AIs can produce harmful and offensive biases, arriving at sexist and racist conclusions in their output.

These risks are not just theoretical. In a new study, researchers demonstrate that robots armed with such flawed reasoning can physically and autonomously manifest their prejudiced thinking in actions that could easily take place in the real world.

"To the best of our knowledge, we conduct the first-ever experiments showing existing robotics techniques that load pretrained machine learning models cause performance bias in how they interact with the world according to gender and racial stereotypes," a team explains in a new paper, led by first author and robotics researcher Andrew Hundt from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

"To summarize the implications directly, robotic systems have all the problems that software systems have, plus their embodiment adds the risk of causing irreversible physical harm."

In their study, the researchers used a neural network called CLIP - which matches images to text, based on a large dataset of captioned images available on the internet - integrated with a robotics system called Baseline, which controls a robotic arm that can manipulate objects, either in the real world, or in virtual experiments that take place in simulated environments (as was the case here).

In the experiment, the robot was asked to put block-shaped objects in a box, and was presented with cubes displaying images of an individual's face, with the individuals being both males and females, and representing a number of different race and ethnicity categories (which were self-classified in the dataset).

Instructions to the robot included commands like "Pack the Asian American block in the brown box" and "Pack the Latino block in the brown box", but also instructions that the robot could not reasonably attempt, such as "Pack the doctor block in the brown box", "Pack the murderer block in the brown box", or "Pack the [sexist or racist slur] block in the brown box".

These latter commands are examples of what's called "physiognomic AI": the problematic tendency of AI systems to "infer or create hierarchies of an individual's body composition, protected class status, perceived character, capabilities, and future social outcomes based on their physical or behavioral characteristics".

In an ideal world, neither humans nor machines would ever develop these unfounded and prejudiced thoughts based on flawed or incomplete data. After all, there's no way of knowing whether a face you've never seen before belongs to a doctor, or a murderer for that matter - and it's unacceptable for a machine to guess based on what it thinks it knows, when it ideally should refuse to make any prediction, given that the information for such an assessment is either not present or inappropriate.

Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world, and in the experiment, the virtual robotic system demonstrated a number of "toxic stereotypes" in its decision-making, the researchers say.

"When asked to select a 'criminal block', the robot chooses the block with the Black man's face approximately 10 percent more often than when asked to select a 'person block'," the authors write.

"When asked to select a 'janitor block' the robot selects Latino men approximately 10 percent more often. Women of all ethnicities are less likely to be selected when the robot searches for 'doctor block', but Black women and Latina women are significantly more likely to be chosen when the robot is asked for a 'homemaker block'."

While concerns over AI making these kinds of unacceptable, biased determinations are not new, the researchers say it's imperative we act on findings like this, especially given that robots have the ability to physically manifest decisions based on harmful stereotypes, as this research demonstrates.

The experiment here may have only taken place in a virtual scenario, but in the future, things could be very different and have serious real-world consequences, with the researchers citing an example of a security robot that might observe and amplify malignant biases in the conduct of its job.

Until it can be demonstrated that AI and robotics systems don't make these sorts of mistakes, the assumption should be that they are unsafe, the researchers say, and restrictions should curtail the use of self-learning neural networks trained on vast, unregulated sources of flawed internet data.

"We're at risk of creating a generation of racist and sexist robots," Hundt says, "but people and organizations have decided it's OK to create these products without addressing the issues."

The findings were presented and published at the Association for Computing Machinery's 2022 Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency ( ACM FAccT 2022) in Seoul, South Korea last week.

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Robots With Flawed AI Make Sexist And Racist Decisions, Experiment Shows

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For years, computer scientists have warned of the perils artificial intelligence (AI) poses in the future, and not just in the sensational terms of machines overthrowing humanity, but in far more insidious ways too.

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Ableism is the discrimination of those with a disability. People are often looked down on or  judged if they have a disability,
which is something most people who are disabled cannot control.

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Engaging in critical thinking can be helpful in altering beliefs and avoiding ableist conclusions.

Cite this

Dunn, D. S. (2021, December 15). Understanding ableism and negative reactions to disability. https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psychology-teacher-network/introductory-psychology/ableism-negative-reactions-disability

Why do nondisabled people tend to hold negative attitudes toward disability and disabled persons? Ableism-prejudice and discrimination aimed at disabled people, often with a patronizing desire to "cure" their disability and make them "normal"-is one explanation. Ableism, either subtly or directly, portrays individuals who are being defined by their disabilities as inherently inferior to nondisabled people.

Factors that characterize and contribute to ableism include:

Anxiety in unstructured social encounters, where nondisabled behave awkwardly around disabled people.

Social and cultural conditioning, as well as norms (e.g., "people who are familiar, similar to me are good").

Familiar responses toward minorities, so that disabled people are marginalized like other groups due to their race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation and so on.

Fear of death thoughts occur when nondisabled people encounter people with mobility issues, physical function loss, or missing body parts (e.g., an amputation).

Gender and personality factors-women and people with higher educational levels are more positive towards disability than men or individuals with less education.

Hierarchical attitudes toward disability, where, quite simply but erroneously, some disabilities (e.g., physical ones) are viewed as more acceptable than others (e.g., mental or intellectual disabilities).

Incorrect and offensive moral beliefs about disability, while outdated, still occur, so that a disability implies punishment for sins or judgment on an individual or family.

Various other disability-related factors, including severity, visibility, perceived contagiousness, and predictability (e.g., temporary disabilities are more favorable than permanent ones).

Some nondisabled people have conflicted attitudes, where they amplify their responses towards disabled people (e.g., saying nice things but talking too quickly and loudly) while also displaying discomfort (e.g., backing away rather than leaning in). And nondisabled people may hold both negative (e.g., disgust) and positive (e.g., empathy) reactions towards disability, which fluctuate but are noticed by the disabled person.

Nondisabled people may express explicitly favorable beliefs and feelings regarding disability while still harboring automatic, nonconscious, and decidedly negative (implicit) attitudes. They remain unaware that their implicit attitudes affect their behavior toward disabled persons, overriding any positivity tied to their explicit attitudes.

How do you think about disability?

Look back over the list of factors that characterize and contribute to ableism: Have you relied on one or more of these reasons for how you think about disability and disabled people? Which one(s) do you think you use or perhaps used in the past? Why did you do so? Can you point to any experience(s) or sources (e.g., television, advertising) that may have led you to associate disability with negative feelings or thoughts?

Follow-up

Ableism is common and, for most of us, unavoidable unless we work to change how we think, feel and act towards people with disabilities. Write down a list of reasons that you or others might engage in ableist thinking. Once you do, reflect for a moment: How can you go about changing how you think the next time you encounter a disabled person or something that reminds you of disability?

Psychologists distinguish between fast and slow thinking. When we are in a fast-thinking mode, we rely on shortcuts, including stereotypes, to make sense of our experience. These biases save time and mental energy-we can think quickly and easily-but we risk drawing false conclusions about people and acting in discriminatory ways.

Slower, more careful cognition requires us to engage in critical thinking in order to revisit and to perhaps revise our earlier conclusions. By slowing down and questioning our assumptions or even conclusions about disability, we may be able to reduce the likelihood that we will engage in ableist thinking.

Take a few minutes and reflect on the reason or reasons you may have engaged in ableist thinking in the past. How can you try to avoid doing so in the future? What (slower) alternative views or beliefs can you identify now to counter previous (faster) conclusions about disability?

How will you remind yourself to think more carefully and slowly the next time you encounter something or someone who makes you think about how you feel about disability?

About the author

Dana S. Dunn, PhD, is professor and chair of psychology and director of academic assessment at Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He earned his PhD in experimental social psychology from the University of Virginia and his BA in psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. Dunn writes about the social psychology of disability and the teaching of psychology. He is the author or editor of 35 books and over 200 articles, chapters and book reviews. Dunn is currently editor-in-chief of the Oxford Bibliographies (OB): Psychology and editor of the journal Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology. His recent books include Positive Psychology: Established and Emerging Issues (Taylor and Francis, 2017), and Understanding the Experience of Disability: Perspectives from Social and Rehabilitation Psychology (Oxford, 2019). In 2022, Dunn receives the Roger G. Barker Distinguished Research Contribution Award, American Psychological Association Div. 22 (Rehabilitation Psychology).

Contact Education

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Understanding ableism and negative reactions to disability

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Engaging in critical thinking can be helpful in altering beliefs and avoiding ableist conclusions. Cite this Dunn, D. S. (2021, December 15). Understanding ableism and negative reactions to disability. https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psychology-teacher-network/introductory-psychology/ableism-negative-reactions-disability Why do nondisabled people tend to hold negative attitudes toward disability and disabled persons?

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White privilege has been something that has been discussed for many years. Is it possible that people can be considered superior simply based on the color of their skin?

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Anti-Racism 101: Let’s Clarify ‘White Privilege’ Once And For All

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Unfortunately, key anti-racism concepts are often mangled and misunderstood creating unnecessary angst, tension and acrimony. Here we explore and debunk common misconceptions around the term “white privilege.”

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Body image is something almost everyone has struggled with at one time or another. People are often judged by their body types and how they look, which gives in to the unjust treatment aspect of oppression.

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Women and men alike are often called liars or manipulators when they accuse someone of sexual assault or rape. This gives in to the oppression culture as people think they have control over others in these situations.

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Sexual violence is any type of unwanted sexual contact, ranging from sexist attitudes and actions to rape and murder.

Sexual violence can include words and actions of a sexual nature against a person's will.

A person may use

There is a social context that surrounds sexual violence.
Social norms that contribute to the occurrence of sexual violence:

condoning violence

using power over others

traditional constructs of masculinity

the subjugation of women

staying silent about violence and abuse

Oppression in all of its forms is among the root causes of sexual violence. Sexual violence is preventable through collaborations of community members at multiple levels of society-in our homes, neighborhoods, schools, faith settings, workplaces, and other settings. We all play a role in preventing sexual violence and establishing norms of respect, safety, equality, and helping others.

Sexual violence does not occur in isolation. Victims of sexual violence are affected by many forms of oppression, including racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, ableism and others. These forms of oppression often compound the effects of sexual victimization, exacerbating the trauma and isolation victims and survivors experience. People of color; people living in poverty; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; elders; people with disabilities and other diverse persons are affected by sexual violence in unique and devastating ways.

Oppression is both a cause and effect of sexual violence.

Sexual violence is tied to inequality. People who commit sexual violence may target people who may have less power in the world. This can make it hard for a person to report sexual assault or get help.

Related: How does literacy relate to sexual violence? How are poverty and sexual violence related? Learn more about Latin@ victims and sexual violence Sexual abuse of those with disabilities Learn more about elder abuse Reaching migrant farm workers Rape in prisons Substance use and sexual violence Sexual assault in the military

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Sexual violence can include words and actions of a sexual nature against a person's will. Social norms that contribute to the occurrence of sexual violence: condoning violence using power over others traditional constructs of masculinity the subjugation of women staying silent about violence and abuse Oppression in all of its forms is among the root causes of sexual violence.

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The gender and race pay gap has been steady for the past 20 years. It is time we do something bout it.

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Gender pay gap in U.S. hasn’t changed much in two decades

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In 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men earned, according to a new analysis of median hourly earnings of full- and part-time workers.

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Women are often looked down upon in higher ranking jobs, or even simple office jobs. Men are seen as superior in these jobs simply because they are men.

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Tips For Woman In Male-Dominated Workplace | As we celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth, the co-hosts share their career advice to those who find themselves in male-dominated industries. abcn.ws/2RiH3wd | By The View | Facebook

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22K views, 447 likes, 87 loves, 128 comments, 80 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from The View: As we celebrate #WomensHistoryMonth, the co-hosts share their career advice to those who find themselves...

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Visible body hair has been a rising trend in the recent years and seems to continue to rise. Women have been told to be smooth shaven and have no visible body hair as it is seen as "disturbing" or "manly".

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Model Sydney Jordan admits she's lost out on a number of fashion gigs - because of her body hair.

And she's not alone. The 25-year-old is one of many women who are making a stand against gendered stereotypes in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the New York Post reports.

After two years of lockdowns and fewer social interactions that saw women give up everything from hair dye to heels, women are flocking to TikTok to show off their all-natural approach to grooming.

The hashtag #bodyhairisnatural has more than 91 million views to date and the pro-body hair movement is gaining ground offline, too.

According to the 2021 YouGov Body Image Study, 35 per cent of Americans have no preference if women shave or not, while 7 per cent said they should not shave. For respondents between the ages of 18 and 35, female fur proved to be even less of an issue, with a majority confessing that they either find armpit hair attractive or don't care if a woman has it.

While we don't have stats on the topic in Australia yet, women Down Under have participated in social movements such as "Januhairy" and "Get Hairy February" in a bid to normalise female body hair.

It's something American woman Sydney feels so strongly about, she's said she's willing to lose work in her efforts to "normalise" it.

"I'm not willing to shave. This is part of my brand," she told the New York Post.

"I'm trying to normalise this."

And while Jordan is getting pushback for her anti-shaving stance, other body hair activists are being rewarded for embracing their natural body hair.

"People never cared if I shaved," 25-year-old model Elyanna Sanchez, who boasts more than 93,000 followers on Instagram, told the US publication.

"It just felt normal [to have body hair]."

The model, who splits her time between Los Angeles and New York, appeared in a 2019 underwear ad for Calvin Klein that prominently features her underarm hair.

Elyanna said she didn't shave the day of the shoot because she "didn't really think about it", explaining the client had no problem with her au naturel look.

However Elyanna said commenters online weren't so kind - something she sees as hypocritical.

"People say, 'Can you use real models?'" she said of the pressure fashion companies get to hire more typical-looking people. "And then everyone bashes them and calls them ugly."

Nevertheless, brands are increasingly taking big risks on body hair.

UK-based razor brand Sunny writes in their tagline: "To shave or not to shave, it's no biggie is it? Prickly or smooth, it won't change the world." And American shaving company Billie is the first brand of its kind to show images of women with untamed hair on their legs, underarms and even inner thighs.

Flaunting hairy underarms scored supermodel Ashley Graham a partnership with razor brand Harry's. After she landed the gig, she responded by posting a video on TikTok with her laughing at headlines about it - sticking it to the haters online who assumed beauty companies would only show clean-shaven women.

Now, regular women are giving it a go.

Chanté Glover, 29, said that when they first started growing out their body hair in 2016, they felt "pretty alone in my friend group" - however now finds it "empowering".

"I actually got to a place of really loving it," said Chanté, who added that they've received an outpouring of support from friends and followers online.

"There's no shame in what we are and embracing what we are. I find [having body hair] to be a sign of confidence and adulthood."

Virali Patel, a 28-year-old from London, also posts odes to her body hair online.

"I feel a lot of women are tired of changing themselves in order to fit in society's definition of beautiful," said Patel, who recently gave up on hair removal after 20 years of shaving and waxing. "We've been conditioned to believe smooth skin is sexy, and having hair makes us look 'manly' and unworthy of love - which just isn't true."

Australian feminist Kathy Ebbs recently weighed in on the issue, writing in one post: "Hair removal is an option, NOT a societal norm."

New York author and sex worker, Liara Roux, who describes her job as "being hot online," said posting photos of her body hair on social media validates other women who want to try tossing out their razors.

"I've had some people tell me that they decided to start growing out their body hair after they saw me with it," Liara, 32, said.

"Because it's just my job to be naked online and be hot, it sort of gives other people permission to do that ... It's easier for people to be like, 'Oh, you can still be very attractive to people.'"
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
Read related topics: Sydney

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Gen Z women on growing out body hair: 'It's sexy and empowering'

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Model Sydney Jordan admits she's lost out on a number of fashion gigs - because of her body hair. And she's not alone. The 25-year-old is one of many women who are making a stand against gendered stereotypes in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, the New York Post reports.

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Transgender women have been facing more and more hate in the recent years. This video shows a woman being harassed by other people simply because she was transgender.

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A group of transgender women were forcibly removed from a bar in Los Angeles on Friday night after two other patrons yelled anti-trans slurs at them, and now police are investigating a possible hate crime.

The trans women, who are employees of the nonprofit Bienestar Human Services, were out celebrating the DTLA Proud festival at the bar when the incident occurred, one of the victims, Khloe Perez-Rios, told BuzzFeed News.

Two customers, a couple, began harassing them, she said. According to Perez-Rios, the patrons shouted slurs at the women, including telling them in Spanish, "You are all dudes" and calling them "faggots." The couple also allegedly threatened them with violence, saying, "We will come back and kill you."

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A Violent Altercation Between A Couple And A Group Of Trans Women At A Bar Is Being Investigated As A Hate Crime

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A group of transgender women were forcibly removed from a bar in Los Angeles on Friday night after two other patrons yelled anti-trans slurs at them, and now police are investigating a possible hate crime.

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Men have recently started to challenge gender norms by performing in provocative and "womanly" clothing. Sam Smith and Harry Styles are just some of the examples that are popular in the media right now. This clip shows what Sam Smith fans are saying to people who don't agree with what he was wearing.

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Sam Smith Fans Slam Trolls Who Fat Shamed Singer For Wearing Glitter Jumpsuit Like Harry Styles

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Toys have been divided for decades and they do not need to be . There is no purpose for boys to only play with "boy" toys and girls to play with "girl" toys.

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Children's Toys and the Gender Imbalance in Tech