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#21
notice: businesses can refuse to sell to the lgbtq community if its against their religion
problem:  it is a form of legal discrimination
question: what if it dosent stop at lgbtq? where do you draw the line? how do you prove it?
stakes: equality for lgbtq community

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Do most Americans oppose Supreme Court LGBTQ ruling? It depends on the poll.

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The issue of whether a business owner should have the right to refuse service to LGBTQ people because of religion continues to divide Americans.

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#11
notice: girls dont feel safe leaving the house by themselves.
problem:  everyone should feel safe leaving their house and going into their own community but they don't.
question: what are we doing to fix this? why don't we feel safe? who should be the one responsible for fixing this?
stakes: girls feeling safe outside their house.

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New research reveals 80% of girls don’t feel safe outside

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New research highlights the shocking scale of sexual harassment experienced by girls and young women

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#22
notice: we lack women in stem and government fields.
problem:  we don't have that much female representation in higher power fields
question: why aren't their more females in those fields? could we do something to fix this?
stakes: equality for females.

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#41
notice: dress codes are often biased against women
problem: we are told its our fault if guys cant handle ourselves
question: how would it be our fault? why don't they discipline the guys instead? should we get rid of dress codes or just make them more fair?
stakes: comfort of women

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School dress codes have been a topic of debate between students, parents and administrators for decades. While students have sought out avenues for free expression and individuality through their attire, many schools have instituted these policies in an effort to minimize classroom distractions, reduce emphasis on students' socioeconomic disparities and keep schools safe.

Nearly 20% of public schools in the 2019-2020 school year required students to wear a uniform and 44% enforced a "strict" dress code, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Often schools ban items like hooded sweatshirts, baggy coats or jackets and caps, saying these items make it easier for students to hide drugs or weapons, or harder for staff to identify students. Everyday attire like sweatpants, athletic shorts and leggings are also frequently prohibited.

And while the reasons for instituting dress codes often revolve around equity and safety, research shows these policies affect students unequally, with girls and students of color disproportionately facing consequences. In many cases, enforcement makes these students feel less safe, not more.

"I think that the schools where we see the over-policing of dress and the enforcement of dress codes, it's not surprising that those are mostly students of color," says Courtney Mauldin, an assistant professor of educational leadership in the teaching and leadership department at the Syracuse University School of Education. "There's a lot of traditional, antiquated ideas around what it has to look like to do school. And I think people have good intentions, but they're very slow to change when it rubs up against what they've known."

The result of these policies, the report found, is that this subset of students often faces more disciplinary action related to their attire, which in turn causes them to be removed from class more frequently and miss out on more instructional time. The report calls on the U.S. Department of Education to provide resources to school districts to help them make their dress code policies more equitable.

In an email statement to U.S. News, the department said it will evaluate "effective ways to share information with school communities regarding ways to fulfill students' civil rights on this important issue."

Who Do Dress Codes Target?

In 2020, two Black students in Houston were suspended when school administrators determined their hair, which they wore in dreadlocks, did not comply with the school's grooming policy, Houston Public Media reported. Policies on hairstyles are often included in school dress codes.

GAO estimated that 93% of school districts have some kind of dress code or policy, though not all of them are considered "strict." More than 90% of those rules prohibit clothing typically worn by female students: items such as "halter or strapless tops," "skirts or shorts shorter than mid-thigh," and "yoga pants or any type of skin tight attire," the report says. Meanwhile, it found that only 69% of districts were as likely to prohibit male students for wearing similar clothing, like a "muscle shirt."

"There can't be any skin showing," she says. "It's very one-sided and very sexist, to say the least, no matter what. The reasoning that they usually give is so that way you're not distracting anyone."

The GAO report also found that about 60 percent of dress codes require staff members to measure students' bodies and clothing to make sure they comply, which can involve adults touching students, GAO reported. "Consequently, students, particularly girls, may feel less safe at school," the report states.

Financially, dress codes can also be a challenge for low-income families, especially if they're required to buy specific clothes to adhere to a uniform.

However, income disparities are also among the reasons some schools put dress codes in place. Uniform policies can help to disguise "the haves and have-nots," says David Verta, principal at Hammond Central High School in Indiana.

Other policies significantly affect students of minority racial or cultural groups, the report found. For example, more than 80% of districts ban head coverings such as hats, bandanas and scarves, while only about one-third say they allow religious exemptions and "a few" allow for cultural or medical exemptions.

"Are we actually targeting clothing, or is this specific to targeting a student's identity?" Mauldin says. "Because if we're targeting student's identities, then we're sending a message that you don't belong here and you're disrupting the space simply by being, and that's not the message that we want to send to students, especially if schools are supposed to be these places of learning and joy and belonging."

What Student and Parents Can Do

Under federal law, dress codes cannot be explicitly discriminatory. While dress codes may specify acceptable types of attire, they cannot differ "based on students' gender, race, religion or other protected characteristics," according to the American Civil Liberties Union, citing civil rights law and the U.S. Constitution's equal protection guarantee. For example, public schools cannot dictate that male students can't wear a skirt, or female students can't wear a suit and tie, if one is confirmed acceptable for the other.

"Educators are human and we are learning and making changes, but we have to learn from families if there is something we are missing," she says. "We want students to feel comfortable and happy to be in school."

Student voice is key to effecting change and first-hand stories can help, McNeiley says.

One avenue for student advocacy is social media. "Platforms like TikTok and Instagram allow youth to raise awareness around issues in their schools and community," Mauldin says. "This often gets the attention of school and district leaders."

What Schools Can Do

If dress code issues arise in a classroom, educators should handle them discreetly so as not to embarrass a student, says McNeiley, who was previously a middle school counselor. She says doing this goes a long way in building positive relationships with students.

Often teachers are simply following their school's policy so as to do their job. But Mauldin challenges educators to question the status quo and think critically about how their school's dress codes could be problematic. She says administrators should regularly audit their discipline data and see if it reveals any trends of unconscious bias related to race and dress code.

Cardillo says schools and parents should also prioritize educating students at the elementary and middle school levels about boundaries and how to look at their peers respectfully without sexualizing them.

School administrators need to listen to their students and adapt to the changing environment around them, Mauldin says. She notes that formal dress is becoming less a part of work culture than it was years ago, with many jobs offering work from home options.

The new policy, implemented prior to the 2022-2023 academic year, allows students to wear clothing that is comfortable and expresses their self-identified gender. Students can wear religious attire "without fear of discipline or discrimination," it states.

"Some kids were not happy just because they had to figure out what to wear. It was so easy for them just to put on the khaki pants and a polo," says Verta, whose school is in the School City of Hammond district. "But overall, I think our kids are a lot happier now without it."

It's a policy that McNeiley says she's proud of and hopes other districts can use as a model.

"In general, in education, there has to be some kind of common sense," she says. "Because at the end of the day, you have to go back to the students ... (and do) what's best for them."

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Students of color and girls are disproportionately punished for violating these policies.

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#42
notice: its more likely for a guy to blame a sexual assault victim than to blame the aggressor
problem: this encourages the behavior to continue.
question: why do they think this way? is there a way to stop it? what caused people to think this way?
stakes: safety for victims

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Blaming sexual harassment victims has been linked to empathy for the male perpetrators according to ... [+]
Getty

No matter how provocatively they were dressed, how much they had to drink or whether they had a prior consensual relationship with the perpetrator, victims of sexual harassment should never be blamed. Yet frequently victims are blamed, and new research has targeted who is more likely to blame sexual harassment victims and why.
The Victim-Blaming Research
In the new research, published in the journal Psychology of Women Quarterly, two studies found that blaming sexual harassment victims is linked to empathy for male perpetrators. That's right, men, in particular, are more likely to feel for the male harassers and blame the victim.

In the first study, participants were asked to read a fictional account of a female college student's allegations of sexual harassment against a male student. In the the narrative, a female student described serious and repeated incidences of clear-cut sexual harassment. After reading the allegations, participants were questioned about their reactions. The researchers found that men were more likely to blame the victim than women, and the researchers concluded this is because men had greater empathy for the male perpetrator in the story.

To the researchers' surprise, the male and female participants reported equal empathy for the female victim. But men were more likely to show greater empathy for the male perpetrator in the story, and this, the researchers concluded, led men to be more likely to blame the victim.

To dig deeper, the researchers repeated the experiment, but this time after reading, the participants were asked to write a paragraph from the fictional male or female student's perspective. Participants who took the perspective of the male student who was accused of sexual harassment were more likely to blame the victim. Why? Once again, they were more likely to empathize with the perpetrator.

Men asked to focus on the female victim's perspective had less empathy for the male perpetrator and more empathy for the female victim, and they blamed the female victim less. Women prompted to consider the male perpetrator's perspective had more empathy for the male perpetrator, less empathy for the female victim, and blamed the victim more.

Lead author, Renata Bongiorno says she knows of no other research that focused on the negative aspects of empathy. "Most research focuses on the presumed benefits of empathy and the problems caused by lacking empathy," she says.
Implications For The Workplace
This study has real world implications for reducing victim blame in cases of sexual harassment. Instead of encouraging men to increase their empathy toward women, the researchers suggest that we should instead be focused on reducing empathy for male perpetrators. The authors suggest efforts should "include challenging media reports that give undue prominence to their professional accomplishments or that focus on how the man's life will be negatively affected if there is a finding of sexual violence against him."

These researchers only examined the case of a female victim and a male perpetrator. While this is the most common form of harassment, there are certainly many cases of harassment that don't fit this mold. The researchers suggest, "In a case of female-to-male sexual harassment, it is possible that women may feel more empathy for the perpetrator than men because the same ingroup bias shown by men when the perpetrator is male may also be shown by women when the perpetrator is female." With same-sex sexual harassment, it's less clear whether outsiders would feel more empathy for the victim or perpetrator, but it may depend on whether they, themselves, feel that they could be a target of harassment.
The Just World Hypothesis
Prior research has found that victim blaming also stems from our desire to think of the world as a good and just place. Psychologists call this the just world hypothesis, and it basically suggests that humans are biased to believe that people get what they deserve. It's why when you hear that your neighbor's house was burgled, you might assume they left their doors unlocked.

When we hear about sexual harassment or another crime, we don't like to think that it could happen to us. Instead, it makes us feel more comfortable to think that the victim was somehow complicit in the crime.

Whether it's because we're empathizing with the perpetrator or because we've wrongly convinced ourselves that we live in a just world, victim blaming is not okay. Increased awareness of these biases that lead us to blame victims is the first step toward decreasing them.

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The Dark Side Of Empathy: Why Women Are Blamed For Being Sexually Harassed

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No matter how provocatively they were dressed or whether they had a prior consensual relationship with the perpetrator, victims of sexual harassment should never be blamed. Yet frequently victims are blamed, and new research has targeted who is more likely to blame the victim and why.

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#43
notice: rape culture is getting more popular.
problem: people trivialize rape victims
question: why do people trivialize victims? what can we do to stop it?
stakes: women safety

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What is Rape Culture?

Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women's bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women's rights and safety.

Examples of Rape Culture

Blaming the victim ("She asked for it!")

Trivializing sexual assault ("Boys will be boys!")

Sexually explicit jokes

Tolerance of sexual harassment

Inflating false rape report statistics

Publicly scrutinizing a victim's dress, mental state, motives, and history

Gratuitous gendered violence in movies and television

Defining "manhood" as dominant and sexually aggressive

Defining "womanhood" as submissive and sexually passive

Pressure on men to "score"

Pressure on women to not appear "cold"

Assuming only promiscuous women get raped

Assuming that men don't get raped or that only "weak" men get raped

Refusing to take rape accusations seriously

Teaching women to avoid getting raped

Victim Blaming

One reason people blame a victim is to distance themselves from an unpleasant occurrence and thereby confirm their own invulnerability to the risk. By labeling or accusing the victim, others can see the victim as different from themselves. People reassure themselves by thinking, "Because I am not like her, because I do not do that, this would never happen to me." We need to help people understand that this is not a helpful reaction.

Why is it Dangerous?

Victim-blaming attitudes marginalize the victim/survivor and make it harder to come forward and report the abuse. If the survivor knows that you or society blames her for the abuse, s/he will not feel safe or comfortable coming forward and talking to you.

Victim-blaming attitudes also reinforce what the abuser has been saying all along; that it is the victim's fault this is happening. It is NOT the victim's fault or responsibility to fix the situation; it is the abuser's choice. By engaging in victim-blaming attitudes, society allows the abuser to perpetrate relationship abuse or sexual assault while avoiding accountability for his/her actions.

What Does Victim-Blaming Look Like?

Example of Victim-Blaming Attitude: "She must have provoked him into being abusive. They both need to change."

Reality: This statement assumes that the victim is equally to blame for the abuse, when in reality, abuse is a conscious choice made by the abuser. Abusers have a choice in how they react to their partner's actions. Options besides abuse include: walking away, talking in the moment, respectfully explaining why an action is frustrating, breaking up, etc. Additionally, abuse is not about individual actions that incite the abuser to hurt his partner, but rather about the abuser's feelings of entitlement to do whatever he wants to his partner.

When friends and family remain neutral about the abuse and say that both people need to change, they are colluding with and supporting the abusive partner and making it less likely that the survivor will seek support.

How Can Men and Women Combat Rape Culture and Victim Blaming?

Avoid using language that objectifies or degrades women

Speak out if you hear someone else making an offensive joke or trivializing rape

If a friend says they have been raped, take your friend seriously and be supportive

Think critically about the media's messages about women, men, relationships, and violence

Be respectful of others' physical space even in casual situations

Let survivors know that it is not their fault

Hold abusers accountable for their actions: do not let them make excuses like blaming the victim, alcohol, or drugs for their behavior

Always communicate with sexual partners and do not assume consent

Define your own manhood or womanhood. Do not let stereotypes shape your actions.

Be an Active Bystander!

Adapted from Marshall University and Center for Relationship Abuse Awareness
Dating and Domestic Violence Facts

FACT: Regardless of their actions, no one deserves to be physically, verbally or sexually abused. In fact, putting the blame for the violence on the victim is a way to manipulate the victim and other people. Batterers will tell the victim, "You made me mad," or, "You made me jealous," or will try to shift the burden by saying, "Everyone acts like that." Most victims try to placate and please their abusive partners in order to de-escalate the violence. The batterer chooses to abuse, and bears full responsibility for the violence.

FACT: Many victims love their partners despite the abuse, blame themselves, or feel as if they have no support system or resources outside of the relationship and so they feel as if they can't leave. Furthermore, the period immediately after leaving an abusive relationship is extremely dangerous.

FACT: Jealousy and possessiveness are signs that the person sees you as a possession. They are one of the most common early warning sign of abuse

FACT: Abuse can come in many forms, such as sexual, physical, verbal, and emotional. When a person in a relationship repeatedly scares, hurts, or puts down the other person, it is abuse. Harassment, intimidation, forced or coerced isolation from friends and family and having an independent social life, humiliation, threats of harm to you or your family or pets, threats of suicide if you leave, violating your privacy, limiting your independence and personal choices are all examples of abuse.

FACT: While the majority of victims of domestic violence are women, men may also be victims of relationship violence. Men face many of the same barriers as women that prevent them from reporting abuse, but also face a different kind of stigma since many do not believe that men can be victims of dating/domestic violence.

FACT: The majority of men and young men in our community are not violent. The use of violence is a choice. Men who use violence in their relationships choose where and when they are violent. The large majority of offenders who assault their partners control their violence with others, such as friends or work colleagues, where there is no perceived right to dominate and control.

Stating that 'All men are violent' places the blame for the violence elsewhere and prevents the perpetrator from being responsible for his violence. The majority of men and women want and can be allies to help in the fight against this kind of violence.

FACT: As many as one-third of all high school and college-age young people experience violence in an intimate or dating relationship. Physical abuse is as common among high school and college-age couples as married couples.

Sexual Assault Facts

FACT: Men, women and children of all ages, races, religions, and economic classes can be and have been victims of sexual assault. Sexual assault occurs in rural areas, small towns and larger cities. It is estimated that one in three girls and one six boys will be sexually assaulted by the age of eighteen. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a rape or attempted rape occurs every 5 minutes in the United States.

FACT: Sexual assault is NEVER the victim's fault. Sexual assault is a violent attack on an individual, not a spontaneous crime of sexual passion. For a victim, it is a humiliating and degrading act. No one "asks" for or deserves this type of attack.

FACT: Most sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows. Studies show that approximately 80%-90% of women reporting sexual assaults knew their assailant.

FACT: A sexual assault can happen anywhere and at any time. The majority of assaults occur in places ordinarily thought to be safe, such as homes, cars and offices.

FACT: Reported sexual assaults are true, with very few exceptions. According to CONNSACS, only 2% of reported rapes are false. This is the same rate of false reporting as other major crime reports.

FACT: Men can be, and are, sexually assaulted. Current statistics indicate that one in six men are sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Sexual assault of men is thought to be greatly under-reported.

FACT: Almost all sexual assaults occur between members of the same race. Interracial rape is not common, but it does occur.

FACT: Sexual assault is motivated by hostility, power and control. Sexual assaults are not motivated by sexual desire. Unlike animals, humans are capable of controlling how they choose to act on or express sexual urges.

FACT: Sexual offenders come from all educational, occupational, racial and cultural backgrounds. They are "ordinary" and "normal" individuals who sexually assault victims to assert power and control over them and inflict violence, humiliation and degradation.

FACT: Anytime someone is forced to have sex against their will, they have been sexually assaulted, regardless of whether or not they fought back or said "no". There are many reasons why a victim might not physically fight their attacker including shock, fear, threats or the size and strength of the attacker.

FACT: Survivors exhibit a spectrum of emotional responses to assault: calm, hysteria, laughter, anger, apathy, shock. Each survivor copes with the trauma of the assault in a different way.
Adapted from Connecticut Sexual Assault Crisis Services (CONNSACS)

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Rape Culture, Victim Blaming, And The Facts

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What is Rape Culture? Rape Culture is an environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence is normalized and excused in the media and popular culture. Rape culture is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women's bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women's rights and safety.

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#44
notice: it puts the burden of safety on women's shoulders, and blames them when they don't succeed
problem: Rape culture pressures women to sacrifice their freedoms and opportunities in order to stay safe
question:is there a better way to stay safe? is there a way to stay safe and still have our freedoms?
stakes: women's safety

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There's a phrase you are increasingly likely to encounter when reading or discussing stories about sexual assault: "rape culture." It might sound like just another way to talk about high-profile rape scandals, sexual assault at colleges or in the military, or accusations against powerful people such as Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, Jerry Sandusky, or Roman Polanski. Or the controversy around Rolling Stone's article about UVA's handling of rapes on campus.

But those crimes aren't rape culture, they're products of it. What follows is a primer on rape culture: what it means, how it works, where it comes from, why awareness of it is now entering the mainstream, and how it drives injustices that go well beyond rape itself.

What is rape culture? Rape culture is about much more than sexual assault

Rape culture is a culture in which sexual violence is treated as the norm and victims are blamed for their own assaults. It's not just about sexual violence itself, but about cultural norms and institutions that protect rapists, promote impunity, shame victims, and demand that women make unreasonable sacrifices to avoid sexual assault.

Rape culture pressures women to sacrifice their freedoms and opportunities in order to stay safe, because it puts the burden of safety on women's shoulders, and blames them when they don't succeed. As a result, certain opportunities are left unavailable to women, and still others are restricted by expensive safety precautions, such as not traveling for professional networking unless you can afford your own hotel room. That amounts, essentially, to a tax that is levied exclusively on women. Over time, the cost of that tax adds up to opportunities lost and progress not achieved. When women give up social and economic opportunities in order to stay safe, that affects their progress overall, which in turn affects society's progress overall.

And although rape culture has its roots in long-standing patriarchal power structures that were designed to benefit men, today's rape culture burdens men too - for instance, by ignoring the fact that men can be victims of rape and sexual assault, and women can be perpetrators of it. That means that male victims are also left without legal protection and social support.

The goal of talking about rape culture is about much more than just reducing the frequency with which sexual assault occurs or the impunity that allows it to flourish, because the problems at the root of rape culture are much bigger than that.

How the concept of rape culture is becoming mainstream

The term "rape culture" was originally coined in the 1970s. The term appeared in Rape: The First Sourcebook for Women, published by the New York Radical Feminists Collective in 1974, and was explored in depth in the 1975 documentary Rape Culture.

In more recent years, however, the idea of rape culture has received much more attention, including from mainstream outlets:

This is due in large part to the rise of feminist and female-focused online media and activism. Sites such as Feministing, Shakesville, Colorlines, Racialicious, and Feministe published essays identifying and analyzing different aspects of rape culture.

Their success amplified the voices of feminist writers covering the subject and eventually attracted the attention of mainstream publications as well. At the same time, awareness campaigns run by groups like Know Your IX and Hollaback have compounded that effect, bringing the issue to greater prominence.

Rape culture blames victims, which allows impunity for the perpetrators

First, rape culture treats rape as a problem to be solved through improving the behavior of potential rape victims (who are presumed, in this logic, to be women), rather than improving the behavior of potential rapists (who are presumed to be men).

This pattern takes many forms. The classic example is when an observer (or a rapist) blames the rape victim for attracting the rapist's attention by wearing revealing clothing. In 2011, for instance, a Toronto police officer sparked the global "Slutwalk" protest movement when he told female students that "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized."

Another form of this argument is the " personal responsibility" lecture often given to young female college students, advising them to avoid drinking or attending fraternity parties lest they become one of the one-in-five young women who is sexually assaulted by the time she graduates. Although that advice is couched in terms of "personal responsibility" and "staying safe," it's still putting the onus of preventing rape on the potential victims.

The second hallmark of rape culture is an unwillingness and/or inability to punish the perpetrators of rape and sexual assault. Police officers, prosecutors, and juries often cling to the stereotypical image of "real" rape. In "real" rape, the crime consists of a forcible attack, perpetrated by a male stranger on a female victim who has not been drinking or behaving in a sexually provocative manner, and is immediately reported to law enforcement and supported by ample physical evidence. Crimes that do not fit that stereotypical pattern are often ignored by law enforcement or dropped by prosecutors who believe - often correctly - that they will be rejected by juries.

The impunity isn't limited to the legal system. Schools, universities, and the military routinely fail to address sexual assaults within their institutions. All of these institutional failures are magnified by social pressure on victims to stay silent and by patterns of blaming or ostracizing victims who do come forward.

In the U.S. military, for instance, only a small fraction of sexual assaults are investigated or punished. According to a report by the US Commission on Civil Rights, the Department of Defense estimated 26,000 service members were raped or sexually assaulted in 2012 alone, and that slightly more than half of those victims were men. However, fears of reprisal and stigma meant that only 2,558 victims even pursued justice by filing an unrestricted report, and only 302 of those cases proceeded to trial.

There was a good reason for that: the service members who did report being assaulted often faced retaliation from their superiors, who had control over whether their cases could proceed. For example, PBS reported the story of one soldier who was raped by a superior in Iraq and reported the assault, but was told that she would be charged with adultery if she pursued her complaint. She endured further threats and retaliation before being "medically retired" in 2012.

Blaming victims doesn't just fail to prevent rapes - it constrains women's lives and limits their opportunities

The result of all this, unsurprisingly, is an environment in which rape is common, victims are silenced, and rapists are not punished. But there is a less obvious, more pernicious consequence as well: rape culture polices women's lives, constraining their freedom and limiting their opportunities.

When the burden of avoiding sexual assault is placed on women, that essentially grants sexual predators the power to set the boundaries on women's lives. Those who don't are held responsible for their own fate.

Sometimes sexual threats and violence are overtly used to police women's behavior, such as when rape threats are used as a tool to silence female writers and activists. The online threats leveled against women like feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian and blogger and programmer Kathy Sierra are good examples of this. An even more brutal form of this behavior is " corrective rape," in which lesbians and gay men are raped in an attempt to force them to become straight.

But often it's more subtle. Much of the advice given to women about how to avoid sexual assault is really just a laundry list of things, people, places, and situations to avoid. Alcohol. Men's homes. Solo travel. One-on-one meetings with potential professional mentors who are male. Over time, those limitations add up, making rape culture a tax on women's lives and opportunities.

Rape culture means that rape is incredibly common. But rape culture also prevents us from knowing exactly how common.

Rape culture allows rape to flourish. But it also makes it hard to measure - which itself makes rape more common still.

Stigma, victim-blaming, and the (often correct) assumption that reporting a rape to law enforcement won't result in prosecution make many victims reluctant to come forward, which contributes to underreporting. Stereotypes about what constitutes "real" rape affect the definitions used in data gathering: if the crime is defined too narrowly, then some rapes won't show up in the statistics.

For example, for years the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting data did not even count rapes in which the victim was incapacitated by drugs or alcohol, or in which the victim was male.

The difficulty of accurately measuring rape and sexual assault is not just the result of rape culture, however. It also contributes to it. The lack of complete, reliable data masks the degree to which rape and sexual assault are widespread. That means that energy and resources that could be better spent coming up with solutions to rape culture are instead spent litigating whether it's a problem at all.

Rape culture is a direct continuation of a time when gender discrimination was written right into the law

Rape culture didn't come out of nowhere. It's the direct continuation of centuries of patriarchal power and the institutions that developed to support it.

When the US was founded, the powers that be - which is to say, men - constructed a system in which women's rights were legally and socially subordinate to men's. While justifications for this system were often couched in morality and tradition and the need to "protect" women, in implementation they were all about male power over women.

While we think of those institutions as long-gone, if you listen to way that rape is discussed you will hear the exact same patterns - right up to the admission that this is actually about power, often expressed as a fear of giving women the ability to put men in jail on their word alone.

History is full of instances of men wringing their hands about how scary it was to give women that kind of power. "Rape...is an accusation easily to be made and hard to be proved, and harder to be defended by the party accused, tho never so innocent," warned British jurist Lord Hale in 1680. His concern took root and flourished in the US justice system. In one famous 18th-century rape trial, the defense attorney warned the jury that the rape charge "placed the life of a citizen in the hands of a woman." (The "citizen" in question, Harry Bedlow, was acquitted.) In 1842, another judge warned that, in rape cases, "there is much greater danger that injustice will be done to the defendant, than there is in prosecutions of any other character."

Those ideas are not just ancient history. Until 1975, California courts were required to give the following jury instruction in rape cases: "A charge such as that made against the defendant in this case is one which is easily made and, once made, difficult to defend against, even if the person accused is innocent. Therefore, the law requires that you examine the testimony of the female person named in the information with caution." (Lord Hale, call your agent.)

And just as those fears haven't changed much over the centuries, neither has the solution: to limit men's vulnerability to rape accusations by limiting women's ability to bring rape charges. This used to be done more openly than it is now, but the parallels to modern responses to rape accusations are striking.

In early US legal decisions, courts treated rape as a crime against a woman's sexual purity, rather than as solely against her consent: a complaining victim had to prove that she had "good character" in order to pursue charges against her assailant. Second, the woman had to prove that she physically resisted the attack; in the words of one New York court in 1838, "she must resist until exhausted or overpowered, for a jury to find that it was against her will." Many states also required that the woman cry out for help and report the assault immediately in order for it to be a prosecutable offense.

And even when those elements were met, women's testimony was weighed against the standing and respectability of the alleged rapist. That meant a rapist was much less likely to be punished if he had higher social standing than his victim - or if he was white and she was not.

If that sounds familiar, it should. Although those elements aren't legal requirements for rape cases anymore, they are still at the core of social attitudes towards rape today.

A woman who comes forward with an accusation of rape can be expected to have her history and character subjected to scrutiny. (Why was she drinking? Why was she even at that party? Why did she take a birth control pill?) If she did not physically resist the assault, she will be accused of consenting to it, or at the very least "confusing" her attacker. If she did not report the assault right away, that will be seen as a sign that she is lying. And her social status will be weighed against that of her rapist. The higher-status her attacker is, the less likely it will be that she is perceived as credible.

What can society do about rape culture?

There isn't any single program or law that can magically fix rape culture. However, a dvocacy campaigns run by groups like Know Your IX and Hollaback have brought attention to the problems fueling rape culture and have helped women to organize in opposition to it. Because rape culture derives some of its power from unconscious biases and hidden assumptions, simply drawing attention to it is a step towards changing it.

Institutional changes will matter too. The pressure put on the military, for example, by activists and politicians such as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has led it to pay more attention to the problem of sexual assault, and there is some evidence that assaults are decreasing. The White House has established a task force to address the problem of sexual assaults on campus, although it is too soon to know what effect it will have.

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Rape culture isn't a myth. It's real, and it's dangerous.

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There's a phrase you are increasingly likely to encounter when reading or discussing stories about sexual assault: "rape culture." It might sound like just another way to talk about high-profile rape scandals, sexual assault at colleges or in the military, or accusations against powerful people such as Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, Jerry Sandusky, or Roman Polanski.

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#45
notice: some people don't believe rape culture
problem: its hard to fix a problem if people dont believe its a problem
question:why don't they believe it exists? is there a way we can get them to see how real it is? how could we spread awareness?
stakes: women's safety

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Social media is only reinforcing rape culture. Millions serve as bystanders.

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Social media glorifies rape culture instead of holding it accountable.

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#46
notice: its still considered taboo that a guy could be raped
problem: that invalidates male victims of assault
question: why is it considered taboo? how could we get people to understand their struggles? how could we effectively spread awareness?
stakes: safety and fairness for men

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Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. It is estimated that approximately one in six men experienced sexual abuse during childhood.[better source needed ] Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now commonly criminalized and has been subject to more discussion than in the past.

Males are far less likely to report sexual abuse than females. Rape of males is still taboo, and has a negative connotation among heterosexual and homosexual men. Community and service providers often react differently to male victims based on their sexual orientation and the gender of their perpetrators. It may be difficult for male victims to report a sexual assault they experienced, especially in a society with a strong masculine custom. They might be afraid that people will doubt their sexual orientation and label them homosexual, especially if raped by a male, or that they may be seen as un-masculine because they were a victim, and therefore many statistics underestimate how many males are raped due to their unwillingness to report sexual assault and rape. Most of the time, male victims try to hide and deny their victimization, similar to female victims, unless they have serious physical injuries. Eventually, the male victims may be very vague in explaining their injuries when they are seeking medical or mental health services.

Looking across different government survey sources, for a given year male adult and youth inmates are estimated to suffer several times more incidents of sexual victimizations than incarcerated females. Male and female inmates are not included in most national surveys of sexual victimization.[8][9]

Research about male-victim rape had only just begun to appear by 1980, focusing mostly on male children. The studies of sexual assault in correctional facilities focusing specifically on the consequences of this kind of rape were available in the early 1980s, but nothing was available during the previous years. Most of the literature regarding rape and sexual assault focuses on female victims.

Only recently have some other forms of sexual violence against men been considered. In the 2010-2012 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (and a prior edition of this study completed in 2010), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) measured a category of sexual violence called "being made to penetrate" which captures instances in which victims were forced to or attempt to sexually penetrate someone (of either sex), either by physical force or coercion, or when the victim was intoxicated or otherwise unable to consent. The CDC found in the 2012 data that 1.715 million (up from 1.267 million in 2010) reported being "made to penetrate" another person in the preceding 12 months, similar to the 1.473 million (2010: 1.270 million) women who reported being raped in the same time period. The definitions of rape and "made to penetrate" in the CDC study were worded with extremely similar language.

Male-on-male rape has been heavily stigmatized. According to psychologist Sarah Crome, fewer than 1 in 10 male-on-male rapes are reported. As a group, male rape victims reported a lack of services and support, and legal systems are often ill-equipped to deal with this type of crime. In the United Kingdom, epidemiological studies have suggested that the rate of male rape is higher in gay and college communities.

Several studies argue that male-on-male prisoner rape, as well as female-on-female prisoner rape, are common types of rape which go unreported even more frequently than rape in the general population. The rape of men by men has been documented as a weapon of terror in warfare (see also War rape). In the case of the Syrian Civil War (2011-present), the male detainees experienced sexual abuse such as being forced to sit on a broken glass bottle, getting their genitals tied to a heavy bag of water, or being forced to watch the rape of another detainee by the officials.

Female-on-male rape is under-researched compared to other forms of sexual violence. Statistics on the prevalence of female-on-male sexual violence vary. One study (Hannon et al.) found 23.4% of women and 10.5% of men reported they were raped, while 6.6% of women and 10.5% of men reported they were victims of attempted rape. A 2010-2012 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that one in 17 men (5.9%) reported being made to penetrate at some point in their lives (up from 4.8% in 2010). The surveys also found that male victims often reported only female perpetrators in instances of being made to penetrate (2012: 78.5%, 2010: 79.2%), sexual coercion (2012: 81.6%, 2010: 83.6%), and unwanted sexual contact (2012: 53.0%, 2010: 53.1%). Among male victims who were raped by being penetrated, 86.5% reported only male perpetrators, (down from 93.3% in the previous study published in 2010). A 2008 study of 98 men interviewed on the United States National Crime Victimization Survey found that nearly half of the men (46%) who reported some form of sexual victimization were victimized by women.

Regarding female-on-male sexual misconduct, the US Dept. of Justice reports in its opening statement (page 5): "An estimated 4.4% of prison inmates and 3.1% of jail inmates reported experiencing one or more incidents of sexual victimization by another inmate or facility staff in the past 12 months or since admission to the facility, if less than 12 months." Regarding female-on-male sexual misconduct (page 25) it states: "Among the 39,121 male prison inmates who had been victims of staff sexual misconduct, 69% reported sexual activity with female staff; an additional 16% reported sexual activity with both female and male staff (table 18)." and "Nearly two-thirds of the male jail inmates who had been victimized said the staff perpetrator was female (64%)."

Male victims of sexual abuse by females often face social, political, and legal double standards. The case of Cierra Ross' sexual assault of a man in Chicago gained national headlines, and Ross was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and armed robbery with a bail set at $75,000. A similar case includes James Landrith, who was made to penetrate a female acquaintance in a hotel room while incapacitated from drinking, while his rapist cited the fact that she was pregnant to advise him not to struggle, as it might hurt the baby.

Several widely publicized cases of female-on-male statutory rape in the United States involved school teachers having illegal sex with their underage students (see Mary Kay Letourneau and Debra Lafave). There have also been cases where an underage male victim of statutory rape was ordered by a judge to pay child support after the woman became pregnant (see Hermesmann v. Seyer).

By masculine gender socialization, it is thought that males, even younger males, cannot be victims of rape, nor even that they are vulnerable. In some societies, it is considered shameful and unmanly if a male child cries, because the male stereotype depicts males as being able to protect themselves, which may not always be the case. Young boys may be weaker and vulnerable to perpetrators, who are usually stronger. The perpetrators can use whatever they have to abuse the child, including money or other bribes. An adult male may also be helpless to fight back, or fearful of doing so.

A common societal belief is that a male must be aroused if he gets an erection or has an orgasm, therefore that means that he is willing and enjoying any sexual activity. Roy J. Levin and Willy Van Berlo wrote in an article in the Journal of Clinical Forensic Medicine that slight genital stimulation or stress can create erections "even though no specific sexual stimulation is present". An erection does not mean that the men consent to sex. Males can get erections even in traumatic or painful sexual situations, and this does not indicate consent.

Much like female erectile response, male erectile response is involuntary, meaning that a man does not need to be aroused for his penis to become erect; mechanical stimulation is all that is necessary. Arousal and stimulation are distinct things. Stimulation is a physical response to a stimulus. Men can be physically stimulated without feeling aroused and thus causing an erection. Men can be scared and intimidated into an erection, especially if the person is older or an authority.

One notion is that males are less traumatized by the abuse experience than females are; this includes the belief that males are less negatively affected. Studies show that the long-term effects are damaging for either sex and males may especially be more damaged by social stigma and disbelief of their victimization. It is noted by Eogan and Richardson that male victims tend to feel more intense anger than female victims, while both go through similar feelings of distress after the rape. Frazier (1993) studied 74 male and 1,380 female rape victims. She found that the depression and hostility are more profound on male victims immediately post-rape than on female victims.

Henry Leak, the chairman of the Survivors organization, stated that rape of males, as with females, has more to do with power than sexuality, and does not only happen inside the homosexual community. Sexual orientation is a complex issue, and the majority of male perpetrators who seek out boys are not homosexual.

Rape of males during wartime has been reported as prevalent in some parts of the world, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, which recently suffered civil war.

Across Africa, men who are raped often face social stigmatization and being ridiculed for being "weak" and failing to prevent the rape. They may also be accused of homosexuality (which is illegal in many countries of the region). For example, when some male refugees from the Congo sought treatment in Uganda, they were prosecuted for homosexuality, The Economist reported in 2012.

Sexual abuse results in severe emotional and often physical trauma. Among sexual assault victims over 18, 31.5% of females and 16.1% of males said that they incurred non-genital injuries from the assault.

Male victims received more ancillary injuries and were more likely to be threatened with a weapon by the perpetrator. The symptoms and injuries most frequently noted are tension headaches, ulcers, nausea, colitis, abrasions to the throat, black eyes and broken bones. The study by Stermac and colleagues (2004) noted that 45% of male victims who went to a hospital sexual assault centre had some type of physical injury (25% soft tissue injury, 20% lacerations).

The data from hospital emergency rooms show that male rape victims are more likely to have non-genital injuries than females, and that they are more likely to neglect seeking medical attention if the injuries are not significant. Hodge and Canter (1998) report that homosexual male victims are more likely to sustain serious injuries than heterosexual male victims. Sometimes victims become infected by a sexually transmitted disease as the result of rape, but it is infrequent and includes only a small portion of male victims.

Rape victims, males and females, may find it difficult to report the sexual assault against them. There is a myth that a male sexual assault victim will become a perpetrator themselves. This myth is very damaging to victims, both to their mental states and to how people treat them. Elizabeth Donovan, a psychotherapist, stated that males have the added burden of facing a society that does not believe that rape can happen to them at all. The social stigmatization of male victims is also damaging and has been described as 'secondary victimization'. It has been linked to the under-reporting of rape and post-rape trauma; male victims are also susceptible to post-traumatic stress disorder. Some studies have found that some victims chose not to report their assaults as they fear being labelled as a 'closet homosexual', bisexual, or as promiscuous.

Regarding the blaming of victims of rape, researchers, in 1993, conducted an experiment and found that a statistically significant proportion of males tend to blame the victim, even when the rape victim was a male.

Long-term effects

Compared to men who have not been sexually assaulted, men who were sexually assaulted before age 18 have a greater risk of having mental health problems, including symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and depression; alcoholism and drug abuse; suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts; problems in intimate relationships; and underachievement at school and at work.

Because of gender expectations, being a male child victim of sexual abuse can lead to:

1. Pressure to prove his manhood physically and sexually (becoming stronger and engaging in dangerous or violent behavior; having multiple female sexual partners).

2. Confusion over gender and sexual identity.

3. Sense of being an inadequate man.

4. Sense of lost power, control, and confidence to his manhood.

5. Problems with closeness and intimacy.

6. Fear of becoming 'homosexual' or 'gay'.

7. Homophobia.

Suicide possibility

The suicide rate for sexually abused males is 14 to 15 times higher than for other males. McDonald and Tijerino found in their research that some participants state that there were occasions on which they felt so bad that they engaged in self-harming behaviors, including suicide attempts, and/or had suicidal thoughts. There is also a study that shows that rape victims are 4.1 times more likely to contemplate suicide and 13 times more likely to attempt suicide than non-crime victims.

Males have a much higher rate of suicide than females. One common explanation relies on the social constructions of hegemonic masculinity and femininity. In a review of the literature on gender and suicide, male suicide rates were explained in terms of traditional gender roles. Male gender roles tend to emphasize greater levels of strength, independence, and risk-taking behavior. Reinforcement of this gender role often prevents males from seeking help for suicidal feelings and depression.

Sexual assault victims need extensive emotional and psychological healing after the raping, but male survivors are not likely to speak out their cases. Elizabeth Donovan, a psychotherapist, said; "Males have the added burden of facing a society that doesn't believe rape can happen to them ... at all."

In 1995, the American Medical Association described male rape as a 'silent-violent epidemic'. The CDC reports in 2010 stated that nearly 1 in 5 women, 1 in 71 men in the U.S. have been raped or have had an experience of attempted rape, while 4.8% of men (1 in 21) reported they were made to penetrate someone else at some time in their lives. Furthermore, the CDC found that 1.270 million women and 1.267 million men were raped or forced to penetrate someone else in the 12 months leading up to the report. Incidents of sexual violence in US are severely underreported, especially among male victims, that lead to an assumption that the actual number is likely higher.

Stephanie Baird, a trauma recovery counselor, cited the "hot-for-teacher or babysitter complex" that is a popular motif in modern American culture. The culture makes it more difficult for a male adolescent to even recognize that he is being abused. She explained that consent means "being of age, mind, sound body to make an informed decision about whether one would like to become sexually intimate with the other person", while children cannot consent.

Various studies estimate that at least 1 in 6 men have experienced sexual assault or abuse in their lifetime in the United States.

In 2014, UK government statistics estimated that each year about 78,000 people in the UK become rape or attempted rape victims, and about 9,000 of these are men. Research suggests that the notoriously low report rate is particularly true among male victims. About 1,250 incidents of male-victim rape were reported to the police in 2011-2012. In February 2014, the ministry of justice set aside £500,000 to provide counseling and support for sexually abused males.

No official statistics are collected[citation needed ]. However, the United Nations' 2013 Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific found that 3% of Chinese men surveyed acknowledged having been raped by another man during their lifetime (suggesting that the proportion of male rapes as a percentage of all rapes was 14.4%).

Taiwan counted 12,066 victims of reported sexual assault in 2012 of which 1,335 victims were men. The Ministry of Interior showed that 7,608 minors were rape or sexual assault victims, with 1,063 of them being boys. To prevent the increasing number of these crimes, Taiwan's Ministry of Education had released a short film on sexual education. The netizens (Internet users) and students of Taiwan are treating it as a subject of jokes. However, National Academy of Educational Research Secretary-General Kuo Kung-pin stated that the video has achieved its purpose to get attention from the youth to remind them that men can be raped as well.

The rape of males in India is commonly underreported. For this reason, some activists and research organizations, including Jai Vipra at the New Delhi think-tank Centre for Civil Society, argue that the phrasing of rape laws should be gender-neutral. This view is opposed by some human rights advocates and women's rights activists. Mumbai-based human rights lawyer Flavia Agnes told the India Times, "I oppose proposal [] to make rape laws gender-neutral. We had opposed it when the government made child rape laws gender-neutral ... If made gender-neutral, rape laws will not have the deterrence value and it will make it more complicated for judges in court." International human rights lawyer and activist Vrinda Grover was quoted in the same article: "There are no instances of women raping men. I don't think men are facing serious sexual violence as [] women. Consider the brutality and intensity of sexual violence against women."

The news about rape of males in Indonesia arouses astonishment or jokes. The Indonesian Child Protection Commission ( Komisi Perlindungan Anak Indonesia -KPAI) records about 400 Indonesian children become victims of sexual assault per year, both by their families and other adults. According to the Secretary General of KPAI, Erlinda, "the majority of children who are victims of sexual violence are males, because boys are vulnerable to become the victims of sexual offenders because they are easily persuaded by the perpetrators who are pedophiles.

The FBI's Uniform Crime Report in 2012 redefined rape as: "The penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim." The prior definition had not changed since 1927 and gained the attention of sexual assault awareness groups because it had alienated the victims who did not fit the definition - "the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will". The former definition of "forcible rape" focused on vaginal penetration, but the newer definition includes forcible anal or oral penetration. The old definition, "the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will", did not include forcible oral or anal penetration, the rape of women with other objects, or the rape of a man.

This new definition encourages male rape victims to seek the help they need and also includes sexual assaults that previously were not covered by the definition of rape. The basis for changing this definition lies in the statistics provided by governmental institutions such as the U.S. Department of Justice and the CDC. A study done by the CDC found that 1 in 71 men had been raped or had been the target of attempted rape. This study included oral and anal penetration in its definition but did not include men in prison or men made to penetrate. Gender-neutral laws have combated the perception that rape rarely occurs to men, and other laws have eliminated the term rape altogether.

Previously, English law did not include rape of males as a criminal offense and it was recorded as non-consensual buggery. A convicted rapist (of a female) could be imprisoned for life, stated Henry Leak, the chairman of Survivors organization, while buggery only carried 10 years maximum as a sentence. This is however no longer the case; the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 s. 142 was the first to lead this development and recognize male-victim rape; and the Sexual Offences Act 2003 states that penetration of the "mouth, anus or vagina with [the defendant's] penis" is sufficient for rape at s. 1(1)(a). R v Ismail [2005] All ER 216 further prevented distinction between "mouth, anus or vagina" when sentencing. Under the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 and the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 men can be both perpetrators and victims. However, in all parts of the United Kingdom a female cannot be legally charged with 'rape' (she must be instead charged with other offenses such as sexual assault, assault by penetration, or causing sexual activity without consent, of which the latter two carry the same maximum sentence).

Before 2015, article 236 of the revised Criminal Law of China specifies that the crime of rape may be committed only against women. It protects women's right to sexual autonomy but not men's.[citation needed ] In 2011, the first-ever conviction for sexual assault on a man occurred with a Beijing security guard as the perpetrator, but he was convicted of intentional injury rather than rape, sentenced to one year in prison and to pay 20,000 yuan ($3,026) as compensation. A convicted rapist will get at least three years in prison.

The guidelines of China on child protection strengthen the punishments for sexual offenses against underage girls, but don't offer equal protection to underage boys. Molestation of both sexes is treated equally at present, but the rapists of boys can only be charged with child molestation with 5 years in prison as a maximum sentence. In September 2013, 27 NGOs called for the law to give equal protection to boys below 18 years old in cases of sexual offences.[citation needed ]

Until November 1, 2015, sexual offences against males above the age of 14 could not be prosecuted unless they also included a physical assault, in which case only the physical component was punishable. However, a revision of Article 237, which criminalises "forcible indecency," made that section of the law gender-neutral. Offences that constitute rape of males may be tried under this article, with offenders facing a maximum of five years in prison.

The Indian Penal Code, Section 377, is the only section that criminalizes all acts of nonconsensual carnal intercourse, including male-on-male rape.

Unnatural offences: Whoever voluntarily has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the carnal intercourse necessary to the offense described in this section.

This section penalizes both consensual and forced sodomy[clarification needed ] with 10 years minimum to life imprisonment. The Delhi HC stated that Section 377 of Indian Penal Code will continue to govern non-consensual penile, non-vaginal sex and penile non-vaginal sex involving minors. The section can be evoked to punish sodomites, pedophiles and zoophiles.

Based on Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana (Indonesian's Penal Code), males cannot be the victims of rape. In paragraph 285, rape is defined as a sexual violence against a female having a sentence of imprisonment for a maximum of 12 years, while in paragraph 289, the victim of "vulgar actions" is not defined as male or female and the punishment is a maximum of 9 years imprisonment. The commentary on paragraph 285 by R. Soesilo stated that the law makers didn't need to determine the punishment for a female perpetrator that forced males to have intercourse with her. This is not because such action is not possible, but the act is deemed to not do harm or result in something bad to male victims, such as pregnancy in females.

In New Zealand, the word "rape" can only be used in the instance where females are penetrated by a male. Females can be punished to the same degree as male-on-female rape, however.

Prior to the 1997 amendment of Revised Penal Code of 1930, male victims of rape were not acknowledged under Philippine law. Article 266-A of the law defines rape by "an act of sexual assault" by any person either by "inserting his penis into another person's mouth or anal orifice" or inserting "any instrument or object, into the genital or anal orifice of another person". The 1997 amendment allowed the legal recognition of rape of males, both by other males and by females.

However there are different penalties for the offense of raping of boys compared to doing the same act to girls. Rape against boys is considered by law as rape by sexual assault, which carries a lesser penalty of six to 12 years of imprisonment while rape against girls are penalized by life imprisonment.

Male victims of rape are not acknowledged in Singapore law. A male rape victim is not considered a rape victim under S375(1) of Penal Code, which defines rape as the act of a man penetrating a woman's vagina with his penis without her consent. Penetration of other body orifices is not rape but an unlawful sexual penetration (S376(1), Penal Code). Both crimes carry the same penalty: imprisonment for a term of up to 20 years plus fine or caning. (S375(2) and S376(4), Penal Code).

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Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. It is estimated that approximately one in six men experienced sexual abuse during childhood.[better source needed ] Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females.

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#47
notice: guys are victims of rape culture almost as much as females
problem: there is very little documentation or research on male victims
question: why is there so little documentation? how could we fix a problem if not many believe in it?
stakes: male safety

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Male Rape: The Silent Victim and the Gender of the Listener

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Training in this specific area is needed for psychiatric residents as well as for military personnel, the police, emergency department staff, nurses, and general practitioners. The research on sexual assault of women may not be appropriate for men who have been sexually assaulted.

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#48
notice:  women sexual assaulting women is seen as even more outlandish than a man being assaulted
problem: women rarely have to face consequences for assaulting someone.
question: why is it seen as so outlandish? is there a way we could spread more awareness? is there a way we could better support the victims?
stakes: peoples safety

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N/A

Rebecca Twinley

Eighteen years ago, I was violently raped and physically assaulted by a woman who I didn't know, in a public place.

After I'd escaped, I went straight home and showered. I felt completely numb. I was worried about people I knew seeing me because I had a bruised face from her physical assaults on me. What would I tell them?

The next day I told my intimate (female) partner at the time. She said she didn't understand how a woman could rape another woman. It was crushing. I felt instantly and entirely isolated by her reaction.

People think of women as caring and nurturing. Many really struggle to accept that they're as capable of cruelty as men are.

When it comes to women raping women, it is an act of violence and control; it is not sex. For others I've told, I think their lack of understanding of what constitutes sex between women (which happens when those involved are consenting) contributes to the difficulty to comprehend woman-to-woman rape.

My partner's reaction put me off reporting the attack to the police. If she didn't understand, I thought, why would they? I tried to find information or a support service to help me make sense of what had happened, but there was nothing. I felt really, really alone.

Some years later, in 2010, I joined the University of Plymouth as a lecturer on the occupational therapy program and embraced the opportunity to start my doctoral studies.

I decided to research woman-to-woman rape and sexual assault. I knew it was a real problem - I personally knew other women who had experienced it - but there was an absence of credible research.

To gather data, I started with a web-based survey for members of the general public. They agreed or disagreed with five statements:

- I have experienced a woman sexually assaulting me.

- I have heard of a woman sexually assaulting another woman, in addition to my experience of a woman sexually assaulting me.

- I have heard of a woman sexually assaulting another woman, but have never experienced it myself.

- I have never heard of a woman sexually assaulting another woman.

- I do not believe woman-to-woman sexual assault is possible.

I received 159 responses, none of who agreed with the last statement. Clearly, this survey was small and not representative of the population at large. Respondents felt that national campaigns and most people they told tend to think woman-to-woman rape and sexual assault isn't possible.

As one of the respondents told me, "when you ask people about it, there's not many people that think women are violent, in a sexual way."

59 respondents had experienced a woman sexually assaulting them. Of these, 38 had also heard of a woman sexually assaulting another woman. The majority of respondents (42.4%) had heard of a woman sexually assaulting another woman.

The government doesn't report data on rape or sexual assault between women.

But, in an interview for BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, I spoke with Yvonne Traynor - CEO of Rape Crisis - who stated, "Around 10% of perpetrators are women".

I spoke to 11 people in more depth, doing face-to-face interviews and corresponding with them, generally over a one-year period.

One of the main reasons stopping them from pursuing a prosecution is the legal definition of rape.

Prior to 1994, UK law asserted that rape could only be committed by a man against a woman. In 1994, Stonewall (the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans charity) had the law changed to recognise that men can also rape men.

This remains the UK's current sexual crimes law.

Women in the UK have been convicted of helping a man, or men, to rape another person.

When they themselves rape, though, they commit an invisible crime with victims who are, effectively, silenced.

In September 2016 a petition called for the legal definition of rape to also include female on male rape. The Government responded: "There was a considerable amount of agreement that rape should remain an offence of penile penetration. We therefore have no plans to amend the legal definition of rape."

One of the women I spoke to, Cailey, had been repeatedly raped by an older woman for years, starting before she turned 16.

She spoke to a close friend of hers who worked in the police force, and who advised her against reporting her rape.

She told Cailey: "This is a minefield. If it was a man we might be able to get somewhere but prosecution is unlikely because it's a woman - you're talking about 1% prosecution rates or something."

One respondent, Lauryn, was simultaneously raped by a woman and assaulted by her boyfriend. Lauryn did go to the police but later decided not to press charges as her perpetrators were threatening her.

Lauryn told me: "Eventually I went back to the police and said, 'I can't do it'. And, it was a female police officer too, and she said, 'Oh, yeah, well that's probably a good thing, just put it down to experience'."

Many of my respondents felt they were not heard, or were met with the attitude that woman-to-woman sexual offending wasn't serious.

"When you try and talk no one wants to know," one told me. She'd disclosed to a friend and a therapist. "They go silent, making you feel a freak."

Almost all the women who shared their stories with me spoke about the lack of support services for those who have been sexually assaulted by women.

They - and I - hope that will change. The criminal justice system needs to recognise woman-to-woman rape and sexual assault, and support services need to be made more aware of the issue.

When I asked why she wanted to be involved in my research, one woman, Simone, told me, "It really is just to promote awareness".

Society, and the law, need to catch up with reality.

For further information and support, please go here.

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I'm a woman. I was raped by a woman. And I know what you're thinking. - BBC Three

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#49
notice: the process for reporting a sexual assault is often really uncomfortable
problem: this makes it less likely that people will report it
question: is there a way to make it less uncomfortable? is there a way to add more support for the victims?
stakes: justice for victims

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What you can expect when reporting a sexual assault

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When deciding whether or not to report a sexual assault to the police, it is important to know what will be involved in the process so you can make the decision that is best for you.
Remember, the role of the police is to be impartial investigators. When a sexual assault has been reported to the pol…

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#50
notice: only about 6% of rapists face time in jail
problem: they don't have to face consequences for their actions and continue to assault people
question: why is the number so low? is there a way to get the number up?
stakes: everyone's safety

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#31
notice: A Girl Scout Lifetime Membership costs $400
problem: it cost less to be a life long girl scout but its less likely for people to become one than a life long boy scout.
question: what dose boy scouts have that girl scouts don't? why are people less interested? is there anything we can do about it?
stakes: girlscouts culture

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You can champion the next generation of change-makers by investing in Girl Scouts and becoming a member for life. Your contribution will support Girl Scouts, which gives girls a place to prepare for a lifetime of leadership. And, by becoming a lifetime member, you're joining a group of like-minded supporters and contributing to Girl Scouts' mission.

When you sign up as a lifetime member, $25 of your contribution automatically funds a year of membership for a Girl Scout in an underserved community in your area. As a result, in just a few years, lifetime membership has funded more than 40,000 memberships for Girl Scouts whose families would not have otherwise been able to afford it.

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Become a lifetime member of Girl Scouts and you'll support girls striving to be their best-and fund a year of membership for a girl in an underserved community.

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#32
notice: a lifetime boy scout membership costs around $732
problem: it cost more to be a life long boy scout but it more likely to get than a life long girl scout.
question: why dose it cost more? how are they different?
stakes: girlscout culture

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Scouting Costs In 2023: Fees, Gear, Uniforms, And More | ScoutSmarts

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Scouting has a long and rich history in America. Millions of kids, teens, and young adults join every year to have fun and learn useful...

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#33
notice: The Girl Scouts say their youth membership fell by nearly 30%
problem: the culture is becoming less popular and is fading away.
question: why is girl scouts fading? can we do anything to stop this?
stakes: girlscout culture

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America's most iconic youth organizations - the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA - have been jolted by unprecedented one-year drops in membership, due partly to the pandemic, and partly to social trends that have been shrinking their ranks for decades.

While both organizations insist they'll survive, the dramatic declines raise questions about how effectively they'll be able to carry out their time-honored missions -- teaching skills and teamwork, providing outdoor adventure, encouraging community service.

Membership for the BSA's flagship Cub Scouts and Scouts BSA programs dropped from 1.97 million in 2019 to 1.12 million in 2020, a 43% plunge, according to figures provided to The Associated Press. Court records show membership has fallen further since then, to about 762,000.

The Girl Scouts say their youth membership fell by nearly 30%, from about 1.4 million in 2019- 2020 to just over 1 million this year.

Both groups, like several other U.S. youth organizations, have experienced declining membership for many years. The Girl Scouts reported youth membership of about 2.8 million in 2003. The BSA had more than 4 million boys participating in the 1970s.

Reasons for the drop include competition from sports leagues, a perception by some families that they are old-fashioned, and busy family schedules. The pandemic brought a particular challenge.

In Lawrence, New Jersey, 8-year-old Joey Yaros stopped attending meetings while most in-person gatherings were shut down, and might not go back, even though his father and three brothers all earned the elite Eagle Scout rank. Joey was already struggling with virtual school classes, and the family didn't pressure him to also participate in virtual Cub Scout activities.

"If there are den meetings in the fall, we'll see if he gets back in the swing of it," said his father, high school history teacher Jay Yaros. "There are a lot of interesting things for kids to do these days, and scouting doesn't seem to be keeping up."

The Boy Scouts' problems are compounded by their decision to seek bankruptcy protection in February 2020 to cope with thousands of lawsuits filed by men who allege they were molested as youngsters by scout leaders. The case is proceeding slowly in federal bankruptcy court as lawyers negotiate creation of a trust fund for victims that will likely entail hundreds of millions of dollars in contributions from the BSA and its 252 local councils.

To provide those funds, some councils may have to sell cherished camp properties, the BSA's president and CEO, Roger Mosby, told the AP.

"We understand that this is a difficult and often emotional decision, but in some instances may be a necessary step as we work toward our shared imperatives of equitably compensating survivors and continuing Scouting's mission." Mosby said in a written reply to AP's queries.

The pandemic, the membership drop and rising costs of liability insurance have strained BSA finances. A disclosure statement in the bankruptcy case says its gross revenues dropped from $394 million in 2019 to $187 million last year.

In response, the Boy Scouts' annual youth membership fee will rise from $66 to $72 on August 1. The BSA also says some councils may merge to consolidate resources.

The Girl Scouts have bureaucratic complications of their own. There is ongoing litigation pitting the national headquarters against two of the 111 local councils- based in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Nashville, Tennessee - which refuse to implement a nationwide technology platform.

Despite the varied challenges, Mosby and other Boy Scout officials, as well as the Girl Scouts' leadership, say there's reason for optimism. They say their summer camps are full, special events are sold out, and they're expecting many thousands of families - some new to scouting, some who left during the pandemic - to sign up now that activities are occurring in-person rather than virtually.

"We knew some girls would take a pause," said Girl Scouts spokeswoman Kelly Parisi. "But as the pandemic goes in the rear-view mirror, we've seen a substantial rebound... We feel really good going into the fall recruitment."

Membership in the Boy Scouts' Longhorn Council, which serves parts of Central and North Texas, dropped by 44% from 2019 to 2020, said its chief executive, Wendy Shaw. But she is buoyed by surging interest this year from families considering their first foray into scouting; the council has scheduled 12 special events for them.

Manny Ramos, chief executive of the BSA's Seattle-area council, said pandemic-related restrictions on group activities were rigorous in his area -- a factor in recruiting only 500 scouts last fall instead of the normal 3,000 or more. To maintain interest, his staff held numerous outdoor activities, including winter camping, and now anticipates a large influx of families who skipped scouting last year.

Bryan Koch of Madison, Wisconsin, has been an adult leader for more than a decade as two sons went through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. He believes the programs have invaluable benefits: teaching leadership skills, offering adventures such as a 78-mile hike at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico that his eldest son completed as a 14-year-old.

"I'm a firm believer in what scouting can be," Koch said. "It helps us develop more well-rounded and aware young men and women. That's sorely needed in our country right now."

Yet he says membership in his Boy Scout troop dropped by 30% in recent years as boys and parents turned to other activities.

"There's not really a passive way to go through scouting and get the full experience," Koch said. "It takes a lot of time for the scout, for the parents."

Josh Garner has been scoutmaster of Boy Scout Troop 30 in Jackson, Mississippi, for six years; his oldest son will soon be an Eagle Scout. Troop membership has dropped by 25% during his tenure, and even more sharply in the Cub Scout pack that's also sponsored by St. Richard Catholic Church.

Garner said the BSA's national leadership "has a lot of baggage right now" and needs to devise better recruitment strategies. Yet he'd hate to see the organization fold.

"I've watched boys learn all kinds of skills, from welding to giving speeches," he said. "It's a fantastic program -- too important to a lot of people for it to just go away."

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Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts suffer huge declines in membership

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America's most iconic youth organizations - the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA - have been jolted by unprecedented one-year drops in membership.

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#34
notice: The number of new members added to all BSA programs from fall 2020 to fall 2021 increased by 191%
problem: while girl scout numbers decrease, boy scout numbers increase.
question: are girl scouts leaving to become by scouts? why do people like boy scouts more?
stakes: girl scout culture

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We started 2022 with some good news on recruiting.

What do you say we start 2023 with more of the same?

I've been authorized to announce that BSA membership has exceeded its year-over-year numbers by more than 3%.

Around mid-December, the BSA's youth membership surpassed 1,025,000, which was the organization's goal for 2022. By the end of the year, the BSA was serving more than 1,042,000 members.

Coming off the COVID-19 pandemic and the bankruptcy proceedings, BSA officials knew that the 2022 recruiting numbers would go a long way toward determining the future of the organization.

So, they set a lofty goal: 1.042 million members was the result of nine consecutive months of membership growth and a retention rate of more than 70% across the board.

A team effort

The 2022 recruiting success story is the result of extensive collaboration between the local councils and the National Service Center, as each worked together to develop goals and plans for recruiting. As a result, 176 councils exceeded their year-end growth.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the dedicated efforts of our thousands of volunteers, enthusiastic parents ... and all of the Cub Scouts, Scouts BSA members, Explorers, Sea Scouts and Venturers who invited their friends to join them on their Scouting adventures.

We encouraged our Cub Scout leaders to recruit new members in the spring, and they did. By fall, we could tell it was working.

Cub Scout youth membership grew by 10.24% over the course of the year.

We asked you to think about how you recruit older youth to the BSA, and you did that, too. Most notably, the BSA's Exploring program grew by 17.35%.

What's next

Where do we go from here? One of the great things about Scouting's programs is that, in lots of ways, they can recruit themselves during non-traditional recruiting seasons.

When you wear your unit's T-shirts while picking up trash in your community, going on a hike, or attending a city council meeting, you're signaling to your neighbors that the BSA is here, and we're ready to provide kids with the skills they need to succeed in life.

Remember: Nobody ever gets tired of " Normal Friend Activities."

And there's a reason why this particular patch might be the most important patch in Scouting.

To all of the volunteers who made this happen, we say "thank you."

To all of our youth: Keep inviting your friends to join Scouting.

We can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of 2023.

Inspire Leadership, Foster Values: Donate to Scouting

When you give to Scouting, you are making it possible for young people to have extraordinary opportunities that will allow them to embrace their true potential and become the remarkable individuals they are destined to be.
Donate Today

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1 million and growing: BSA membership is on the rise

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I've been authorized to announce that the BSA has reached its membership goal of 2022, with a couple of weeks to spare.

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#35
notice: only 15.9% of engineers are female
problem: there is an extremely low number of female in the engineering field.
question: why is there a lack of girls in engineering? could we do anything to fix this?
stakes: equal opportunities

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By Zippia Team - Mar. 10, 2022

15.9% of engineers are female in the United States. This is 0.2 percentage points higher than last year. Additionally, the percentage of female engineers has increased by 0.9 percentage points since 2010. That means there are a total of 30,570 female engineers in the U.S. and 161,700 male engineers in the United States. Note that Zippia's estimate accounts only for the 192,270 people with the specific job title of engineer and doesn't include grouping similar job titles, or people with potentially similar credentialing.

Percent Of Female Engineers By Year

Year

Female Engineers

Male Engineers

Percentage Female Engineers

Percentage Male Engineers

Additionally, female engineers tend to be younger than male engineers. The average age of a female engineer is 37.6, while the average age of a male engineer is 42.1.

Like most jobs, there's a gender pay gap among engineers. The average male engineer earns an average annual salary of $84,886, while the average female engineer earns an average annual income of $85,208, meaning female engineers make 100 cents for every dollar a man earns.

What Percentage Of Engineers Are Female FAQ

1. Are engineers jobs male or female dominated?
Engineer jobs are male dominated. 15.9% of engineers are female and 84.1% of engineers are male in the United States.

2. How has the number of female engineers changed over time?
The number of female engineers has increased by 0.9% since 2010. In 2010, there were 15.0% female engineers and the latest data shows that there are 15.9% female engineers in the U.S.

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What percentage of Engineers are female?

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15.9% of engineers are female in the United States.

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#36
notice: Women often find that their skills aren't used during placements and they're not treated equally to their male counterparts.
problem: women have a disadvantage in trying to get engineering jobs.
question: is there anything we can do to fix this? why aren't their skills used? why don't they get treated equally?
stakes: equality

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It's no a secret that even in today's world, when you walk into an engineering firm, the place is not usually full of women.

Although this isn't true of Buro Happold, where women make up more than 30% of our technical workforce in the UK, across the UK engineering industry only 12% of all professionals are female. This is the lowest figure in Europe.

It's widely accepted that we must ensure that our workforce is diverse, inclusive and representative of society if we're to tackle the built environment challenges of the future. So, we should all be looking to diversify the workforce. To tackle this, one questions we should all be asking is why aren't there more girls pursuing a career in engineering? And for those who do, why don't they stay in the profession?

Engineers from our New York office. Image: Alex Nye

The extent of the problem

Interestingly, when analysing the gender ratio in STEM subjects taken at GCSE level, 48% of the students are girls. However, this percentage decreases at A-level and at university. Girls only make up 16% of undergraduate engineering students, even though more girls progress into higher education than boys. Despite many initiatives across the UK working to increase this proportion, the figure has barely improved.

You might be wondering why it matters that there's not a better gender balance in the industry? Considering that the UK has a shortfall of skilled engineering labour that requires 124,000 new engineers and technicians each year, it's clear we need to change our attitude.

In order to face the engineering challenges of the future, we need to ensure that a range of problem-solving abilities are brought to bear. This variety of approaches needs a diversity of minds.

In addition to the statistics, it has been proven by Harvard Business Review and McKinsey that both gender and racial diversity improve the financial performance of companies. When looking at a field that's focused around problem solving, diversity plays an even greater part in a company's productivity.

When thinking about the law of the instrument, the phrase, "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" provides another argument as to why diversity should matter. Generally, if problems are solved by people of one gender that also come from similar socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds, the solutions are likely not to consider all aspects of the problem.

An example of this in practice is the design of urban, public spaces in regards to street safety. Women often feel unsafe in an environment where men are comfortable. Other issues include the lack of space for pushchairs next to seating in parks and recreational spaces, or the issue of thermal comfort in office environments. Problem solving is often based on past experience. Therefore it's easier to cater for a diverse user group when the design team is also diverse.

Engineers from our Los Angeles office. Image: Alex Nye

The perceived culture of engineering

As a teenager thinking about university education and future career aspirations, you try to imagine yourself in the field you're thinking of working in. The image associated with the word "engineer" is usually a group of men in white shirts and navy trousers staring at a drawing, or a man on a construction site in a hard hat. Neither image screams "anyone is welcome here" and the "gentlemen's club" feel of the engineering industry can feel like a daunting one to enter, especially as an 18-year-young girl contemplating her future career.

Even if that doesn't discourage someone, the experience of being an engineering student might. Based on research by the Harvard Business Review, female students are often treated differently in lectures and group projects, both by their peers and professors. This is often reflected in either the tasks you're given, or the reactions you get when you perform well.

Unfortunately, the exposure to the workplace through internships is no better. Women often find that their skills aren't used during placements and they're not treated equally to their male counterparts. Women also tend to experience inappropriate behaviour or unwanted attention more often than men.

As a woman working in engineering, the feeling of being in a minority is always present. We've all been the one woman at a meeting with 15 men, or with dozens of male workers on a construction site.

It does feel uncomfortable when you go to a site and realise that everyone is staring at you, simply because your gender makes you seem out of place. Other than the stares, construction sites are not generally set up for women. This might be due to unconscious bias or the contractors thinking that there won't be many women using the site - either way, it's not an accommodating place to be as a woman.

Starting with personal protective equipment (PPE), it's rare to be on a site that has safety boots in small sizes. Similarly, there are no hi-vis jackets made for women on site. An oversized jacket might not instantly seem like an issue, but it's hard to be taken seriously when you feel like a child in adult's clothing. Whilst all these issues might seem small, this jigsaw of small pieces builds up to a picture in which women just aren't made to feel as welcome in the construction industry.

The retention of diverse talent

Another issue is that even if women do enter the industry, it's hard to keep them in the profession in the long-term. Based on research by the Royal Academy of Engineering, "57% of female engineers drop off the register of professional engineers before the age of 45, compared with just 17% of male engineers". If an environment doesn't try to be accommodating, it's fairly hard to stay in it.

Historically, there have been far fewer women working in engineering companies, and as a result, companies are often less considerate of women's needs. Examples include a lack of women's networks within a company (both formal and informal), support with maternity leave, and, very importantly, a lack of open communication on what women experience in the workplace. The latter could address the issue of microaggressions and unwanted comments towards women that often contribute to women leave the engineering profession.

It's also discouraging as a young professional that there aren't many women in leadership positions. This paints a picture that women in the industry don't make it. The lack of representation at more senior levels means that there are no examples to follow for women in junior positions.

Engineers from our Chicago office. Image: Alex Nye

The creation of change - what needs to happen?

This leads to the question of how we can create an environment where women want to enter, stay and prosper. A fundamental ingredient of wanting to join and stay somewhere is knowing that you are welcome there. A simple way of knowing that you're welcome in an environment is seeing other people that look like you within that environment.

This is why the representation of women in the built environment industry is key in showing young girls, who haven't yet been discouraged, that there are women who are happy and successful with their career. Many of us didn't meet women engineers until we became engineers ourselves. This needs to change if we want to show the younger generation that anyone can be an engineer.

Another key aspect of creating a welcoming environment is companies recognising that we need to keep asking the question, "How we make engineering companies better places for women to work?"

The engineering industry needs to tackle why there are fewer women entering the profession than men and demonstrate how they're nurturing and retaining diverse talent.

Women working in engineering today need to be at the centre of these discussions. We also need to hold anyone responsible if they don't contribute to tackling this disparity. All of us in the industry have a responsibility to build a new image; an image that shows that anyone can fit in. We don't want anyone in 50 years' time to still be asking the question "Why aren't there more women in engineering?".

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Why aren't there more women in engineering?

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We don't want anyone in 50 years' time to still be asking the question "Why aren't there more women in engineering?".

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#37
notice: even women hate on women
problem: in the fight for equality we should stick together but instead we fight each other to try and slightly get ahead of each other.
question: why do we do this? how can we stop it?
stakes: equality

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Why do some females hate on other females for no reason?

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Answer (1 of 12): Most of women are selfish, they hate others because of insecurity and low esteem, when they won't have that thing which u have they hate them, some women who put themselves in competition are toxic, they try to bring other women down, and gossip bad about others, my friend was j...

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#38
notice: Some women sexualize themselves for attention and male validation.
problem: this usually stems from insecurities and toxic unrealistic standers that media set.
question: is there a way to stop this? how serious is the problem? how did it start?
stakes: women's confidence

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why do women get sexualized on the internet - Google Search

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#39
notice: men often have trouble showing emotions
problem: this usually happens due to toxic masculinity or unreasonable societal standards
question:is there a way to fix this? how did it start?
stakes: men's mental health

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Key points

The demands of rigid masculinity make it difficult for many men to fully express their needs in relationships.

Alexithymia presents a hosts of challenges in relationships, for both partners.

Men deserve to be seen, and their emotions validated, without their masculinity being called into question.

In adult romantic relationships, it is all too common to find two people whose ways of managing emotions differ wildly. People who emote outwardly and people who retreat inward with their emotions can find themselves struggling to connect or to maintain effective communication with each other.

Competing needs and differing emotional regulation strategies can leave partners misinterpreting psychological survival skills as personal attacks or abandonments. This chasm in communication is often amplified if one or both partners suffer from alexithymia.

Understanding Alexithymia

Translated, the word "alexithymia" means "without words for emotions" (Soni et al., 2018). What this means, essentially, is that the individual with it struggles to understand, process, or describe their emotions (Panahi et al., 2018).

Alexithymia serves as a temporary, albeit meticulous, defense against emotional pain whereby a person suppresses or represses the conscious experience of the distress. Typical emotional functioning resumes when the stressor or threat subsides, or as the person develops more sophisticated coping skills (Soni et al., 2018).

Alexithymia can lead to insecure attachment styles in adult romantic relationships, as children who develop alexithymia may have had parents who were ambivalent, rejecting, or emotionally unavailable (Scigala et al., 2021).

Alexithymia may present in different people with a varied constellation of symptoms. According to Panahi et al. (2018) and Scigala et al. (2021), some of the most common indicators of alexithymia include:

Difficulty regulating emotions in general

Increased difficulty with arousal and emotional regulation in intimate relationships

Utilizing distancing or cutoff strategies

Difficulty staying aligned with their own values and convictions

An amplified preference for autonomy

Fear of emotional intimacy

Difficulty articulating their feelings to themselves or other people

Inhibited emotional expression

A lack of internal imagination

Distress in social settings

Chronic negative mood

A limited capacity for empathy

Normative Male Alexithymia

Research indicates that alexithymia occurs more frequently in men than women (Leonard, 2019). For cisgender men, the performative nature of masculinity can be exhausting. While sex is noted at birth, gender is a socialized construct. Many men learn the rules of toxic masculinity-dominance, competition, aggression, and stoicism (Murti, 2020) early in life.

DeAngelis (2001) noted that by age two, boys are typically less verbally expressive compared to girls. Perhaps due to socialization, boys are less facially expressive by the age of four, compared with same-aged girls. Peers and other men in school, family, and friend groups may reinforce the rules of masculinity, and bully boys who don't comply. For fear of being found not masculine enough, an exaggerated sense of emotional repression is required, so as not to risk being excluded from the club of men (Reeser & Gottzén, 2018).

Families that maintain more traditional or rigid gender role expectations tend to discourage sons from expressing vulnerable emotions while simultaneously encouraging expression for their daughters. Though not rooted in direct relational trauma, male gender role socialization teaches boys to suppress emotions and deny feelings they have of vulnerability, passivity, or tenderness (DeAngelis, 2001). One could posit that doing so could engender significant emotional distress, while concurrently stripping boys of the ability to recognize, label, and express their emotions in a constructive way.

Subclinical levels of alexithymia were found to be more prevalent in men. While not "normal," the trait has become "normalized" due to the reinforcing nature of performative masculinity that demands stoicism. These suppressed feelings may then be acted out through the guise of anger, given that aggression is a sanctioned expression of emotions within the framework of traditional masculinity.

Due to reinforcing narratives of stoicism and individualism, it is no surprise that men tend to employ a cut-off strategy to manage their emotions. In terms of attachment, men are reported to have a higher prevalence of avoidant attachment than women, as they learn to minimize their attachment needs to avoid being seen as weak or unmasculine.

Relationships Essential Reads

Impact on a Couple

In a romantic relationship, alexithymia presents a host of challenges, which are only heightened when placed in tandem with rigid gender role expectations, should they exist in the relationship. One partner's desire to co-regulate big feelings with their partner may feel overwhelming or threatening to the partner with alexithymia. Not only does the partner with alexithymia struggle to identify, express, or discern their emotions, but they are often so overwhelmed by the task of thinking about their feelings that it evokes an emotional and relational cutoff.

A partner with alexithymia is most inclined toward autoregulation, the tendency to regulate emotions without involving others. They may also struggle to be empathetic with a partner who may be far more emotionally expressive, and in need of co-regulation for comfort. A partner of someone with alexithymia may feel abandoned in plain sight, as it often evokes anxiety, and fears of rejection or abandonment (Scigala et al., 2021).

Alexithymia has been shown to have a negative correlation with physical affection, as well as the quality and satisfaction felt within a relationship (Panahi et al., 2018). When one or both partners has unaddressed alexithymia, couples may struggle to feel safe, validated, heard, or seen, and can have a difficult time establishing a sense of purpose, protection, and connection. Deficits in emotional expression, communication, connection, and regulation pose a direct threat to the secure functioning of the couple.

Emotions are a biological imperative, necessary for survival. Emotional awareness and intelligence are evolutionary strategies that can be learned, even later in life. Working to deconstruct the limiting self-expression that rigid masculinity demands empowers men to experience a full range of their own emotions. Men deserve to be seen, and their emotions validated, without their masculinity being called into question.

Individual therapy can help in this quest, teaching men the emotional regulation skills that help them become stronger communicators. Couples therapy can help bring partners closer together, and back in alignment with their shared relational goals. Developing a mutual understanding and the skills to effectively meet each other's needs, are the liberation partners need to break free of patterns of self-protection that silo partners, instead of connecting them.
To find a therapist near you, visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory. Facebook image: BlueSkyImage/Shutterstock

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Why Men May Struggle to Communicate Their Feelings

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Understanding male alexithymia, and how to get past it.

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#40
notice: women typically get custody of the kids in a divorce even if the dad is he better pick.
problem: the legal system is sexist
question: can this be fixed? what can we do about it? how did it get this way?
stakes: fair trails

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Divorce cases have constantly been on the rise among American families over the past few decades. The termination of a marriage by itself is just one among many other pertinent considerations couples have to face along the divorce process. Others are property division, child support, spousal maintenance, and of course, the elephant in the room; child custody. Historically, women have always had the upper hand in being awarded child custody. Statistics show that women win child custody rights a staggering 90% of the time , even though fathers play an important role in their children's lives pre and post-divorce. Although each divorce case is unique (and should be treated that way), the main cause for this, in most cases, is the traditional notion and presumption that the mother is always better suited to take care of the children's emotional needs. In contrast, families only needed the father for financial contributions.

The best way a father can fight for his children's custody and overcome cultural and legal bias is by getting the most qualified and experienced attorney, which is our specialty here at Genesis Family Law and Divorce Lawyers. Family law courts have the mandate by law to give a ruling based on the child's best interests (ren). For cases where joint custody is not applicable for some reason, the court will look into the facts surrounding the case and award custody to the parent, who'll most likely provide the best conditions for the child's development into adulthood.

Times And Family Dynamics Are Changing

Traditionally, gender roles were clear-cut, and mothers were tasked with primarily bringing up the children while fathers worked to provide for the family. There was no debate as to who got the child's custody in the case of a divorce. Men rarely fought for their kids' custody, and even when they did, the ruling would almost always favor the mother. In situations where mothers died, relatives would take children's custody as fathers needed to earn money.

Nowadays, gender roles have changed, and most fathers have openly taken into everyday duties of raising their children. On the other hand, most mothers are actively working, and families have resorted to splitting child-rearing duties based on who's free at a given time. Fathers now, more than ever, stand a good chance of getting child custody if they wage a good fight in the family courts by taking all relevant facts into account.

Despite all these changes, societal expectations and opinions are yet to catch up, and there are still some low-key biases on who should get the child's custody. Generally, no matter how dedicated or active a father can be in doing child-rearing chores, they almost can never match the natural adeptness and attention to detail that mothers have. Women often bring up such matters in court, and this increases their chances of winning custody.

Deciding Factors for Custody Determination

No matter the type of custody you're seeking as a father, it's crucial to understand some factors that a family court largely considers in determining custody. Knowing them will guide your preparation for the case and increase your chances of getting custody.

The Child's Primary Caregiver

Determining the child's primary caregiver is crucial and can be a turning point in determining which parent is to be awarded custody. This is the parent who's considered most likely, under different circumstances, to be able to meet most of the child's needs.

This standard is used to accurately tell the parent who's always played the bigger role in daily childcare activities such as bathing, dressing, feeding, outings, doctor's appointments, and so on. These chores are often split among families depending on each parent's schedules; however, most women still take on a larger role as primary caregivers. As a father who's keen on being awarded your child's custody after divorce, it's vital to start engaging yourself more in meeting the various needs of your child. Stay at home dads have an easy time fulfilling such responsibilities as they spend most of their time with the kids.

Family law proceedings usually peg the best interests of the child as the most important consideration. This means that the court can renounce the privilege of a primary carer from either parent in the light of new evidence disproving best interest.

Parent-Child Bond

The bond between the parent and child is another important consideration family courts look at when determining custody. Mothers often score higher when it comes to bonding levels with their kids; the probability is even higher in younger children. The early bonding between the mother and child is naturally different from that of the father due to the closeness during their formative years. This is not to say that a father stands no chance in successfully building a lasting bond with the child. The more close, concerned, and participating a father is to the child and their needs, the stronger the bond.

As a father seeking custody, your bond with your child has to be sincere. The judge will consider the role you played in parenting and whether or not you proved to be dedicated to doing so.

Cooperation Levels With The Other Parent

Another factor that influences the best interests of the child is the level of cooperation between parents in parental duties and responsibilities. A parent capable of boosting the relationship between the children and the other parent is considered ideal to be awarded custody. There are many aspects the court will consider in determining cooperation levels between parents. The judge will want to know whether the parents argue or fight in front of the child, whether one parent talks ill of the other to the child in a bid to alienate them.

To increase your chances of getting custody or visitation rights as a father, always strive to avoid showing outbursts or any show of anger towards your spouse (more so in front of the kids).

As we've mentioned before, every divorce case is different, and the chances of getting any form of custody for your child can be increased if you engage the services of an expert attorney from the start. Consult us today at https://familylawattorneymesaaz.net/ for the best family law attorneys in Mesa, Arizona.

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Divorce For Men: Why Do Women Get Child Custody More Often? | Genesis Family and Divorce Attorneys

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Divorce For Men: Why Do Women Get Child Custody More Often? Divorce cases have constantly been on the rise among American families over the past few decades. The termination of a marriage by itself is just one among many other pertinent considerations couples have to face along the divorce process.

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#23
notice: sexual assault is becoming more common
problem: the number of sexual assaults reported each year are increasing
question: why is it increasing? what are we doing to help stop it? what could we do to help get those numbers down?
stakes: safety of the people

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Sexual assaults in the US military increased by 1% last year | CNN Politics

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The US military saw a 1% increase in sexual assaults last year, according to the Pentagon’s latest annual report.

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#24
notice: guys can sexually assaulted almost as often as women
problem: people never talk about the male victims
question: why do we never talk about the male victims? how can we bring light to this problem? how can we bring them justice?
stakes: safety and equality for men

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Last year the National Crime Victimization Survey turned up a remarkable statistic. In asking 40,000 households about rape and sexual violence, the survey uncovered that 38 percent of incidents were against men. The number seemed so high that it prompted researcher Lara Stemple to call the Bureau of Justice Statistics to see if it maybe it had made a mistake, or changed its terminology. After all, in years past men had accounted for somewhere between 5 and 14 percent of rape and sexual violence victims. But no, it wasn't a mistake, officials told her, although they couldn't explain the rise beyond guessing that maybe it had something to do with the publicity surrounding former football coach Jerry Sandusky and the Penn State sex abuse scandal.

Stemple, who works with the Health and Human Rights Project at UCLA, had often wondered whether incidents of sexual violence against men were under-reported. She had once worked on prison reform and knew that jail is a place where sexual violence against men is routine but not counted in the general national statistics. Stemple began digging through existing surveys and discovered that her hunch was correct. The experience of men and women is "a lot closer than any of us would expect," she says. For some kinds of victimization, men and women have roughly equal experiences. Stemple concluded that we need to "completely rethink our assumptions about sexual victimization," and especially our fallback model that men are always the perpetrators and women the victims.

Sexual assault is a term that gets refracted through the culture wars, as 's own Emily Bazelon explained in a story about the terminology of rape. Feminists claimed the more legalistic term of sexual assault to put it squarely in the camp of violent crime. Bazelon argues in her story for reclaiming the term rape because of its harsh unflinching sound and its nonlegalistic shock value. But she also allows that rape does not help us grasp crimes outside our limited imagination, particularly crimes against men. She quotes a painful passage from screenwriter and novelist Rafael Yglesias, which is precisely the kind of crime Stemple worries is too foreign and uncomfortable to contemplate.

I used to say, when some part of me was still ashamed of what had been done to me, that I was "molested" because the man who played skillfully with my 8-year-old penis, who put it in his mouth, who put his lips on mine and tried to push his tongue in as deep as it would go, did not anally rape me. ... Instead of delineating what he had done, I chose "molestation" hoping that would convey what had happened to me.

Of course it doesn't. For listeners to appreciate and understand what I had endured, I needed to risk that they will gag or rush out of the room. I needed to be particular and clear as to the details so that when I say I was raped people will understand what I truly mean.

For years, the FBI defined forcible rape, for data collecting purposes, as "the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will." Eventually localities began to rebel against that limited gender-bound definition; in 2010 Chicago reported 86,767 cases of rape but used its own broader definition, so the FBI left out the Chicago stats. Finally, in 2012, the FBI revised its definition and focused on penetration, with no mention of female (or force).

Data hasn't been calculated under the new FBI definition yet, but Stemple parses several other national surveys in her new paper, " The Sexual Victimization of Men in America: New Data Challenge Old Assumptions," co-written with Ilan Meyer and published in the April 17 edition of the American Journal of Public Health. One of those surveys is the 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, for which the Centers for Disease Control invented a category of sexual violence called "being made to penetrate." This definition includes victims who were forced to penetrate someone else with their own body parts, either by physical force or coercion, or when the victim was drunk or high or otherwise unable to consent. When those cases were taken into account, the rates of nonconsensual sexual contact basically equalized, with 1.270 million women and 1.267 million men claiming to be victims of sexual violence.

"Made to penetrate" is an awkward phrase that hasn't gotten any traction. It's also something we instinctively don't associate with sexual assault. But is it possible our instincts are all wrong here? We might assume, for example, that if a man has an erection he must want sex, especially because we assume men are sexually insatiable. But imagine if the same were said about women. The mere presence of physiological symptoms associated with arousal does not in fact indicate actual arousal, much less willing participation. And the high degree of depression and dysfunction among male victims of sexual abuse backs this up. At the very least, the phrase remedies an obvious injustice. Under the old FBI definition, what happened to Rafael Yglesias would only have counted as rape if he'd been an 8-year-old girl. Accepting the term "made to penetrate" helps us understand that trauma comes in all forms.

So why are men suddenly showing up as victims? Every comedian has a prison rape joke and prosecutions of sexual crimes against men are still rare. But gender norms are shaking loose in a way that allows men to identify themselves-if the survey is sensitive and specific enough-as vulnerable. A recent analysis of BJS data, for example, turned up that 46 percent of male victims reported a female perpetrator.

The final outrage in Stemple and Meyer's paper involves inmates, who aren't counted in the general statistics at all. In the last few years, the BJS did two studies in adult prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities. The surveys were excellent because they afforded lots of privacy and asked questions using very specific, informal, and graphic language. ("Did another inmate use physical force to make you give or receive a blow job?") Those surveys turned up the opposite of what we generally think is true. Women were more likely to be abused by fellow female inmates, and men by guards, and many of those guards were female. For example, of juveniles reporting staff sexual misconduct, 89 percent were boys reporting abuse by a female staff member. In total, inmates reported an astronomical 900,000 incidents of sexual abuse.

Now the question is, in a climate when politicians and the media are finally paying attention to military and campus sexual assault, should these new findings alter our national conversation about rape? Stemple is a longtime feminist who fully understands that men have historically used sexual violence to subjugate women and that in most countries they still do. As she sees it, feminism has fought long and hard to fight rape myths-that if a woman gets raped it's somehow her fault, that she welcomed it in some way. But the same conversation needs to happen for men. By portraying sexual violence against men as aberrant, we prevent justice and compound the shame. And the conversation about men doesn't need to shut down the one about women. "Compassion," she says, "is not a finite resource."

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Men Are Raped Almost as Often as Women in America. We Need to Talk About This.

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Last year the National Crime Victimization Survey turned up a remarkable statistic. In asking 40,000 households about rape and sexual violence, the...

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#25
notice: spread of hateful, toxic masculinity by social media influencers aren't taken serious enough
problem:  toxic masculinity continues to spread because we haven't taken it serious enough.
question:  how dose it spread? how can we stop it from spreading? are their any consequences for toxic masculinity? should there be?
stakes: fun and safe internet space

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Spread of hateful, toxic masculinity by social media influencers must be taken more seriously – Talat Yaqoob

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The last days of 2022 saw a social media spat that few could have predicted, between international climate activist Greta Thunberg and the UK “influencer” and misogynist, Andrew Tate.

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#26
notice: the wage gap hasn't changed in 20 years
problem:  we aren't fixing the wage gap
question: why is there a wage gap? how could we fix it? do people even care? what have we been doing about it?
stakes: equality

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The gender gap in pay has remained relatively stable in the United States over the past 20 years or so. In 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men earned, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of median hourly earnings of both full- and part-time workers. These results are similar to where the pay gap stood in 2002, when women earned 80% as much as men.

As has long been the case, the wage gap is smaller for workers ages 25 to 34 than for all workers 16 and older. In 2022, women ages 25 to 34 earned an average of 92 cents for every dollar earned by a man in the same age group - an 8-cent gap. By comparison, the gender pay gap among workers of all ages that year was 18 cents.

While the gender pay gap has not changed much in the last two decades, it has narrowed considerably when looking at the longer term, both among all workers ages 16 and older and among those ages 25 to 34. The estimated 18-cent gender pay gap among all workers in 2022 was down from 35 cents in 1982. And the 8-cent gap among workers ages 25 to 34 in 2022 was down from a 26-cent gap four decades earlier.

The gender pay gap measures the difference in median hourly earnings between men and women who work full or part time in the United States. Pew Research Center's estimate of the pay gap is based on an analysis of Current Population Survey (CPS) monthly outgoing rotation group files ( IPUMS) from January 1982 to December 2022, combined to create annual files. To understand how we calculate the gender pay gap, read our 2013 post, "How Pew Research Center measured the gender pay gap."

The COVID-19 outbreak affected data collection efforts by the U.S. government in its surveys, especially in 2020 and 2021, limiting in-person data collection and affecting response rates. It is possible that some measures of economic outcomes and how they vary across demographic groups are affected by these changes in data collection.

In addition to findings about the gender wage gap, this analysis includes information from a Pew Research Center survey about the perceived reasons for the pay gap, as well as the pressures and career goals of U.S. men and women. The survey was conducted among 5,098 adults and includes a subset of questions asked only for 2,048 adults who are employed part time or full time, from Oct. 10-16, 2022. Everyone who took part is a member of the Center's American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATP's methodology.

Here are the questions used in this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.

The U.S. Census Bureau has also analyzed the gender pay gap, though its analysis looks only at full-time workers (as opposed to full- and part-time workers). In 2021, full-time, year-round working women earned 84% of what their male counterparts earned, on average, according to the Census Bureau's most recent analysis.

Much of the gender pay gap has been explained by measurable factors such as educational attainment, occupational segregation and work experience. The narrowing of the gap over the long term is attributable in large part to gains women have made in each of these dimensions.
Related: The Enduring Grip of the Gender Pay Gap
Even though women have increased their presence in higher-paying jobs traditionally dominated by men, such as professional and managerial positions, women as a whole continue to be overrepresented in lower-paying occupations relative to their share of the workforce. This may contribute to gender differences in pay.

Other factors that are difficult to measure, including gender discrimination, may also contribute to the ongoing wage discrepancy.

Perceived reasons for the gender wage gap

When asked about the factors that may play a role in the gender wage gap, half of U.S. adults point to women being treated differently by employers as a major reason, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2022. Smaller shares point to women making different choices about how to balance work and family (42%) and working in jobs that pay less (34%).

There are some notable differences between men and women in views of what's behind the gender wage gap. Women are much more likely than men (61% vs. 37%) to say a major reason for the gap is that employers treat women differently. And while 45% of women say a major factor is that women make different choices about how to balance work and family, men are slightly less likely to hold that view (40% say this).

Parents with children younger than 18 in the household are more likely than those who don't have young kids at home (48% vs. 40%) to say a major reason for the pay gap is the choices that women make about how to balance family and work. On this question, differences by parental status are evident among both men and women.

Views about reasons for the gender wage gap also differ by party. About two-thirds of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (68%) say a major factor behind wage differences is that employers treat women differently, but far fewer Republicans and Republican leaners (30%) say the same. Conversely, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say women's choices about how to balance family and work (50% vs. 36%) and their tendency to work in jobs that pay less (39% vs. 30%) are major reasons why women earn less than men.

Democratic and Republican women are more likely than their male counterparts in the same party to say a major reason for the gender wage gap is that employers treat women differently. About three-quarters of Democratic women (76%) say this, compared with 59% of Democratic men. And while 43% of Republican women say unequal treatment by employers is a major reason for the gender wage gap, just 18% of GOP men share that view.

Pressures facing working women and men

Family caregiving responsibilities bring different pressures for working women and men, and research has shown that being a mother can reduce women's earnings, while fatherhood can increase men's earnings.

Employed women and men are about equally likely to say they feel a great deal of pressure to support their family financially and to be successful in their jobs and careers, according to the Center's October survey. But women, and particularly working mothers, are more likely than men to say they feel a great deal of pressure to focus on responsibilities at home.

About half of employed women (48%) report feeling a great deal of pressure to focus on their responsibilities at home, compared with 35% of employed men. Among working mothers with children younger than 18 in the household, two-thirds (67%) say the same, compared with 45% of working dads.

When it comes to supporting their family financially, similar shares of working moms and dads (57% vs. 62%) report they feel a great deal of pressure, but this is driven mainly by the large share of unmarried working mothers who say they feel a great deal of pressure in this regard (77%). Among those who are married, working dads are far more likely than working moms (60% vs. 43%) to say they feel a great deal of pressure to support their family financially. (There were not enough unmarried working fathers in the sample to analyze separately.)

About four-in-ten working parents say they feel a great deal of pressure to be successful at their job or career. These findings don't differ by gender.

Gender differences in job roles, aspirations

Overall, a quarter of employed U.S. adults say they are currently the boss or one of the top managers where they work, according to the Center's survey. Another 33% say they are not currently the boss but would like to be in the future, while 41% are not and do not aspire to be the boss or one of the top managers.

Men are more likely than women to be a boss or a top manager where they work (28% vs. 21%). This is especially the case among employed fathers, 35% of whom say they are the boss or one of the top managers where they work. (The varying attitudes between fathers and men without children at least partly reflect differences in marital status and educational attainment between the two groups.)

In addition to being less likely than men to say they are currently the boss or a top manager at work, women are also more likely to say they wouldn't want to be in this type of position in the future. More than four-in-ten employed women (46%) say this, compared with 37% of men. Similar shares of men (35%) and women (31%) say they are not currently the boss but would like to be one day. These patterns are similar among parents.
This is an update of a post originally published on March 22, 2019. Anna Brown and former Pew Research Center writer/editor Amanda Barroso contributed to an earlier version of this analysis. Here are the questions used in this analysis, along with responses, and its methodology.

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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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#27
notice: online feminism is a double edged sword
problem: while the internet can be used to unite people together with the same goal of equality it also opens up a lot of criticism
question: should critisisors get consequences? is there a way to meet half way? is there a way to get threw to the critisisors?
stakes: safe and fun internet space

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The Women's Museum of California, Girls Learn International, the Mimosa Sisterhood podcast, and the National Women's History Alliance use their social media accounts to share stories about women's history, calls to action, resources to aid in the feminist movement, and information about current events. Images courtesy of Jacqueline Kamei. United States, 2022.

I. Creating change for the feminist movement one post at a time

When Melissa Jones joined the Women's Museum of California, she had just finished an internship that taught her how to use social media. Out of curiosity, she decided to check out the museum's social media presence and discovered that they had few posts and only approximately 100 followers.

Realizing that the Women's Museum could enhance its social media presence, Jones began managing their accounts in the summer of 2015 and later became the director of marketing in 2016. She built the account to engage with more people and posted consistently about museum events, historical commemorative days, museum exhibit archives, and calls to action. She also explained the museum's mission and shared information and stories about women's history hoping that developing their social media pages would encourage a wider audience to visit the museum to learn more.

Jones runs the Women's Museum's social media page, posting content about their various events and exhibits as well as women's history. Image courtesy of Jacqueline Kamei. United States, 2022.

With a mission to "educate and inspire present and future generations about the experiences and contributions of diverse women by collecting, preserving, and interpreting their stories," Jones also attempts to provide historical context when responding to current events in the news.

Social media can be capable of advancing the feminist movement by bringing greater visibility to women's rights issues, facilitating effective communication, aiding people in organizing, educating people on women's history and current events, and inspiring people to become activists in the fight for greater equality. Yet social media can also potentially undermine the movement through online harassment and disinformation, constant self-comparisons and body image issues driven by societal beauty standards, and weakened critical thinking.

Through social media, Jones, Allison Munder of Girls Learn International, Ellen Snortland of the National Women's History Alliance, and Melissa Herrera of the Mimosa Sisterhood podcast created ways to utilize their platforms to contribute to the advancement of women.

Visibility and greater awareness of women's issues

One benefit the women found was attaining greater visibility for their organizations and causes through marketing and maintaining a public presence.

"We use social media to primarily promote our organization and hopefully attract new visitors to our museum and for our followers on social media to build appreciation for women's history," Jones said.

She discovered that building the museum's social media pages and content has been useful in informing the public of who they are and how to visit them while creating the ability for the museum to exist beyond a physical space.

Before Allison Munder became the chapter development associate of Girls Learn International (GLI), the organization already had Instagram and Facebook accounts. However, once the pandemic hit, she realized that, in order to train and empower high school and middle school students to be future leaders who advocate for human rights and greater equality, GLI needed to be more active on social media and increase their virtual interactions with the students.

In developing the page's content, Munder asks the students what they want to know and what they need while also examining current events that could impact students directly.

"A lot of the time the news forgets about these events and we want to bring them up and make sure they're constantly in conversation," Munder said.

Ellen Snortland has been a board member of the National Women's History Alliance (NWHA) since 2019, and she has advocated for women's rights for decades. The mission of the organization is to "bring women's history into the classroom and into people's consciousness." Similar to other organizations, NWHA recognized the importance of creating social media accounts to maintain a presence with posts that encourage people to attend their educational events.

Unlike Jones, Munder, and Snortland, Melissa Herrera, host and creator of the podcast Mimosa Sisterhood, has found social media to be less helpful than she initially imagined.

"I feel like the podcast is my main source of media where I am most active because it's where I produce and release the content that I'm creating," Herrera said. "But in order to try and build an audience or get visibility and attract new listeners, I have to utilize social media. And that is a whole ball game that is very challenging."

Herrera uses her podcast as a means to share women's stories and inspire audiences. Image courtesy of Melissa Herrera. United States, 2022.

In spite of her struggles, Herrera has still found ways to use social media to contribute to her mission. Through the podcast, she strives to create a space where she could share and bring greater visibility to women's stories, educate the public on the female experience, and cultivate greater empathy. The main themes of the show include women's history, historical facts, quotes from women in history and women making history now, and her own life experiences.

Building communities by promoting resources, sharing information, and facilitating communication

Beyond establishing greater visibility, social media helps organizations like GLI share valuable resources about activism to encourage people to organize. Munder of GLI often disseminates information on current events and provides resources describing how her students could take action on issues that directly impact their lives, showing how online communities can be built.

"We've been so siloed and made invisible by traditional forms of media that social media has allowed a lot of people to see, 'Oh my goodness. I'm not the only one.' So that's a very powerful part of social media," Snortland of NWHA said.

In enhancing an individual's ability to build a community, social media has also aided these organizations in reaching people outside state or even country lines.

"We can communicate and educate and inspire not just people throughout the state of California, but across the United States, and even engage with people around the world who really care about women's empowerment and women's history," Jones from the Women's Museum said.

With the extensive reach of social media, people are further able to engage in more efficient and effective communication. Dr. Rebecca Jo Plant, professor of history at the University of California, San Diego, explained that social media facilitates rapid communication that allows people to organize more effectively in large numbers than what may have been possible in the past.

In the book, They Didn't See Us Coming: The Hidden History of Feminism by Lisa Levenstein, professor of history at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and director of the Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, Levenstein explained that feminists often "saw computers as the successors to the tools that previous generations of feminists had used to circumvent the mainstream media and communicate with one another."

A multitude of causes dedicated to advocating for women's rights have also gained support worldwide with the help of social media. A few of the movements listed in the article " Hashtag women's rights: 12 social media movements you should follow " from UN Women in 2019 include #MeToo, #TimesUp, #NiUnaMenos, #HeforShe, #BringBackOurGirls, #EverydaySexism, #YesAllWomen, and #IWillGoOut, each of which worked toward the advancement of gender equality and brought greater awareness of the issues that women face.

A UN Women article from 2018 states, "As women's activism around #Metoo, #TimesUp #NiUnaMenos and other movements continue to build, social media is giving women a space to speak up and be heard."

Education, calls to action, and empowerment

All four women also identified ways to use their accounts to educate the public and inform them of current events and issues related to the feminist movement.

"Often what we hear too is, through our social media posts or blog posts, 'Oh thank you so much. I never knew about this,'" Jones said.

She recalled one particularly memorable instance when she published a post indicating that "The New Colossus" poem at the Statue of Liberty poem was written by a woman.

Jones' post about the poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty," written by Emma Lazarus. Image by Jacqueline Kamei. United States, 2022.

"Every time people go, 'I can't believe I didn't know that,' which isn't really anyone's fault because the reason we exist is because we're not taught women's history in schools... ," Jones said. "So when people tell us that they're grateful, that they've learned something new today, or just this overwhelming sense of they didn't know how much they didn't know before, then hopefully that inspires them to just rethink other things they didn't know they didn't know, and that they can go on and read more and learn more from being inspired by the posts that they read."

Snortland of NWHA expanded on how learning more about women's history could help create another generation of activists.

"Women's history is inspiring, and actually, I love pissing women off because a lot of women when they come up against and finally learn about stuff, it's like, 'Why didn't I know this? Why didn't I know this?' And then it leads them down a path of really discovering just how sexist this culture is. That these women who gave their lives, that gave their heart and soul to advancing women have just been relegated to the dustbin of history," Snortland said.

Recently, Munder has been using GLI's social media to share valuable information about Roe v. Wade and ways to access abortions.

With the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, Munder has been posting resources on how to access abortions. Image by Jacqueline Kamei. United States, 2022.

"I think social media and technology have advanced feminism and humans rights by showing people what's happening, and then providing them with resources, and giving people actions to do," Munder said.

In this sense, social media gives more people a voice to inform those around them of the challenges that people face and advocate for issues that are important to them. In the past, Snortland explained that if editors decided that a certain topic, event, or action was not newsworthy, the content would not be distributed.

"We as independent generators of content can decide what's newsworthy without having to go through a middle guy, a middle woman," Snortland said.

According to a Pew Research Center data report published in April 2021, "A little under half (48%) of U.S. adults say they get news from social media 'often' or 'sometimes.'" With 48% of the population looking to social media for their news, social media accounts that promote feminism have attained the opportunity to reach an even wider audience.

By using social media to educate the public about the stories of the past and current events, these women are also inspiring others to advocate for women's rights.

"When you look back on some of these stories and the things that they were facing and fighting against, I think it's the most empowering thing to be consuming right now because if we're not feeling the desire to stand up and do something, we should be," Herrera of Mimosa Sisterhood said. "And I think that if anybody's struggling to find that within themselves ... if you hear some of these stories of what people have done before you even existed on the planet and understand that they went through that so that us today could live a better life that they didn't have, it is the most powerful feeling in the world because, in a sense, you feel like the ancestors that have come before you not only did part of the work, but they paved the way for you to finish it, and that's where we're at right now."

II. The consequences of a virtual world

During Melissa Jones' time as the director of marketing at the Women's Museum of California, the museum's social media page has received death threats and negative comments on their posts meant to incite arguments. Their account has received backlash on numerous issues including but not limited to equal pay, trans rights, and trans women, and they have also been accused of being a sexist organization.

The Women's Museum's account is just one of many that have experienced the negativity that comes with social media. While social media enhances the ability of Jones, Snortland, Munder, and Herrera to advocate for the feminist movement, they also recognize and encounter numerous challenges.

Harassment, threats, bots, and trolls

One such challenge is online harassment, including dangerous threats, made worse by trolls and bots.

"We've had to report people who have left threats on our social media posts, so I can only imagine if you're an individual who's trying to advocate for change, trying to advocate for gender equality, and you receive these same types of comments that we do, and you don't have the same resources as we do as an organization ... I could definitely see how scary and damaging that would be," Jones said.

These threats and harmful comments crossing the line of harassment can cause people to question their own safety and could discourage them from wanting to stand for their beliefs and become activists. Worsening the issue, Jones explained, are trolls and specific groups of people that exist to stalk and monitor certain hashtags relating to feminism and women's rights, posting negative, misogynistic responses on those pages.

"Because they can be anonymous, they ramp up their ugliness," Snortland explained. "You have to have thick skin to hold up against the mobs, virtual mobs."

Rigid perspectives and unforgiving culture

Munder of GLI explains that numerous people seem to believe their perspective is the only "correct" way to consider an issue.

"The way things are worded on social media or the way people like to be like, 'No, I'm more of a feminist than you are,' is negatively impacting the feminist community," Munder said.

This rigidity shown by those who believe their perspective is the only one that counts is further reflected in social media's often unkind and unforgiving culture when an individual makes a mistake.

"I also think that we tend to police a lot of if you say the wrong thing, there's no way of going back, and I think it's really important to, instead of lecturing people online, to educate people online," Munder said. "It's really important to make sure that we're helping people evolve and not being like, 'Oh they're wrong. They're never going to learn,' and kind of exclude them from our conversation."

Disinformation and misinformation

Disinformation is another problem that runs rampant on social media. Jones found that some people create fake accounts or bots designed to spread disinformation. Even within the political sphere, Munder commented that she has seen politicians spreading false information about reproductive rights and how a woman's body works, which is then circulated by their followers.

"I'm horrified by the state we are in right now in our country, and I think that the internet is not exclusively, but largely responsible for people being completely unable to distinguish between truth and fantasy and think for themselves," said Dr. Nina Gelbart, professor of history and Anita Johnson Wand Professor of Women's Studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Social media further exacerbates the natural issue humans already have with identifying the truth in a sea of disinformation through its enhancement of the psychological concept known as the availability heuristic. In The Social Animal, social psychologists Elliot Aronson and Joshua Aronson write, "The availability heuristic is usually benign and often useful, but it has a dark disadvantage when it leads us to decide what is true and right not based on a claim's logical merit but on its ease of retrieval: an unintended hazard of the internet is that everything from conspiracy claims to pseudoscientific medical advice, endlessly repeated, can flourish unchecked".

False sense of expertise

Jones is concerned that many people now feel they are experts on women's issues without having the knowledge or experience required to be one.

"You might just be seeing the tip of an iceberg on a conversation in social media, and then feel like you are now an expert and know everything about it. But in fact, you just saw a little entry level sentence on a topic ...," Jones said. "Now everyone thinks they're the expert because they read an Instagram post on a topic without knowing ... what the credentials or the backgrounds of these posts are."

The moral issue

On a moral level, Jones of the Women's Museum and Herrera of Mimosa Sisterhood noted that, although social media is needed to maintain their presence, it is difficult to support the corporations and people running social media companies who differ from their ideologies.

"So it's like we don't really want to support Facebook because we don't really like what they're doing in terms of affecting people's self-esteem and their anxiety and their sense of self worth and body dysmorphia, especially on Instagram, but if we don't use it, we don't exist in this 21st century digital world," Jones said.

Beauty standards and body image issues

Beyond these problems, social media also creates numerous insecurities and body image issues for women. In 2021, the Wall Street Journal published a series known as "The Facebook Files" that discussed company documents released by Frances Haugen and how Facebook was aware of the damaging issues of its social media sites. Within the series, one article reveals how Instagram is especially harmful for teenage girls through social comparisons, exacerbation of body image issues, and mental health problems.

Herrera also noted that while some pages produce beneficial content, others negatively influence how young girls perceive themselves. Herrera compared how her time as a 10-year-old playing soccer is vastly different than that of today's girls who see influencers using their bodies to sell products-sending messages to those of an impressionable age that their value and worth is dependent on their appearance.

Munder expands upon the concern of unrealistic comparisons and expectations. "I see it a lot with young teenagers who admire people who don't actually look the way that they look in real life. So that impacts their insecurities, and they think that they have to hold the same persona," Munder said.

Dr. Sophia Choukas-Bradley, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and licensed clinical psychologist, studies the impact of social media on body image issues as the director of the Teen and Young Adult Lab. Her lab found that social comparison in the form of comparing photos increases self-objectification and worsens body image.

Munder added that social media often only exhibits the good parts of people's lives, which is problematic because at a young age, one may not recognize that people are not "perfect" all of the time.

Choukas-Bradley noted that when people view edited photos, they are more likely to partake in upward social comparisons, which is made worse when people use filters and editing applications to create these fake, ideal personas. While this issue already existed with edited photos in the mainstream media, she noted that greater universal access to editing tools exacerbates the false idea that everyone fits societal beauty standards.

Filters and editing applications continue to perpetuate traditional societal beauty standards, and they increase the likelihood of engaging in upward social comparisons. Image courtesy of Jacqueline Kamei. United States, 2022.

Choukas-Bradley also revealed how social media promotes traditional societal beauty standards through incentivizing becoming an influencer. "...[B]efore social media, there was no mechanism through which an 'everyday person' could just take photos of oneself, distribute them broadly, and make a ton of money, but now . . . there are cases of people becoming rich and famous by perpetuating these beauty standards both through editing their images and engaging in a whole range of behaviors sometimes including surgeries and really restrictive cosmetic routines... "

Dr. Janet Tomiyama, professor of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, noted that weight stigma is especially prevalent on social media.

"There are clinically diagnosable eating disorders, ... like anorexia nervosa ..., but what I think sometimes gets overlooked are disordered eating behaviors and thoughts that a lot of people can have even if they don't have an eating disorder," Tomiyama explained.

She mentioned severe dieting, laxatives, diet pills, and one-off binge eating as just a few ways this disordered eating could take form. She also explained that people fat-shame others in the social media comments sections, which could put people at risk of engaging in disordered eating behavior.

The loss of critical thinking and reflection

While Gelbart of Occidental College acknowledges that the efficiency of communication that is achieved through social media could be beneficial to the feminist movement, she has also discovered that there appears to be a loss of reflection and critical thinking due to the speed at which humans are receiving information.

"I just think that we have to pay attention to what's going on around us. We have to take a pause, a big long pause from our screens," Gelbart said. "We have to think for ourselves. ... We have to disconnect from what other people think so that we can be more powerful agents in the feminist movement and not just go along with the crowd."

With a constant influx of information and self-comparisons, Gelbart is also concerned about how social media's focus on approval and validation impacts the development of young women.

"I think that social media has been very harmful and very destructive to young women as they think about who they are, what they want to be, and I think that it undermines their ability to think as individuals," Gelbart said.

Plant of the University of California, San Diego shares a similar concern for society saying, "... mostly for me, this comes through as nobody reads anymore.... They just want sound bites. They don't want to engage in real sustained thoughts or trace the development of an idea to really deeply understand its history, to engage in a more complex exchange. I find that very frustrating ..."

Munder posts a call to action to encourage people to go to Washington D.C. to advocate for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and greater gender equality. Image courtesy of Jacqueline Kamei. United States, 2022.

Instead, Gelbart has found that actions in the real world are more effective in creating social and political change.

"I would rather see people attending and contributing to fundraisers. I'd rather see people out marching and protesting. I'd rather see people volunteering for social change to reject chauvinism, to reject racism. I think that actions are way more significant than texts," Gelbart said.

Where do we go from here?

While social media appears to contribute to the feminist movement and society in various ways, both helpful and harmful, Plant has found that society is still unclear on the best way to manage social media and who should determine the guidelines for how it is used.

"I think that social media is most effective when ... it's actually used to facilitate getting people to show up physically...," Plant said.

If everyone were to remain solely within the virtual world, who would stand to make a change in the real world?

"It's not just about retweeting things or resharing those black boxes on Instagram and thinking 'Oh great, I'm an activist.' It's having those calls to action that is so essential," Jones from the Women's Museum said.

During one of the Women's Museum's "Craftivism Classes," artist, Diana Benavidez, teaches participants how to create piñatas as a means to oppose societal beauty standards and expectations for women. Katie Ruiz, Artistic Director of the Women's Museum, works on crafting her piñata. Image by Jacqueline Kamei. United States, 2022.

It is up to society to critically analyze current means of activism and discover how they can most effectively advocate for issues and create change.

"You've learned all this stuff, . . . and now we're going to put that passion to action, and you're going to honor our history of social change, of promoting gender equality, and you're going to be part of that new history," Jones said. "Because what we want to do is inspire future generations to take up that mantle and continue on this journey because it is not over."

"Not only were we dealt a bad hand, but people are cheating. This game has been rigged," Snortland said. "And when people wake up to that, then they become activists, which is what we need. And right now especially with this Supreme Court, we're in danger. We are in danger, and I want women to understand that this is significant."

The NWHA hosts a virtual press conference to reveal the 2023 Women's History Theme, which is "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories." Note: Individuals who were not speakers or members of the board have been edited out of this picture. Image courtesy Jacqueline Kamei. United States, 2022.

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Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword for the Feminist Movement

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Social Media: A Double-Edged Sword for the Feminist Movement. I. Creating change for the feminist movement one post at a time When Melissa Jones joined the Women's Museum of California, she had just finished an internship that taught her how to use social media...

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#28
notice: younger generations grew up with the internet and have adapted to it
problem: younger generations normalize abusive behaviors online
question: was there something we could've done to stop that? what could we do fix it now?
stakes: safety online

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One in three men believe feminism does more harm than good

Since it's almost International Women's Day, shall we play a quick themed quiz? Question number one: does gender inequality exist?

Tough question, really. On the one hand women in many countries are still paid and promoted less than men; expected to carry the burden of unpaid caregiving; subjected to a "pink tax", which means they may more for common household items; under-represented in government and the executive suite; receive far less funding for startups; have their reproductive rights curtailed; are at greater risk for sexual harassment and domestic violence; are more likely to live in poverty; and are also more likely to be illiterate adults thanks to gendered disparities in access to education. On the other hand, some men reckon women have it pretty good these days. So, like I said, tough question.

The research firm Ipsos, along with the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London, asked this and several other questions to over 20,000 people in 30 countries ahead of IWD. The answers show that while much progress has been made in terms of attitudes towards women's rights, there is still a long way to go.

Let's start with the existence of gender inequality, shall we? The good-ish news is that a majority of people around the world believe that it exists. (Hooray for recognizing the obvious!) Nevertheless, it's still a little depressing that a not-insignificant 18% believe it does not. Surprise, surprise, men are more likely to think that gender inequality is a fiction (21% v 14%). Saudi Arabia, where women were only recently allowed to travel without a male guardian's approval, is top of the charts when it comes to men saying that gender inequality doesn't exist. Thirty-seven per cent of men in Saudi Arabia believe that compared to 30% of men in Australia, 22% of men in the US, 19% of men in Great Britain and 7% of men in Japan.

More goodish news is that, despite the rantings and ravings of conservatives like Josh Hawley and Tucker Carlson, most men don't see gender equality as a threat. A third of men in the countries surveyed think feminism does more harm than good (32%) and that traditional masculinity is under threat (33%); a fifth of men (23%) believe feminism has resulted in men losing out in terms of economic or political power or socially. While those numbers are uncomfortably large, it's still worth taking solace in the fact that the majority of men don't feel this way.

Where in the world has the men with the most fragile feelings? Russia leads the charts. Fifty-eight per cent of Russian men believe that traditional masculinity is under threat-although it's worth noting that 58% of Russian women agreed. Fifty-six per cent of Russian men believe feminism does more harm than good.

There are lots of interesting insights in the Ipsos research, and the report is well worth a dig through. What stood out the most for me, however, was the worrying suggestion that the internet has normalized abusive behaviour among younger generations. The survey found that while the vast majority of people considered harmful and abusive online behaviour to be unacceptable, younger generations were more likely to find it acceptable; perhaps because they have grown up in a digital world, and more frequent internet usage was associated with viewing online harm as acceptable. Similarly, while 78% of people think women should not have to put up with online abuse, agreement is lower among men and younger generations. Alarmingly, the report also found that while victim-blaming attitudes toward violence against women are held by a minority, they are more common among men and younger generations.

In today's connected world, the lines between digital life and "real" life are increasingly blurred. When tech companies shrug their shoulders at abuse online, they help to normalize abuse offline. When you normalize harassment on the internet, you normalize it everywhere. Tech bros are constantly telling us how their products are propelling us into the future, but it seems increasingly clear that, when it comes to gender relations, they're pulling us into the past.

Do not mess with the online knitting community

Two e-commerce bros (who had previously made a killing in producing colouring books for adults) bought the domain name knitting.com with big plans to get rich quick. How exactly? Well you can read all about it for yourself in this gripping yarn from Input Mag, but their strategy seemed to be 20% racism, 20% sexism, and 60% condescension. The knitting community has risen against the two men and they are now yelling about "bullying" and insisting they can't be racist because they're both married to Chinese women.

Russia's feminists are in the streets protesting Putin's attack on Ukraine

"Feminism is one of the few opposition movements in contemporary Russia that has not been destroyed by the waves of persecution launched by Vladimir Putin's government," write Russian feminists in Jacobin. (Why? Because Putin didn't take them seriously as a dangerous political movement). "Feminism as a political force cannot be on the side of a war of aggression and military occupation," they state. It's a point that I don't think can be stressed enough in a world where feminism is often cynically leveraged to justify war.

Kentucky lawmaker apologizes for bizarre references to Jewish women's sex life amid abortion debate

Republican Danny Bentley said: "Did you know that a Jewish woman has less cancer of the cervix than any other race ... And why is that? Because the Jewish women only have one sex partner ... They don't have multiple sex partners." As well as providing his unhinged and unsolicited opinions on the sexual habits of Jewish women he also made a number of false and antisemitic comments about the origins of abortion pills.

Wyoming Senate votes to defund gender and women's studies

Can't have people using taxpayer money to spread dangerous ideas like "women and men are equal", eh?

Use of 'sexist' and 'racist' in the New York Times increased over 400% since 2012

Why? It's not entirely clear. But a new study demonstrates that there's been a substantial shift in discourse in the US media. Writing in the Guardian, the study's authors note their data suggests "that it is changes in media coverage that seem to predict shifts in public perceptions around race and gender discrimination - not the other way around".

The week in property-archy

An LA mega-mansion boasting 21 bedrooms, 49 bathrooms, a cigar lounge, and a "philanthropy pavilion" has sold for a fraction of its original $500mn asking price. The hideous home, nicknamed "The One", was originally promoted as the "biggest and most expensive modern home in America." However its final sale price of $141m means it's actually only the third-most expensive home ever sold in LA. Time, methinks, to tax the rich.

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One in three men thinks feminism does more harm than good. Surprise, surprise | Arwa Mahdawi

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Research shows that while progress has been made in terms of attitudes towards women's rights, there's still a long way to go

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#29
notice: Half of our generation believe that steps towards women’s equality are leading to discrimination against men
problem: we cat get equality by taking away from others
question: how do we meet in the middle? when will it be enough? is equality achievable?
stakes: gender equality

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A surprising number of people in younger generations believe that women's rights have gone too far, with a new survey revealing gender equality progress could be at risk of stalling.

New research conducted by Ipsos UK and the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London found that over half of people in younger generations believe the push for equality is now negatively impacting men and that they are being expected to do "too much" to support progress.

The survey collated the responses from more than 22,500 people aged 16-74 across 32 countries, including approximately 1000 people from Australia.

A girl paints the female symbol on an adult woman's face during an International Women's Day demonstration in Barcelona.

SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

According to the results, 52 percent of Gen Z and 53 percent of Millennials agree that "we have gone so far in promoting women's equality that we are discriminating against men".

This is compared to 46 percent of Gen X and 40 percent of Baby Boomers.

In fact, many of the questions showed that younger generations were less supportive of efforts to advance gender equality than Boomers.

For Australia, 51 percent strongly or somewhat agreed with the above statement, compared to 41 percent who disagreed, with 60 percent of those who agreed men.

When it came to the claim that things have "gone far enough" in giving women equal rights with men, 55 percent of Gen Z and 57 percent of Millennials agreed.

This is compared to 53 percent of Gen X and 47 percent Boomers.

There were more Australian's who disagreed with this comment than agreed, but a higher percentage of men agreed over women.

Women take part in the international women's day demonstrations in Bogota, Colombia.

Long Visual Press/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The majority of Gen Z, Millennial, and Gen X respondents also agreed that men are "expected to do too much to support equality", with 55, 57, and 54 percent respectively.

However, less than half of Boomers agreed with this statement.

For Australia, 42 percent somewhat or strongly agreed and 46 percent somewhat or strongly disagreed. When breaking the results down further, it was revealed 50 percent of Australian men agreed with the statement, compared to just 36 percent of women.

The report noted that the results pointed to "warnings of a reaction to the movement for greater equality" and that "progress on gender equality remains at risk of stalling."

"Compared with pre-Covid, more people think things have gone far enough, and more people think men are being asked to do too much," the report notes.

"Half also believe that steps towards women's equality are leading to discrimination against men, and more broadly there is slightly less confidence that life today is better for young men than it is for young women."

In another surprise result, Gen Z and Millennials were the generations that most believed a father who stays home to look after his children is "less of a man", with 30 percent of both groups agreeing with this statement.

This went down to 22 percent for Gen X and reduced even further to 14 percent for Boomers.

When we break that down to the Australian responses, 76 percent disagree, with more men (23 percent) agreeing with the statesmen than women (15 percent).

Former Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who is the chair of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's College London said that, despite the progress that has been made in recent decades, "high-profile examples of misogyny are still rife".

"There are worrying signs from this research that such views are not only gaining ground among the public, but also deterring people from advocating for women's rights," she said.

"No one should be afraid to promote equality, and we need to do much better in supporting people to call out injustice wherever they see it."

However, Ms. Gillard said it was also important to identify the positives where they are found, including that people are increasingly likely to identify as a feminist and believe there are things they can do to improve gender equality.

"Yet we mustn't be complacent. That it's younger generations who are most likely to say a man who stays home to look after his children is less of a man is a disturbing reminder there is still much more to do, and that future progress is not guaranteed," she said.

While some of the responses from younger generations may be concerning, there are other aspects of gender equality that they are more open to than other generations.

For example, 45 percent of Gen Z and 44 percent of Millennials define themselves as a feminist, compared to 37 percent of Gen X and 35 percent of Baby Boomers.

Gen Z are also most likely to say that in the past year, they have spoken up when a friend or family member made a sexist comment, with 27 percent of people agreeing with this statement, compared to 16 percent of Boomers.

The majority, 68 percent, also say they have taken at least one action to promote gender equality in the past year, compared to 41 percent of Boomers.

Chief executive of Ipsos, UK and Ireland, Kelly Beaver MBE, said the research shows that significant gender equality progress has been made, but there is still a long way to go.

"There are signs that the public are starting to push back on this progress to date, which is potentially worrying, but it may also be a sign that real change is happening in society and change can often make people uncomfortable and resistant," she said.

Ms Beaver hopes that over the coming years this discomfort will shift to acceptance of achieving gender equality, which is essential for progress.

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Gen Z, Millennials think women's rights have gone too far, according to new survey

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A surprising number of people in younger generations believe that women's rights have gone too far.

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#30
notice: trans people can play in their transitioned gender sport
problem: it could be an unfair advantage
question: dose the biology support the conclusion? should they be allowed to be together? why did they split the gender sports in the first place?
stakes: fairness in sports

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The eligibility of trans athletes in major sporting events has come under close scrutiny as sports federations and politicians increasingly shape policies. The experts behind the studies weigh in.

Brazilian volleyball player Tiffany Abreu, who is trans, competes in the elite women's category

Several trans women competed in the Tokyo Games, marking the first time openly trans athletes participated in the Olympics. New Zealand's Laurel Hubbard first attempt in the weightlifting competition marked her Olympic debut.

Hubbard's participation as a trans woman in the Summer Olympics has prompted controversy - and uproar - with critics saying her eligibility is a threat to fairness in sport. Others say the inclusion of trans athletes cannot be overlooked if there are no meaningful advantages.

DW spoke to the scientists behind leading studies on trans people in sport.

What does the science tell us about trans athletes in elite sport?

Few studies have been done on trans people's athletic performance - and, to date, there are no published studies on trans athletes participating at the elite level, say experts. But some papers have been published in the lead-up to the Olympic Games.

Roberts, however, suggested the difference in running times needs additional perspective. "It was a 12% advantage after two years in run times. But to be in the top 10% of female runners, you have to be 29% faster than the average woman. And to be an elite runner, you've got to be 59% faster than the average cis woman," he told DW.

Do trans women have an advantage when competing in elite sports?

Without hormone therapy - yes. But even with hormone therapy, current research suggests trans women still maintain an edge in strength.

"Pretty much any way you slice it, trans women are going to have strength advantages even after hormone therapy. I just don't see that as anything else but factual," said Joanna Harper, a medical physicist at Britain's Loughborough University.

Strength is one of several key factors - including explosiveness, endurance and lean body mass - that determine whether an athlete has an edge.

But Harper, whose research focused on trans runners like herself, rejects the idea that trans women competing in sport would have an "unfair" advantage, noting that there are many other factors that go into shaping how an athlete performs - including hand-eye coordination and technique, which are necessary for excelling in sports like golf.

For Tommy Lundberg, whose research at Sweden's Karolinska Institute focuses on skeletal muscle strength of trans people receiving hormone therapy, the advantages for trans women in strength are to the point where fairness cannot be ensured in most sports.

"The big problem right now is that the [hormone] therapy itself doesn't really remove the advantage to an extent that you can claim that fairness has been achieved," Lundberg told DW. "And actually, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) states that the overriding objective is, and remains, the guarantee of fair competition. That's what they say in their guidelines. So that's the problem right now: They don't go hand-in-hand."

In another paper Lundberg co-authored that looked at untrained trans women, Lundberg and his colleague found that "muscular advantage enjoyed by transgender women is only minimally reduced when testosterone is suppressed."

The study, like any other - including Roberts and Harper's - has its limitations. Harper, who had also done a review of a similar set of studies to Lundberg's, said both of their studies found a "fairly modest change" in strength in non-athletic trans people. "But their review made it seem more definitive than our review did," she said.

"If you are looking for information on cisgender athletes, you'd never use studies on non-athletic trans people. You just wouldn't do that. It's just that we don't have any data on trans athletes. So I think you have to take the results with a certain grain of salt."

When do differences between sexes in athletic performance emerge?

Young boys and girls, regardless of the gender assigned at birth, have similar muscle mass. It's only once a child experiences puberty that the differences begin to emerge - and they become pronounced once boys experience a surge in testosterone.

"Typically, if you're 8 or 9 years old, there is no biological performance difference between boys and girls. So it starts at around age 11 where you start to see this disparity - and then it really kicks in during puberty. And then you have, basically, this big difference in muscle mass," said Lundberg.

Roberts, who is a pediatrician specializing in adolescent medicine, said: "Younger children before puberty - there is no reason to have divisions of sex between boys and girls. They're physiologically fairly equivalent. It's after puberty that you really see this divergence in athletic performance."

"For example, Connecticut was allowing [trans female runners] to race unmedicated," said Hamilton, who is also a transgender footballer. "We don't agree with that."

Hamilton said athletes seeking eligibility to run in competitive races in the female category should first undergo hormone therapy to reduce the advantages.

To do otherwise, said Roberts, would give them an edge. "To compete against the females as soon as you socially transition - before you get any hormone blockers

"Tomorrow, if I said: 'I'm a woman and I'm going to go compete in the women's class.' It's unfair. I still have testosterone, I have all the advantages I started with," said Roberts.

What is the recommended testosterone for trans women to compete?

This is a thorny issue that sports scientists disagree on. The "normal" healthy range for cis women is between 0.3 and 2 nmol/L, according to Mayo Clinic estimates - though they vary among labs. Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome tend to have higher testosterone levels, which can reach 5.2 nmol/L. "Healthy" male testosterone ranges from 8.3 mnol/L to 32.9 nmol/L.

With Roberts and Lundberg's recent papers, however, the IOC has faced renewed criticism following Hubbard's inclusion due to its eligibility criteria. But the IOC said it would not review its guidelines - set in place in 2015 - until after the Tokyo Games.
World Athletics (IAAF) in 2019 changed its rules, requiring testosterone levels to be below 5 nmol/L continuously for at least 12 months. This criterion for trans women is backed by Hamilton as well as Harper, who noted the IOC's current guidelines are based on outdated techniques measuring testosterone levels.

But the IAAF's criteria runs contrary to Roberts' study on trans military personnel, which suggests two years of hormone therapy is needed before competing.

Lundberg, however, said there is no sufficient evidence that two years would be enough to ensure fairness in the female category in most sports. "It would be an easy fix if you could just change regulation to two years, instead of one. a feasible solution either. Actually, right now, there is nothing to indicate that."

Do trans men have an advantage when competing in elite sport?

"What we've got in our study is, actually, the trans men dominated," said Roberts, referring to his study on trans US military personnel. After one year of masculinizing hormones, there was no difference in pushup or run times - however, the number of situps performed in one minute by trans men exceeded cisgender men, or non-transgender men.

"But nobody's up in arms saying that trans men are going to dominate men's sports," said Roberts, adding that much of the advantage gained for a cisgender man occurs during puberty.

"Having gone through female puberty does not provide you with a baseline skeletal advantage over your average cis man. You're getting testosterone, which levels the playing field in large part because testosterone really produces a lot of differences, but there's not that extra anatomical advantage that a trans woman has over cis women - a trans man isn't going to have that over a cis man," he said.

Sports scientist Lundberg notes that trans men competing is "not as sensitive in sports."

"Even if they get testosterone, it's not a threat to fairness if they switch to the male category," he said. "The problem then is, of course, if they would want to stay in the women's category even when they get testosterone - because then it would become doping."

Is there a way to achieve both fairness and inclusion in sport?

"We don't have this easy fix or easy regulation that can be applied," said Lundberg. "You basically have to choose or prioritize either inclusion or fairness. They don't go hand-in-hand right now."

"And in most sports, it's going to be problematic to include transgender women and achieve fairness. That's what the current research suggests," he said.

Lundberg's research has seen him come under fire on social media, with many accusing him of being transphobic. But he tells DW that is not the case.

"I think the transgender issue is very important. But protecting the women's category in sport is also very important. They have fought long enough to have fair competition in sport," he said.

In the meantime, sports scientists and researchers will continue to debate and advise on what the best steps forward will be.

"There's not very much information out there and even less that's really specific to trans athletes. But the Olympics are here, international sports are here, and trans people are around. So decisions have to be made," medical physicist Harper said. "So people have to make the best decisions they can with the data that are available now."

"And hopefully, as we get more - and better - data, it will lead to improved policies."
Editor's note: This article was originally written ahead of the Olympic Summer Games in Tokyo. It was updated to reflect the results of trans athletes competing in those Olympics.

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Do trans athletes have an unfair advantage? - DW - 07/24/2021

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The eligibility of trans athletes in major sporting events has come under close scrutiny as sports federations and politicians increasingly shape policies. The experts behind the studies weigh in.

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#12
notice: the gold award isn't as known as the eagle scout award.
problem: girl scouts and boy scouts don't get the same respect.
question: why isn't the gold award as well known? whats the difference between them? what dose this mean for the future of girl scouts? why would girls want to stay in girl scouts and get disrespected like that?
stakes: keeping girls in girl scouts

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Now that there has been a new wave of media coverage on the first female Eagle Scouts, this lack of awareness of-and respect for-Girl Scouting and the Gold Award is on full display.

Juniper Neff received her Gold Award in 2019 from Girl Scouts Heart of Central California. (Tonya Tacla Photography)

This spring, the first class of young women to earn the rank of Eagle Scout has been making national news. It's a major accomplishment for them, and at least on the surface, a major step for gender equality. The response however, reveals just how much pervasive sexism still exists in our society.

Eagle Scout has been awarded under one name or another since 1911. Approximately 8 percent of Boy Scouts earn this highest rank. The Girl Scout Gold Award has existed under one name or another since 1916 and is earned by just over 5 percent of Girl Scouts -including U.S. Senator and Veteran Tammy Duckworth. Both require months if not years of commitment, leadership and significant service to the community. Both are deserving of equal recognition and respect, but they don't get it.

This was acknowledged in one of the most popular articles covering the announcement that girls would be allowed to earn the designation of Eagle Scout (from CNN, dated 12 October 2017):

"The rank of Eagle Scout is a prestigious and widely recognized achievement, one that can have long-term benefits in academic, professional and even military spheres. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Neil Armstrong and Former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates are just a few notable men who have attained the rank of Eagle Scout.

"While there is a rough equivalent in the Girl Scouts-the Gold Award-the honor is not nearly as well-known as the Eagle Scout distinction."

For those who aren't familiar, the Girl Scout Gold Award requires a minimum of 80 hours of work by the Gold Award Candidate identifying an issue, investigating it thoroughly, getting help and building a team, creating and presenting a project plan, gathering feedback, taking action, and educating and inspiring others. Gold Award projects must be sustainable and have a connection to the community, either globally or nationally. The Gold Award Project may only be undertaken after the required prerequisites are completed in full and only when the Girl Scout is in High School.

Now that there has been a new wave of media coverage on these first female Eagle Scouts, this lack of awareness of-and respect for-Girl Scouting and the Gold Award is on full display. As a woman in a male-dominated field who has studied societal gender issues at the graduate level and as a troop leader for a dozen ambitious and compassionate kindergarten Daisy Girl Scouts, this is infuriating; I want us to think about why.

The Girl Scout Gold Award has existed under one name or another since 1916 and is earned by just over 5 percent of Girl Scouts. (Tonya Tacla Photography)

My first thought as to why was to lay the blame squarely at the feet of the Girl Scout organization and their PR team. So much energy goes into promoting cookies (a severely misunderstood program that maybe will get another piece someday), it's easy to blame them for not giving the Gold Award its due. The reality is, however, that anything GSUSA could do is being done on an uneven playing field.

Just this week, Girl Scouts released a study highly relevant to this conversation: The Girl Scout Alum Difference: A Lifetime of Courage, Confidence, and Character. It is full of data-driven proof of how Girl Scouting impacts girls and young women in a constructive way, showing that Gold Girl Scouts pursue higher education and volunteer in their community at rates over 2.5 times that of their peers and continue in leadership roles throughout their lives. But is that huge amount of data enough to overcome the perception and respect gap that we've seen on display recently? Maybe it can be a start.

The assumption that male is the default, normal, better gender is so pervasive in our society that it's almost impossible to see without deliberately looking. But once you start looking, you can see it everywhere. Even the World Economic Forum published a piece with Yale News on this: "Why male is our default gender." We see this popping up in how we gender inanimate objects, how modern medicine has developed and is often still practiced, and in the pervasive assumptions that all-female institutions must by definition be worse than all male ones.
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The idea of binary genders, of which one is better, is hugely problematic, and not just in the discussion of Eagle Scout vs. Gold Award-but this is a conversation on which we can shine a light today, and we have an obligation to do so. The effort and accomplishment of young women is just as worthy of our respect as that of young men. The institutions that have been built to serve women and girls are just as valuable to society as those built to serve boys and men.

Is there a problem with exclusive organizations? In many ways yes-but the bigger problem that we're seeing manifested in the discussion of Scouting is that "feminine" isn't respected as much as "masculine." (And anything that doesn't cleanly fit into one or the other isn't often respected societally at all.) Sexist assumptions about what girls like versus what boys like manifests not only in our toy aisles with seas of pink and blue but also our assumptions about scouting, about which organization is "fluffy" and which is "real," about which program and its accompanying years of hard work is more worthy of recognition. As one gentleman told a troop of girls: "Boy Scouts tie knots; Girl Scouts tie bows."

For those wanting to argue that this doesn't exist, I ask you: Why is it so much more socially acceptable for women to wear pants (the historically male norm) than for men to wear dresses (the historically female norm)? Why is "like a girl" still an insult? Why would an award that is arguably harder to earn, and is held by an even smaller and more elite group of people, be so much less known than its rough male equivalent? Why can't the more prestigious institution-whether it be a university, a club, or a scouting organization, be the female one?

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Gold, Eagle and Default Sexism: Lack of Respect for Girl Scouts on Full Display - Ms. Magazine

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The first class of girls to earn Eagle Scout has been making national news-but response reveals just how much pervasive sexism still exists in our society.

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#13
notice: girl sues boy scouts
problem: there has been a very aggressive push for equality.
question: why hasn't anyone sued girl scouts for doing the same thing? why didn't she just join girl scouts? was there not a better way to handle the situation?
stakes: people being on the same page and reaching an understanding or middle point.

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FILE - Patches cover the back of a Girl Scout's vest at a demonstration of some of their activities in Seattle, June 18, 2018. A federal judge, Thursday, April 7, 2022, tossed out a lawsuit in which the Girl Scouts claim that the Boy Scouts are creating marketplace confusion and damaging their recruitment efforts through their use of words such as "scouts" and "scouting." (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

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FILE - Boy Scouts of America uniforms are displayed in the retail store at the headquarters for the French Creek Council of the Boy Scouts of America in Summit Township, Pa., Feb. 18, 2020. A federal judge, Thursday, April 7, 2022, tossed out a lawsuit in which the Girl Scouts claim that the Boy Scouts are creating marketplace confusion and damaging their recruitment efforts through their use of words such as "scouts" and "scouting." (Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News via AP, File)

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NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge rejected Girl Scouts' claims Thursday that the Boy Scouts created marketplace confusion and damaged their recruitment efforts by using words like "scouts" and "scouting" in recruitment drives.

Manhattan Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein ruled the Boy Scouts of America can describe their activities as "scouting" without referring to gender and that the matter does not need to be put to a jury.

Hellerstein said his written decision caps a "serious, contentious and expensive" litigation and necessitates dismissal of the lawsuit brought by the Girl Scouts of the United States of America.

"In truth, Girl Scouts' complaint is based, not on concern for trademark confusion, but on fear for their competitive position in a market with gender neutral options for scouting," Hellerstein wrote. "Though Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts may now compete more than they once did, neither organization can preempt the other's use of the Scout Terms and their trademarks are not likely to be confused."

The lawsuit was filed in late 2018, a year after the Boy Scouts announced that boy scouting and cub scouting would be open to girls, leading the organizations to compete for members after social trends and a rise in sports league participation drove down membership for decades. The pattern worsened when the pandemic hit.

"The Boy Scouts adopted the Scout Terms to describe accurately the co-ed nature of programming, not to confuse or exploit Girl Scouts' reputation," Hellerstein wrote. "Such branding is consistent with the scout-formative branding Boy Scouts has used for a century, including in its co-ed programs that have existed since the 1970s."

The term "scout" is descriptive of both the Boy Scouts' and Girl Scouts' programming, the judge wrote.

"The Boy Scouts' decision to become co-ed, even if it affects Girl Scouts' operations, does not demonstrate bad faith," the judge added.

Hellerstein's decision comes while the Boy Scouts are in bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware that began in February 2020. The Irving, Texas-based organization sought bankruptcy protection after it was named in hundreds of lawsuits brought by individuals claiming they were molested by scout leaders as minors.

The Girl Scouts said it was "deeply disappointed" in the decision and will appeal.

"This case is about ensuring that parents are not misled into thinking that Girl Scouts are part of or the same as the Boy Scouts," the organization said in a statement.

In a statement, the Boy Scouts said the ruling had vindicated its position.

It noted that 305,000 girls are currently enrolled in its programs and that since full participation was permitted beginning in 2019, more than 2,200 females have become Eagle Scouts.

It said it "looks forward to welcoming more girls into our positive, life changing programs."

In his decision, Hellerstein wrote that he was siding with the Boy Scouts in part because the Girls Scouts cannot prove that a likelihood of confusion was caused by the Boy Scouts' use of the term "scout."

He said the Girl Scouts had cited instances of parents confusing the two organizations. But he added that the choice to join one organization or the other is made after several interactions with the organization, by children's desires to join a group siblings or friends have joined, or other factors unrelated to trademarks and branding.

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Judge tosses Girl Scouts' recruitment suit vs. Boy Scouts

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A federal judge has tossed out a lawsuit in which the Girl Scouts claim that the Boy Scouts are creating marketplace confusion and damaging their recruitment efforts through their use of words such as "scouts" and "scouting."

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#14
notice: you can get larger scholarships from an eagle scout award than a gold award
problem:  the gold award is the equivalent of an eagle scout for girl scouts but they are not  treated with the same respect.
question: why do people respect eagle scouts more? why is the gap in scholarships so large? why don't more people know what the gold award is?
stakes: the equal respect of girl scouts and boy scouts.

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Eagle Scout Scholarships: Introduction

Finding merit scholarships to fund your college goals can be a challenge. Therefore, in this guide to Eagle Scout Scholarships, we'll walk you through all of the details of the National Eagle Scout Association Scholarships, including important requirements, deadlines, and more. Keep reading, and we will help you work out the ins and outs of merit-based scholarships.

Firstly, we'll go over how to find scholarships for college, explore the National Eagle Scout Association Scholarships (aka NESA Scholarships), discuss what makes you eligible for Eagle Scout Scholarships, explore some of the top merit-based scholarships. Finally, we'll share five tips to help you become NESA scholarship winners. Overall, this article will help make your scholarship search as painless as possible.

How to find scholarships for college?

The cost of college is growing, making an in-depth scholarship search more important. In the search for scholarships for college, you may become overwhelmed with the sheer number and variety of options. Want to apply for Financial Aid and scholarships, but not sure where to start? CollegeAdvisor has a webinar that goes over the steps to apply for each of these. In the first place, there are a few basic terms you should get familiar with.

The Difference Between Merit-Based Scholarships and Financial Aid

Firstly, what is a merit-based scholarship, and how does it differ from student financial aid? Financial aid is money loaned to a student that they may or may not have to pay back. For example, some forms of financial aid include grants and loans. In fact, students don't need to pay back grants. However, they must pay back loans to the lending institution with interest. In conclusion, financial aid awards are based on a student's financial need.

On the other hand, scholarships for college are normally gifted money for students to use toward the cost of college. These funds are granted either to the student or directly to the school the student attends. You don't have to pay back this money to the entity that awarded you the scholarship. This is because scholarships are not necessarily tied to a student's financial need. Specifically, schools may award merit-based scholarships based on things such as academic, athletic, artistic, or specialty merit.

Merit Scholarships

There are countless merit scholarships available to students. So, in this article, we'll go over some of the top merit-based scholarships for college. CollegeAdvisor is a great starting place to search for merit-based scholarships. If you don't know where to start in your scholarship search, CollegeAdvisor has an informative webinar on how to find and apply for scholarships that can guide you on your journey.

First thing to remember is that you'll come across all types of scholarships in your scholarship search. Therefore, you need to identify which merit-based scholarships you can apply to. Specifically, most of the top merit-based scholarships require high academic achievement or excellence in extracurricular activities and athletics.

There are also many merit scholarships that seek students who excel in specific fields. For example, you can find scholarships for members of specific community organizations you may already be a part of. The point is to think about your academic performance, and your extracurricular interests, and search for scholarships that you feel would best fit your specific identity.

Once you have found a few scholarships that fit you, start creating a competitive application. Most merit-based scholarships have similar application elements.

Application components to look out for:

1. Firstly, you will probably need a strong letter of recommendation from a respected adult such as a teacher or a coach. These letters don't have to be lengthy. However, they should convey your strengths as a student and describe why the writer believes you are worthy of receiving a scholarship.

2. Almost all merit scholarships include a written component. For example, a personal statement, or short answer questions, or an essay. Thus, take every opportunity to practice and improve your writing skills. Additionally, make it a habit to check for spelling and grammar mistakes. For example, Grammarly is a free online tool that can help to strengthen your writing.

3. Keep up your grades! This may sound obvious, but high academic performance and test scores are often required for many merit-based scholarships. Form study groups with your peers, seek out tutoring when necessary, and take advantage of any free test-prep courses offered to you through your school.

4. Finally, pay attention to the various application deadlines! Each scholarship has different deadlines, and it is easy to forget them when you are busy with school and extracurriculars. So, create a spreadsheet or make a list of all the scholarships that interest you, their application requirements, and their deadlines.

Examples of Merit Scholarships

CollegeAdvisor has a great variety of articles on how to apply to various merit-based scholarships. These articles are also strong resources if you want to learn more about some of the top merit-based scholarships in the nation. Below, for example, we've picked a few of these merit-based scholarships.

Vanderbilt Merit Scholarships: "Vanderbilt is one of the few private elite academic institutions that offer significant merit scholarships that are independent of a family's financial status. As a result, the Vanderbilt merit scholarships are highly competitive, with less than 1% of applicants receiving a scholarship.

Prospective applicants can apply to three merit scholarships: the Cornelius Vanderbilt scholarship, the Chancellor scholarship, and the Ingram scholarship."

Coca-Cola Scholarship: "The Coca-Cola scholarship is a $20,000 scholarship awarded to 150 exceptional high school seniors that provides them with a unique and exclusive alumni network. It is one of the more prestigious scholarships for high school students and has a rigorous admission process. In their own words, the scholarship is for students 'who demonstrate academic achievement and leadership.'"

USC Merit Scholarship: "To be applicable for a USC merit scholarship, students must submit their application earlier than the regular decision deadline. Typically, 2% of early applicants are selected to be considered for a USC merit scholarship. There are three possible USC merit scholarships students can receive: the Trustee scholarship (full-tuition), the Presidential scholarship (half-tuition), and the Dean's Scholarship (quarter-tuition)."

Exploring National Eagle Scout Association Scholarships

In case your scholarship search has brought you to NESA, you may already be familiar with this great organization. The National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) is an organization specifically for those members of Scouts BSA who are Eagle Scouts. NESA "empowers Eagle Scouts to perpetuate the mission, values, and time-honored traditions of Scouting for future generations."

Specifically, national Eagle Scout Association Scholarships are available each year for students entering college. NESA scholarships are competitive, merit-based scholarships awarded to select students who have achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. For this reason, there are various forms of NESA scholarships with varying amounts of funding attached to them.

Note that the NESA scholarship application portal is only open during the months of December and January. The application deadline is 11:59 p.m. CST on January 31.

This article will explore all the NESA scholarship details, and show you how to join the ranks of the NESA scholarship winners.

Lawrence S. and Mabel Cooke Scholarship

The Lawrence S. and Mabel Cooke Scholarship is the NESA scholarship for high-achieving students. Lawrence S. Cooke established this fund in memory of his wife, Mabel Cooke. In fact, the Cooke Scholarship is one of the most sought-after of the Eagle Scout scholarships.

This scholarship is also the largest of the NESA scholarships and can help make a big difference in the cost of college.

A $48,000 scholarship is given to one student per year (up to $12,000/year for four years of study), and a $25,000 will be awarded to four students (up to $6,250/year for four years of study)

Each of the 16 National Service Territories (NST) will award one student a one-year $10,000 scholarship

It must be remembered that the Lawrence S. and Mabel Cooke Scholarship is one of the best Eagle Scout scholarships for college. Therefore, these Eagle Scout scholarship recipients must show high academic performance, demonstrate financial need, and be active participants in school and Scouting activities.

National Eagle Scout Association Scholarship

Beyond the Lawrence S. and Mabel Cooke Scholarships, students may also apply to other NESA scholarships with smaller award values.

Each NST will award two students a one-year $5,000 scholarship

Each NST will award one student a one-year $3,500 scholarship

All Eagle Scout scholarships are funded through endowments from the National Eagle Scout Association, the Hansen & Mary Hall Scholarship Fund, the Lester S. McElwain Eagle Scholarship Endowment, and the Robert and Rebecca Palmer Eagle Scout Scholarship Endowment.

NESA scholarship winners must show that they understand the importance of service to their community, service to Scouting, and being active participants in school, Scouting, and their community.

Additionally, Eagle Scout scholarships are for students in financial need. Thus, NESA scholarship winners should show their financial need.

How many NESA Scholarships are offered each year?

Between the Cooke Scholarship and the other Eagle Scout Scholarships, NESA awarded scholarships to 69 Eagle Scouts in 2023 to help students offset the cost of college.

5 Lawrence S. and Mabel Cooke Scholarships

16 Cooke Scholarships-one for each NST

Three other NESA Scholarships in each of the 16 NSTs

The National Eagle Scout Association scholarships are great merit scholarships for students to apply to. With 69 NESA scholarship winners this year, these Eagle Scout scholarships are worth applying for!

How much are the NESA Scholarships?

Let's break down the award amounts for each of the NESA Scholarships!

The Lawrence S. and Mabel Cooke Scholarship:

$48,000 to one national recipient (up to $12,000/year for four years) and $25,000 to four national recipients (up to $6,250/year for four years)

$10,000 (one-year) to one recipient in each of the 16 NSTs

Other National Eagle Scout Association Scholarships:

$5,000 to two recipients in each of the 16 NSTs

$3,500 to one recipient in each of the 16 NSTs

So, as you can see, the Eagle Scout scholarships for college are well worth applying for! They can greatly impact the cost of college for you and your family.

What are the conditions of the NESA Scholarships?

NESA Scholarship winners must meet certain conditions to apply for these Eagle Scout scholarships for college. Here are 5 award conditions for students receiving a NESA scholarship:

1. Students must be active members of NESA and achieve Eagle Scout status during each award period. You can become a NESA member through their website. NESA offers two membership options: either 5-year or lifetime membership plans.

2. Students must attend school full-time. Students must show proof of enrollment and full-time student status.

3. NESA pays all funds directly to the award recipient's college or university for tuition, room, and board.

4. Winners must submit a thank-you video at the beginning of the school year sharing the importance of the award.

5. Award recipients must use funds in the year provided and cannot defer their scholarships (this is especially important for those students who are pursuing a gap year). However, students planning on taking a gap year are still eligible to apply for and receive Eagle Scout scholarships for college.

The conditions of the National Eagle Scout Association scholarships ensure the NESA scholarship winners maintain high levels of academic and personal performance during their time at college.

Are Eagle Scout Scholarships competitive?

With only 69 total National Eagle Scout Association scholarships awarded nationally this year, NESA scholarships for college are competitive. However, these merit scholarships are still worth applying for, to help offset the cost of college.

Tips for becoming an award recipient

Below are our tips for attaining scholarship funding:

1. Hone your writing skills: Top merit-based scholarships all require a writing sample in their application. Some scholarships will ask for a personal statement, short answer questions, or even a full essay.

2. Maintain high academic performance: Many merit scholarships seek students who have high marks at school. But don't fret if you're not a "straight A" student. If a student shows an aptitude for a certain subject or maintains good grades, and take part in extracurricular activities, they have a good chance of getting a scholarship of some kind.

3. Aim for high test scores: Along with working toward high academic performance, students need to study for standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT exams. Some students choose to hire special tutors to teach them test strategies. If this is not possible, many high schools and libraries offer free or low-cost exam prep courses. Again, practice, practice, practice! Scoring well on a test has more to do with your test-taking stamina and strategy than with your actual knowledge of a subject.

*Note: For Eagle Scout scholarships this year, SAT and ACT scores are not required as part of the application.
Who is eligible for NESA Scholarships?

In your scholarship search, you have probably come across various eligibility requirements for different scholarships for college.

Let's go over the eligibility requirements for the National Eagle Scout Association scholarships:

Applicants must be active NESA members who earned the rank of Eagle Scout and are pursuing further study at an accredited college or university.

Students attending any of the U.S. military academies are not eligible for Eagle Scout scholarships.

Graduate students are ineligible for Eagle Scout scholarships-these scholarships are for undergraduate students.

How do I apply for Eagle Scout Scholarships?

Armed with all this information, you may now be wondering, "Where do I apply for a NESA scholarship?"

All National Eagle Scout Association scholarships are on the NESA webpage. There, you can read more details about Eagle Scout scholarships for college and find the online application portal to apply. Please note that the portal won't be active until December 2023, when the application window opens.

The application portal for the National Eagle Scout Association scholarships will only be open during the application window (December and January).

Click "New Applicant" to get started. You will not have to provide any BSA ID numbers to begin your application.

Once you create your account, you can begin to fill out the NESA scholarship application. You will receive a link to access your application and make any updates. There is no need to complete the entire application at once. You can log out and log in to complete the application later if necessary.

When can I apply for NESA Scholarships?

Now that you know about these amazing Eagle Scout scholarships for college, you're probably itching to apply as soon as possible! The application portal opens each December, so students will complete the application in the winter of their senior year of high school.

Students must submit their Eagle Scout scholarship applications by the end of January. Be sure to check the website for the most up-to-date information, as NESA has not formally announced the 2022‒2023 deadline yet.

NESA scholarship winners will be announced in June, following a student's senior year of high school.

Eagle Scout Scholarships - Additional Questions

Now we'll go over some more questions about Eagle Scout scholarships for college that we didn't cover above.

What do I need to submit to win an Eagle Scout scholarship?

You must be an official NESA member to win an Eagle Scout scholarship and submit an application through the NESA application portal on their website.

Can I apply for an Eagle Scout scholarship if I am taking a gap year?

Yes, Eagle Scout scholarships are open to students planning to take a gap year. However, students must remember to apply during their gap year.

How can I stand out from other applicants when applying for merit scholarships?

Standing out from the crowd can feel like a challenge. The key is to identify your strengths and share them when you apply for merit scholarships. Winning a merit scholarship is about showing what makes you unique and worthy. This can range from exceptional grades to a diverse and robust extracurricular routine.

Eagle Scout Scholarships vs. the National Merit Scholarship

Eagle Scout Scholarships are only one type of merit-based scholarship. Students will find other opportunities in their scholarship search, such as the National Merit Scholarship.

The National Merit Scholarship is one of the top merit-based scholarships in the nation. Both the National Merit Scholarship and the Eagle Scout scholarships are highly competitive merit scholarships. This article from CollegeAdvisor offers an excellent deep dive into the National Merit Scholarship.

Let's briefly compare the two merit scholarships:

Eagle Scout Scholarships National Merit Scholarship

Who is eligible
Eagle Scouts attending a full-time higher education institution

High-achieving high school students

Award Amount(s)
(1) $48,000 award (4) $25,000 awards (16) $10,000 awards (32) $5,000 awards (16) $3,500 awards

$2,500

How many scholarships are awarded each year?
69

Roughly 7,500

5 Tips to Win an Eagle Scout Scholarship

Let's go over some tips to help you become one of the NESA scholarship winners this year! These five things will increase your chances of winning one of the Eagle Scout scholarships for college.

Engage in Eagle Scout activities: Eagle Scout scholarships are for those students who are active in their Eagle Scout troupes. The more involved you are in scouting activities, the better your chances of getting a NESA scholarship.

Keep your grades up: Almost all top merit-based scholarships require students to maintain high academic performance.

Invest in your community: Eagle Scout scholarships require students to be active participants in their community. Whether that be through volunteering, community service, or community groups, NESA wants students who understand the value of community investment.

Write strong essays: In your scholarship search, you have no doubt noticed that most scholarships have a written element. Practice writing every day! Use every opportunity to improve your writing skills. You'd be surprised how much your writing will progress with dedicated practice. If in doubt, many high schools or public libraries offer tutors or help for writing. Look into your local resources.

Meet your deadlines: Organization is key for managing multiple projects. Right now, students have full plates with testing, school, extracurricular activities, and applying for scholarships and financial aid on top of it all. In your scholarship search, keep an organized list of which applications are due and when. Set calendar reminders in advance of the due date to give yourself some cushion with deadlines.

How to win the National Eagle Scout Association Scholarships - Final Thoughts

Eagle Scout scholarships for college are great, competitive merit-based scholarships. NESA scholarship winners will be those students who are 1) Eagle Scouts, 2) active in their communities, 3) maintain high academic performance, and 4) can show financial need.

Eligible students must be attending an accredited four-year college, excluding U.S. military academies. Students taking a gap year can still apply for Eagle Scout scholarships for college but must apply during their gap year. You cannot defer the scholarships.

NESA awards 69 scholarships each year:

(1) $48,000 award and (4) $25,000 awards through the Lawrence S. and Mabel Cooke Scholarship

(16) $10,000 awards; one award per NST

(32) $5,000 awards; two awards per NST

(16) $3,500 awards; one award per NST

Students must apply through the application portal on the NESA website. The portal opens on December 1st and closes on January 31st.
Award winners will be announced in June, after graduation.
Additional CollegeAdvisor Resources to help your scholarship search!

Throughout your college application process, keep in mind that CollegeAdvisor.com is here to support you throughout your college and scholarship journey. Whether it's a strategy to win a Vanderbilt, Coca-Cola, or USC Merit Scholarship, or sharing other resources like essay guides, application help, or tuition information, CollegeAdvisor.com has what you'll need to reach your maximum potential. Good luck!

This article was written by Ciara Ayala. If you want to get help with your college applications from CollegeAdvisor.com Admissions Experts, register with CollegeAdvisor.com today. Also, check out our other guides to Merit-Based Scholarships as you embark on your college application journey!

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Curious about Eagle Scout Scholarships for college? We've got you covered with an expert guide on How to Win Eagle Scout Scholarships today!

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#15
notice: some kids don't know the difference between a need and a want.
problem: the kid will take everything they want and nothing can stop them.
question: what makes them act this way? how do you fix that? should we make stronger locks for things?
stakes: feeling safe in your own home

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#16
notice: people dont feeling safe in school
problem:  its hard to learn in an environment you don't feel safe in.
question: why don't they feel safe? what can we do to make people feel safer? who's responsibility is the students safety?
stakes: the students working efficiently

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

Not feeling safe at school was related to being victimized and mental health difficulties, including depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Higher perceived school safety was associated with measures such as the presence of a security officer and fair school rule enforcement.

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people dont feel safe in school - Google Search

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. Not feeling safe at school was related to being victimized and mental health difficulties, including depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Higher perceived school safety was associated with measures such as the presence of a security officer and fair school rule enforcement.

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#17
notice: girls and boys are not allowed to mix in boy scouts.
problem:  if they can't do stuff together then they aren't really included.
question: why do they have to be seperated? is this actually a step in the direction of equality? why would they let girls join if they were going to seperate them?
stakes: the fight for equality will continue.

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Girls Can Now Become Boy Scouts... With One Important Restriction

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The Boy Scouts of America announced that girls can now become Boy Scouts and attain the highest honor of Eagle Scout.

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#18
notice: girls can now join boy scouts.
problem:  girls can now join boy and girl scouts but boys cannot do the same.
question: if girls can join boy scouts then why can't boys join girl scouts? is this a step towards equality? why don't they just combine girls and boy scouts? what dose this mean for the future of scouts?
stakes: the future of scouts.

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On a recent morning at the Laurel Highlands Council headquarters in downtown Pittsburgh, 12-year-old Elly Riegner rummaged through containers of small, circular patches. She picked up a red badge and showed it to her mother, Abby. It's for archery, and Elly has said she's eager to earn it herself.

Elly's brother Vincent is nine years old and has been in Cub Scouts since he was eligible to join at six. Elly said in those three years, she'd often go to her brother's pack meetings and watch activities, like the Cub Scouts' well-known model car race Pinewood Derby. This year, for the first time, Elly made a car of her own.

"I [painted it] blue and black," she said. "I did not have any problems and yes, it went down the track."

This isn't the only first Elly will take part in this year. On Feb. 1, the Boy Scouts program will be called Scouts BSA and will allow girls to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. Younger girls have been able to join Cub Scouts for nearly a year, and more than 77,000 joined. Now, older girls 11-17 have a path to earn the organization's highest rank.

Abby Riegner will be the scoutmaster for the new all-girls troop. This weekend, she and Elly will set up at a district Pinewood Derby competition and talk with girls who are interested in joining Scouts BSA. She said she's glad girls can take advantage of the 109-year-old program.

"I was just like, 'that's awesome,'" she said. "I was the kid who wanted to be a Boy Scout and my daughter kind of missed out on all of that and I wanted to give her an opportunity to do the things that I know she really likes."

That includes hiking, canoeing and fishing - although Abby said she doesn't like taking the fish off the hook. She said she thinks her daughter will enjoy cooking the most. Elly attended a day camp with the Webelos last year and loved making an omelet over the campfire.

The new older girls' troop will be modeled on the boys', combining the two groups for things like opening pledges and announcements. But the majority of activities and outings will be separate. Abby said because the idea is so new, they'll be adjusting as they go.

"We're going to share events, share equipment," she said. "Then they have some established service projects and we're going to kind of branch off and find out what the girls are interested in doing."

Laurel Highlands Council Scouting Executive and CEO Sharon Moulds said the most common question is whether these older scouts troops will be co-ed.

"There are girl troops and there are boy troops," Moulds said. "Generally what people are concerned about is they think they're going to merge together ... that's never going to happen."

It's important for the development of young men and women to have separate troops, Moulds said, especially in their early teenage years when they're learning leadership skills.

There has been criticism from Girl Scouts USA, who sued the Boy Scouts last year over their proposed name change. Moulds said Scouts BSA isn't discouraging girls from joining the Girl Scouts, which, according to the organization, have about 2.6 million members worldwide. Within Boy Scouts, there was also some early resistance to allowing girls, but Moulds said most members have come around.

"It's kind of a mix because we have some ... grandfathers, and they're saying, 'Oh, I can get my granddaughter in,'" she said. "They absolutely want their granddaughters to have the same opportunities."

The decision to invite girls into Boy Scouts was not an easy one, Moulds said. Families told the organization it would be more convenient for their increasingly busy schedules to drop their children off at one meeting, instead of driving to multiple events and activities. Ahead of the February change, Moulds said girls are already telling her they're looking forward to being involved.

"They're excited about having the opportunity to do what they've seen their brothers do or the other boys do," Moulds said. "I think a lot of them, what we're seeing is that they just want to be Eagle Scouts."

That's the case for Elly Riegner. With her first day as a scout coming up, she's been reading up on the ranks and practicing her salutes.

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Welcoming Girls, Boy Scouts Program Is Now Scouts BSA

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Younger girls have been able to join Cub Scouts for nearly a year, and more than 77,000 joined. Now, older girls 11-17 have a path to earn the organization's highest rank.

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#19
notice: dress code is often discriminatory.
problem:  dress codes being discriminatory can lead to students feeling uncomfortable and and upset.
question: who is in charge of the dress code? ow could we make it more inclusive? why are dress codes the way they are?
stakes: the comfort of the students.

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In addition, the enforcement of dress codes is often discriminatory, as the GAO found. Educators who enforce them often unfairly target students of color, LGBTQ students, and girls.

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dress codes being unfair - Google Search

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In addition, the enforcement of dress codes is often discriminatory, as the GAO found. Educators who enforce them often unfairly target students of color, LGBTQ students, and girls.Dec 27, 2022

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#20
notice: a large percentage of guys don't believe sexism still exists.
problem: you cant get rid of sexism if people don't believe its there.
question: why don't guys think sexism exist anymore? is there a way to come to an understanding?
stakes: gender equality

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Last month a study from Pew Research Centre found a stark difference of opinion between women and men about whether or not sexism still exists. Where 63% of women believe that there continue to be major obstacles for women to get ahead, only 41% of men feel similarly.

Which is, let's face it, part of the problem.

But it does beg the question as to why the divide between the genders exists.

It begins with the normalisation of sexism that's made it so transparent in our everyday lives that we often fail to recognise it. When I was growing up in rural Victoria, my dad, a dairy farmer, would sometimes whistle at young women as we drove through our local town. He meant nothing sinister. I'm quite sure he thought he was paying them a compliment. Perhaps they did also. But not only do we fail to recognise latent sexism in the people around us, we're often unaware of our own. Studies have found that it's not just men who have implicit bias against women; women can also hold unconscious bias toward their own gender.

Double standards are so embedded in our culture we often don't recognise when we're reinforcing them. For instance, expecting our daughters to show more self-control and politeness than our sons (after all, "boys will be boys"). Or judging women who fail to retain their youthful looks and figure far more harshly than we judge men. Or the idea we have about boys and girls " natural" capabilities and in the workplace, where men tend to be promoted more on potential and women more on performance. Even worse when high-performing women are passed over due to untested assumptions such as "she'll probably have babies soon and won't want the pressure!"

I've lost count of the times I have been asked "How do you do it all?" in reference to the work that I do that requires a lot of international travel while also being mother to four teenagers. My husband has never been asked. Not once.

Many women share similar experiences of having their actions judged by a different yardstick than their male colleagues. I once had a client who, when she asked why she was passed over for a leadership role she felt she'd earned, was told she was "a little too nice for such a tough job". Yet women are often damned if they do conform to gender stereotypes and damned if they don't. If they show assertiveness, they're more likely to be perceived as bossy or bitchy. If they seek to lead by consensus, they're more likely to be labelled weak and lacking leadership. Hillary Clinton is a case in point. Like or loathe her, Clinton's fierce ambition combined with her perceived lack of warmth is held against her where the same traits would be regarded as a strength for men.

Given the pervasiveness of everyday sexism, there is clearly much to be done to arrive at the day where gender is a non-issue in how we parent, speak, lead and pursue our ambitions. Until then, those who recognise the chasm that needs to be closed to reach gender equality must actively speak up and call out sexism when they see it - both the unintentional, seemingly harmless everyday variety and the more menacing and ill-intentioned type perpetuated by those who feel threatened by strong women.

At a recent talk by the former army chief and Australian of the year, Lieutenant General David Morrison, he spoke about how the Australian army was slower to wake up to the sexism within its ranks than the airforce or navy. He shared the epiphany he had when then sexual discrimination commissioner Liz Broderick asked him why, for the past 100 years, less than 10% of the army had been female. His lack of a good answer woke him up to the sexism in his ranks and took him on a mission to radically change its culture. His call to arms against misogyny and unacceptable behaviour in his YouTube video sent a clear message to all who didn't respect women to "get out".

We need more of that. Much more.

We need more people to wake up and see that sexism is still a barrier for women and that each of us has a role to play in removing it. Simply agreeing that women make strong leaders, that gender diverse teams produce stronger results and make better decisions - in business, science, politics, education and beyond - or that gender equality is morally right is not enough. For change to occur, we need an army of men and women committed to confronting sexism where it lives. In our conversations around the coffee machine at work, around the dinner table at home or at the pub on a Friday night.

This isn't about casting women as victims or making villains of men. It's about taking personal responsibility for the part we all play, albeit often unintentionally, to perpetuate the status quo and in having the courage to do our bit to change it.

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Unconscious bias: most women believe sexism still exists but most men disagree

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Double standards and casual misogyny have made sexism almost invisible, yet it's still a barrier for many women and something we all need to confront

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#1
notice: there is quite a bit of bullying at school.
problem: some kids start too feel unsafe at school.
question: what protocols are in place to prevent this? is anyone doing something to change this? who is in charge of making these changes?
stakes: kids feeling safe at school.

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This section pulls together fundamental information about bullying.

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#2
notice: there is always construction going on.
problem: the roads must not be that good if they always need fixing.
question: could we make roads out of stronger material? whats stopping us from making stronger and better roads? who is supposed to be in charge of these fixes?
stakes: lose of money and time

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#3
notice: georgetown is growing at a very fast rate.
problem:
question:
stakes:

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Georgetown's growth since 2020 is just less than 10 percent, at 9.7 percent. The city's 2020 population was 37,784 or a growth of 996 in two years. The latest population figures are based upon 2022 calculations.

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how fast is georgtown ky growing - Google Search

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Georgetown’s growth since 2020 is just less than 10 percent, at 9.7 percent. The city’s 2020 population was 37,784 or a growth of 996 in two years. The latest population figures are based upon 2022 calculations.Jun 9, 2023

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#4
notice: power keeps going out everytime it rains.
problem:  our powerlines are weak and keep breaking all the time.
question: why not make them out of stronger material? why not put them underground? why not put better insolation on them? why don't we put them in better places?
stakes: if we don't make better powerlines then we are going to have to continually waste time and money to keep fixing them.

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#5
notice: the stop lights are slow and inefficient.
problem: it causes traffic to get backed up.
question: why don't they add more sensors to detect when cars come? why dont they put them on a better timer? why don't we.
stakes: traffic will continue to get worse as our population grows.

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#6
notice: there isn't much for teens to do in Georgetown.
problem:  we have to leave town to hangout.
question: why don't we add more teen friendly activities? why don't teens just learn to have fun with what they have?
stakes: kids will continue to dumb stuff for fun if they don't have anything else.

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#7
notice: there aren't many recycling cans in public places.
problem:  the lack of recycling bins in public areas contributes to the growth of pollution in our communities.
question: why don't they have more recycling bins? is it a lack of effort? is it a problem with money?
stakes: the trash will continue to pile up.

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#8
notice: there is a liter everywhere you go.
problem:  litter is contaminating our world and the beauty of nature.
question: how do we get people to stop littering? could we add trashcans in more places? is there a way to more efficiently enforce anti litter laws?
stakes: our world will continue to be polluted.

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#9
notice: when the bell rings the stairs at school get stupidly backed up
problem: hallway traffic in school is stopping kids from making it to class on time.
question: why don't they extend the time in between classes? why dont they make one side the going up side and the other the going down side? why don't they have a better system to prevent backup in the hallways?
stakes: kids will continue to be late to class.

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#10
notice: lots of people are speeding.
problem: people are breaking the law.
question: what are we doing to stop speeders? could we make a more efficient way to catch speeders? is there a way to get people to stop speeding?
stakes: safety on the road.

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In a 2021 national telephone survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 50 percent of drivers said they had exceeded the speed limit by 15 mph on a freeway in the past month, and 40 percent reported exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph on a residential street (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2022).

Types of reckless driving

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what persentage of poeple speed - Google Search

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Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. In a 2021 national telephone survey conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 50 percent of drivers said they had exceeded the speed limit by 15 mph on a freeway in the past month, and 40 percent reported exceeding the speed limit by 10 mph on a residential street (AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2022).