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Police and council sorry for 'victim-blaming' tweet

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Police and council sorry for 'victim-blaming' tweet

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This article shows how disturbing our world is. This article containing a situations of a person who was raped and that person who was raped, was the one to be blamed... This is important because it connects to the event when Brandon was at the police station due to the rape case and the officers putting most of blame on him, strong connection.

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Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council have apologised after tweeting that people should "step in" to prevent women becoming vulnerable to sex assaults on a night out.

Social media users criticised the post, shared on Friday, for "victim-blaming".

Jo Wood, from Merseyside Rape and Sexual Abuse centre (RASA), said the tweet should have put the "focus of blame on the rapist".

Both the police force and council have apologised and deleted the posts.

The tweets had included a video, which was part of a campaign, encouraging "friends to look after each other on a night out to prevent someone becoming vulnerable or separated from the group", a spokesperson for Citysafe - Liverpool's community safety partnership - said.

The organisation's statement, shared by the police and council, said: "It was not our intention to blame anyone who has been subject to sexual assault, rape or any other crime."

The "only person ever responsible" is the rapist, the statement continued.

"We apologise for not making that clear in our posts on social media."

Image Copyright @teachingtipsuk @teachingtipsuk Report

Image Copyright @teachingtipsuk @teachingtipsukReport

The statement said the video had been based on assaults that had been reported by survivors, where "predatory men have targeted women they perceive to be vulnerable in some way".

Ms Wood said RASA worked with the campaign, thinking it was a training exercise for door and bar staff.

However, she said the organisation did not support the message that "if your friends did not stop you going outside, then it's their fault you got raped and if you went outside after you had been drinking, it was your fault that you got raped."

"What the problem here is that it's not actually putting the focus of blame for what actually happens on the rapist themselves," she said.

A Citysafe spokesperson said sexual violence support services and students had been consulted.

"No one consulted felt that the campaign blamed victims, but when viewed in isolation the tweet has been perceived in that way and we are sorry for any distress caused."

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Merseyside Police and Liverpool City Council have apologised after tweeting that people should "step in" to prevent women becoming vulnerable to sex assaults on a night out. Social media users criticised the post, shared on Friday, for "victim-blaming". Jo Wood, from Merseyside Rape and Sexual Abuse centre (RASA), said the tweet should have put the "focus of blame on the rapist".

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Killings of LGBT people in U.S. rose to a record in 2016: report

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Killings of LGBT people in U.S. rose to a record in 2016: report

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This article is based on a true tragic event. This is important because it is an event that is recent and one of the most tragic events in the U.S. It makes it sad since it is something that is targeted the LGBTQ community and sad that it is something that has occurred in recent years.

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - More LGBT people were killed in the United States in 2016 than in any of the 20 years since record-keeping began, with the total boosted by the deaths of 49 people in an attack at a gay club in Florida last June, an advocacy group said on Monday.

The release of a report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs coincides with the first anniversary of the massacre at Orlando's Pulse nightclub, the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Excluding Pulse victims, 28 Americans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender were killed in 2016, which was up 17 percent from 24 killed the previous year, according to the annual report. The number of killings last year was the highest since 2012, when 25 LGBT people were killed.

Including Pulse victims, murders of LGBT people rose 217 percent in 2016. Not all of those killed in the nightclub attack were LGBT.

"The enormous tragedy at Pulse Nightclub, in concert with the daily violence and discrimination that pervades our lives as LGBTQ people ... have created a perfect storm of fear and trauma for our communities this year," Melissa Brown at the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project, a member of the coalition, said in a statement.

The "Q" in "LGBTQ" refers "queer," a term that avoids specifying sexual orientation or gender identity.

The coalition, which has released the report since 1997, said LGBT people remain vulnerable to violence in 2017, especially in what it described as the current "incendiary political climate."

"Recent executive orders as well as ongoing efforts to pass anti-LGBTQ legislation and roll back protections at the city, state, and federal level make LGBTQ people vulnerable to identity-based discrimination," Beverly Tillery, with the New York City Anti-Violence Project, said in a statement.

Of the 2016 killings not connected to Pulse nightclub, 79 percent of victims were black or Hispanic and 68 percent were transgender.

LGBT people of color and those with disabilities were more than twice as likely as whites and the able-bodied to be the victims of harassment and non-fatal forms of violence, the report said.

Most of the victims knew their attackers, who commonly included employers, neighbors, landlords and family members, it said.

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Killings of LGBT people in U.S. rose to a record in 2016: report

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More LGBT people were killed in the United States in 2016 than in any of the 20 years since record-keeping began, with the total boosted by the deaths of 49 people in an attack at a gay club in Florida last June, an advocacy group said on Monday.

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Tolerance takes a hit: Americans less accepting of LGBT people in 2017, survey shows

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Tolerance takes a hit: Americans less accepting of LGBT people in 2017, survey shows

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Honestly, going over this article surprised me. It provided statistical evidence on peoples views on the LGBTQ if they are uncomfortable or comfortable. And through legitimate surveys, it shows how society still feels for which is being "uncomfortable" ... disappointing.

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For the first time in four years, Americans are less accepting of LGBT people, a survey finds - a setback activists say is stunning but not unexpected after a turbulent 2017.

Fewer than half of non-LGBT adults - 49% - said they were "very" or "somewhat" comfortable around LGBT people in certain scenarios, according to the Accelerating Acceptance report released Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. That number was down from 53% in 2016.

The survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of LGBT media advocacy group GLAAD, reflects an about-face from positive momentum reflected in polls GLAAD has commissioned since 2014.

"We are surprised at the scale and the swiftness" in the erosion of tolerance in the course of one year, Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD president and CEO, told USA TODAY. "But if you are LGBT and living in America, you are seeing this every day."
More: More: More: More: Trump drops challenge to transgender troops in military, opening door to Jan. 1 recruits Record number of cities advance LGBT rights in 2017, despite federal, state actions Onslaught of anti-LGBT bills in 2017 has activists 'playing defense' 'Not just about a cake shop': LGBT people battle bias in everyday routines
In 2014, 30% of those surveyed said they were "very" or "somewhat" uncomfortable having their child placed in a class with an LGBT teacher. In 2015, that number dipped to 29%; in 2016, 28%. In 2017, it jumped to 31%.

More people in 2017 were also uncomfortable learning a family member or their doctor was LGBT, the survey shows.

The shift is unsettling fallout that began with the 2016 presidential election, Ellis said, and continued through the year with inflammatory rhetoric and policy rollbacks. The result: "a permission slip for discrimination and bias" that has permeated society, she said.

Among issues cited by GLAAD in 2017:

* LGBT content was scrubbed from White House, Department of State and Department of Labor websites shortly after the Inauguration.

* In February, the Justice and Education departments reversed guidance the Obama administration had issued that said Title IX protected the rights of transgender students to use facilities that match their gender identity.

* In July, President Trump proposed a ban on transgender people from serving in the military, a challenge that was eventually dropped by the administration.

* It was announced last week that the Department of Health and Human Services will create a division that shields health care workers who refuse to treat patients such as LGBT people because of religious beliefs.

Actions at the state level - such as a Mississippi law that lets government workers and private businesses cite religious beliefs to deny services to LGBT people - are equally disconcerting, the survey noted.

And there has been an increase in violence against the community - 52 hate-related homicides in 2017, an 86% increase over 2016, GLAAD says - and a significant uptick in reports of bias. Fifty-five percent of survey respondents said they experienced discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity, 11 percentage points higher than 2016.

The findings come one week after another study by think tank Movement Advancement Project that shows how a prevalence of discrimination in everyday routines disrupts daily lives. For example: 34% of LGBT people who encountered bias avoided public places such as shops and restaurants.

LGBT people have been under siege while issues such as immigration and health care have grabbed headlines, Ellis said. "We've been seeing this erosion happen very quietly and under the radar."

Despite the lost ground, support for LGBT rights is stable, the GLAAD report shows: 79% of non-LGBT Americans back equal rights for the LGBT community, the same number as 2016.
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That is not necessarily a disconnect, Ellis said. "Conceptually, we all believe in equality for everyone," but there is a "misconception" that LGBT people already have full rights, she said.

Humanizing LGBT people before the public and the power centers could close the gap, Ellis said, and that was why GLAAD released its findings at the high-profile Davos forum.

"The study validates what LGBT people feel inside. I hear every day 'it's not like it used to be; I am nervous; I don't feel safe anymore,'" Ellis said.

But attitudes can change by people telling their stories, she said.

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Tolerance takes a hit: Americans less accepting of LGBT people in 2017, survey shows

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For the first time in four years, Americans are less accepting of LGBT people, a survey finds - a setback activists say is stunning but not unexpected after a turbulent 2017. Fewer than half of non-LGBT adults - 49% - said they were "very" or "somewhat" comfortable around LGBT people in certain scenarios, according to the Accelerating Acceptance report released Thursday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

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Boys Don’t Cry and Hollywood’s Ongoing Obsession With Trans Suffering

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Boys Don’t Cry and Hollywood’s Ongoing Obsession With Trans Suffering

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This is a very interesting film since the author is a trans himself. It's interesting because this individual notice the way trans were viewed in the pass but makes comparison to what it is like in the present. Overall, this article amazing based on the connections that the author makes of himself and the film and society.

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There are also aspects of Brandon's relationship with his girlfriend Lana (played by Chlo ë Sevigny) in Boys Don't Cry that I love. Watching a trans guy sweetly court a woman is something I long to see in more movies. Lana views Brandon entirely as himself, and after he's outed, she still affirms him as a man. In their sex scenes, Brandon is seen, loved, and desired in his body; not rejected by a lover because of it. I recognize elements of myself in Brandon as a trans guy who struggles with bottom dysphoria and insists on giving, rather than receiving, sexually.

But soon those fleeting, relatable moments are overshadowed by the horror of the film's final 45 minutes. The based-on-a-true-story ending isn't unexpected; the issue is how Peirce depicts that violence, emphasizing the details of Brandon's assault and death over his life before the days leading up to it. The film's disturbing rape scene is made even more traumatic by Peirce's choice to intercut it with the police interrogation of Brandon the following morning. We're forced to watch two forms of assault on a trans person simultaneously: First, the horrifying (and gratuitously graphic) rape, and then Brandon's forced recounting of it to a cop who denies his identity. The scenes where Brandon gets shot and stabbed, or is stripped and exposed by his eventual rapists and murderers, John (Peter Sarsgaard) and Tom (Brendan Sexton III), in Lana's bathroom, are jarring and upsetting.

There's something undeniably invasive and participatory about the nature of depicting sexual assault on screen, which invites viewers to watch a horrific incident without being able to intervene. In Boys Don't Cry, Peirce's direction and cinematographer Jim Denault's camerawork create an experience in which we, the audience, are onlookers passively taking part in the crime. In the bathroom scene, which disturbingly seems to go on forever, the camera lingers in the doorway like a spectator. We become helpless bystanders as we watch John and Tom savagely violate Brandon, and no less, in a wide shot where his nude body is on full display. The camera is just as curious about Brandon's genitals as John and Tom are. In a sense, Boys Don't Cry becomes complicit in Brandon's assault by further objectifying his body and forcing him to not only be exposed to the characters in the film - which could've been done more tastefully offscreen - but to the audience. Such gratuitous and disrespectful stylistic choices only add to cinema's long, cruel history of portraying trans people as specimens for cis audiences to gawk at.

Ultimately, Boys Don't Cry isn't a film about what it's like to live as a trans person, but about what it's like to die for being one. It never gets beyond a superficial understanding of what it was like to be in the Midwest as a stealth trans man in the '90s, and demonstrates little interest in exploring Brandon's psychological experience with his gender (in real life, he apparently spoke about a desire to have surgery, but the film brushes it off with one brief line), or what drove him to a freewheeling criminal lifestyle.

My opinions on Boys Don't Cry have shifted over the years - like I said, it's complicated. Not that long ago, I wrote about why it deserved to be on a list of the best LGBTQ+ movies, a sentiment I don't necessarily agree with now. When you've been starved for representation, sometimes you'll accept anything in place of nothing. And while I do believe that it's vital for non-trans audiences to be aware of the increasing murder rates affecting the trans community (with violence disproportionately affecting trans women of color), I've also begun to demand better trans representation with narratives not defined by death and anguish.

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'Boys Don't Cry' and Hollywood's Ongoing Obsession With Trans Suffering

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There are also aspects of Brandon's relationship with his girlfriend Lana (played by Chlo ë Sevigny) in Boys Don't Cry that I love. Watching a trans guy sweetly court a woman is something I long to see in more movies. Lana views Brandon entirely as himself, and after he's outed, she still affirms him as a man.

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Kimberly Peirce response on the shooting in Orlando

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Kimberly Peirce response on the shooting in Orlando

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After this film Peirce developed this film to be an eye opener. However, seeing the tragic event of the LGBTQ+ being attacked. Lead Peirce in misbelief of where society is still going to.

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Filmmaker Kimberly Peirce made her directorial debut with the Hilary Swank-starrer Boys Don't Cry, released by Fox Searchlight in 1999. The film, inspired by real-life events, followed the story of trans man Brandon Teena, who was gunned down in a hate crime in Nebraska on Dec. 31, 1993.

When 49 people were killed in the Pulse nightclub mass shooting on June 12, the result of a hate crime at the hands of Omar Mateen, Peirce was understandably devastated upon hearing of another attack on the LBGT community, one that now ranks as the worst shooting in U.S. history. The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Peirce at Women in Film's Crystal+Lucy Awards on June 15 to talk about her reaction and what Hollywood can do to help.
How are you feeling about what happened in Orlando? What have your conversations been like with friends and/or people in the community?
I went to the dyke picnic on Saturday [ Dyke Day L.A.]. Afterward, I went to my friend Jack Halberstam's house. He's a professor who wrote Female Masculinity. We had a beautiful dinner and a bunch of friends went out to Akbar in my neighborhood. It's usually a gay male bar. I went and it was all lesbians, and I loved it. We had so many friends there and the girls kept going to the other room to dance. We were so happy. We hung out on Sunset [Boulevard] until late, and we were happy. I went home, and the tragedy hit me like a ton of bricks, and I have not recovered. I could not believe that those people were doing the very same thing that we were doing, the very same thing that we fought for. The very same thing that we have been abused for and killed for for years. The amount of homophobia that is out there in the world right now and that is being allowed and that is being encouraged - whether it's [Donald] Trump, whether it's these legislators, the time for homophobia is over. It needs to stop. Hate speech needs to stop. Hate speech causes hate crimes.
What is your reaction to the fact that [Mateen] could buy a gun to carry out such an attack?
He lived in a culture where he could get a weapon of mass destruction. That is what an assault rifle is - it's a weapon of mass destruction. It is meant to kill many, many people. There is no role for a weapon of mass destruction on our streets. There is no role for any person to be able to buy that, certainly a person who is being tracked by the FBI. Any execution of any innocent person is wrong - its not worse that they were gay and happy and dancing - but it just shows you how harmless we are. I am devastated, and I am insisting on change. We have to stop homophobia. I am tired of hetero-normativity being the good and homosexuality being the bad or the weird or odd. It's over. Stop it. It should not be in our public forums. Once you start to address that, mental health issues, the masculinity crisis and get weapons off the street is when you start to make a dent.
What can Hollywood do?
This is something that I say humbly, given that it's what I try to do with my work. I believe that you don't point the finger and say that it was this or it was that. What I did with Boys Don't Cry was I checked in with my humility and I said that I cannot stand that somebody as beautiful as Brandon Teena, who had the courage to invent himself, was destroyed. I went to the murder town. I interviewed Lana [Tisdel]. I interviewed the mother. I went and interviewed the court reporter. We need to get underneath the story and the character and understand why this is happening. We need to tell compassionate, deeply human, deeply real stories about these events and bring audiences in so audiences can see a reflection of themselves in these characters and in these events, so that they can say, "I don't want to live in a world where this happens." It can't be a gay problem. It has to be our problem - all of our problem. Orlando matters. Every killing of a person of color matters. Every killing of a queer person matters. These killings are out of control.

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'Boys Don't Cry' Director Kimberly Peirce on Orlando Massacre: "Every Killing of a Queer Person Matters"

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Filmmaker Kimberly Peirce made her directorial debut with the Hilary Swank-starrer Boys Don't Cry, released by Fox Searchlight in 1999. The film, inspired by real-life events, followed the story of trans man Brandon Teena, who was gunned down in a hate crime in Nebraska on Dec. 31, 1993.

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Giving a clear definition of what exactly is media coverage. Including an example to have a clear understanding. Good use based on the coverage of Brandons murder case.

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Media coverage is when a media network or news agency employs one or more journalists or reporters to "cover" a story.

For example, if a President were to nominate a new Cabinet member, CNN might assign one reporter to investigate and report on the candidate's history and background, while another investigated what this will mean for that department. Perhaps there might be four or five reports total about the situation, and they might change as it became apparent Congress would refuse to confirm the appointment. The bigger the story, the more angles they might want to report on-and thus the ...

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What is media coverage? How is media coverage performed and what are some examples?

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Answer (1 of 4): Media coverage is when a media network or news agency employs one or more journalists or reporters to "cover" a story. For example, if a President were to nominate a new Cabinet member, CNN might assign one reporter to investigate and report on the candidate's history and backgr...

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For this source, it has a clear discussion based on media representation. Containing informations on how media being influential and the amount of impact it could bring. This provides amazing connections based on the representation on Brandon.

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We are shaped by our experiences and our perceptions. Our views of the world are defined by what we see and what we hear and the media has always played a role in that. Throughout history, the media and arguably, our immediate environment, has controlled our self-image, and in the age of technology, we are becoming increasingly aware of the negative impact of what our eyes and ears consume.

The evolution towards inclusivity has been rapid and pronounced, especially fueled by the advent of social media. We now all have the ultimate control; the ability to create our content and filter the media we consume. As a result we have found communities and our voices. I, as a dark skinned woman, no longer feel like my beauty isn't socially acceptable as I have created my own community in which I feel empowered and if a brand doesn't cater to me, they lose me as a customer. This is relatively easy for me to do. I'm now on the other side and I see media for what it is. But for so many others, this isn't the most apparent and as the consumers of media are becoming younger and younger, we must stress the importance of diversity in media representation.

In order to tell my story I must start in my childhood. I'm not sure where my issues with my body came from but they certainly didn't come from the magazines we so often demonize. I didn't read magazines. Growing up as a dark skin black girl in inner city London, the glitzy world of fashion was completely unknown to me and as the daughter of immigrants I was surrounded by primarily African and African American media.

These media outlets told me that in order to be beautiful and successful, one must be light skinned, with long, curly hair and have an hourglass shape (think Kim K). As a result I grew up deeply unhappy with my skin tone, my body shape, and my hair texture. Even after all that, I consider myself lucky. My access to media was limited to the TV and after that was turned off the immediate mental attack was complete. However, the feelings generated by what I had just seen and heard lingered on.

Unfortunately, in this day and age of instant gratification and technology, media has become even more pervasive in our lives. Young, fragile minds are even more accessible. From our waking breath to our last thoughts at night, thanks to mobile technology and our "smart phones," we constantly consume media and the effects are deadly. I'm from the UK and in 2016, the Children's Society reported that 34% of girls aged 10-15 in the UK were unhappy with their overall appearance, a 3% increase in just five years.

In a culture where Instagram has replaced magazines, people are being constantly bombarded by images of "perfect" bodies in the palm of their hands. As corporations tap into influencer marketing, harnessing the power of social media, truly diverse representation is ever so important. In order for people to feel included, we must be careful not to replace one beauty standard with another and work towards demolishing beauty standards altogether.

Increasing visibility and normalizing the variation in our humankind is one way of doing this; all races, all ages, all abilities, and all sizes. Additionally, content creators must always recognize and be aware of the more pervasive but yet subtle nuanced issues of skin tone, body shape, hair texture ... as a black woman, these have been far more damaging than any Vogue cover ever has, especially in commercial high-street advertising.

I believe true diversity occurs when brand completely and honestly shows all types of people regardless of size, race, gender, or ability. It really must be relatable and accessible. We will no longer be sold dreams and aspirations but we will learn to love and appreciate who we are individually and celebrate the differences amongst us.

As we celebrate the National Eating Disorders Awareness Week with NEDA, let's keep having these discussions with advertisers, content creators and us, the consumers of media so that we move towards a world where our feelings of self-worth are no longer dictated by the standards of someone else.
Philomena Kwao is a model, writer, and humanitarian. She starred in the documentary film Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image. Photos courtesy of Instagram

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The Importance of Diverse Media Representation

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We are shaped by our experiences and our perceptions. Our views of the world are defined by what we see and what we hear and the media has always played a role in that.

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Using this source will gave me a clear understanding between both terms of dyke and faggot. Noticing the difference between the two words really makes it kinda weird of how our society uses it. However, in the film it is used a lot to identify Brandon but the source also gives us a background history.

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As though it gives an analysis based on the film, it also gives us an insight of the actual event. Providing us the individuals real names and true background of the story. For which, makes this overall film much more interesting.

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Boys Don't Cry and female masculinity: Reclaiming a life & dismantling the politics of normative heterosexuality

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Boys Don't Cry and female masculinity: Reclaiming a life & dismantling the politics of normative heterosexuality

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Used this source to give connections with Media Literacy. Connections that with help me dive deeper into the film "Boy's Don't Cry'. Giving us much more of an insight.

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Found that this article will be very helpful mainly because the author of this article is a socialist, feminist, and anti-racist journalist. The reason behind this is that this movie is mainly about a women changing to a man (transgender) so I believe that the author will give off some brilliant analysis that most can't identify.

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Boys Don't Cry.: Discovery Service for Los Medanos College

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This web gives descriptive analysis of the plot of this film. It gives deeper info about each character in the film and their development.

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Boys Don't Cry (1999) on IMDb: Plot summary, synopsis, and more...

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"I'm Trapped and I Can't Get Out!" An Analysis of Gender and Sex in the Case of Brandon Teena

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"I'm Trapped and I Can't Get Out!" An Analysis of Gender and Sex in the Case of Brandon Teena

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This article goes deeper into the film and gives off connection. Gives evidence of how these films shows that discrimination and hate crimes exist.

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One is Too Many: A Review of Boys Don’t Cry 

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One is Too Many: A Review of Boys Don’t Cry 

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This article gives constructive review about the film. Discusses mainly about the development of the masculinity in the protagonist.

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Dives into the analysis of the character and how the protagonist developed their true identity. Furthermore, the article contains evidence from the film to give connections.