Links round-up

Posted by Lashings of Ginger Beer Time

GLAAD reports: Boy Scouts of America are now ‘actively considering’ lifting the ban on gay Scouts and Scout leaders. Hooray! Meanwhile, the Girl Scouts of America (who provide comprehensive sex ed, teach girls about LGBTQ+ history and accept trans* girls) continue to be awesome.

Copyright vs. Shakespeare: Barry Deutsch presents a snarky look at what might have happened if writers in the early modern period had received the same treatment from the legal system as those creating responsive works today.

[NSFW] Garfunkel and Oates: ‘The Loophole’ (aka ‘F--- Me In The Ass ‘Cause I Love Jesus’) (warning: link is to video). Very silly and extremely rude song parodying abstinence-only education and ‘purity’ campaigns. TW for (parodies of) slut-shaming and discussion of religious misogyny.

Brighton and Hove City Council (who have recently been hitting the news for their formal acceptance of gender-neutral title ‘Mx’) publish the final report from their investigation into how better to support trans residents of Brighton.

Womanist Musings discusses the implications of vile American pundit Ann Coulter’s claim that people of colour are primarily to blame for gun violence.

Following the much reported-on gang rape in Delhi, a gathering in Bangalore sees men wearing skirts and raising awareness about violence against women. From their statement:

Why does wearing a skirt make a difference? It's a satirical take on the issue to draw attention to the absurd idea that what a woman wears invites sexual assault. Wear that skirt as a symbol of your support to a woman’s right to wear what she wants, be who she is, exercise her rights, and be safe in her city. Nothing shows more solidarity with women than breaking barriers and boundaries of 'his and hers.

For anyone who missed the media storm over Suzanne Moore, Julie Burchill, and trans issues, there is now a timeline at Trans Media Action which is still being updated. We also recommend this piece by Marko Attila Hoare on the straw men used when arguing for ‘the right to offend’.

January’s edition of The Academic Feminist features an interview with Dr. Elizabeth R. Johnson, who discusses how feminism has influenced her research into biomimicry.

BBC News’ William Kremer offers a really interesting brief sociocultural history of the high heel - from its original purpose as a practical shoe for mounted soldiers to its current status as a fetishised signifier of femininity.

Laurie Penny at the New Statesman takes on the internet’s culture of misogynist abuse.

Finally, this Monday sees a global day of action organised by Idle No More, a grassroots Canadian movement for environmental sustainability and restoring land rights to First Nations people.