Forced Marriage can "Correct" Gay Men

The U.K.'s Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) reports that there was a 65% increase in the calls reporting cases of men in forced marriage in 2009. The unit received 134 calls and emails in 2008, but the following year, FMU received 220 calls and emails reporting male victims.

Last year, men in Britain made up a 14% of the 1,682 forced marriage cases total reported. However, under-reporting has led FMU to believe that there could be a total of 10,ooo British citizens in forced marriage. In addition, they estimate that 20% of these cases involve a male victim.

According to Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne, men find it harder than women to ask for help when faced with forced marriage. With few men coming forward, young men between the age of 15 and 24 years continue to face physical and sexual violence, confinement and at times, being sent to other countries for not complying with their families' wishes.

Why is this happening to men? Hasn't forced marriage usually been a problem for women?

While many think of forced marriage as a crime that occurs against women, men also experience this form of human trafficking. Unsurprisingly, men are subjected to forced marriage because they are gay or their families believe that they might be gay. Reinforcing the societal expectation of heterosexuality, families use forced marriage as a means to "correct" a man's sexual orientation.

I also just want to point out that homosexuality is one reason that some women have been subjected to forced marriage. There is no reason that anyone, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation (or any other reason!), should be forced into marriage.

Photo Credit: BBC News

Elmo can make everything better... (well, almost)

As someone who went to bed very hopeful about Maine, waking up to contradictory headlines was not an easy thing. Assuming that many of you are in the same zombie-drone-combo state as myself, I figured a good googly-eyed, pick-me-up was in order. Here we go:

Today the beloved children's educational television show Sesame Street turned 40 (*necessary Count Von Count laugh: HA HA HA!*) While the show is most often recognized as one of the more adorably fluffy ways to learn about counting or sharing, it is its strong stance on social awareness and incredibly progressive approach to education that makes it special.

From its conception, Sesame Street made a point to not just teach, but show and normalize an urban, multi-racial environment that apparently did not exist in TVland at the time. I mean, with the time's popular shows like Lassie, Beverly Hillbillies, the Brady Bunch and I Dream of Jeannie, you'd never guess there was a Civil Rights Movement!

Subtly pushing an underlining of social consciousness along with the learning tools, the show intentionally included interracial couples, strong female figures (particularly after talks with NOW) and age-appropriate conversations about September 11th and Hurricane Katrina.

Even Big Bird's revealing of Snuffleupagus to the adults had a hidden message, as it proved to kids that parents will believe them if they tell secrets, a lesson aimed at any child viewer who had experienced or was experiencing sexual assault.

With guests like Ralph Nader, Michelle Obama, Oprah and Ray Charles, the show has grown to become an international staple; causing moms to publicly take out other moms for a Tickle Me Elmo during the Christmas of 1997 and more "mature" adults like myself to still get the warm and fuzzies.

In feminism and equality, I present to you these classic clips:

Jesse Jackson:

Feminism of Today: Girls of the World

Feminism of the past (although the message still applies): Women can be anything!

Movie Review: Playground.

Where does child prostitution happen? Why does child prostitution happen? Is it a problem Americans have to worry about?

The majority of Americans would probably not like to think about child prostitution as an issue that we have to worry about; we would prefer to maintain the ideas that it happens in other countries, that the only people who have to worry about their children being kidnapped for exploitation are those who are poor or come from impoverished families. But, as the new documentary "The Playground" points out, not only are they wrong, but the mindset of cheerful ignorance helps fuel the robust domestic child prostitution trade.

"The Playground" demonstrates that children in every city are being forced into prostitution and pornography across the nation, from every class and racial demographic. It interviews law enforcement officers, social workers, victims of trafficking, committed sex offenders, and investigators and through their testimonies uncovers startling facts about the domestic child sex trade.

Children as young as 11 are being forced into the sex trade--being arrested for being part of a trade that was forced on them while the "john" that rapes them goes free. (Think about it: if she weren't a prostitute, her rapist would be deemed a pedophile and would be prosecuted as such.)

The Sex Offender registry is so bloated (in some states 6-year olds are being registered as sex offenders) that actual dangerous sex offenders AREN'T LISTED, and can get away with crimes.

By looking at tragic statistics, the viewer must re-examine their understanding of the American legal system, its foster care system, and the American culture--which various interviewees claimed promoted the child sex trade on account of its sexualization of women and children.

For more about the documentary, check out http://www.playgroundproject.com/film/
For more about child sex trafficking, check out http://www.sharedhope.org/

Photo Credit: striatic on flickr.com

DC feminists - hating on domestic violence

DVRP is fab, please support them! They're also hiring PAID bilingual advocates, so apply by 8/25! More here.

Event announcement:

Please join the Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project (DVRP) for a Yard Sale and Bake Sale to support survivors of domestic violence in the greater D.C. area. We are selling a ton of stuff - lots of clothes, books, baby items, shoes, bags, furniture, etc.

Here are the details:

Date: Sunday, August 23, 2009
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Location: Corner of 18th Street, NW and Columbia Road, NW in Adams Morgan. In front of SunTrust Bank.

A little about DVRP:
DVRP’s mission is to address and prevent domestic violence in Asian/Pacific Islander communities in the Washington, DC metropolitan area through a three-pronged approach:

To ensure that abused A/PI women have access to culturally and linguistically responsive resources in order to make their own life choices;

To raise awareness about the problem of domestic violence; and

To unite A/PI communities against domestic violence.

We will have more information about DVRP at the yard sale and information about donations, volunteer opportunities, and upcoming events. You can also visit DVRP's website at www.dvrp.org.

Photo credit: bobster855 on Flickr

Burger King? More Like Burger Bigot...

I debated over calling any attention to this ad just because I did not want it getting any extra airtime on my account... but then I figured that our audience would be so appalled by it that it would not do anything positive for Burger King.

Anyway, the ad speaks for itself, and I for one am absolutely appalled by the fact that Burger King's marketing department is comprised entirely of sexist idiots. This woman looks like she walked straight out of Stepford and into this ad. What is most alarming to me is the fact that she does not look happy or excited at all; in fact, she looks scared...

I can picture the meeting wherein the BK bigots decided to use this ad. "Hm... maybe endorsing rape is the best way to sell more BK value meals..." This makes me sick.

The BK motto is "Have it your way." I do not know about you, but this is certainly not the way I want to be marketed to... (And this is not the first sexist ad that the company has used. Just Google it.) So join me in a letter-writing campaign to BK. Tell them that this is not "your way," and then take your business elsewhere. This ad did succeed in blowing my mind away, and it took my desire to ever eat at Burger King again with it...

Tiny Mini-Me Kid Terrorist Soldiers: The Explorers' Program

If you thought that our country couldn't get anymore high off of fighting terrorism...think again! The New York Times reported Wednesday on a unique coeducational training program called The Explorers in affiliation with the Boy Scouts of America. This program is designed to equip teens with skills in combating terrorism, strengthening border control, and halting "illegal immigration." 

At first glance, this may seem like nothing more than a modernized military experience for the young scouts; however the description of training activities can paint a pretty disturbing picture of the ways in which our youth are being advised to view our country's most sensitive political issues.  The Explorers offer examples of scouts "chasing down illegal border crossers", practicing drug smuggling raids on a simulated marijuana field, to "rescuing hostages from a bus taken over by terrorists" dressed in "traditional Arab dress" all while toting airsoft, plastic pellet shooting guns. 

Though I'm not against the notion of educating young people on diplomatic, peace and conflict resoultion strategies to confront issues of immigration, drug and human trafficking, and national/global security; I'm especially disguisted with the reinforcement of racist, hyper-masculine, violent indoctrination imposed on young women and men who may ultimately continue to uphold archiac, destructive political ideals.

In the words of Whitney Houston, "I believe the children are our future. Teach 'em well and let them lead the way." Well, that depends on who's doing the teaching.

Peace.