Culture and Arts

Jo Freeman writes: One of the most striking aspects of the protests against putting Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court was how quickly the issue of sexual assault went viral. There are many reasons to not want Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court but that’s the one that caught fire. Another striking aspect was that 90% of the people who turned out to protest, at least in DC where I participated in those protests, were women. They were mostly older women, not the younger ones who usually populate protests. more »

None of the new laws ban the use of nondisclosure agreements for sexual abuse and harassment outright — proponents say some victims might want to protect their privacy after an incident. But some laws do bar using the agreements at hiring, and others ensure NDAs can’t stop victims from coming forward in criminal proceedings. In Washington, state lawmakers approved a package of bills targeting NDAs that cover sexual abuse and harassment, and employers there will no longer be able to require people to sign them as a condition for employment. Existing contracts will be considered void. more »

Rose Madeline Mula wrote: Shakespeare was wrong, by the way. “To be or not to be?” is not the question — especially for a Catholic, like me, for whom “not to be” — i.e., suicide — is not an option. No, the real question is “To drive or not to drive?” If I can hold out until self-driving cars are readily available, that could solve my problem. Hurry up, technology! more »

Jo Freeman Writes: Hundreds showed up for the standard pre-protest training at a nearby hotel, they were told that the real action would be on the steps on the east front of the U.S. Capitol. Shouting "Sexual Predators on the Court, Hell no, We Don’t Support," they role-played getting arrested and discussed how much resistance or non-cooperation to offer. The crowd was told that the Capitol cops had barricaded the Capitol steps to keep protestors from occupying them. They were told to go to Hart atrium instead. An hour later a fraction of those thousands had gone through the security screeners. Several offices, probably of Democratic Senators, also displayed signs in their windows saying such things as "We Believe Survivors" and "Kava NO." more »