College Course Reprimands White Heterosexual Masculinity

A class taught this spring at Ohio State University will review a parade of reasons why white heterosexual masculinity is allegedly problematic, tackling the topic from the constructs of racial issues, bullying, pop culture, societal expectations and much more, according to its syllabus.

The course, “Be a Man! Masculinities, Race and Nation,” includes a variety of readings to that end, including its required textbook “Dude, You’re a Fag!” by C.J. Pascoe, which analyzes masculinity as not only a gendered process, but sexual one, its Amazon description states.

Other assigned reading excerpts include: “Masculinity as Homophobia” by Michael Kimmel; “Advertising and the Construction of Violent White Masculinity” by Jackson Katz; “Dude Sex: Dudes Who Have Sex with Dudes” by Jane Ward; “Looking for My Penis” by Richard Fung; “Sodomy in the New World” by Jonathan Goldberg; and “Teaching Men’s Anal Pleasure” by Susan Stiritz.

The class is also expected to screen “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” the dashcam footage of Philando Castile’s murder, Key & Peele’s “Hoodie Skit,” and an episode of “The New Normal.”

The course is ultimately presented as a study in “feminist masculinity” that seeks to explain how ideas about masculinity “simultaneously harm yet privilege” men, the syllabus states. It also aims to explain how “beliefs regarding masculinity serve to justify certain kinds of violence by men against others, and violence against particular groups of men.” (Read more from “College Course Reprimands White Heterosexual Masculinity” HERE)

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Non-Believers Call on God in Times of Crisis, Poll Reveals

For many non-believers, it is an instinctive response to a crisis: “Please, God.” So perhaps it should not be surprising that a new survey has found that one in five adults pray despite saying they are not religious.

Just over half of all adults in the UK pray, and they are increasingly likely to call on God while engaged in activities such as cooking or exercising, according to the poll. Although one in three people pray in a place of worship, and a third pray before going to sleep or on waking, others combine prayer with daily activities. One in five pray while doing household chores or cooking, 15% pray while travelling, and 12% pray during exercise or other leisure pursuits.

Just under half of those who pray said they believed God hears their prayers, which suggests a slim majority feel their supplications are not answered. Four in ten go further, saying prayer changes the world; a similar number say it makes them feel better.

Family tops the list of subjects of prayers at 71%, followed by thanking God (42%), praying for healing (40%) and for friends (40%). Way down on the list comes global issues such as poverty or disasters, at 24%, according to the poll carried out by ComRes on behalf of the Christian aid agency, Tearfund.

Among the non-religious, personal crisis or tragedy is the most common reason for praying, with one in four saying they pray to gain comfort or feel less lonely. (Read more from “Non-Believers Call on God in Times of Crisis, Poll Reveals” HERE)

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Police: Muslim Girl Lied About Attack That Never Happened

An alleged attack against an 11-year-old girl where a man supposedly cut off her hijab while she walked to school last week, did not in fact happen, Toronto police say.

On Jan. 12, the girl told police that she was on her way to Pauline Johnson Junior Public School in Scarborough when a man dressed in black came up behind her. She said the suspect – described as an Asian man with a moustache — pulled off the hood to her jacket and cut off her hijab with a pair of blue-handled scissors before fleeing the area.

Toronto police responded and said they were investigating the alleged incident.

However police said Monday morning that after a thorough investigation, they don’t believe the incident happened.

“There was an extensive investigation Friday and over the weekend and quite simply, investigators came to the conclusion, considering all the evidence they had, that what was described did not happen,” police spokesman Mark Pugash said. (Read more from “Police: Muslim Girl Lied About Attack That Never Happened” HERE)

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The Latest Update on the Michigan Genital Mutilation Case Is Upsetting

A federal judge has dropped one of multiple charges against a Shia Muslim doctor in Detroit who is accused of mutilating the genitalia of five girls ranging in age from 7 to 11.

The judge said a “prohibited criminal act” is not the same as “criminal sexual activity,” reported WDIV-TV in Detroit report.

Jumana Nagarwala was charged, along with Fakhruddin Attar, following accusations the doctors performed the mutilations on the young girls, a practice they allege is part of the religious practice of Shia Islam.

The judge, Bernard Friedman, was condemned by Elizabeth Yore, a lawyer and the head of the non-profit group End FGM Today.

“We are very disappointed and troubled by the court’s dismissal of Count 6 of the indictment,” Yore said in a statement Monday. “The court, in its legalistic scrupulosity, argued that the government offered no convincing argument showing that the phrase ‘sexual activity,’ as used in the federal transportation of minors statute § 2423(a), is synonymous with the phrase ‘sexual conduct,’ as used in § 750.520b(1)(a).” (Read more from “The Latest Update on the Michigan Genital Mutilation Case Is Upsetting” HERE)

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New IVF Technique Uses Images of Embryos to Pick Best

A new IVF method that takes thousands of pictures of embryos to select the best eggs has increased the likelihood of a baby being born by 25 per cent.

The developing embryos are photographed while in incubators every 10 to 20 minutes and then sent to a computer to rank the eggs using algorithms.

Research including 24,000 documented treatments led by leading fertility expert Professor Simon Fishel compared IVF babies born with and without the new technique.

Parents Paul and Paula Chapman were the first to use the new approach which successfully led to the birth of their daughter Jaycie, three.

The couple, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, had been unable to conceive for two years and went to the Nottingham-based Care Fertility group to seek help. (Read more from “New IVF Technique Uses Images of Embryos to Pick Best” HERE)

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Are Skirts Next in Men’s Fashion?

In an era during which rules seem meant to be broken — and more and more people are calling for gender equality — it should surprise no one that the fashion world is the head cheerleader for change. Case in point: the Fall 2018 Menswear designers presenting a variety of skirts on their runways.

A wrap skirt paired with a matching jacket showed up at the Astrid Andersen show in London, as well as a flasher-worthy trench dress at Alex Mullins, and a a flirty full skirt bounced along at Bobby Abley.

(Read more from “Are Skirts Next in Men’s Fashion?” HERE)

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Judgement Day for Christian Street Preachers

A group of five Washington state Christian street preachers who received prior approval of their public evangelism efforts but were nevertheless charged criminally under the guise of violating a noise ordinance won dismissals with the assistance of a nonprofit First Amendment legal defense group.

Police in Washougal, Washington, cited the five for disturbing the peace outside a high school in November. The group obtained approval for their activities from a code enforcement officer prior to the incident.

The street preachers stood on a public sidewalk at the edge of the high-school parking lot, holding signs and speaking to students as they left school after classes had ended. A school resource officer of the Washougal Police Department confronted the street preachers, stating they were breaking the city noise ordinance and telling them the school did not welcome their “protesting.”

One of the criminally charged preachers, who is not named, reportedly spent many years under the iron grip of the former Soviet Union. He held a sign with a Bible verse, handed out gospel tracts to students, and told them, “Jesus loves you.” The aggressive reaction from the school and the police reminded him of similar harassment and complaints to the KGB in response to his preaching in Russia, his attorney said.

The group was successfully represented by Kevin Snider of the Pacific Justice Institute. All charges were dropped after Snider explained to the prosecuting attorney in detail the unconstitutionality of the city’s ordinance. (Read more from “Judgement Day for Christian Street Preachers” HERE)

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CNN Spins Another Fake News Narrative: Trump Lawyer Allegedly Paid Porn Star off in Return for Her Silence

By CNN. President Donald Trump’s longtime attorney denied that Trump had a sexual encounter with a porn star after a report by The Wall Street Journal on Friday alleged the lawyer helped facilitate a six-figure payment to the actress in October 2016 in exchange for her silence.

Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney, said the President “vehemently denies” the encounter, but did not address the alleged payment in a statement to CNN.

The story, which cites people familiar with the matter, says Cohen arranged a $130,000 payment to Stephanie Clifford — whose stage name is “Stormy Daniels” — a month ahead of the election. Cohen denies the sexual encounter took place.

CNN has not independently confirmed The Wall Street Journal’s reporting. (Read more from “Trump Lawyer Allegedly Paid Porn Star off in Return for Her Silence” HERE)

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Porn Star Was Reportedly Paid to Stay Quiet About Trump

By New York Times. A lawyer for President Trump orchestrated a $130,000 payment to a pornographic-film actress in October 2016 to prevent her from going public with claims of a consensual sexual encounter with Mr. Trump, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The reported payment came shortly before the presidential election and as the actress, Stephanie Clifford, 38, was discussing sharing her account with ABC’s “Good Morning America” and the online magazine Slate, according to interviews, notes and text messages reviewed by The New York Times.

Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief of the Slate Group, said on Friday that in a series of interviews with Ms. Clifford in August and October 2016, she told him she had an affair with Mr. Trump after meeting him at a 2006 celebrity golf tournament. She told him that Michael D. Cohen, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, had agreed during the presidential campaign to pay her the $130,000 if she kept the relationship secret, Mr. Weisberg said, adding that Ms. Clifford had told him she was tempted to go public because the lawyer was late in making the payment and she feared he might back out of their agreement. (Read more from “Porn Star Was Reportedly Paid to Stay Quiet About Trump” HERE)

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Facebook Blocks Funding for Major Pro-Life Movie

A crowdfunding site for a theatrical drama in production that promises to tell the “true story” of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that established a “right” to abortion has been blocked by Facebook.

The movie’s producer, Nick Loeb, told WND the content of the pro-life movie, which exposes Planned Parenthood’s roots in the eugenics movement, clearly is the reason for the censorship.

“They have even blocked people sharing the ads I paid for,” Loeb said. . .

Facebook has not responded to requests for an explanation.

Loeb told WND he and his colleagues are looking for a lawyer to take on the case. (Read more from “Facebook Blocks Funding for Major Pro-Life Movie” HERE)

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LGBT Fetish Underwear Designer Makes 9-Year-Old DRAG Queen ‘Covergirl’, Defends Actions

The designer behind an “LGBT luxury brand” is defending using a 9-year-old drag queen to advertise a sequined onesie alongside a “BDSM Bondage Leather Star and Chain Dress,” bondage-themed nipple pasties, and glittery anatomy-highlighting men’s underwear.

House of Mann, run by Brandon Hilton, is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based online shop that sells clothing and lingerie for drag queens and gay men. It uses “vegan leather,” sequins, and various bondage and sex motifs to make its products.

Nine-year-old Nemis Quinn Mélançon Golden, also known by his drag name “Lactatia,” became a sensation after appearing onstage at the Montreal stop of the “Werq the World Tour.” His mother, Jessica Mélançon, encourages Nemis to be a “drag queen.”

Breitbart and the Daily Caller originally sounded the alarm at Nemis named House of Mann’s “covergirl,” and being featured alongside “vegan leather harness jackets” and “fetish stripper boxer briefs.”

“If you can’t handle a kid in a sequin onesie, maybe the future isn’t for you,” Hilton tweeted in response. He said he “woke up to countless tweets telling me ‘kill yourself’ and calling me a ‘pedo’ after we announced 9 year old drag superstar Lactatia as our new HOUSE OF MANN covergirl.” (Read more from “LGBT Fetish Underwear Designer Makes 9-Year-Old DRAG Queen ‘Covergirl’, Defends Actions” HERE)

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