Shervin Assari, University of Michigan In the wake of the deluge of news about sexual harassment and alleged assaults by several high-profile and powerful men, it is important to look at the causes and consequences of forced sex in the workplace – but also in intimate relationships. Although forced sex by a boss and by an intimate partner considerably differ, they have these two things in common: They both disempower women and make women sick. Sex is a double-edged sword. It enhances our well-being and boosts our relationships if it is consented. It becomes detrimental, however, if it is forced.…
Author: Pride Team
My Dear Daughter, Please do not waste your energy reacting to every bad thing that happens to you as this can only serve to drain you and stop you from seeing the other good things happening in your life and in life in general. Also learning not to react to things that upset you ensures that you do not give someone else power over your emotions. My dear, you can’t control what others do but you can control how you respond, how you handle it, how you perceive it and how much of it you want to take personally. Another…
The problem of rape is a widespread one. In a society like ours, victims – who are mostly women – of this heinous act seldom speak out because of the unfortunate cultural stigma and the fear of being disbelieved. (It gets more complicated when the alleged rapist is a man in power.) We’ve chosen our Woman Crush Wednesday, Busola Dakolo, wife of singer, Timi Dakolo, for her bravery despite the odds stacked up against her. A few days ago Busola granted an interview where she opened up about a rape incident that happened when she was 18 years old. The…
Suleman Ibrahim Lazarus, University of Greenwich Singers use artistic conventions to construct marketable music personas. But that’s not the full picture. In the US, for example, most American hip-hop and rap songs are also a reflection of the artistes’ living experiences and social communities. These mainly involve gang violence, street hustling and thug life. The late rapper, Notorious B.I.G., summarised a part this succinctly in his song “Juicy”: Yea, this album is dedicated to all the teachers that told me I’d never amount to nothing, to all the people that lived above the buildings that I was hustling in front…
Leila Patel, University of Johannesburg; Lauren Graham, University of Johannesburg, and Zoheb Khan, University of Johannesburg The picture in South Africa is a bleak one for the average 15 – 24 year old. Many have finished their schooling with a qualification of little value in the eyes of employers. And they lack the basic skills that employers now need. The result is that a staggering 39,6% (narrow definition) or 55,2% (expanded definition which includes those who have stopped actively looking for work) are unemployed. South Africa has grappled with high unemployment for many years and the private sector, civil society…
Holy Humour We hear you The church council met to discuss the pastor’s compensation package for the coming year. After the meeting, the chair of the council told the pastor: “We are very sorry, Pastor, but we decided that we cannot give you a raise next year.” “But you must give me a raise,” said the pastor. “I am but a poor preacher!” “l know,” the council chair said. “We hear you every Sunday.” Sunday Quote So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence. – Bertrand Russel Sunday Joke …
Reading 1 2 Cor 5:14-21 Brothers and sisters: The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have…
Ernest Foo, Griffith University Cryptocurrencies have become a global phenomenon in the past few years. Now Facebook is launching it’s own cryptocurrency, in association with Visa, MasterCard, Uber and others. The stated aim of Libra is to “enable a simple global currency and financial infrastructure that empowers billions of people”. The announcement has sparked fears that Libra could be a threat to traditional banks, warnings to be cautious, and sceptical commentary of claims that it will help developing countries. But let’s go back to the basics and look at what Libra is, how it compares to other cryptocurrencies and whether…
Elena Merenda, University of Guelph-Humber and Nikki Martyn, University of Guelph-Humber In Ontario, Education Minister Lisa Thompson recently announced she will be consulting with education partners on the possibility of removing hard caps on class sizes. Kindergarten classes are capped at 29 and grades 1, 2 and 3 have a cap of 23 students. Regular caps could sometimes be higher due to children moving in and out of a class. There are many particular reasons why both teachers and students won’t do as well with larger class sizes. For example, more children means less time for teachers to attend to…
Paul Simpson, Edge Hill University and Michael Richards, Edge Hill University Men are bad at looking after their health, or so the received wisdom goes. Indeed, evidence has shown that men have significantly higher death rates than women from cancer due to delays in seeking medical help. These doctor-avoiding tendencies have also been shown to be more common among working-class men – who are thought to place more emphasis on “toughness” and are more inclined to take risks when it comes to smoking and drinking. But there is evidence that questions some of these “macho” stereotypes. Men are beginning to…