Sex and Sexism Links

In South Carolina, one man shot and killed a teenager in the mistaken belief he was shooting at the female bullies who’d threatened his daughter. He got off using Stand Your Ground.  However when a woman stabs her abusive boyfriend in self-defense, state prosecutors object that this is a total distortion of the Stand Your Ground principle and shouldn’t be allowed.

•A long, detailed look at the aggrieved mindset and supposed issues behind Gamergate (which I’ve written about before), which the author sees as stemming from the same resentments that fuel the Tea Party. Echidne adds some thoughts.

•California law now requires colleges dealing with rape/harassment accusations to use a standard of affirmative consent—someone has to give assent, even if it’s non-verbal. This freaks a lot of people out, but Jessica Valenti says it’s not going to make relationships that complicated. LGM looks at some legal issues. That blog also tackles another debate over consent.

I will say, contrary to Valenti, that it’s quite possible to think someone’s into you and interested in making love (or making out or whatever) when they’re not. I wasn’t very good at reading sexual signals at all (I can think of a few times in college they flew right over my head) and I suspect I’m not alone. But there’s no way that would have justified me jumping someone because I was sure they wanted it. Double-checking, getting a clear go signal, I think these are good things.