Category Archives: Rape

Publisher Concerns Over Priority Should Never Trump Learning More About Rape

Posted on May 2, 2016 by mikethemadbiologist

Does posting on PubPeer count as prior publication? Journal says yes, rejects letter rebutting campus sexual assault data Consider this a case study in when publishers’ prerogatives run roughshod over the needs of scientists–and society as a whole (boldface mine): … Continue reading →

Posted in Basic Human Decency, Ethics, Publishing, Rape | Comments Off on Publisher Concerns Over Priority Should Never Trump Learning More About Rape

Trigger Warnings Aren’t the Problem

Posted on June 5, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Leaving aside the reality of ‘trigger warnings’–they serve as much to prevent class discussions from being derailed by personal stories of trauma as they do to protect students’ feelings (e.g., preventing a rape survivor from having a meltdown during class)–it … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Rape | 1 Comment

Let’s Hold Accounts of Rape to the Standard As War Crime Reporting

Posted on December 6, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

By now, you might have heard that Rolling Stone has sort of, kind of retracted part of its story about campus rape at UVA because they don’t think their key source is credible. They then decided to release a statement … Continue reading →

Posted in Rape | 1 Comment

Connecting Two Stories

Posted on November 26, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

It’s hard to believe that police departments which have a predilection for shooting unarmed black men will prosecute campus (or ‘regular’) rape effectively. Incompetence, bias, and prejudice are usually not contained phenomena. Have a nice day.

Posted in Civil Liberties, Rape | 1 Comment

A Couple of Thoughts About the Rolling Stone UVA-Rape Article

Posted on November 23, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

By now, you might have come across this Rolling Stone article about rape at the University of Virginia. While I recommend it, it’s very graphic and horrifying (so you might not want to read it). Back when I was a … Continue reading →

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Dawkins and the Unscientific Arrogance of Mansplaining Rape

Posted on September 28, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

A recent column by Katha Politt, “Atheists Show Their Sexist Side: What is wrong with the men at the helm of the movement?” reminded me of this idiotic tweet by Richard Dawkins: Date rape is bad. Stranger rape at knifepoint … Continue reading →

Posted in Fucking Morons, Rape | 11 Comments

They Walk Among Us

Posted on August 12, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

A while ago, I proposed one reason why colleges attempt to downplay rape: In a study that surveyed college students, six percent of men admitted* to raping one or more people–two thirds admitted to sexually assaulting multiple people. Let’s say … Continue reading →

Posted in Rape | 2 Comments

Twenty Four Years Later, Nothing Has Changed Regarding Campus Rape

Posted on May 18, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

So you might have heard about a rapist list written on female bathrooms at colleges. Here’s the story: At the beginning of the school year, the Brown University library became a repository for information of a most unusual kind: on … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Rape | 1 Comment

Remind Me What We Fought For Again?

Posted on April 11, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Since the Tsarnaev brothers put the lie to the notion that ‘we’re fighting them over there, so we don’t have to fight them here’, how’s that other justification for the Iraq War doing? No, not weapons of mass destruction you … Continue reading →

Posted in Civil Liberties, Conservatives, Fucking Morons, Iraq, Rape | Comments Off on Remind Me What We Fought For Again?

The Math Behind Why Harvard and Other Universities Don’t Take Rape Seriously

Posted on April 5, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

A recent anonymous letter by a rape survivor at Harvard has been making the rounds. Jill Filipovich asks: Why aren’t schools like Harvard, with their vast financial and intellectual resources, with their leadership position at the very top of higher … Continue reading →

Posted in Rape | 3 Comments