There has been a lot of things going on in the news and @vagibond and I are here to give you the latest scoop!
1) “Radical Gay Doctor” is the driving force behind NYC’s falling HIV Rate
NYC has been known to be the center of the AIDS crisis, and Dr. Demetre Daskalaskis is making a huge difference. Daskalaskis is openly gay making his contribution to the AIDS crisis a huge step for the LGBTQ+ community, as these individuals are one of the largest population groups affected by HIV/AIDS.
2) Amazon tests out new “Cashier-less” stores
As if technology couldn’t be any more advanced, Amazon is now testing out larger stores with everything but the cashier. Your anti-social dreams of not having to interact with human beings in the grocery store might actually come true.
3) Rania Youssef is charged for her “Revealing dress”
Youssef, an Egyptian actress, sported a lacy black dress, revealing most of her legs at the Cairo Film festival and was immediately reported by two lawyers by the names of Amro Abdelsalem and Samir Sabri. Sadly, this isn’t the first time an Egyptian woman has come under fire for their choice of clothing. Youssef quickly apologized on social media claiming she that she wasn’t aware of how revealing it would look.
4) The World’s First “plus-size” Male Model
Zach Miko is the first male model that is plus size and signed a major agency known as IMG. This is so great to see happening as the fashion industry is centered more so on women, it is not often we discuss body positivity for men. In an interview, Miko spoke on his new job and said: “I think men want to see a normal-looking guy modeling their clothes”. I think this is a good sign that we are understanding that not all bodies are the same and not all clothes fit everybody the same. Congrats Zach!
At Osseo Senior High in Minnesota, a transgender teen was going to the bathroom in the girl’s restroom when she was abruptly interrupted. In a video, she posted on social media we see her sitting on the toilet in the bathroom stall with her pants around her ankles while she is saying “I’m in the bathroom”. We then see someone using a yardstick to move the metal lock and unlock the door. The door then swings open and we see what seems to be various faculty members as well as either a police officer or security guard. This violation of privacy is completely unacceptable and a bit sketchy once the Principal of the school released his statement that was excessively vague. Whether it was a form of discrimination or an incident not relating to that it was still NOT okay. This young teen was violated and harassed no matter the reasoning and that is not acceptable ever.
A few weeks ago there was a brutal attack on a Jewish synagogue in Pittsburg, PA. The gunman yelled anti-semitic things as he opened fire on the congregation. Members of the Jewish community and all other religions joined together at the synagogue to remember the ones that were lost and to celebrate their culture through lighting the menorah on Hanukkah on Sunday night, the first night of Hanukkah. I attended a Hanukkah celebration at JMU on Sunday night and after reading about Pittsburg I was much more aware of the police officer placed outside the event. A question I pose, because of this, is do you feel safe expressing your religion freely?
This has been your weekly dose of everything happening in the news with @poisedinpink16 and @vagibond1…We hope you enjoyed our weekly wrap up and maybe even learned something new!
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
So like, honestly, the cashier-less stores freak me out a little, but it’s the future I guess? Also, the dress? It’s wild but that’s definitely a culture difference. I think the dress is beautiful! But to them, that may be a bit much. I wish it wasn’t, but again, culture differences. Female liberation is something to watch for, but I’m interested to understand the ways they’ve understood the position of women, even celebrities. Would she have known the dress would cause uproar, or wouldn’t she have, considering she lives there? I’m not sure. Either way, sad.
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Well a lot of these stories are more worrisome, but I’m glad to see the bit about the plus sized male model! Beauty standards for women are of course a huge problem, encouraging women to be thinner than humanly possible, and not to discount that problem at all, but the representation of “attractive” men in the media is also problematic. It contributes to toxic masculinity and the idea that men have to be nothing but muscle and must have broad shoulders and narrow hips, which is simply not how a lot of men are built. I’m glad to see the fashion industry starting to take the same steps to properly represent both women and men, because honestly, men and women are much more similar than we typically think. All genders are susceptible to the messages the media sends, and all people have insecurities because of it. Hopefully at some point in the future we can start thinking of more issues in terms of human problems rather than men’s problems or women’s problems.
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