ShoutOut! Bloggers are slowly but surely getting back in the swing of things, and we welcomed in the first week of February with a collaborative Newsroom. Our bloggers ran the gamut of topics — everything from Superbowl Halftime Herstorical Moments to biting some dude’s tongue off when he doesn’t get that consent is revocable… Keep reading and find out what ShoutOut 2020 is talking about this week!
Global News
As a follow-up to our newsroom last week, here’s an update on Coronavirus. The mortality rate for the virus so far appears to be 2% of those infected, which is encouraging as infected patients recover and leave the hospitals. However, the economy has already started to feel the effect, with stocks plunging in mainland China and to a lesser extent lowering in regional markets as well. Food shortage concerns have been alleviated by government responses that there is plenty of food, and that medical supplies were being replenished. China has criticized the US travel ban response for “creating and spreading fear” rather than helping efforts to control coronavirus, which comes amid a spike in xenophobia worldwide against the Chinese due to fears they may be carrying the virus. For more information, check out this updated New York Times article.
story via @missworldwidexoxo
National News
Rock Out with Your Caucuses Out:
As you may know, the Iowa Caucuses are tonight at 8 p.m. This marks the first contest of the Presidential Primary elections and is going to be pretty important as this event tends to indicate how the presidential candidates will do in the elections. Read more here.
story via @thetravelinggfeminist
Utah Bans Conversion Therapy:
As of recent, Utah is the 19th state to ban conversion therapy! This is pretty surprising given that 90% of Utah’s lawmakers and 60% of the population are LDS (Lang).
Read more here.
story via @nbqueen1
Detroit Woman Bites Off Man’s Tongue
A woman in Detroit bit off an inch of a man’s tongue after being he forcefully inserted his tongue in her mouth. The kiss was initially consensual and after being taken to the hospital, the woman was taken into police custody without further incident.
story via @achilleswasbi
Pop Culture
A Herstorical Moment
On Sunday, February 2, 2020, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira performed at the Super Bowl. You may be wondering, “Hm why is this an incredible and herstorical moment?”
- Latinx Representation matters.
- Representation of women matters.
- According to a tweet from NBC news, they’d also believe this was an iconic moment….“Jennifer Lopez and Shakira deliver high energy performance at Super Bowl halftime show, making history as the first Latinas to headline the event.” –NBC News
story via @silentstormmmm
So What is Victoria’s Secret’s Secret?
Recently, news has broken out that there have been dark secrets that have been buried under the lingerie brand, Victoria’s Secret. There have been two top executives within the parent company of Victoria’s Secret, known as L Brands, that have sexually harassed and assaulted the models and employees of Victoria’s Secret. As the models and employees have reported these incidents, they started to lose their jobs and had their ties to the brand severed. Ed Razek, one of the top executives at L Brands, was accused of trying to kiss models, asked them to sit on his lap, and touched a model’s crotch ahead of the 2018 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. When in a Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show fitting, multiple witnesses had also said that Razek asked a model, Bella Hadid, if she was allowed to walk “down the runway with [her] perfect breasts.”
Prior to the sexual assault accusations coming to light, the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show has been under controversy for not having a wider diversity of models walking their coveted runway. There have been calls for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show to include plus-size models, models with different gender identities, and genders of varying skin colors– however, these calls have fallen onto deaf ears. Les Wexner, the founder of L Brands, has rejected the inclusion of different models and reportedly said in a meeting, “Nobody goes to a plastic surgeon and says, ‘Make me fat.”
Controversy after controversy, Victoria’s Secret has faced a fall in sales, and I hope they get the message and find new management that embodies the message that Victoria’s Secret tries to sell to their customers.
story via @nastywoman21
Terry Crews’ sorry ass apology to THE Gabrielle Union
Getty Images / TODAY
On Friday, January 31 we received a Twitter press release from actor and America’s Got Talent host Terry Crews. If you haven’t heard the controversy already, in early December it was reported that actress and AGT judge, Gabrielle Union came forth with allegations of experiencing a toxic work environment, specifically via sexism and racially insensitive. She called out comedian Jay Leno when he made a racially insensitive joke about Asians, and also recalls being told on 12 different occasions that her hairstyles were “too black”. Gabrielle being the advocating queen she is, called out and expressed her experiences to the higher up executives. And what did they do? Not renew her contract. Union received a lot of support from her fans, especially since speaking out against the higher ups, especially as a black woman is a bold move to make.
So fast forward to January 23rd when Crews appeared on the Today show. In his interview the hosts asked about the now controversy going on with Union in her fight with NBC execs. He responded by saying, “I can’t speak for sexism because I’m not a woman, but I can speak on any racism comments,” Crews said. “That was never my experience. In fact, it was the most diverse place I have ever been in my 20 years of entertainment.” He went on to say how the participants were from various demographics and represented multiple identities, however the point that Union was making was that those behind the cameras such as executives, and hair stylists were not of a diverse makeup of people.
Not only does this belittle and discredit Union as a woman, it discredits her as a black woman. Not to mention that even though she was not there, she publicly supported Crews in his sexual harassment claims, something where he only saw support from BLACK women. Lets just say in closing, I loved Crews, but now he’s just tap dancing for the white men to keep that contract. As a black woman, I’m tired of us defending black men to have us thrown under the bus in return. Terry Crews, you can keep your apology. We all know it was just some sorry ass damage control.
With love,
Local / Campus
Come get a Meal of Theatre
JMU’s School of Theatre and Dance is putting on The Feast by Corey Finley. It is directed by Andrew Wantula and opens February 4th and runs through Saturday February 8th. There will be a matinee showing Saturday at 2:00pm, otherwise all shows art at 8:00. House opens thirty minutes before show time and tickets can be purchased either at the box office in the Forbes Center for Performing Arts or online at: https://www.jmuforbescenter.com/events/2020/02/04-the-feast.shtml . Here is the official JMU STAD synopsis if you are interested in learning more about the show:
Matt and Anna’s relationship is going swimmingly—until the sewers under their apartment open up and begin to speak. The plumber is angry, Matt’s paintings are getting stranger, and a storm is gathering. Join The Feast, an eerie comedy about what is real, what is not, and who knows the difference.
This show has some trigger warnings: Contains adult content, adult language, sexual content, and nudity (partial).
Come and support your local artists!
story via @afemmestheatrics
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