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How Toxic Masculinity Is Fueling School Shootings

May 23, 2018

How Toxic Masculinity Is Fueling School Shootings

Last week, news of another mass shooting at an American high school broke, this time at Santa Fe High School in Texas. 10 people died in the attack, and the gunman was taken into custody. According to the mother of one of the victims, her daughter had recently rejected the shooter after he had stalked her and refused to accept no for an answer for 4 months. A week later, he killed her, 7 of her classmates, and two teachers. 13 others were wounded in the attack. Many news o

Abuse Is Not Romantic

Jan 11, 2017

Abuse Is Not Romantic

America, we have a problem when it comes to our media — and it isn’t just the spread of fake news. In 2017 and throughout modern history, American pop culture has used abusive behavior as a shortcut for romance. The prevalence of this type of relationship dynamic is as startling as it is damaging. A new hit movie, Passengers, is just the latest in a long line of movies, books and television shows that glamorize unhealthy, abusive relationships. In the movie, the male lead (

Blackburn 101: Stalking

Jul 20, 2016

Blackburn 101: Stalking

When people think of gender violence, they may think of crimes involving physical violence, such as sexual assault or domestic abuse. While stalking may not immediately spring to mind, it is a serious crime that can absolutely devastate its victims — even if it does not involve a single instance of physical violence. Stalking can take many forms, but at its heart, it’s a pattern of behavior that makes you feel scared, anxious, harassed, or as though you’re in danger. It inc

What Do You Do When Your Hero May Be An Abuser?

Jan 20, 2016

What Do You Do When Your Hero May Be An Abuser?

Last week, the world mourned the passing of David Bowie. As his legions of fans paid tribute to the legendary rock star, many pointed out that Bowie was a rapist — and that he shouldn’t be celebrated. According to a woman named Lori Mattix, she lost her virginity to Bowie in the 1970’s— when she was 15 and he was in his 20’s. This is statutory rape — and the story is highly troubling, even if she describes the encounter as consensual. Many fans struggled with how to proces

Dec 23, 2015

Baby, It’s Cold Outside?

In recent years, many have questioned whether one classic Christmas song — Baby, It’s Cold Outside — should be retired. With lyrics that suggest a drugged drink (“Say, what’s in this drink?”) and banter that could be read as coercion, it isn’t hard to see this song as problematic when viewed with a modern lens. Others defend the song as being a product of its time (1940s), a flirtatious song that is really about a woman who wants to be convinced to stay. Last week, Funny o

Blackburn 101: Primary Prevention

Dec 1, 2015

Blackburn 101: Primary Prevention

If you follow our website or social media, you have probably seen the phrase “primary prevention.” We use it quite often to talk about our work, particularly with regards to how we hope to end domestic and sexual violence. This is different from past strategies, which focused more on raising awareness and providing services. So what exactly does primary prevention mean? An analogy may help to illustrate this concept. Picture an old house with equally old, likely dangerous

Stop Calling It Sex

Nov 11, 2015

Stop Calling It Sex

At least once a week, we see a headline in the local or national news discussing the latest case of child sexual assault (or rape). Invariably, these articles will refer to the accused “having sex with” the minor. This sort of story is seen routinely in newspapers and online media across the country, from reports about Jared Fogle to local stories about teachers raping students. When media outlets use this phrase, they are implicitly calling into question whether the child

Oct 6, 2015

Terrence Howard, Sean Penn, and Why We Celebrate Men Who Abuse Women

Have you seen the hit show Empire? In many ways, it’s an incredible show, with strong female lead characters (especially Taraji P. Henson as Cookie Lyon) and a dedication to address issues such as homophobia and mental illness. Yet for all of that, there is one major reason to not watch this show…one of its main characters, Lucious Lyon, is a sexist, homophobic abusive man, who happens to be played by an actor (Terrence Howard) with a long history of abusing women. The crea

Jul 29, 2015

Rape Culture Is When...

In recent weeks, it’s become apparent to just about everybody that Bill Cosby is a serial rapist. The first known rape occurred in the 1960’s. By 2015, 46 women had publicly accused him of rape. Many people didn’t want to believe that any of this could be true until 3 weeks ago, when Cosby’s deposition in a 2005 case became public — including his shocking admission that he obtained drugs to give to women that — in his words — he wanted to have sex with (the reality is that a

#NewAmericanSpirit

Jul 1, 2015

#NewAmericanSpirit

As the Fourth of July approaches, many of us reminiscence about what it means to be an American. There is a lot to love about our country, and many things that make America great. But despite this, we struggle to overcome certain problems. One of the primary challenges facing our country is our culture of violence. This violence takes many forms, from the racist acts of terrorism in Charleston to school shootings to politically motivated attacks. These acts of violence are

May 6, 2015

On Floyd Mayweather & Glorifying Domestic Violence

This past Saturday, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. fought Manny Pacquiao in what was billed as the Fight of the Century. 16,507 people watched the match live, paying upwards of $40,000 for ringside seats, and it is estimated that well over 2.5 million people bought the fight on pay-per-view. All together, the fight is projected to bring in over $300 million dollars in revenue (60% of which will go to the winner, Mayweather). No doubt about it — boxing is a popular sport. But what

Feb 25, 2015

50 Shades of Media Hurts

Recently, there has been quite a lot of attention focused on the 50 Shades of Gray movie and books, with bloggers, activists, pundits and religious leaders decrying the clearly abusive and degrading relationship portrayed between the lead characters. One of our favorite posts highlighted how certain aspects of the story didn’t show love or romance — they showed abuse. For example, “If he monitors your phone calls and threatens you with physical harm because another man calls

Jan 1, 2015

New Beginnings

Welcome, 2015! At Blackburn Center, we are excited to begin a new year, with all of the promise of new beginnings. Our resolution for the new year is simple: to continue in our mission to advocate for the rights of all individuals to live free from domestic and sexual violence in their homes and communities, by eliminating the root causes of this violence and providing for the well-being and safety of survivors/victims. We also plan to expand our outreach efforts through o

Dec 10, 2014

We Must Believe Victims

Last month, Rolling Stone printed an explosive story of a gang rape at a University of Virginia fraternity, which quickly became the focus of national outrage. This weekend, Rolling Stone retracted their story, citing discrepancies between the victim’s story and facts later unearthed by other news organizations. The retraction set off a wave of commentary, with many questioning whether the woman featured in the story, “Jackie,” had even been raped. Without a doubt, the fail

Nov 18, 2014

It’s Time to End Pick Up Artist Culture

If you follow pop culture, you may have heard of a community of men known as pick up artists — or PUAs — who give advice in books, online and on TV shows on how to “score” with women. While they may claim to just want to help lonely men be more successful in relationships, the reality of their advice is far more sinister. Recently, a PUA named Julien Blanc made international news when — thanks to pressure from activists — Australia revoked his visa and he was forced to leave

Nov 5, 2014

It's Not A Compliment

It’s Not A Compliment It’s an experience that almost all women have had at some point in their lives: walking down the street, minding their own business, and being subjected to whistles, catcalls, verbal commentary on their looks, or even assault. Street harassment has long been a part of life for many American women — but widespread attention to the issue may bring about a change by starting a dialogue about why it’s problematic. What exactly is street harassment? It’s a f

Sep 15, 2014

Start Asking the Right Questions.

The NFL has been all over the news lately, and NOT because of football. Instead, the NFL is once again facing serious public outrage over its handling of Ray Rice’s violent assault of his then-fiancée (now wife) Janay Palmer. The most recent headlines have made it clear that it isn’t just the NFL that has a problem with domestic violence — it’s our culture as a whole. A quick recap: this incident began in February 2014, when a video emerged of Rice dragging his unconscious

Memory Does Not Define Rape

Sep 4, 2014

Memory Does Not Define Rape

Singer Cee-Lo Green recently made headlines after pleading no contest to supplying a woman with Ecstasy; these charges arose from an incident where the same woman claimed that he spiked her drink, and that she woke up naked in his room. She immediately went to the police, and recorded a phone call with the singer where he admitted giving her the drug. Green maintains that the sex was consensual. But it was what Cee-Lo did after his plea deal that really raised eyebrows: he

What's So Bad About "Domestic Dispute"?

Aug 25, 2014

What's So Bad About "Domestic Dispute"?

If you’re on Twitter, you may have noticed that we are on a mission. Each day, we tweet at various news organizations who use the term “domestic dispute” to describe various acts of violence. We have engaged with several media outlets, and been ignored by many — but we keep plugging away, news story by news story, to raise awareness and to perhaps shed some light on why we find this phrase so offensive. “Domestic dispute” is used by the media as a descriptor for any number of

What a Difference A Toy Can Make!

Aug 14, 2014

What a Difference A Toy Can Make!

Far too often, children’s toys are divided along gender lines — especially when it comes to toys for girls. If you walk into many toy stores today, you will see a clear separation of toys for girls and toys for boys: with girls’ toys largely come in shades of pink and purple, with a heavy emphasis on things like motherhood, homemaking and fashion/beauty. Even childhood mainstay Lego has gotten in on the gender division, with a special line of pink and purple legos for girls

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