Open Thread and News Round-Up: Earthquake/Tsunami in Japan

The tsunami, seen crashing into homes in Natori, Miyagi prefecture.
[Kyodo News, via Associated Press, via New York Times.]
CNN's liveblog is here.

NYT has a video round-up here.

There are live news feeds here (from Japan) and here (from Hawaii).

New York Times—Huge Quake and Tsunami Hit Japan: "An earthquake of 8.9. magnitude struck off the coast of Japan on Friday, the strongest ever recorded in the country. The quake churned up a devastating tsunami that swept over cities and farmland in the northern part of the country and threatened coastal areas throughout the Pacific and as far away the west coast of the United States and South America.Fragmentary early reports of the toll indicate that hundreds of people have been killed. Japanese police officials told the Associated Press that 200 to 300 bodies were found in Sendai, a port city in the northeastern part of the country and the closest main city to the epicenter."

BBC—Tsunami hits Japan after massive quake: "Japan's NHK television showed a massive surge of debris-filled water sweeping away buildings, cars and ships and reaching far inland. Motorists could be seen trying to speed away from the wall of water. A passenger train with an unknown number of people aboard was missing in one coastal area, police told Kyodo. And a ship carrying 100 people was swept away, Japanese media reported, quoting police in Miyagi. It is not clear what happened to the vessel."

LA Times—Tsunami waves hitting Hawaii not unusually high: "Tsunami waves have reached Hawaii, but the first waves hitting the state are only about a foot higher than usual, according to officials and local news reports. ... There have been no immediate reports of widespread damage. Still, authorities said more tsunami waves were expected and it was too early to tell whether Hawaii would escape harm."

Coastal residents in California and Oregon are also advised to stay away from the beachfront this morning.

President Obama's statement: "Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the people of Japan, particularly those who have lost loved ones in the earthquake and tsunamis. The United States stands ready to help the Japanese people in this time of great trial. The friendship and alliance between our two nations is unshakable, and only strengthens our resolve to stand with the people of Japan as they overcome this tragedy. We will continue to closely monitor tsunamis around Japan and the Pacific going forward and we are asking all our citizens in the affected region to listen to their state and local officials as I have instructed FEMA to be ready to assist Hawaii and the rest of the US states and territories that could be affected."

Once the extent of the damage in Japan is better understood, and if/when aid is established, I'll pass on that info.

My condolences to those who have lost family, friends, colleagues, pets, property. My empathy to those who have lost contact and are still trying to find out if they've lost anyone or anything.

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The Overton Window: Chapter Forty-Five

[Trigger warning for torture.]

The best thing I can say about chapter forty-five is that there is no dialogue. So that's nice. The bad news is Noah gets waterboarded. It's all part of the three chapter arc detailing Noah's torture at the hands of ... whomever. I don't know. Darthur's PR firm? It's kind of like that final section of Nineteen Eighty-Four, except, you know, not good.

It could have been most of the night that they worked him over. It could have been days for all he knew. All sense of time had left him while he was still out there on the road.

The questioning had started in one place, and at some point they'd satisfied themselves that the worst they could do wasn't going to be good enough. There'd been a dark ride in a car, and then a flight somewhere. At the new place they'd started in on him again.

They (whomever they are) have determined Noah gave access to "classified files and information" to the terrorists teabaggers. Powerpoints at PR firms are classified? Then he helped one of them sneak through security at the airport. The terrorists stole two nukes and set one off. The other nuke was still missing.

They (whomever they are) waterboard Noah. Of course, Noah doesn't have much to tell them. Noah is, as we've all kind of gathered, largely clueless. Great hero though, excellent character for a novel.

In the course of their work they told him a lot of things to encourage him to break his silence. They told him that Molly's mother, under similar questioning, had revealed the entire plot, including the depth of Noah's involvement. They said that Molly herself had been apprehended and they described in excruciating detail the particular techniques they had employed on her. She'd given him up almost immediately, they'd claimed, along with all of her co-conspirators.

After all they'd put him through, Noah would have gladly believed almost anything they'd said, but even to his clouded, brutalized mind these last two assertions didn't ring true—those two would never betray their cause. If Molly was going down, she would go down swinging and silent. Knowing that gave Noah the first bit of hope that he'd had in a long time.

Ummm... Noah's spirit is lifted because perhaps Molly didn't vaporize after all, but instead was captured and tortured? Huh? That's ... well, it's shitty, to be honest. That is, again, assuming she wasn't killed in the explosion. If I had the choice between a loved one dying in an instant, painlessly, without even knowing it, versus them spending their last hours, days perhaps, in complete physical and psychological anguish, I'd choose the former. But that's just me.

They (whomever they are) continue to torture Noah, "and then they stopped." The torture squad briskly exits the room, thought they "made it clear that they'd be back if necessary after this brief interlude."

A number of dark plastic surveillance domes were distributed across the ceiling. The chief interrogator looked up at one of the cameras and made a gesture to those watching to indicate that the subject was now ready to receive his guest. On that cue, the tiny red lights of the surveillance cameras winked out in sequence.

A few seconds later, a figure appeared in the open doorway.

Oh, brother.

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Open Thread

Hosted by a Totoro cupcake.

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Question of the Day

They (by whom I mean the trademark office) say that Disneyland is the happiest place on earth. I know exactly one Disney fanatic for whom that's actually true. I'm sure there are others. Still. Not exactly universal.

(See what I did there?)

So: What's YOUR happiest place on earth?

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Photo of the Day

"I hate everything."

Your blogmistress, age 8, grouching it up in Oscar's trashcan at Sesame Place.

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Quote of the Day

[Trigger warning for violence; denial of agency; denial of bodily autonomy; miscarriage.]

"My point has been and remains that is still a life."—Nebraska State Senator Mike Flood (R), sponsor of the Nebraska anti-choice law that prohibits abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, asked to comment on the case of Danielle Deaver, a woman who suffered anhydramnios in her 22nd week of pregnancy, causing fatal birth defects, but who was denied abortion nonetheless because the fetus "still had a heartbeat and because her own life was not immediately jeopardized." She gave birth 10 days later to a 1-pound, 10-ounce girl she and her husband named Elizabeth, who spent 15 minutes trying to breathe air into undeveloped lungs before she died.

The bill "is based on the disputed argument that a fetus may feel pain" at 20 weeks, despite the fact that "the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says it knows of no legitimate evidence showing a fetus can ever experience pain." But, presented with evidence that his fucking bullshit law actually caused an infant to spend all 15 minutes of its life dying miserably, all Senator Flood can do is say it's "still a life."

There aren't sufficient words to convey the depth of my contempt.

[H/T to Shaker Mod Aphra_Behn.]

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Feminism 101: Helpful Hints for Dudes, Part 4

Following is a primer for men who are interested in learning more about how to be an effective ally in rape prevention. Most of the information in this piece is, as always, generally applicable, but this has been addressed to men in keeping with the objective of the series.

[Trigger warning for rape culture.]

Anyone, anywhere, of any age, any gender, has the absolute right to do anything, be anyplace, with anyone, walk down any street, any time of day or night, in any style of dress or state of undress, in any capacity, and not be raped.

If you feel inclined to protest or qualify that statement, you're engaging in rape apology.

Everyone has the absolute right to not be raped, irrespective of the circumstances. Even if they're doing something dangerous. Even if they're doing something illegal. Even if they've hurt another person themselves. Even if rape was a known possible consequence of their actions.

If you can't agree that everyone, and anyone, has the absolute right not to be raped, without qualifying it, without comparing a woman's exposed flesh to unprotected valuables, without wondering about the details of specific rapes, without auditing victims' choices, without asking if a victim was "looking to get laid," without insisting that you worry agreement with such a universal statement will make women careless (as if only women get raped; as if women's vigilance is effective rape prevention), without proposing hypotheticals, without playing devil's advocate, without feeling obliged to try to find some exception to that rule, you can't be an effective ally in the fight against sexual violence.

Everyone has the absolute right to not be raped.

To suggest otherwise is to suggest that a rape survivor, or some rape survivors, have some direct and personal* responsibility for their own trauma.

The direct and personal* responsibility for rape lies exclusively with rapists.

If you feel obliged to try to find some exception to that rule, you can't be an effective ally.

At least not to survivors.

----------------------

* As opposed to the role we all have the capacity to play, and necessarily will if we don't examine our socialization, in perpetuating the rape culture.

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Random YouTubery

How about a little something uplifting/positive...

The Roots; Lovely, Love My Family

Yeah, yeah. It's from Yo Gabba Gabba. Wevs! It's a great song. Lyrics below.



All we need, all we need. All we need.
Spread the love around, yeah....

Sometimes when I am sitting by myself,
Those quiet moments when not with no one else,
I’m mesmerized by all the many good things in my life.

I think about the time when I was younger,
And the older that I get the more that I feel wiser,
With the love of friends and family I get stronger,
And it carries me on through...

So I say lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely
lovely lovely lovely love,
love my family...
So I say lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely
lovely lovely lovely love,
love my family...
So I say lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely
lovely lovely lovely love,
love my family...

Sometimes when I am waiting for the bus,
The sun shines bright and I feel peace like nowhere else,
I know I'm in good health and life keeps going, I keep moving, I’m alright.

I go to school and educate my mind,
And the way the world is spinning
Makes me want to turn around and start all over,
Hit the reset and go back in time.

Oh baby love me,
Oh spread the love around, yeah...

So I say lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely,
lovely lovely lovely love,
love my family...
So I say lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely
lovely lovely lovely love,
love my family...
So I say lovely lovely lovely lovely lovely
lovely lovely lovely love,
love my family.

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Daily Dose of Cute

A quick one of Dudley doing his thing at the dog park. It was such a nasty day (last Saturday) that we were the only ones there.

I tried again to get some good still shots of Dudley in motion, which is quite difficult. It's just hard to keep him in frame, because he's so fast. Half of my shots end up looking like this:




Most of the rest are just a blur of motion. Even manually setting focus in anticipation of his movement, i.e. sports shooting, it's tough to capture him in frame and in focus. The best luck I have is with continuous shooting; out of 100 or more shots, I'm likely to get about half a dozen good ones.




I love how joyful he looks in those shots. This one, however, is probably my favorite of the day:

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Number of the Day

[Trigger warning for sexual violence.]

25: The number of people that the Department of Justice estimates are sexually abused every hour in prisons and jails in the United States.

And that number is probably low. Not only does their estimate exclude incidents of sexual abuse at immigration detention facilities, which have a high rate of abuse by virtue of their particularly vulnerable population (people who are "terrified of deportation and often sharing no language with their jailers," and unlikely to know their rights or how to file a report), but it also limits what qualifies as sexual abuse; a female prisoner forced to disrobe and shower in front of a male guard does not, for example, meet their threshold for sexual abuse. Further:

In our opinion, the surveys were effectively designed to discourage false reporting, which would usually be done with the intent of creating trouble for the accused perpetrator or in hopes of being moved to a different facility. The surveys therefore simply didn't take names—of victims or perpetrators. (The surveys' authors also devised a number of ways to check for and discount false claims.) On the other hand, inmates would be likely not to report real abuse from shame, or because it was too painful, or out of fear that those guaranteeing their anonymity could not be trusted—and no survey could be designed to overcome those considerations effectively.

...[Additionally, all] the numbers we have cited count people who were abused, not instances of abuse. People raped behind bars cannot escape their attackers, though. They must live in constant fear, their trauma renewed every time they see their assailants. Between half and two thirds of those who claim sexual abuse in adult facilities say it happened more than once; previous BJS studies suggest that victims endure an average of three to five attacks each per year.

So even the Justice Department's epidemic estimate of 25 incidents of sexual abuse per hour probably fails spectacularly to adequately represent the extent of the problem of sexual violence in US prisons, most of which are committed not by fellow inmates, but "by corrections staff: agents of our government, paid with our taxes, whose job it is to keep inmates safe."

And all the other institutional biases plaguing our justice system—classism, racism, transphobia, homophobia, misogyny (not a comprehensive list)—making marginalized people disproportionately likely to be incarcerated thus also makes them disproportionately subjected to endemic sexual violence.

I encourage you to read the entire story here, on the scope of the problem, what the Justice Department is proposing in terms of prevention, and the gaps in what it's proposing versus what needs to be done.

Then go here to tell the Department of Justice to adopt strong national standards addressing sexual abuse in detention.

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National Abortion Provider Appreciation Day

Is today. [Trigger warning for violence.] March 10th was named such in 1996 following the assassination of Dr. David Gunn. I'm fairly sure you won't find a section of cards in Hallmark about it.

Dr. Gunn was murdered in 1993.
In 1993, Dr. Tiller was shot but not killed.
In 1994, Dr. John Bayard Britton and his escort, James H. Barrett, were assassinated.
In 1994, Dr. Garson Romalis was shot but not killed.
In 1995, Dr. Hugh Short was shot and killed.
In 1997, Dr. Jack Fainman was shot but not killed, the shooter was a suspect in an unnamed NY physician's murder
In 1998, Dr. Barnett Slepian is shot and killed. His murderer, James Koop, was the suspect in 1997's shooting of Dr. Fainman and the other unnamed doctor.
In 2009, Dr. Tiller was shot, again, and killed.

In 1994, Shannon Lowney and Leanne Nichols were shot and killed at clinics in MA.
In 1998, Officer Robert Sanderson was killed during a clinic bombing and nurse Emily Lyon was severely injured.

Besides assassination and attempted murder, doctors and others who work at clinics are subjected to butyric acid attacks, arson and bombing, and anthrax attacks (not to mention: harassment, intimidation, hate mail, etc...).

The National Abortion Federation has kept a record of violence (.pdf). From 1977 to 2009, there have been:

216 arsons and bombings
97 attempted arson or bombing
643 bomb threats
184 incidents of assault and battery
416 death threats
4 kidnappings
14293 incidents of hate mail or hate phone calls

There are several more categories. NAF notes:

All numbers represent incidents reported to or obtained by NAF. Actual incidents are likely much higher.

Tabulation of trespassing began in 1999 and tabulation of email harassment and hoax devices began in 2002.

Incidents recorded are those classified as such by the appropriate law enforcement agency. Incidents that were ruled inconclusive or accidental are not included.

Often at risk to themselves, abortion providers--the doctors, nurse practitioners, midwives, nurses, medical assistants, office support staff, escorts & volunteers--protect the lives and health of women by providing them with necessary medical care. There aren't many careers that would require someone to deal with sometimes constant threats and harassment.

To those who walk this path and those who will:

Thank you.

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The Overton Window: Chapter Forty-Four

You know what's awesome about Molly and Noah's relationship? All the arguing they do. Ah, young love! Yes, Noah's complaint "You people got me again" puts Molly on the defensive.

"We got you?" Molly shouted. "We got you? Are you really selfcentered enough to believe that any of this is about you?"

Well, yeah. Noah's one character trait is that he's self-centered. We established that long ago. Besides, Molly and the teabaggers unending manipulation of him might make him just the teensiest bit skeptical of their intentions. Noah is upset they tried to kill him. Molly says they didn't really. "Hollis stayed with you every minute until they came for you." Oh, okay.

"That's just great to hear. You know, you people are really incredible. My father told me this morning that something is going to happen that's going to change everything, and I'm thinking, okay, a big stock market correction, or another war going hot in South Asia or the Middle East, or a couple of planes crashing into buildings like the last time everything changed forever. And your mother asked me to help you get away to somewhere safe"—he held up the paper in his hand—"and idiot that I am, I let you lead me right to the last place on earth we should go."

So, the last place they should go is to ... where? It's not like Noah knows what's going on in Nevada with the bombs and Elmer and all that. He doesn't know there will be a nuclear explosion, a major fucking terrorist attack. Bailey's note simply says "Big mtg today, Monday PM, southern Nevada." I thought Noah was good at big meetings! He's a PR whiz, ain't he? Jebus, this book is stupid.

"I'm here to stop this thing if I can."

"Well, you can't!" he shouted over her. "Open your eyes, for God's sake. They've got everything, and you've got nothing. All you're going to do is get us both arrested or killed or put into an unmarked hole in the middle of the desert."

"I have to try."

Jebus, this book is stupid. And who says "unmarked hole" anyway? No one, that's who! Noah and Molly argue about the fantasy cabin and how Noah can take care of Molly and blah blah blah.

"Before we got off the plane you told me that you got it; you said you finally understood what I was about."

"I do."

"No, you don't, Noah. You have no idea. You think knowing the truth is enough? A lot of people know the truth, and nothing changes. So today, after twenty-eight years of drifting through life and taking everything from this country and never giving anything back, today you tell me you've finally seen the light and that's supposed to mean something to me?"

Whut? Noah's been "taking everything from this country and never giving anything back"? I thought he had a really good job, was a devout capitalist, paid his taxes and spent money like we're all supposed to. That's a bad thing now? That's taking from the country? I don't get this book's philosophy. At all. Sure, I understand that being a patriot is good, and everyone should defend freedom and be white. I understand that part. But the rest? It's just an ill-thought mishmash of bumper stickers and sloganeering with no cohesion and no uniformity.

Maybe this will help:

"Once you know the truth," Molly said, "then you've got to live it. That's all I'm trying to do."

Nope, that doesn't help. You have to live the truth? Not even Truth with a capital T? Yeah, like I said, bumper sticker.

He saw her look up at the rearview mirror, and something froze in her.

Noah turned to look through the back window. The visibility must have stretched for miles and miles, and way back at the edge of what the eye could see, a tiny line of strobing police lights had appeared.

She was driving as hard and fast as she had before, but there was something in her face, in her eyes, that he hadn't seen before. Molly was afraid. And he knew then that she wasn't afraid of the police, or of going to prison; she wasn't afraid of getting killed in her cause; she wasn't even afraid of Arthur Gardner. She was afraid only that her fight was over.

Awww. Sad face. Also: whatever! Have I mentioned lately how stupid this book is? Dreck. Total dreck.

There'd been turning points in his life that he'd seen coming months away, but this one appeared in an instant. He was safely on one side of it a second before, just being who he'd always thought he was, and then he blinked and he was on the other, waking up to realize who he was going to be.

Huh?

Up ahead he could see that the road narrowed onto a short bridge over a shallow chasm, which ran across the terrain for several hundred yards.

You see the truth, and then you have to live it, she'd said. It was too late, maybe, and too little, but he knew what he needed to do.

"Slow down," Noah said. "I'm getting out."

Huh.

He took a last look at Molly. There were tears in her eyes but she kept them firmly fixed on the way ahead.

"Good-bye," Noah said.

She answered, but so quietly and privately that the words clearly weren't intended to reach him. If they were never to see each other again, it seemed, this was just something that she must have wanted read into the record. Wishful thinking, maybe, but he felt he knew in his heart exactly what she'd said.

I love you, too.

Huh? I don't even know. She loves him. Even though every moment they've spent together, even now, even up until this very moment, he's proved to be kind of a putz as far as she is concerned. But she loves him. Which maybe she does and maybe she doesn't because Noah didn't actually even hear her. Yeah, it could all be wishful thinking. You know what I wish? I wish this book was over.

So Noah jumps out of the car and flops around in the road. Some time later, the cops arrive. It's unclear who they are. The FBI? Military? Blackwater? Who cares! It doesn't matter! Noah stands in the middle of the road, at the bridge, and brings them all to a halt, allowing Molly to escape. I guess.

By the time the lead car had skidded to a stop he could feel the heat on his face from its headlights. Some of the vehicles behind were backing up and their drivers were trying to find a way around the bottleneck, but off the road the sand was too soft for traction and those who'd gone into the gully were stuck, their tires spinning uselessly.

He looked up and saw five uniformed men approaching, their guns drawn. They were all shouting orders he couldn't really understand.

And then:



I guess that's the end of Molly's story arc. Right? Noah helped her escape. And she drove right into the mushroom cloud. Oh, that can't be good.

And then they disappeared, as did the rest of the world, in a silent split-second flash of bright white light from behind him. It was so bright that it crossed the senses. He could feel it on his back, he could hear the light and smell it. When his vision returned Noah saw the officers standing in the road where they'd been, some covering their eyes, but most looking past him, blank-faced, their hands hanging down at their sides.

He turned to look back over his shoulder, in the direction Molly had gone, and miles away he saw the rising mushroom cloud, a massive, roiling ball of fire ascending slowly into the evening sky. The expanding circle of a shock wave was tearing across the desert toward them, toward everything in all directions, and a few seconds later it arrived with a crack of thunder and the sudden gust of a hot summer wind.

Blammo. Eyes melt, skin explodes, everybody dead. Except Noah. Noah lives. To carry on the teabagging torch left by Molly and Bailey and Beverly and Hollis? Swell. Just swell. Also: he could hear the light and smell it? Okay!

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Two-Minute Nostalgia Sublime

Buckwheat Zydeco: "Creole Country"

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As If to Underline...

...what a farce the GOP's Congressional hearing about the "radicalization of American Muslims" really is, via Reuters [trigger warning for violence]:

Targeted killings of civilians in Afghanistan doubled last year, the United Nations said on Wednesday, as an expanding insurgency strikes at Western efforts to build up the Afghan government and security forces.

In an annual report, the United Nations said 2010 marked the most lethal year for noncombatants in the nearly decade-old war, with a 15 percent increase in the number of civilians killed to 2,777 -- continuing a steady rise over the past four years.

Insurgents were responsible for 75 percent of those deaths.

...Casualties among women rose 6 percent in 2010, and among children by 21 percent, while "the spread and intensity of the conflict meant that more women and children had even less access to essential services such as healthcare and education."

Suicide attacks and homemade bombs claimed most lives.

Civilian deaths caused by "NATO and Afghan forces" were down last year, but "NATO and Afghan forces" still killed 440 civilians. And where the US is "surging," so are civilian deaths: "Civilian assassinations were up 588 percent and 248 percent in Helmand and Kandahar provinces respectively, the main strongholds of the Taliban and the focus of a US troop surge."

I'm absolutely not saying that life would be wine and roses in Afghanistan if we'd never put boots on the ground there, nor am I remotely suggesting that the Taliban is a swell outfit, but, um, you know, maybe less with the Congressional hearings on the "radicalization of American Muslims" and more with the Congressional hearings on the "militarization of the American Empire."

"Keep dreaming!"—The GOP.

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Open Thread: WTF Wisconsin?

News on the #wiunion Twitter feed is coming in fast and furious, but here's an update:

The Wisconsin State Journal:

With a crowd of protesters chanting outside their chambers, Senators approved Gov. Scott Walker's bill, which would strip most collective bargaining rights from public employees. The new bill removes fiscal elements of the proposal but still curbs collective bargaining and increases employee payments in pension and health benefits. The changes would amount to an approximate 8 percent pay cut for public workers.

The Assembly is set to approve the bill at 11 am local time. At the moment, the State Capitol is effectively locked down. Reporters from the local CBS affiliate and the State Journal are reporting that members of the press are not being allowed in the Capitol, and that the State Patrol is preventing journalists already in the building from entering the Assembly antechamber.

ETA 10:03-- Law enforcement is reportedly barring anyone from entering the Capitol, including legislators and their staff.

ETA 10:07-- I've seen multiple reports on Twitter that law enforcement officials have begun arresting forcibly removing protesters [10:28-- it's not clear whether they are being arrested] near the Wisconsin State Assembly.

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Priorities

The United States Congress has them. They are garbage.

Right now, the House is holding a hearing on the "radicalization of American Muslims." (You can watch live here.) There is literally just a stream of white Republican men talking total alarmist shite about Americans being attacked by Islamic terrorism, including "home-grown terrorism."

Since the GOP is so concerned about "home-grown terrorism," I look forward to their Congressional hearings on the radicalization of white supremacists and the radicalization of anti-choicers.

Ahem.

Despite this sideshow, Democratic Representative Keith Ellison, who was the first Muslim elected to the US Congress, gave passionate and admirable testimony which could not have any more thoroughly indicted the contemptible nature of this shameful proceeding.

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Top Chef Open Thread

It's a junkanoo party in the Bahamas! What is junkanoo? I don't know! Where are the Bahamas? Somewhere! Was an all-star eliminated? Yes! Who is going win? A chef! Unless they all get eaten by sharks next week*!

Spoilers and whatnot below.

* There will be no sharks next week.

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Be a Statistic!

by an Anonymous Shaker

[Trigger warning for enforcement of the gender binary.]

In the UK, it's census year.

It's the final census year.

I didn't realise this until I went and had a chat with my Member of Parliament about, among other things, ways in which the current census format is rubbish for people outside the gender binary (and, indeed, for binary-gendered trans people). The last census was when I was 10; I wasn't paying much attention. Turns out that it's rubbish in a lot of other ways, too. But in particular, question number two looks like this:

What is your sex?
□ Male □ Female

No clear indication that for binary-gendered trans people the information sought is gender rather than birth-assigned gender. No "other, write in", as is provided for almost all the other fields of this type. No way to collect data on people who are agendered or bigendered or genderqueer or genderfluid or intersex or any of a host of other non-binary identities.

No wonder people think we don't exist.

So I phoned them up to ask.

My first contact was professional, friendly and helpful. They were unable to answer my question so escalated it. This was all fine and good.

Then I got a call back from head office. The person phoning me seemed to struggle with correct terminology for binary-gendered trans people, never mind understanding non-binary genders. (They helpfully suggested that given my female-coded birth name, it might be most appropriate for me to tick "female". I explained that I was in the process of legally acquiring a gender-neutral name. They then suggested I tick "male".)

I refused to accept the first response, which was "tick whichever feels most appropriate", on the grounds that neither is. I asked questions. I made suggestions.

The result is that I have verbal agreement that ticking both "male" and "female" is acceptable. In particular, you cannot be fined for ticking both if this is the most accurate representation of your gender achievable using the layout given – though you might be phoned up "to double-check".

Personally, I feel this is inadequate. I'm going to tick both boxes – but I'm also going to write an explanation.

Yes, it's the last year of the census – but this doesn't mean there's no point standing up and shouting about it. Because the last thing I was told on that phone call…?

Was that if I tick both boxes, somebody somewhere is going to have to work out how to take account of it in the statistics.

Let's make it a statistic worth noticing.

What can you do if?

If you are a person who is trans, agendered, bigendered, genderqueer, genderfluid, intersex, or any of a host of other non-binary identities:

* Phone the census helpline (0300 0201 101) and confirm what you should do.

* If non-binary gendered, tick both boxes and/or write in your correct gender.

* If binary gendered, tick boxes as you would normally (it would be lovely to get a good lower bound on the number of non-binary gendered people, and we can't do that if the data's polluted!) – and then write in "□ Other" or "□ Neither" (but leave it blank).

* Write to your MP, or Lynne Featherstone via your MP, asking that whatever replaces the census take non-binary gendered people into account. WriteToThem.com is extremely helpful in this regard.

* If on facebook, invite your friends to the event.

Teaspoons ahoy!

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Commenting Issues

I've gotten a bunch of emails from people who are having problems logging into Disqus if they're using IE and Windows 7. According to Disqus, the glitch that was causing the problem has now been resolved, but you may need to clear your cache before you're able to log in again.

If you're still having problems, fire me an(other) email. My apologies for the inconvenience.

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Open Thread

Hosted by Hostess cupcakes.

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