Round-Up: June 23, 2015

• Last week, Canada’s top general, Tom Lawson, blamed sexual harassment in the military on men’s “biological wiring.” He was quickly forced to issue a (half-assed) apology after being criticized by the many MPs,and members of the public. But as appalling as Lawson’s comment was, maybe it did us a favour by illustrating the breadth of the problems in the Canadian Armed Forces and the complicity of senior leaders. Jeff Perera and Julie Lalonde joined CBC’s The Current to discuss.
• The racist massacre of black churchgoers in Charleston last week has prompted urgings to remember the victims, fight racism, and deconstruct the ideas around black and white womanhood that prompted shooter Dylann Roof to  murder black women while accusing black men of wanting to rape white women. Rebecca Carroll at The Guardian has a particularly thought-provoking piece about how black women are viewed as disposable. Stacey Patton also has a must-read piece at Dame Magazine about continued white denial of racial oppression, and what white women in particular need to understand.
• I also recommend Emma Gray at The Huffington Post on the history of white men using white women’s sexuality to justify racist violence.
• Sociological Images also collected their past articles about white men and violence, including analysis of intersections of race and gender, as a resource to help people unpack the attack.
• The Dominican Republic has begun “ethnic purging” via mass deportation of Haitian families. Haitian writer Edwige Danticat spoke to Democracy Now! about the situation.
• Helen Mirren recently spoke out about ageist, sexist double-standards in Hollywood, and you can watch a video of her comments at Women and Hollywood.
• A lot of people have said they’re disappointed with the sexism in the new movie Jurassic World. Julia Robbins at Ms. writes about her beefs with the film.