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My Isolation Diary
House of Dragons vs. Sorority Houses
By Emily Vogel
(Giphy)
Dear Diary,
From the Targariayens to Alpha Chi Omega, it appears that HBO has an affinity for top houses featuring snow white blondes with daddy issues.
Last week, HBO Max announced that its teaming up with Vice Studios to develop a documentary about the University of Alabama's sorority house rush week, lovingly known on TikTok as #BamaRush. Then on Sunday, the premiere of “House of the Dragon” drew in nearly 10 million viewers, the largest audience for any new original series in the history of HBO. Both fearful of their neighbors to the north (yes Auburn, I’m looking at you) audiences can’t seem to get enough of Alabama’s sorority houses and George R.R. Martin’s “House of the Dragon.” As a former sorority girl myself, I must say that I definitely spent more time riding mechanical bulls than dragons.
Golden Globes Voter Sam Asi Expelled From HFPA Following TheWrap Investigation Into Sexual Misconduct
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association has expelled member Husam “Sam” Asi, a Golden Globes voter and member since 2010, following an inquiry in response to TheWrap’s investigative reporting in which three women accused him of sexual misconduct, including kissing an assistant without consent.
The HFPA informed Wrap editor Sharon Waxman of Asi’s expulsion in a letter Tuesday, as she had lodged a complaint about an anti-Semitic tweet against her by Asi that followed the investigative article.
“We had a lot of naysayers along the way,” said one of the Asi's victims “Ting Ting” Xu Xu, thanking TheWrap for investigating and her two peers for coming forward. “People who know us at other outlets rejected this story. I’m grateful you dug into the story and listened to what we had to say.”
“I didn’t think it would make a splash. We are nobody,” said victim Tianyue Li, who was Asi’s former assistant and accuser. “I didn’t think this thing would have a conclusion.”
Scotland Becomes the First Country to Offer Tampons and Pads for Free
(Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)
Period products, including tampons and sanitary pads, are now free of cost in Scotland to anyone who needs them. While Scotland is the first country to offer period products free of charge on a national scale, others countries including New Zealand and Kenya, distribute products for free in public schools.
In the U.S., a package of tampons or menstrual pads costs around $7 to $10 for a supply that may last a month or two. (Other products are designed to be reused, like period underwear or menstrual cups, and have a higher upfront cost.) Supply chain disruptions have affected availability and driven up costs.
About 14% of American college students struggle to afford period products, a number higher among Black and Latina women, according to a recent study by George Mason University. And those who regularly struggled to afford them were more likely to experience depression, researchers found.
A survey of low-income women in St. Louis published in 2019 found that nearly half reported having to choose between food and menstrual products at some point during the year.
Research has shown that a lack of access to period products can cause women and girls to miss school or work.
Woman Forced To Travel From Louisiana To Abort Fetus Missing Skull
(WAFB Baton Rouge)
A pregnant Louisiana woman will be forced to travel to another state to abort her fetus, which is missing part of its skull and would die soon after birth, according to the woman’s attorney.
Because the fetus’ condition — acrania — is not specifically named in the state law as an exception to Louisiana’s abortion ban, Nancy Davis, 36, will travel several states away where she can obtain an abortion. “There’s nothing I wanted more than this child,” she told told The New York Times.
But she also explained to CBS affiliate WAFB in Baton Rouge that it was excruciating to think that she was “carrying it to bury it.”
The state senator who authored Louisiana’s abortion ban, Katrina Jackson, insisted to WAFB that the hospital should have authorized the termination of Davis’ pregnancy. Jackson said the statute includes exceptions for fetuses that are not viable outside a mother’s womb.
But Crump indicated in his statement that the law is confusing and intimidating to hospitals fearful of performing an illegal abortion.
Trans Woman Can't Be Considered Parent Of Her Own Child, Rules Tokyo Court
(Pacific Press Media Production Corp./Alamy)
A Japanese court has ruled that a child born after a transgender woman went through her surgical and legal transition should not be recognised legally as her child, according to local media.
Japan requires that anyone who wants to legally change their gender have surgery to remove the sexual organs they were born with, a practice sharply criticised by human rights groups.
The trans woman, who was assigned male at birth, had two daughters with her female partner using sperm preserved before her transition, the public broadcaster NHK and the Kyodo news agency reported.
Four years ago she was legally permitted to change her gender on her family register, the reports said.
Although her partner was recognised as the legal mother of the girls because she had given birth to them, the trans woman’s request to be recognised as their parent was denied by a Tokyo family court in February.
The woman appealed against that ruling, leading to last week’s ruling by the Tokyo High Court.
American Airlines Features All-Black Female Crew in Historic Flight Honoring Aviation Pioneer Bessie Coleman
(via ABC News)
A special American Airlines flight operated by an all-Black and all-female crew honored aviation pioneer Bessie Coleman on the 100th anniversary of Coleman becoming the first Black woman to pilot a public flight.
Coleman became the first Black and Native American woman to earn a pilot's license back in June 1921 and became the first Black woman to perform a public flight in 1922. The trailblazing pilot had to travel to France to obtain her license when she couldn't do so in the U.S. and returned to perform in air shows in the Chicago region, according to the Transportation Security Administration.
The American Airlines flight from Dallas to Phoenix included 36 crew members, from pilots and flight attendants to gate agents, cargo crew, plane mechanics and even air traffic controllers. They were led by Captain Beth Powell and First Officer Charlene Shortte, both Boeing 737 pilots, according to a news release from the Fort Worth-based carrier published on Friday.
According to the nonprofit group Sisters of the Skies, the flight was especially noteworthy since less than 1% of pilots in the U.S. are Black women.
Women Are Posting Their Own Dancing Videos in Support of Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin
(via CNN)
Women across the world are posting videos on social media of themselves dancing, after criticism was leveled at Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin for leaked footage that showed her partying with friends.
The video clips, which appeared last week, showed the 36-year-old leader dancing with friends in a private setting. Some political opponents condemned Marin's behavior in the videos as inappropriate for a Prime Minister.
Women have been responding to this criticism by tweeting clips of themselves dancing, using the hashtag #solidaritywithsanna.
"Why can't she party after work? Do we expect our leaders not to be human beings?" tweeted Ashok Swain, a professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden.
"How shocking!!! A young politician who does her job and enjoys her private life... Why can't a young woman have fun? I can't stand gender double standards," Spanish politician Iratxe García Pérez tweeted. "All my support to @MarinSanna."
'Ready Set Prep' with Catherine Hardwicke
(Saturday, August 27)
(via CNN)
Join Film Fatales on Saturday August 27th at 10am PT for a hands-on workshop with writer/director Catherine Hardwicke ("Cabinet of Curiosities," "Mafia Mamma," "Twilight," "Miss Bala," "Lords of Dogtown") as she discussed her journey from pre-production to final screening in her MasterClass presentation.
Ready Set Prep details Catherine’s preparation process for film and television projects with clips, storyboards, shot lists, rehearsal practices, drawings, and more.
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In the meantime, stay safe and stay fabulous.
Xoxo,
Emily Vogel on behalf of WrapWomen
Director of Programming, TheWrap