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Sweeping UN study finds that 9 out of 10 people worldwide are biased against women

As the U.S. ramps into an all-too-familiar presidential election cycle where the only viable candidates left on the ballot are men, the UN announces a study that may—at least partially—explain why.

The Gender Social Norms Index released yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) offers a look at gender equality as measured by people’s personal gender bias. The data, which was collected from 75 countries covering 81% of the world’s population, found that 91% of men and 86% of women show at least one clear bias against women in the areas of politics, economics, education, and physical integrity.

In other words, 9 out of 10 people worldwide—both men and women—are biased against women in vital areas that impact the world in major ways. Splendid.


It would be easy to assume that these numbers are skewed by countries where women are blatantly oppressed, and that is somewhat true. However, a majority was found to hold no gender biases in just six of the 75 countries studied—and no, the U.S. was not among them. Nope, not Canada either.

Andorra, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden were the only countries where a majority of people showed no clear gender bias. (Andorra came out on way on top, with 73% of its population showing no bias—the only country to top 70%. Go Andorra.)

Where did the U.S. and Canada stand? According to the study, 43% of Americans hold no gender bias while Canada clocks in at 48%. Basically, if you’re sitting in a stadium full of people as a woman in North America, half of the people you’re looking at likely harbor some kind of clear bias against you. Same goes if you’re a woman competing in a sport, giving a talk at a conference, or—ahem—running for public office.

Perhaps the most unnerving stats from the report are these:

– About 50% people—both men and women—think men make better political leaders than women

– About 40% of people think men make better business leaders than women

– Close to 50% of men believe that men have more right to a job than women

– About 30% believe that it’s justifiable for a man to beat his intimate partner

Ummm, that last one? Holy moly.

What’s just as concerning is that despite decades of progress on women’s rights, bias against women is increasing in some countries among both men and women. And this is the case even among some countries that scored well on the index—bias in top-six Sweden, for example, actually increased over the nine years the study covered.

“The share of both women and men worldwide with moderate to intense gender biases grew from 57 percent to 60 percent for women and from 70 percent to 71 percent for men,” the report states, adding: “Surveys have shown that younger men may be even less committed to equality than their elders.”

That last part is worth repeating. Evidence points to young men being less committed to gender equality than older generations. That is not good news for the future, folks.

Of course, we have made big strides across the globe in terms of increasing access to education, improving healthcare for women, and other areas. But women still don’t have a place at most of the decision-making tables, and we obviously still have social norm hurdles to overcome to achieve true gender equality.

“We have come a long way in recent decades to ensure that women have the same access to life’s basic needs as men,” said Pedro Conceição, head of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office. “We have reached parity in primary school enrollment and reduced maternal mortality by 45 percent since the year 1990. But gender gaps are still all too obvious in other areas, particularly those that challenge power relations and are most influential in actually achieving true equality. Today. the fight about gender equality is a story of bias and prejudices.”

Results of the study indicate a backlash to the push for gender equality, the report states. Indeed, change is uncomfortable for many people and progress is often a two steps forward, one step back process. For sure, social norms are more complex and challenging to change than laws.

“Policymakers often focus on the tangible—on laws, policies, spending commitments, public statements and so on,” the report states. “This is driven partly by the desire to measure impact and by sheer impatience with the slow pace of change. Yet neglecting the invisible power of norms would miss a deeper understanding of social change.”

Social norms also directly impact progress made in all areas. Currently, no country in the world is on track to meet the gender equality goals by Sustainable Development Goal target of 2030. With stats like these, that’s not shocking.

Clearly, something to keep in mind as we advocate for gender equality is how to effectively address people’s core beliefs about women and equality in general. Legal progress without social progress is shaky at best, and true gender equality won’t become reality unless people believe that it should.

It appears we have some serious work ahead of us on that front.

This article originally appeared on 03.06.20

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Artist makes everyday spaces magical by cleverly adding pixelated, old-school pop-culture icons

Anyone who grew up in the late ’80s and early ’90s—Gen X, I’m looking at you—grew up in a world that was dominated by 8-bit graphics. Back in the day, computers and video game systems had a limited amount of processing power so the graphics had to be simple.

That meant the heroes that we played with such as Mario from Super Mario Brothers or Link from The Legend of Zelda, had to be super simple looking and we had to fill in the rest with our imaginations.

Video graphics have come a long way over the past 30-plus years, but people still love the old designs because it takes them back to a simpler time. This has led to an 8-bit movement where people use their creativity to make art within the confines of the limited medium.

Some people also use the limited 8-bit soundscape to create music that’s reminiscent of the old games. Sure, computer game music may be much more sophisticated these days, but is there anything better than the soundtrack to the original Tetris? Would Super Mario Brothers be the same with a sophisticated soundtrack? I think not.


Swedish artist Johan Karlgren, who goes by the name Pappas Pärlor, creates pixelated 8-bit-looking art and then inserts it into everyday scenes. The interesting thing is that his 8-bit art isn’t done with computer graphics, but Perler beads.

Perler beads are small, plastic beads that one places on a grid, and when the picture is done, they are melted with a household clothing iron. The beads are a fun hobby for kids who love to see the melting beads ooze their way into a fully-formed picture.

Although they weren’t originally intended to make 8-bit art, because the beads are placed on a grid when they melt together the designs look like they came straight out of a Nintendo Entertainment System.

Karlgren recreates iconic images from comics, cartoons, video games and movies with the beads and then adds them to the scenarios, turning the mundane into the whimsical.

What’s Karlgren’s big inspiration? “Anything that makes me feel something,” he told Bored Panda. “It could be anything from childhood memories to politics or people doing awesome stuff that I wanna interpret.”

For Karlgren, his work is the byproduct of having a good time. “I don’t really choose what to create. My work is sprung from playing, and I’ll try to go with the ideas that come up in my head,” he said.

One of the hallmarks of Karlgen’s work is taking drab places such as a parking lot or other types of urban infrastructure and livening them up with the addition of one of his Perler bead creations. “It’s something that makes me happy, and hopefully other people [when] seeing it as well,” he told Newsweek.

Karlgren is a father of four and started posting his creations on Instagram back in April 2014. Since then, his fun, old-school designs have earned him more than 144,000 followers. Here are some of his coolest, and funniest 8-bit designs.

8-Bit Joker

“Rose!”

Raiders of the Lost Fence Knob

Mario Kart: Snow Speeders

“Here’s 8-Bit Johnny!”

The Man of Steel

That Creep Can Roll

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man

Anthony Adams Rubbing Hands Meme


“I Said God Damn!”

“Take My Money!”

Darth’s Day Off

Jaws

“Go Ahead, Make My Day.”

Mini Bernie

Tony Montana

The Homer Meme

This article originally appeared on 02.25.22

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Ice Spice Let Her Munch Flag Fly High Over The Capitol Records Building In Hollywood, And Now Fans Are On High Alert

Ice Spice Rolling Loud 2023
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Ice Spice is a lover of the dramatic. From clones in a flash mob descending upon Times Square to nearly butt-blazing pyrotechnics on stage, the “In Ha Mood” rapper knows how to create a viral moment. As the year closes, she wants to ensure fans that she won’t slow down come 2024.

In a viral video shared on Capitol Records’ official Instagram page, Ice Spice let her munch flag (a modified American flag in all pink featuring an image of her) fly high above the record label’s corporate offices in Hollywood. California.

After the clip made its rounds online, people shared their excitement for what’s next for Ice Spice.

So far, Ice Spice hasn’t revealed her plans for 2024. However, during an interview with Billboard, her producer, RiotUSA, spilled the beans. While discussing his creative process, his longtime collaborative partner came up.

“It’s a fun time because [Ice Spice] really be saying how she feels in that moment… from picking out vibes or punching in lyrics on the spot,” said Riot. “Fans should know I produce and record too, so look out for my music. Also, look out for new classics with Ice in 2024. We’re working on her debut album as we speak.”

Ice Spice’s flag flying in the breeze appears to be a bat signal of sorts that new music is on the way.

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Kiefer Sutherland Shared A Touching Story About How He And River Phoenix May Have Inspired The Title To ‘Stand By Me’

stand-by-me.jpeg
Columbia Pictures

One of the best Stephen King movies isn’t all that Stephen King-y. It’s Stand by Me, and despite revolving around a corpse, it’s a (sometimes funny) drama — a bracing coming-of-age yarn where the kids talk like real kids. (That’s to say they cuss a lot.) Real King heads know, though, that the source isn’t named after the Ben E. King song. It’s called, simply, The Body, a short story found in his collection Different Seasons (which also produced The Shawshank Redemption and Apt Pupil). That’s not a very catchy movie title, though, and you may have two of its stars for the switcheroo.

Per HuffPost, Kiefer Sutherland — who played ne’er-do-well Ace, the film’s closest thing to a baddie — told an anecdote from the film’s set during a recent appearance on The Tonight Show.

“We were making ‘Stand by Me,’ which was a Stephen King short story called The Body, and River Phoenix was learning guitar and playing guitar and he was actually very, very good,” Sutherland recounted. “And I was playing ‘Stand by Me’ and singing that song, and he said, ‘Oh, I love the melody of that song,’ and he hadn’t heard it before.”

Sutherland continued, “So I was teaching it to him and Rob Reiner walked by and said, ‘Oh, I haven’t heard that song for a long time, I love it.’”

Does that mean Sutherland and Phoenix are responsible for the film’s catchier title? Sutherland couldn’t say with exactitude, but he could say what they did “was part of that conversation.”

Stand by Me was a biggie for both the young actors. It was only Phoenix’s second film, after Joe Dante’s Explorers, and it was only Sutherland’s fourth, paving the way for the even more villainous character he played in The Lost Boys the following year. As for Reiner, it was his first non-comedy, paving the way for the even funnier-scarier Misery some four years later.

Stand by Me currently streams on Netflix and on AMC+.

(Via HuffPost)

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Lizzo Has Reportedly Requested For The Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Documents To Be Sealed By Courts

Lizzo BET Awards 2022
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Lizzo‘s legal woes are heating up. Although not much progress has been made in the sexual harassment and hostile workplace lawsuits, the attorneys representing her have continued to file proactive motions on Lizzo’s behalf. In October, her representatives reportedly attempted to get the case tossed.

According to Radar Online, on December 21, the team allegedly filed paperwork requesting that the courts seal the documents from the matter due to privacy concerns. In the explanation, the outlet reports that Lizzo’s attorney noted:

“The documents, correspondence, and testimony that contain sensitive, confidential information and/or proprietary business information, including employee compensation, contract negotiation, and third-party sensitive contact information… These records, including portions of Declarations supporting the Motion and attached exhibits, should be ordered sealed to avoid any harm to the parties through their public disclosure.”

As of Saturday, December 23, the judge has not yet decided on the matter. Lizzo has maintained her innocence, writing in a statement shared on her official Instagram page, “Usually, I choose not to respond to false allegations, but these are as unbelievable as they sound and too outrageous not to be addressed. These sensationalized stories are coming from former employees who have already publicly admitted that they were told their behavior on tour was inappropriate and unprofessional.”

Lizzo is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

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Joe Rogan Slammed Joe Biden For A Bizarre Gaffe…That Was Actually One Of Mushy Brain Trump’s

Joe Rogan Trump
JRE/GETTY IMAGES

People love to dunk on Joe Biden’s allegedly broken brain, but — hear us out — what if it’s Trump whose mind is mush? After all, it’s the former president who doesn’t seem to know who his successor is, who thinks Biden might get us into “World War II,” who once let slip that’s he’s “waging an all-out war on democracy.” (This was before he admitted he wants to be a dictator.) Heck, even Joe Rogan sometimes can’t tell their gaffes apart.

Per Mediaite, Joe Rogan received a brutal fact check during a recent discussion with MMA fighter Bo Nickal. Rogan was dunking on Biden for something he said something about airports existing during the Revolutionary War.

“If you had any other job, and you were talking like that, they would go, ‘Hey, you’re done,’” Rogan thundered.

There was one problem: It wasn’t Biden who’d said that. Rogan’s producer Jamie Vernon chimed in to play a clip in which Biden had called out Trump, who’d dropped the Revolutionary War airport line.

“The same ‘stable genius’ said the biggest problem we had during the Revolutionary War is we didn’t have enough airports,” Biden said in the clip, adding, “Whoa.”

Vernon then played the clip to which Biden was referring. It’s from back in 2019, a year before he was telling those suffering from COVID-19 to treat it with bleach. In it, the admitted non-history buff tried to talk history:

In June of 1775, the Continental Congress created a unified Army out of the Revolutionary forces encamped around Boston and New York and named after the great George Washington, commander-in-chief. The Continental Army suffered a bitter winter of Valley Forge, found glory across the waters of the Delaware, and seized victory from Cornwallis of Yorktown. Our Army manned the airp… It ran the ramparts, it took over the airports, it did everything it had to do…

Alas, Rogen — who’d pounced on Biden earlier for allegedly saying this — gave Trump a pass. “Oh okay,” Rogen said. “So he f*cked up.”

Trump has tried to explain why his brain doesn’t work sometimes, although frankly he only made things worse.

(Via Mediaite)

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Her daughter said she doesn’t want to be ‘big’ like her. She responded with perfect composure.

A mother on TikTok shared a heartfelt moment when her 9-year-old daughter opened up about her self-image concerns, wondering about her appearance as she grows up. The story was a wonderful example of a mother delicately dealing with an issue that far too many young women face. It was also a difficult moment because the conversation brought up the mother’s body issues as well.

The conversation happened while the two were clothes shopping at Target. “My 9-year-old’s saying she’s fat, and this is because she has to wear adult sizes versus kids ’cause she’s really tall, just like me,” Mackenzie Waddell told her 222,000 followers.


“She kept calling herself ‘fat’ and that she had too big of a butt and that the other kids her age don’t have to wear adult clothes,” Waddell continued. “I reminded her that I, too, had to wear adult clothes when I was her age ’cause I was really tall just like she is.”

@missmommymack

Im so devastated that she feels that way about herself. 💔

The discussion led to a question that was hard for the mother to hear.

“… she asked me if she was gonna look like me when she grew up. And I asked her, ‘Do you mean big like me? When you grow up?’ And she said, ‘Yes. I’m not trying to be mean mom, but I want to look like Aunt Sarah, not you,’” she recalled.

Her daughter’s remarks hit her right in the heart, but she responded with perfect composure. “I kept a brave face and said, ‘As long as you are happy and healthy, and you love yourself, that’s all that matters. No matter what size you are,” Waddell said.

The mother was sure not to take it personally, but it still cut close to the bone. “And was I hurt? Yeah, I was. But she didn’t mean to hurt me. It just really sucked. Yeah,” she concluded.

The post went viral, receiving over 1.7 million views and over 2,000 comments. The most popular commenter thought that Waddell should tell her daughter to avoid commenting on people’s weight.

“You should tell her she hurt your feelings. She needs to know. You did a great job supporting her in how she feels. She has to learn that skill also,” Char8201 wrote.

However, many women responded with nothing but love for how Waddell handled such a challenging situation. “You responded beautifully, momma. She’s still learning and these are the moments where we provide that guidance, even when it hurts,” Mavv13 wrote. “Oh mama. Thank god she feels comfortable to talk to you openly,” tirrelltribe added.

After the tremendous response to her video, Waddell responded with another post, educating people about how one’s weight doesn’t necessarily mean they eat unhealthy. “A lot of people like to assume that plus-size people don’t know how to eat healthy or are unhealthy. When, in fact, we’re not,” Waddle said.

She added that her daughter lives a healthy lifestyle but avoids having conversations about weight with her because “That’s what traumatized me.”

@missmommymack

Replying to @user3838812846970 she will always be perfect, no matter what.

This article originally appeared on 9.28.23

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Single dad receives letter from late wife and immediately gets a DNA test

Ten months after a man’s wife passed away, he finally got the courage to read a letter she left him, which contained a devastating admission. The 4-year-old son they had together may not be his.

“My ‘darling’ wife passed away 10 months ago,” the man wrote on Reddit’s Off My Chest forum. “She wrote a letter for me before she died, but I couldn’t bring myself to read it until now. She told me how sorry she was that she didn’t have the guts to tell me this to my face when she was alive.”

In the letter, the wife revealed that there was a “good chance” that the son he thought was his wasn’t his biological child. A few weeks before their wedding day, the wife got drunk at her bachelorette party and had a one-night stand with another man. Soon after that night, she became pregnant but was unsure who the father was.


The man was torn whether or not to have the paternity test done. The child had only one parent in this world, and he would have to take care of him regardless. He also thought it was cowardly that his former wife would wait until she was no longer around to share the truth with him.

dads, dna test, paternity test

“So she thought she’d rather drop this bomb on my life when I could no longer confront her about it,” the man wrote. “Now that my son would only have one parent looking out for him, and she’d have no idea how I would even react. Maybe I should not have got the paternity test done. Maybe it might be better to live in ignorance. But I just had to know.”

The man took the paternity test and learned he wasn’t the child’s biological father.

“I’m devastated. This doesn’t change how I feel about my son,” he wrote. “He’s my whole world and he’s innocent. But boy, does it hurt. There’s so much going on in my head right now. I haven’t stopped crying. Thank god my son is at my parents’ place for the day. I’d hate for him to see me like this.”

Facing a pain nearly too much for him to bear, the only outlet he had at the moment was reaching out to Reddit to find some solace. “I just needed to let this all out. Don’t have it in me to tell anyone in my life about this right now,” he wrote.

The commenters send him hundreds of messages of support to get him through the shock of first learning the truth about his family.

dna test, paterneity test, sad dad

The most popular message was straightforward and honest. “All your feelings are valid, a lot of people will react with some kind of toxic positivity to things like these. Your feelings are valid. Each and everyone,” femunndsmarka wrote.

Another commenter added that someday, his son will appreciate how he stepped up and did what was right in a very trying circumstance. “He is going to find out the truth one day. Imagine how much more he will love you knowing you didn’t leave him, even though he wasn’t yours,” ImNotGoodatThis6969.

Another commenter provided valuable insight from the son’s perspective.

“As an adopted child, I just want to thank you on behalf of your son. I deeply believe it changes nothing, family is not about blood, its about who you love, want to have by your side, and care for the most. Sending hugs, strength and gratitude,” Mariuuq wrote.

The father at the heart of this story is understandably devastated because his life was upended almost overnight. But the hope in the story is that his trials also taught him a powerful truth—his love for his son goes much deeper than blood.

This article originally appeared on 9.28.23

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Paul Mescal’s ‘All Of Us Strangers’ Playlist Featuring Mitski, The National, & Julien Baker Is An Indie Lover’s Dream

Paul Mescal
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The fanfare surrounding Spotify’s annual Wrapped data reveal has dwindled. But the streaming giant always has something in the pipeline to keep users engaged. Earlier in the week, it was the unveiling of its latest feature, AI playlists. However, All Of Us Strangers star Paul Mescal prefers his mixtapes curated the old-fashioned way.

The actor curated a personalized playlist for the film exclusively on Spotify. He noted that the 47-song mix is described as “Songs that make Paul Mescal feel something.” Across the over three-hour run time are songs from the film and a blend of other indie favorites.

Even though the playlist is nearly twice the length of the film, it contains no filler. Hozier’s “Butchered Tongue,” Mitski’s “I Guess,” Julien Baker‘s “Claws In Your Back,” and Samia‘s “Kill Her Freak Out” are among the songs. The National, The Beths, Ye Vagabonds, Lankum, Adrianne Lenker, Sharon Van Etten, Pinegrove, and more also appear on the playlist.

Listen to the entire playlist below.

All of Us Strangers is showing in theaters now. Find more information here.

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Paul Mescal’s ‘All Of Us Strangers’ Playlist Featuring Mitski, The National, & Julien Baker Is An Indie Lover’s Dream

Paul Mescal
Getty Image

The fanfare surrounding Spotify’s annual Wrapped data reveal has dwindled. But the streaming giant always has something in the pipeline to keep users engaged. Earlier in the week, it was the unveiling of its latest feature, AI playlists. However, All Of Us Strangers star Paul Mescal prefers his mixtapes curated the old-fashioned way.

The actor curated a personalized playlist for the film exclusively on Spotify. He noted that the 47-song mix is described as “Songs that make Paul Mescal feel something.” Across the over three-hour run time are songs from the film and a blend of other indie favorites.

Even though the playlist is nearly twice the length of the film, it contains no filler. Hozier’s “Butchered Tongue,” Mitski’s “I Guess,” Julien Baker‘s “Claws In Your Back,” and Samia‘s “Kill Her Freak Out” are among the songs. The National, The Beths, Ye Vagabonds, Lankum, Adrianne Lenker, Sharon Van Etten, Pinegrove, and more also appear on the playlist.

Listen to the entire playlist below.

All of Us Strangers is showing in theaters now. Find more information here.