By guest blogger Jessica Mack If you don’t know who Sahar Gul is, sadly, you can Google her name and find dozens of images of her young and badly beaten face. She is a 15-year-old Afghan girl who was recently rescued by police from her in-laws’ basement, where she’d been imprisoned and tortured for nearly a [...]
Feminism
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Most Topular Stories
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Media coverage of tortured Afghan girl: Did journalists do more harm?
WIMN's Voices: A Group Blog on Women, Media, AND…20 Jan 2012 | 2:36 pm -
The 99%: "Finding North"
Bitch Blogs27 Jan 2012 | 11:55 amThis is the second of three posts on films from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival addressing inequality, poverty, and social class. read more -
Chrome Users: Try the WordPress.com Extension
WordPress.com News27 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pmWant to receive WordPress.com notifications instantly, even when you’re not on WordPress.com? Add the new WordPress.com extension for Chrome and as soon as you get a new follower or a new like on one of your posts, a notification will appear in your browser: Simply click the icon to view your latest WordPress.com notifications: Start following new blogs without visiting WordPress.com The Chrome extension also makes it easy to follow sites from your WordPress.com account by displaying a Follow button whenever you’re browsing a site that has an RSS feed. Clicking the Follow button… -
Same-Sex Marriage Referendum Likely to Appear on ME Ballot
FMF BlogFMF News Feed | FMF Blog27 Jan 2012 | 10:25 amEqualityMaine, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Main Women’s Lobby announced on Thursday that they have 105,000 petitions signed by Maine voters, which far exceeds the 57,277 required to place a question on the November ballot regarding same-sex marriage. The Secretary of State’s Office now has 30 days to certify that the signatures are valid. Three years ago, Maine residents voted 53 to 47 on a referendum to overturn the state Legislature’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage. Betsy Smith, executive director of EqualityMaine, stated, “Many people have changed… -
Three faces of feminism: Louise Mensch, Laurie Penny, and Jodie Marsh ↬ (Spag Blog)
Wikio - Feminism28 Jan 2012 | 5:01 amGreat post on Libertarian Lou’s Blog: Feminism is useless if it’s only interesting to the women who are on Newsnight, or watching and tweeting about it. It’s useless if it’s only about people who know they deserve to be treated with respect, and to feel safe. λ λSource : Spag BlogExplore : Celebrity, Jodie Marsh, TV
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WordPress.com News
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Chrome Users: Try the WordPress.com Extension
27 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pmWant to receive WordPress.com notifications instantly, even when you’re not on WordPress.com? Add the new WordPress.com extension for Chrome and as soon as you get a new follower or a new like on one of your posts, a notification will appear in your browser: Simply click the icon to view your latest WordPress.com notifications: Start following new blogs without visiting WordPress.com The Chrome extension also makes it easy to follow sites from your WordPress.com account by displaying a Follow button whenever you’re browsing a site that has an RSS feed. Clicking the Follow button… -
Your Stats Have a New Home
26 Jan 2012 | 10:46 amAre you addicted to checking your site stats? You are not alone. The stats dashboard has always been one of the most popular admin screens. It’s gratifying to know that people are visiting your place online. With the WordPress.com front page evolving into a one-stop shop for posting, exploring, following and reading blogs, it seemed natural to put your blog stats there, too. Stats are becoming more and more about interacting with your readers and other bloggers. You’ll still see your summary stats and chart on your main dashboard, and the full stats page in your dashboard will… -
Reblogging is Back!
22 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pmAs we mentioned last week, you can like and reblog posts directly from your reader, which displays a stream of all the updates published on all the blogs you follow from your WordPress.com account. We’ve also brought the reblog button back to the toolbar that appears at the top of the screen when you’re logged into WordPress.com. Note that you’ll only see the like and reblog options while you’re looking at individual posts. For example, you’ll see this on the left side of your toolbar while viewing http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/read-blogs: And your… -
New Theme: Newsy
20 Jan 2012 | 12:18 pmIt’s been an extra big week in the news ’round these parts, so much so that the launch announcement of our latest premium theme seems like an extra extra good way to headline our Friday. Newsy is a versatile business and news-friendly theme that offers up to ten different layouts, four footer columns, custom link and accent colors, and a custom site header. Brand and content-focused editorial teams will love publishing with this theme. Newsy: Home Page Designed by Themify, Newsy comes with an impressive set of Theme Options that afford you a great deal of flexibility with how you… -
Read All Your Favorite Blogs in One Place
19 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pmIf you feel like it’s a chore to keep up with all your favorite blogs, you can now read posts from all the blogs you follow (even the ones that aren’t on WordPress.com!) in one convenient place on the WordPress.com home page: Your reader displays all the posts across all the blogs you follow in the order they were published, with the most recent content appearing at the top. You’ll see an excerpt of the introduction to each post, the first image in the post, and thumbnails of any other images that the post contains. You can even like and reblog WordPress.com content directly…
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FMF BlogFMF News Feed | FMF Blog
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Same-Sex Marriage Referendum Likely to Appear on ME Ballot
27 Jan 2012 | 10:25 amEqualityMaine, the American Civil Liberties Union, and the Main Women’s Lobby announced on Thursday that they have 105,000 petitions signed by Maine voters, which far exceeds the 57,277 required to place a question on the November ballot regarding same-sex marriage. The Secretary of State’s Office now has 30 days to certify that the signatures are valid. Three years ago, Maine residents voted 53 to 47 on a referendum to overturn the state Legislature’s vote to legalize same-sex marriage. Betsy Smith, executive director of EqualityMaine, stated, “Many people have changed… -
Abortion Medically Safer than Childbirth
27 Jan 2012 | 10:23 amA new study, conducted by Dr. Elizabeth Raymond and Dr. David Grimes and published in Obstetrics & Gynecology, indicates that the likelihood of women dying during childbirth is 14 times higher than the likelihood of dying during an abortion. According to the study, between 1998 and 2005, one woman died per every 11,000 pregnancies but only one woman died per every 167,000 legal abortions performed. Moreover, women who carried their pregnancy to term were more likely to experience high blood pressure, urinary tract infections, and mental health disorders than women who had abortions. -
IN Senate Committee Votes to Restrict Medical Abortion Pill
26 Jan 2012 | 10:23 amYesterday, the Indiana Senate health committee voted 5 to 4 to further restrict women’s access to RU-486, or the abortion pill. If the bill passes, doctors would be required to conduct an in-person examination of a woman before prescribing the abortion pill, as well as give her written information of the risks of an abortion and perform a follow-up ultrasound two weeks later. Doctors who fail to comply could face misdemeanor charges. The bill also requires that doctors follow FDA guidelines recommending that doctors prescribe a 600 milligram dose of the drug, even though studies have… -
AZ Congressman Introduces Bill to Restrict Abortion in DC
26 Jan 2012 | 10:22 amArizona Representative Trent Franks (R) introduced the District of Columbia Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act this week that would prohibit women in the District of Columbia from having an abortion after 20 weeks gestation unless her life is in danger. The bill is based on the unfounded notion that the fetus can feel pain at this point in the pregnancy. The American College of Gynecology refutes assertions that fetuses can feel pain at 20 week, stating that there is “no legitimate evidence that fetuses can experience pain.” Washington DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton… -
Abortion Rate Stalls Worldwide
24 Jan 2012 | 11:20 am“Induced Abortion: Incidence and Trends Worldwide from 1995 to 2008,” a study conducted by the Guttmacher Institute and the World Health Organization and published in the Lancet, indicates that since 2008, the decline in the worldwide rate of abortions has stalled. According to the study, “between 1995 and 2003, the overall number of abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age (14-44) dropped from 35 to 29.” However since 2008, the rate as remained at 28 per 1,000. Gilda Sedgh, the lead author for the study, stated, “The declining abortion trend we had seen…
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Wikio - Feminism
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Three faces of feminism: Louise Mensch, Laurie Penny, and Jodie Marsh ↬ (Spag Blog)
28 Jan 2012 | 5:01 amGreat post on Libertarian Lou’s Blog: Feminism is useless if it’s only interesting to the women who are on Newsnight, or watching and tweeting about it. It’s useless if it’s only about people who know they deserve to be treated with respect, and to feel safe. λ λSource : Spag BlogExplore : Celebrity, Jodie Marsh, TV -
The 2012 Galactic Suburbia Award (Ambling Along the Aqueduct)
27 Jan 2012 | 7:11 pm... associated blogging and podcasting, and basically fighting the good fight Helen Merrick, for the "Feminism" article on the SF Encyclopedia: http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/feminism (i think its a rewrite not new) Jim C Hines for “Jane C Hines” and associated blogging, raising awareness of feminist issues in the SF/Fantasy publishing field. -...Source : Ambling Along the AqueductExplore : Activism -
Gloria Steinem Interview with TEDxWomen (WMC Blog)
27 Jan 2012 | 2:58 pmWMC Co-Founder Gloria Steinem was interviewed by Salamishah Tillet of TEDxWomen on modern feminism, media, aging, and the future of feminism, among other things. Check out the full interview here.Source : WMC BlogExplore : Gloria Steinem -
The Catholic Crackdown on Feminism (Daylight Atheism)
27 Jan 2012 | 11:41 amIn 2009, the Roman Catholic church convened an "apostolic visitation" - a sort of modern-day auto-da-fe - a rare step taken when the Vatican feels that a church-affiliated institution has gone seriously astray. The church officials in charge of the investigation conducted interviews at almost 400 ... Read MoreSource : Daylight AtheismExplore : Catholicism -
Kindly Old Ron Paul (Lawyers, Guns and Money)
27 Jan 2012 | 10:59 amOf course he was fully aware of and approved of the content of his racist newsletters: But people close to Paul’s operations said he was deeply involved in the company that produced the newsletters, Ron Paul & Associates, and closely monitored its operations, signing off on articles and speaking to staff members virtually every day. [...]Source : Lawyers, Guns and MoneyExplore : Government, Politics, Ron Paul, The House
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Bitch Blogs
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Thursday Night 'Lights: Does 30 Rock Need a Shake Up?
27 Jan 2012 | 5:25 pmThis week's lineup was an odd one: two new episodes of 30 Rock, a new episode of Parks and Rec and a repeat of Up All Night. read more -
Project Runway All Stars: Gelato Problems
27 Jan 2012 | 4:31 pmIt was a gelato- and von Furstenberg-filled challenge for our Project Runway All Stars last night, but no amount of gelato could cheer us up after that judging disaster. Joanna Coles is just as upset as we are about all of this. read more -
"We Live in a Hip Hop Culture": Tracy Wright & Althea Hart on using hip hop to discuss sexual and domestic violence
27 Jan 2012 | 2:53 pm**Don't forget to take our Podcast Survey!** read more -
On Our Radar
27 Jan 2012 | 1:50 pmEvery day is a good news day when Ice-T gives you his political predictions. If you're bummed out at Oscar nominating five white guys for Best Director yet again, check out Cannonball's list of five women that should have been nominated instead. read more -
The 99%: "Finding North"
27 Jan 2012 | 11:55 amThis is the second of three posts on films from the 2012 Sundance Film Festival addressing inequality, poverty, and social class. read more
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commondreams.org
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What Military Austerity? A Shift in Spending, Not Reduction
27 Jan 2012 | 1:40 pmThe Pentagon released its latest budget request outline on Thursday in what was proposed as a paring down of defense spending; however, as many are now examining, the proposal aims to make cuts in certain areas, but it would actually increase baseline spending over a 10-year period. The proposal would expand the budget for technology and major weapons systems as well as for an increase in presence in Asia. read more -
Public Eye Awards: Mining Giant Vale and Barclays Top Corporate Villian List
27 Jan 2012 | 1:19 pmBrazilian mining giant Vale and UK-based Barclays bank were given the dubious honor of being the top vote-getters in this year's survey asking participants to name the world's most destructive international corporations. The results of the survey are gathered by The Public Eye, an effort organized jointly by the Berne Declaration and Greenpeace Switzerland, and announced annually at an awards ceremony held during the World Economic Forums's gathering in the Swiss town of Davos. read more -
Single Payer Falls 2 Votes Short In California Senate
27 Jan 2012 | 12:59 pmWhen California's SB 810 -- Single Payer Health Care for California passed through the California Senate's Appropriations Committee by a 6-2 vote last week, activists thought they had an excellent chance to get the "Medicare for All" bill passed by the full Senate. read more -
Dirty Biofuels: Leaked Data Shows Some Worse Than Fossil Fuels
27 Jan 2012 | 12:41 pmAccording to leaked data from the European Commission obtained by EuroActiv, greenhouse gas emissions from some biofuels are higher than those from fossil fuels, when Indirect Land Usage Change (ILUC) is factored in.Palm oil-driven deforestation in Borneo (photo: Rainforest Action Network) read more -
Postponed Joint Israel-US War Games Back On?
27 Jan 2012 | 11:10 amOn January 15th, Israeli and American officials mysteriously postponed plans for a massive missile drill, but now the exercise, originally slated for this spring, will apparently be scheduled for October 2012. DEBKAfile, the Jerusalem-based English language Israeli military intelligence website said of the earlier postponement: read more
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Women's eNews
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Ecuador Closes Down Torture; Egyptians Nix Rights
27 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pm(WOMENSENEWS)-- Cheers read more -
Two War Films Are February's Dark Dazzlers
26 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pmread more -
Arabic Twitter Stars Come Face-to-Face in Cairo
26 Jan 2012 | 4:00 amread more -
Family and Work: An Immigrant Woman's Dilemma
25 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pmMidnight passes and it is intensely cold on Roosevelt Avenue. On the corner of 82 Street, Maria Gomez, a-39-year-old Mexican, carefully cleans the space occupied by her food cart. read more -
Cameroon Rape Victims Confront Legal Gauntlet
24 Jan 2012 | 11:00 pmread more
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feminist blogs
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Silly Site o’ the Day
28 Jan 2012 | 3:49 amNot really a silly site, but an infographic on how the movie industry is Wrong Again, by the brilliant and insightful Anne Rhodes:I love this graphic not only because of all the good info it contains all in one place so you can see the patterns of wrongness, but because it takes up so much room on my page so it looks like I've been blogging more. :) Via Neil Gaiman, Wil Wheaton and probably lots of others. -
Logging In
28 Jan 2012 | 3:43 amHello! I logged into the email associated with this account to see I’d gotten some pingbacks and that the rape schedule post had garnered a bit of attention. So thanks! No thanks however, to the person commenting on the entry with lots of victim blaming and slut shaming. It was refreshing to post the “not approved” button. In other news, the Republican primary is hilariously awful and my Nana is Catholic and supports Planned Parenthood. Whoo! -
Draft Chapter 3–my father’s memoir
28 Jan 2012 | 1:17 amWhilst in kindergarten some bulldozersarrived and started to flatten a hill on the other side of the playingfields. We were told this was for a new hostel. One day, my mothersaid to me would you like to go to boarding school. My dad thought itwould be very good for me. I had now reached a stage in life where didn'twant to avoid challenges. If everyone was saying to me this is goodfor you, I realised they wanted me to do it. I was six at thetime. In due course, the bulldozers left and this square block ofbuilding started to rise. In due… -
Angry Gov. Jan Brewer Wags Her Finger in President Obama’s Face (Photo)
27 Jan 2012 | 7:52 pmThe ultra conservative Governor Jan Brewer greets, or scolds, President Obama in Phoenix, Arizona by wagging her finger in the President's face. Something you don't see very often. Liberal Politics Feminist News Gender -
Double Standard in Action
27 Jan 2012 | 5:12 pmWe called him Loofty. We teased him good-naturedly about how grumpy he was. We screeched and hollered with delight when he’d do something that previous classes had received as evidence of his hardness. . . One day, he came to class wearing, instead of his ancient, tattered, fatigues-green lab coat, a bright, crisp, new white lab coat. “Loofy, looking FOXY!” I said. C and I made exaggerative “sexy” gestures, hands against our foreheads as we pretended to faint, licking our index fingers and sizzling them against our butts. Of course, if male students did that to…
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Feministe
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Heading Toward Menopause, Still Caring About Abortion
27 Jan 2012 | 1:24 pmBy Andrea Plaid, cross-posted at On The Issues Magazine I’m not an aberration because I’m a childless, employed, divorced, college-educated Black cisgender woman — regardless of what the promulgated stereotypes undergirding the media stories about women like me say. At this point in my life — I’m in my early 40s –I’m drumming my fingers waiting for my first hot flash. And I still deeply believe in keeping abortion legal. Even with this profile, statistics about abortion render my realities invisible — which may lead some people to think that I… -
FNTT Season 8, Round 1: the “Nine times out of ten it’s an electric shaver. But every once in a while…” edition
27 Jan 2012 | 11:29 amBackground on FNTT here. Click through to read this round’s contenders. The usual reminder: Comments below are abusive, insulting and may be triggering. This particular edition is Part 2 of the many, many, many comments left on Feministe after a thoroughly humiliating event that I would be happy to never talk about ever again and wish I could erase from the whole of the internet, but which clearly is going nowhere, and brought out such amazing trolls that it just doesn’t seem fair not to highlight them. The second five are below. 1. Robert Now he’s going to lose his job for… -
FNTT Season 8, Round 1: the Yr Blog Sux! edition
27 Jan 2012 | 11:11 amBackground on FNTT here. Today’s contenders want to let us know that Feministe is Teh Worst! As usual, the comments below the fold are abusive, insulting and may be triggering. Vote for your favorite below! 1. lamers (email: suckit@gmail.com) you are all retarded. get off your couch and go outside! 2. ron_mahogany (website: menarebetterthanwomen.com) This site sucks. What a bunch of angry hairy lesbians. 3. Ebo All this fuckin site does is bitch bitch bitch about one fuckin dudes joke. get over it and move the fuck on with your life. that site probably got twice the veiws because you… -
FNTT Season 8, Round 1: the “So a girl and a vibrator walk onto a plane…” edition
26 Jan 2012 | 1:18 pmBackground on FNTT here. Click through to read this round’s contenders. The usual reminder: Comments below are abusive, insulting and may be triggering. This particular edition is just Part 1 of the many, many, many comments left on Feministe after a thoroughly humiliating event that I would be happy to never talk about ever again and wish I could erase from the whole of the internet, but which clearly is going nowhere, and brought out such amazing trolls that it just doesn’t seem fair not to highlight them. The first five are below. 1. Rivethead: So she was mortified that someone… -
So should we just start calling high heels “body modification”?
26 Jan 2012 | 1:09 pmDisclaimer: I’m in heels today, as I am most workdays. They’re really cute Oxford booties, black patent with white topstitching. They’re currently sitting on the floor next to my desk. According to new research, that might not actually be helping. In feminist discussions of high heels, outside of the feminist/not feminist/anti-feminist arguments, the patriarchal influence/free will arguments, and the choosing-of-my-choice, there’s usually at least one point of agreement: Yes, heels screw up your feet. Often yes, heels screw up your feet, but. But I wear them anyway.
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Hugo Schwyzer
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Overworked, Underappreciated, and Shamed: on relationships and the seasons of libido
26 Jan 2012 | 9:55 pmFrom February 2009. (Note: my daughter’s full name is Heloise Cerys Raquel. We initially planned to call her primarily by her second name, and that’s what we were doing when this post was written less than a month after her birth.) Amanda Marcotte has a short piece up at RH Reality Check on women and libido. For such a brief post, she manages to touch on two separate but interlinked issues: one, the problem with pathologizing low female libido; two, the root cause of widespread “lack of interest.” Here’s the marvelous final paragraph: It’s an… -
Christian Sexual Satisfaction and the Marriage Debate
26 Jan 2012 | 10:55 amIn my Genderal Interest column at Jezebel this week, I look at the recent proliferation of explicit evangelical Christian sex guides. If You Don’t Have Sex With Your Spouse Every Day, Do the Gays Win? examines the ideological underpinnings of this particularly intense focus on erotic satisfaction in heterosexual marriage. Excerpt: Books like Real Marriage and Sexperiment aren’t just full of risible advice and tortured metaphors. (Clark-Flory cites this line from the latter book: “God doesn’t want us to experience little sex in the dog bed; he wants us to… -
Our Pasts, Our Kids, and Google — plus a conversation with Timaree
25 Jan 2012 | 10:31 amAt Role/Reboot this morning, I answer a question I’ve been asked quite a few times over the years, especially in the past month: What are you going to do when Heloise is old enough to Google your name? Excerpt: “You should be the first to bring it up”, says “Ella,” an actress in her late 40s with two teenage boys. Three decades ago, Ella was a troubled teen star with a much-publicized cocaine addiction; at 19, she had a well-documented affair with a married movie executive nearly three times her age. Sober many years and happily married, Ella prepared early to help her sons… -
Talking Past, Present, and Future with the Feminist Theologian
23 Jan 2012 | 10:49 amLast week, I taped an interview with Gina Messina-Dysert, a professor at Loyola Marymount University who has just started the Feminist Theologian podcast series. Gina also tweets at @femtheologian and serves as an editor for the wonderful Feminism and Religion blog. As the controversy around my life and work grew over the past month, Gina invited me to participate in an extended discussion about what’s been going on. When we shot the interview in Universal City last Tuesday I was whacked out on coffee and cold medicine and having a bad hair day, but Gina was very kind and we had… -
The Talmud and 1 Timothy: the real meaning of modesty
21 Jan 2012 | 10:27 amI’ve got a short piece up at Jezebel this weekend. It’s largely a response to this splendid New York Times op-ed from Rabbi Dov Linzer: Lechery, Immodesty, and the Talmud. He writes: The Talmud, the foundation of Jewish law, acknowledges that men can be sexually aroused by women and is indeed concerned with sexual thoughts and activity outside of marriage. But it does not tell women that men’s sexual urges are their responsibility. Rather, both the Talmud and the later codes of Jewish law make that demand of men. In my follow-up, I note that the New Testament, much like the…
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The Curvature
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Teacher Who Was Reinstated After Sexual Abuse Allegations Admits to 20 Additional Victims
11 Jan 2012 | 11:53 amTrigger Warning for discussions of childhood sexual violence, sexual violence in schools, and rape denialism A story of prolonged sexual abuse against children over 25 years shows the dangers of not believing sexual violence survivors who step forward with their stories. In Alabama, a now-retired elementary school teacher named Danny Acker (left) has been charged with four counts of first-degree sexual abuse against two female students under the age of 12. At the time of his arrest, the teacher allegedly confessed to molesting an astonishing 21 female students throughout his career. Making a… -
A Few Notes on Those New Sexual Assault Statistics
15 Dec 2011 | 12:05 pmChances are, this morning, that you’ve seen the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control statistics on sexual violence and domestic violence. Most notably, you’ve probably seen the new statistic that almost 1 in 5 women have experienced rape in their lifetimes. That’s a terrifying statistic, though not a surprising one to those of us who have been involved in sexual violence work for some time. In light of this undeniably already awful news, it may seem cruel to point out that the reality is even worse than it… -
Book Review: The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
6 Dec 2011 | 12:11 pmFew find it surprising that Jim Crow arose following the collapse of slavery. The development is described in history books as regrettable but predictable given the virulent racism that gripped the South and the political dynamics of the time. What is remarkable is that hardly anyone seems to imagine that similar political dynamics may have produced another caste system in the years following the collapse of Jim Crow—one that exists today. – Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness The thesis of Michelle Alexander’s book The New Jim… -
Send a Holiday Message to an Incarcerated Survivor of Prison Rape
5 Dec 2011 | 1:49 pmCurrently incarcerated persons are probably already the most isolated individuals in the United States. Those who are not only incarcerated but also the victims of sexual violence while imprisoned face little support, few mental health and recovery services, the ongoing threat of violence, and even retaliation should they speak of the abuse. With their support networks ripped from them, their right to safety revoked, and their abusers (who are most frequently prison officials) having control over every aspect of their lives, they are among the most vulnerable sexual assault survivors. In… -
Dark Horse
29 Nov 2011 | 9:00 amTen years ago, George Harrison died. John Lennon was always dead. For me, there literally was not ever a time when he was alive. It’s not just that I don’t remember him. It’s that he was gone before I was even born. But George, I remember. Not just from the countless DVDs, both legitimate and bootleg, not just a manufactured “memory.” But in real time. Once, George Harrison was a living, breathing part of the world I lived in. And then, one day, he wasn’t. And though it sounds strange to say, I miss him. Not like I miss Mink, of course. Nor like I miss my…
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Jezebel
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Demi Moore's 911 Call Reveals Her Daughter Was There When She Collapsed [Video]
27 Jan 2012 | 7:00 pmThe 911 operator patiently talks to a few different people, two of whom direct questions to someone in the room they call "Ru," which is Rumer's nickname. What an unfortunate thing for her to have to witness. More » -
Justin Bieber Invites Us to France [Tweet Beat]
27 Jan 2012 | 6:30 pm -
Demi Moore Won't Be Playing Gloria Steinem [Gloria Steinem]
27 Jan 2012 | 6:15 pm -
10 Things You May Have Missed On TV This Week [Video]
27 Jan 2012 | 6:00 pmMore » -
Everyone Waiting Until The Economy Isn't Crappy to Get Divorced and Have Babies [Economy]
27 Jan 2012 | 5:50 pmMore »
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The Angry Black Woman
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An Open Letter From A Black Woman
24 Jan 2012 | 2:49 pmI hurt myself today. I was on Twitter talking about rape culture & this triggering victim blaming post at VSB. And it triggered the hell out of me so I’m just going to say up front that this is coming from that place. See, I said the things I needed to say, but now I have to say something else & it is too long for twitter. And although I am directing this specifically to black men, overall this is something I feel needs to be said to everyone. Black women (like me) are more likely to be victims of domestic violence and sexual assault than almost any other group (the numbers are… -
I Will Believe That Piracy Hurts Hollywood When Hollywood Stops Making Bad Films
23 Jan 2012 | 10:00 amThe reason the entertainment industry’s support of SOPA / PIPA and stance on piracy and the market angers and annoys me is that they are trying to sell us the idea that millions is being lost along with jobs. Have you ever seen the pre-movie commercials where the Best Boy Grip or the Stunt Coordinator try to convince us that pirates are stealing food from their babies mouths? Horrible, right? Thing is, none of that is true. First, the people involved in making movies on that level get paid as the movie is shooting, not after. They get paid no matter how much the movie makes or how much it… -
How To Write About Black Women
17 Jan 2012 | 10:08 pmFirst, state your credentials. It’s okay to be a woman, but not a black woman. Their lived experiences are immaterial and can be dismissed as merely anecdotal. Make it clear that you are not racist or sexist, you are merely concerned about their plight. What plight? Well, pick one. Or several. Marriage, children, lack of the above, too much education, not enough education, welfare, whatever you think will sell. It only matters that you highlight their troublesome natures. Whatever it is, you must be sure to make it clear that they aren’t like other women. They are failing to… -
Dear White Women Who Think You Mean Well,
12 Jan 2012 | 9:03 pmI’m about to get in my feelings as a black mother about this bullshit unsolicited advice to Blue Ivy Carter. I freely admit that I do not give even a tiny bit of a fuck about whatever literary conceits are about to be defended as part of justifying it. Because this letter was not written in a vacuum. This letter was not written out f any genuine concern for her health or safety. This letter was little more than a stunt that used a child of color & her parents to bolster a career. Yes I am sure she will say she meant no harm or disrespect. That she was trying to say good things to Blue… -
Republicans Across The U.S. Are Trying To Disenfranchise Voters – What Are You Going To Do About It?
2 Jan 2012 | 8:15 pmIn case you haven’t been paying attention, Republicans in some state legislatures have been trying valiantly to make it harder for people to vote by chipping away at long-standing policies that have traditionally made it easier to vote and sneaking in policies that the Federal government thought they abolished long ago. The introduction of ID requirements, shortening early voting windows, taking away the ability for citizens to register and vote on the same day, and more. The purpose of this isn’t to make it harder on everyone or, as Republicans claim, to cut down on voter fraud,…
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Muslimah Media Watch
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Friday Links | January 27, 2012
27 Jan 2012 | 12:00 amMali has adopted a new family law, which is actually a step back for the position of women in this predominantly Muslim country. According to this new law, women have to obey their husbands and men are head of the households. After her retirement, Prof. Hasnath Mansur committed herself to the improvement of the lives [...] -
Marching with Dignity – “Sisters” or Not
26 Jan 2012 | 12:00 amJust a month ago, here on MMW, I tried to highlight the fact that mainstream media was focusing on Islamists’ statements regarding what women wear, while, in fact, what was even more dangerous was their vision regarding women and child law. I referred in that article to quotations from Dr. Manal Abul-Hassan about allowing female [...] -
Nina Burleigh’s Contradictory Discussion of “Oxymoronic Creatures”
25 Jan 2012 | 12:00 amSlate recently ran a piece about Azza al Garf, dubbing her a “culturally regressive trailblazer,” and likening her to well-known American female conservatives such as Michele Bachman and Sarah Palin. Azza al Garf, a female member of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party who was recently elected to the post-revolutionary Egyptian Parliament, had not [...] -
Choose Your Caption: Niqab as Illustrative of, Well, Everything
24 Jan 2012 | 12:00 amThe development of a university course about Muslim women in the media and the threats faced by Muslim women activists would appear to be two very different stories. Yet they were both illustrated by nearly identical photographs: a lone Muslim woman wearing black clothing + black niqab. This is far from the first time such [...] -
Book Review: Progressive Muslim Identities
23 Jan 2012 | 12:00 amProgressive Muslim Identities: Personal Stories from the U.S. and Canada is a recently-published anthology, edited by Vanessa Karam, Olivia Samad, and Ani Zonneveld. As described by Zonneveld in the book’s introduction, “This is not a book of Islamic theology or history; a reader looking for that has other sources. This book is a snapshot that [...]
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WIMN's Voices: A Group Blog on Women, Media, AND…
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Vigil-aunties beware!
27 Jan 2012 | 8:58 amA recent report in The New York Times, For Many in Pakistan, a Television Show Goes Too Far, flags a raging controversy that "could well be the beginning of a media consumer rights movement" in the country -
Media coverage of tortured Afghan girl: Did journalists do more harm?
20 Jan 2012 | 2:36 pmBy guest blogger Jessica Mack If you don’t know who Sahar Gul is, sadly, you can Google her name and find dozens of images of her young and badly beaten face. She is a 15-year-old Afghan girl who was recently rescued by police from her in-laws’ basement, where she’d been imprisoned and tortured for nearly a [...] -
Best Thing on the Internet Today: #SOPA author is an online pirate!
19 Jan 2012 | 12:10 amNow that it is well past midnight EST and I’m no longer keeping new content off of WIMN’s Voices as part of the SOPA Strike against online censorship, I can finally post my favorite thing on the Internet on Jan. 18. Hipster puppies? A perennial favorite, but no. A video of the Muppets edited to [...] -
Fake News: Tell the FCC You Demand a Searchable Public Database
22 Dec 2011 | 12:22 pmBy Guest Blogger Libby Reinish A media watchdog sent us this video of Wisconsin station WLUK passing off an AT&T advertisement as news: It sounds crazy, but passing an infomercial off as a news story is legal as long as stations disclose the paid pieces at the end of the program. But a lot of stations don’t even manage that: [...] -
VIDEO: Jennifer L. Pozner Discusses AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Defeat on “The Big Picture” with Thom Hartmann
21 Dec 2011 | 1:55 pmOn Monday, I shared the happy news with you that the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger — which Women In Media & News and many other media activist organizations had actively opposed — was officially dead. And last night, I spent the first night of Chanukah on “The Big Picture” with Thom Hartmann, explaining how the festival [...]
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Womanist Musings
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The Marriage-Industrial Complex
27 Jan 2012 | 10:55 amApril Scissors is a writer and cultural critic. She works to explore and uncover the historical and present implications of faulty representations of people of color, women, and other marginalized groups in politics, popular culture, and media. Find more of her work at aprilscissors.com and on Vocalo.org 89.5fm in Chicago where she is a frequent guest and contributor. Two nights -
Hollow Characters of Colour on Lost Girl
27 Jan 2012 | 8:04 amOkay, sit for a moment, folks and let us consider the side characters of Lost Girl. What can you tell me about them? Well, Kenzi. Kenzi’s awesome. We’ve met her aunt steeped in old Russian folklore, and we know she had problems with her mother and ran away from home. We know she had to hustle and run cons to get by. We know she maintains contact with numerous dubious figures from her time -
Dear Ian Somerhalder Missing Black People Are More Important Than Cats
26 Jan 2012 | 11:53 amI know that I said that I was taking a sick day, but I came across something on twitter that angered me so much that I was forced to write a post. Anyone following Ian Somerhalder on twitter will quickly discover that he has a passion for animals and the environment. He is constantly tweeting to raise awareness or to encourage funding for various groups that deal with either the -
Sick Day
26 Jan 2012 | 8:00 amMy fibro has been flaring for the last week and each day I have pushed myself to keep working. When I woke up this morning, even my eyelids hurt I knew that my body was demanding a couch day. I hope to be back tomorrow folks. It just simply hurts too much to type today. take care and be nice to each other,Renee -
GoDaddy Kicks of Super Bowl Sexist Advertising With the Release of their Commercial
25 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pmI am not a fan of football whatsoever, and so I don't get caught up in the ridiculous sports hype. My only interest in the Superbowl comes from the growing dread as it gets closer, because I know that many advertisers take this opportunity to release racist and or sexist ads. Advertising space during the Superbowl is extremely expensive, and so advertisers have to get their message across as
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Our Bodies Our Blog
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OBOS 40th Featured in The Women’s Health Activist
27 Jan 2012 | 3:25 pmWe’re delighted to see a piece on our recent 40th anniversary global symposium in The Women’s Health Activist, the newsletter of one of our favorite organizations, the National Women’s Health Network. In The Spiral of Women’s Health Activism, NWHN Program & Policy Director Amy Allina talks a bit about our history and reports on panels and presenters from the day, remarking: Early in the day, Jaclyn Friedman, the symposium’s mistress of ceremonies, explained her belief that women’s health activism moves in a spiral, not a circle, because while we are connected to… -
Respondiendo a las Restricciones para el Aborto
26 Jan 2012 | 11:30 amEscrito por Rachel; traducido por Ema Rosero del orginial en inglés Sept 26, 2011. A principios de este año, Guttmacher, reportó que en la primara parte del 2011, los estados promulgaron un número record de restricciones para el aborto. Parece que cada semana hay noticias de alguna nueva restricción, como la promulgación de leyes aprobadas en Arizona y una nueva prohibición para algunos tipos de abortos en embarazos más avanzados (llamados abortos de “nacimiento parcial”) en Michigan. Ayer, el New York Times publicó un editorial, “¿A dónde se están yendo los derechos… -
La FDA Reevalúa los Riesgos de los Medicamentos para la Osteoporosis
26 Jan 2012 | 11:28 amEscrito por Rachel; traducido por Ema Rosero del orginial en inglés Sept. 20, 2011. Los bisfosfonatos (p.e. Fosamax, Boniva, etc.) son medicamentos para el tratamiento y la prevención de la osteoporosis en mujeres postmenopáusicas, pero hay preocupación por los posibles efectos secundarios causados por el uso de estos medicamentos por periodos largos. Entre los posibles efectos secundarios se incluyen: fracturas atípicas de fémur (muslo), osteonecrosis (muerte de la mandíbula), y cáncer de esófago. El otoño pasado, la FDA pidió cambios en las etiquetas de los bisfosfonatos para… -
La Ley para Cosméticos Seguros Atiende un Vacío en las Regulaciones de Seguridad
26 Jan 2012 | 11:25 amEscrito por Rachel; traducido por Ema Rosero del orginial en inglés Sept. 1, 2011. Muchas personas que usan cosméticos en los Estados Unidos no se dan cuenta que no se requieren pruebas o aprobación de la FDA para la comercialización de cosméticos. A su vez, la Agencia Federal no tiene autoridad para requerir que el fabricante retire del mercado productos que no son seguros. Como los cosméticos no son regulados de la misma manera que los medicamentos, es más difícil para el consumidor hacer una decisión informada, y la FDA tiene menos poder para regular la industria de los… -
La Cirujana General lanza llamado a la acción para apoyar la lactancia materna
26 Jan 2012 | 10:16 amEscrito por Raquel; traducido por Ema Rosero del orginial en inglés Jan 24, 2011 La semana pasada la Dra. Regina M. Benjamín, Cirujana General de los Estados Unidos, expidió “Llamado a la acción en apoyo a la lactancia materna de la cirujana general” (The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding). El informe describe los obstáculos y las tasas de lactancia materna en los Estados Unidos y los beneficios de salud, los beneficios económicos, sicológicos y ambientales de la lactancia materna. El informe es un llamado de acción a toda persona para tomar medidas que…
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Shakesville
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The Virtual Pub Is Open
27 Jan 2012 | 5:00 pm[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]TFIF, Shakers!Belly up to the bar,and name your poison! -
How to End the Week
27 Jan 2012 | 4:02 pmYou need to go no further than a post dedicated to famous paintings improved by cats. Below is my personal favorite. -
2FA, #9
27 Jan 2012 | 3:30 pm -
Quote of the Day
27 Jan 2012 | 2:48 pm"In a new Star Wars game, the biggest threat to the empire may be homosexual activists!" — Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council going all Bib Fortuna over the news that software developer Bioware will allow same-sex relationships in Star Wars: The Old Republic.See also. -
Number of the Day
27 Jan 2012 | 2:40 pmZero: The number of shits I give about any defense of Ron Paul that tries to argue he didn't know full well what the content was of the racist newsletters that bore his name and signature.I will say again: Does anyone seriously think that radical feminist literature could have been distributed under his name by an organization with which he was affiliated without his knowledge?That's rhetorical.And it puts paid to the lie that he was an innocent bystander to the distribution of that racist swill.
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The F-Word: Latest features, reviews and blog posts
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New review: Laura Gibson's grand return
27 Jan 2012 | 2:06 pmLa Grande is Laura Gibson's third album and it seems it's not only the record business that has changed a bit since she released Beasts of Seasons. Today, a review in the Going Out Guide section on The Washington... -
Laura Gibson's grand return
27 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pmKaite Welsh listens to Laura Gibson's latest album and finds her recalling the musical quirks she is best known for but also exploring new territory -
International contest of short films against homophobia
27 Jan 2012 | 8:26 amVia Facebook and RAINBOW website: Calling all European young people RAINBOW (Rights Against INtolerance - Building an Open minded World) is now seeking submissions of short films made by young people aged 15 - 19 years from European countries. The... -
Women in prison: Styal inspection and briefing on foreign nationals
27 Jan 2012 | 3:38 amImage shows a revolving door. Used under a Creative Commons License, courtesy of Dan4th on Flickr. Trigger warning: this post and links in it contain descriptions of self-harm. A report following an unannounced inspection of Styal women's prison by... -
Privacy and prejudice
26 Jan 2012 | 10:25 amPhilippa writes about advice given to Scottish rape prosecutors to use rape victims' medical records in court.
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WordPress.com News
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Chrome Users: Try the WordPress.com Extension
27 Jan 2012 | 1:54 pmWant to receive WordPress.com notifications instantly, even when you’re not on WordPress.com? Add the new WordPress.com extension for Chrome and as soon as you get a new follower or a new like on one of your posts, a notification will appear in your browser: Simply click the icon to view your latest WordPress.com notifications: Start following new blogs without visiting WordPress.com The Chrome extension also makes it easy to follow sites from your WordPress.com account by displaying a Follow button whenever you’re browsing a site that has an RSS feed. Clicking the Follow button… -
Your Stats Have a New Home
26 Jan 2012 | 10:46 amAre you addicted to checking your site stats? You are not alone. The stats dashboard has always been one of the most popular admin screens. It’s gratifying to know that people are visiting your place online. With the WordPress.com front page evolving into a one-stop shop for posting, exploring, following and reading blogs, it seemed natural to put your blog stats there, too. Stats are becoming more and more about interacting with your readers and other bloggers. You’ll still see your summary stats and chart on your main dashboard, and the full stats page in your dashboard will… -
Reblogging is Back!
22 Jan 2012 | 1:27 pmAs we mentioned last week, you can like and reblog posts directly from your reader, which displays a stream of all the updates published on all the blogs you follow from your WordPress.com account. We’ve also brought the reblog button back to the toolbar that appears at the top of the screen when you’re logged into WordPress.com. Note that you’ll only see the like and reblog options while you’re looking at individual posts. For example, you’ll see this on the left side of your toolbar while viewing http://en.blog.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/read-blogs: And your… -
New Theme: Newsy
20 Jan 2012 | 12:18 pmIt’s been an extra big week in the news ’round these parts, so much so that the launch announcement of our latest premium theme seems like an extra extra good way to headline our Friday. Newsy is a versatile business and news-friendly theme that offers up to ten different layouts, four footer columns, custom link and accent colors, and a custom site header. Brand and content-focused editorial teams will love publishing with this theme. Newsy: Home Page Designed by Themify, Newsy comes with an impressive set of Theme Options that afford you a great deal of flexibility with how you… -
Read All Your Favorite Blogs in One Place
19 Jan 2012 | 6:04 pmIf you feel like it’s a chore to keep up with all your favorite blogs, you can now read posts from all the blogs you follow (even the ones that aren’t on WordPress.com!) in one convenient place on the WordPress.com home page: Your reader displays all the posts across all the blogs you follow in the order they were published, with the most recent content appearing at the top. You’ll see an excerpt of the introduction to each post, the first image in the post, and thumbnails of any other images that the post contains. You can even like and reblog WordPress.com content directly…
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Skepchick
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Skepchick Quickies 1.27
27 Jan 2012 | 9:03 amDo girls naturally prefer dolls to trucks? Evidence from 2 primate studies – Can looking at primate behavior help us determine how nature vs. nurture affects gender roles? From Shawn. MIT climate scientist’s wife threatened by deniers – “Prominent MIT researcher Kerry Emanuel has been receiving an unprecedented “frenzy of hate” after a video featuring an interview with him was published recently by Climate Desk.” New Hampshire Republicans propose bills that prevent police from protecting domestic abuse victims - From Mark. The craziest conspiracy theorist… -
AI: Critical Thinking 101
26 Jan 2012 | 2:18 pmI can’t recall if we’ve had had this discussion here before — I apologize for the repeat if we have — but as lead organizer for the Houston Skeptic Society, I am teaching a quarterly course on the basics of critical thinking and the processes of skepticism. The class is geared for those just discovering skepticism, or for those who might want to brush up on their critical thinking skills. Now I have a basic outline for the course, and I know pretty much how the class will unfold, but I thought I’d pick your brains for even more ideas; especially since most of… -
When The Feared Have the Most to Fear
26 Jan 2012 | 1:14 pmDespite being an ex-Muslim, i.e. someone who learned so much about Islam that she was appalled enough to leave it, I’ve been accused of being an apologist for Islam. Incidents like the actions of the New York Police Department are what make me sound like I love Islam rather than have left it. A year ago, accusations began to fly concerning the New York Police Department’s chosen methods for combating terrorism done by Muslims. Specifically, it was alleged that, as part of training, officers were being shown The Third Jihad, a film intended to spread the idea that American Muslims… -
Skepchick Quickies 1.26
26 Jan 2012 | 8:36 amTIME tells ladies to stop kvetching about doing more chores than men – Because it’s only 20 more minutes a day, which doesn’t add up to anything, right? From John. This paper on men falling asleep after sex is Exhibit A for weak evolutionary psychology – “So… what does the study actually prove? Nothing. It’s a flawed study that proves only that people are eager for “findings” that prop up gender stereotypes.” HPV vaccine does not cause autoimmune disease – From Kathy, who links to the original in her post if you want to go read… -
Measuring Success: Proving that Activism Works
25 Jan 2012 | 2:00 pmWhen you are trying to change the world, how do you know when you’ve succeeded? Last week, when Skepchick went dark, did it do any good? Last year, I put together a workshop on skeptical activism with the fantastic Desiree Schell. I thought it might be useful to share some of the components of this workshop in a few blog posts, and to provide some examples of activism that are working or that are not. More and more, skeptical groups are starting to move into the realm of activism. As we continue to see examples of poor critical thinking, bad information and societal trends toward…
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Viva la Feminista
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2012 Blog for Choice Day
22 Jan 2012 | 10:00 amI know I'm supposed to be talking about 2012 elections today, but today I am in Mexico on the first full day of the Nobel Women's Initiative's delegation. And yes, I wrote this before I left...But I must reflect on my thoughts about being in Mexico on Roe v. Wade Day. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the number of unsafe abortions around the world are on the rise. Abortions are unsafe when performed by unskilled people and/or under unsanitary conditions. Here in the USA, I am sure we still have back alley abortions. But I think we consider them last resort or hope they are mostly a… -
Andele Feministas!
20 Jan 2012 | 10:00 amI'm off to Mexico tomorrow! I'll return home on January 31st. Until then, you can find me at the Nobel Women's Initiative's delegation blog, Twitter feed, Facebook page and perhaps even their Flickr site. I am a torn feminista. I am so excited that I'm sick to my stomach about meeting the wonderful women I'll be traveling with, the courageous women we will meet and seeing the beautiful countries we will visit. I am weighed down with the burden that I know this trip will leave me with. This is a fact-finding mission. Meaning we will be doing a lot of listening to women who have lived through… -
According to Honda, your life ends with marriage & the baby carriage
17 Jan 2012 | 11:00 amHave you seen Honda's new ad campaign? It's called "The Leap List" and I guess the reason I didn't get a pitch about it is that I'm an old married mother. Far past the apparent target audience for "The Leap List." It's a rip off from the old idea of having a bucket list, but instead of making a list of things to do before you die, it's asking pepole to make a list of awesome things to do before making a big leap in life. Two leaps that Honda thinks you should make lists about? Babies and marriage. Take a look: So what do we learn here? That men will be restricted from doing awesome things… -
CFP: Stay at Home Mothers: An International Perspective
16 Jan 2012 | 4:00 pmCALL FOR PAPERS Demeter Press is seeking submissions for an edited collection Stay at Home Mothers: An International Perspective Editors: Elizabeth Reid Boyd and Gayle Letherby DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS: June 1, 2012! Stay at home mothers and the 'mommy wars' are a continuing phenomenon worldwide. This book will be the first international edited collection exploring debates and issues surrounding mothers returning to/staying at home from a variety of countries and perspectives. Stay-at home mothering remains a significant social and gender trend. Over the last decades, there… -
GIVEAWAY: Witches, Wizards, Spells and Elves: The Magic of Shakespeare
13 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pmWitches, Wizards, Spells and Elves: The Magic of Shakespeare by Bruce Adolphe featuring performers from The Chicago Chamber Musicians and CST in Chicago Shakespeare’s Courtyard Theater January 21 and 22, 2012 at 10:00 and 11:30 a.m. Viva la Feminista is happy to offer one lucky reader four (4) tickets to next weekend's Witches, Wizards, Spells and Elves: The Magic of Shakespeare. Theatrical magic and musical masters blend to draw young audiences into the performing arts in an hour-long family concert. Chicago Shakespeare actors and The Chicago Chamber Musicians bring together…
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Femagination
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Amazing Anti-Aging, Anti-Ugly Beauty Product
15 Jan 2012 | 6:52 amFotoshop by Adobé from Jesse Rosten on Vimeo. Posted at Femagination - the feminist imagination blog. Copyright © Femagination.com, 2011. All Rights Reserved. Related posts: Friday Videos: JK Rowling Speaks on the Benefits of Failure JK Rowling gives the commencement speech at Harvard and talks... Girl Drive: A Feminist Road Trip Just released on November 1st, Girldrive is a book about... Friday Videos: Translating Feminism This hour-long video is from an Institute of Research on... -
Rethinking Abortion
2 Jan 2012 | 8:02 amA friend of mine recently told me that she used to be strongly pro-choice but now, because of experiences she’s had in her own life and seeing what other women have gone through, she’s decided that she’s pro-life. She said she’s concerned about the psychological damage to women who have abortions. She also feels many women have abortions for selfish reasons and there are very few good reasons for having one. To tell the truth, I was surprised at how much I agreed with her. I’ve never felt comfortable about women having abortions just because they don’t want… -
My Road to Feminism
30 Nov 2011 | 2:29 pmVery few people set out to become feminists. It’s not a philosophy that they just happen to pick out one day as if it was a dish in a smorgasbord. Becoming a feminist is usually a process. Things happen that shake us up and make us question everything we thought we believed. In my case, I became a feminist after having an abortion. It’s not that I was looking for absolution. It was more that I was trying to make sense of this happening to me. What were the implications of being a woman who had aborted her child? How had other women handled it? Why didn’t anyone talk about… -
Is Being a Crone a Bad Thing?
16 Nov 2011 | 7:17 amThere are many books out that refer to the older woman as a “crone” and claim that the crone years (menopause and beyond) are the best part of a woman’s life. I’ll be sixty in February and I went through menopause several years ago. So I guess I qualify as a crone. But it’s hard for me to see that as a positive image. Wikipedia describes the crone this way: The crone is a stock character in folklore and fairy tale, an old woman who is usually disagreeable, malicious, or sinister in manner, often with magical or supernatural associations that can make her either… -
The Making of a Mother
27 Oct 2011 | 9:19 amIn less than a month my youngest daughter is about to become a mother for the first time. Like most new mothers-to-be, she has a lot of concerns and questions. Many of them are about her baby: What are babies like? How do you care for them? What will her baby look like? What if she’s a difficult baby? Even more, at this point, are about labor and delivery. My daughter has done a lot of reading, but of course nothing really prepares you for the real thing. But there’s one question that’s not addressed very often and that is: how will I know how to be a mother? I try to…
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Kitsch-Slapped
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Signs Of The Times, 1945
24 Jan 2012 | 3:35 pmA vintage photo, taken by photographer Joseph Jasgur, of Earl Carroll’s Vanities pin-up girls picketing in front of a Los Angeles movie theater — a staged publicity event “against” the... -
Still Dreaming Of The Burger King
9 Jan 2012 | 5:22 pmI troll eBay; hey, it’s part of my job. So I was conflicted when I saw one of those kitschy BK pillowcases on eBay. I love Burger King — the... -
The Good, The Sad & The Ugly (A Link Round-Up)
6 Jan 2012 | 10:24 amThe Good: A Washington state proposal would require private insurers to cover abortions. The Sad: The incredible photographer Eve Arnold has passed away. The Ugly: Losing Ground on Women’s Rights:... -
More Menstruation History: Unitex Sanitary Panties
6 Jan 2012 | 6:07 amA vintage pair of Unitex Sanitary Panties — brand new, unused, in the original box with all the instructions, etc. The panties are made of sheer nylon with a rubber... -
These Eyeglasses Look Upside Down – But They’re Not! (I Want!)
5 Jan 2012 | 1:59 pmI found this Bert Stern photo of Kecia Nyman at Magdorable! — and fell in love with these glasses from 1965! I’ve not been able to find anything like them,...
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Gender Focus - A Canadian Feminist Blog
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Why Poll Data Doesn’t Matter
28 Jan 2012 | 7:29 amThis article was originally posted at Anti-Choice is Anti-Awesome. Cross-posted with permission. Peggy Cooke is a reproductive justice activist and former abortion clinic worker living in Toronto, ON. She likes feminism, grammar, and sharks. So, I guess there’s been an Angus Reid poll that found that 51% of Canadians favour some restrictions on abortion – and 60% favour restricting sex-selective abortion. I have some thoughts. First of all, who are these people who don’t think there should be any restrictions, but then do think that, oh yeah, if it’s for sex selection… -
Au Revoir, “Mademoiselle”
27 Jan 2012 | 11:20 amFeminists in the French town of Cesson-Sevigne have abolished the use of the word “Mademoiselle” on official forms. Women will be addressed as Madame from now on, regardless of age or marital status. This is nothing new to American, Canadian and British women, many of whom opt to be called Ms. instead of Miss or Mrs. The idea is that women do not want to be defined by their marital status, a freedom which men have always enjoyed and sometimes take for granted. While this might seem like a minor change, it is actually an important step toward dismantling institutionalized sexism. As the… -
FFFF: Miranda Hart
27 Jan 2012 | 6:54 amA couple of clips from Miranda Hart’s BBC series Miranda. In the first one she’s trying to talk to a computerized operator that doesn’t recognize women’s voices. In the second one she says “poo balls” a lot. And it’s been that kind of week. -Jarrah -
Review: We Shall Remain
26 Jan 2012 | 7:46 amIf you’re looking to fill in some of your high school history curriculum’s blanks and learnabout Native American history, you could do worse than watching We Shall Remain, a 5-part series from PBS’ American Experience. Though it originally aired in 2009, you can now watch full episodes online or download the episode transcripts on the PBS site, or download the series from iTunes. Given the lack of accessible documentaries on Indigenous history, We Shall Remain is important. And on many levels it does a good job. Each episode takes a crucial historical moment, starting with the first… -
The Skinny on Childhood Obesity
25 Jan 2012 | 10:36 amOne of the young overweight girls featured in an anti- childhood obesity campaign in Georgia was interviewed last week on CBS about her involvement in the project. The project featured five overweight children, each linked to a different way children are affected by being obese. Chloe McSwain, 11 boasted high self-esteem by telling CBS News she thinks she is “very pretty.” McSwain wanted to be involved in the project to “help kids” by raising awareness. According to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the folks who created this campaign, over one million kids in Georgia are…
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the ch!cktionary
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did you book your trip through a travel agency that offered some kind of package? i'm looking to vacation in southeast asia but packages seem so expensive!
26 Jan 2012 | 10:54 pmNo, I didn’t book a package. I paid for my transcontinental flights with airline miles and booked a couple hotels at employee rates, thanks to my mom’s discount (she works for a hotel chain). I also stayed with people during a couple points, when I couldn’t find available rooms. I’ll be honest: I’m not a huge fan of vacation packages. My first trip to Southeast Asia (back in 2008) was planned by a travel agency. I was traveling in a group and there was limited time, so a package made sense then, but if I could do that trip all over again (and one day, I totally will), I would have… -
Hands down, my favorite part of the all-too-brief trip to...
26 Jan 2012 | 1:00 pmHands down, my favorite part of the all-too-brief trip to Shanghai: our little sojourn to 50 Moganshan Road, a group of warehouses transformed into contemporary art galleries. It still carries some remnants of its indie past, but has clearly become increasingly developed over the years. I got a bunch of postcards from my favorite exhibitions, including Yu Lin’s Red Guards series and Xuanmin Jin’s Shikumen series. Sadly, we didn’t spend as much time in the galleries as I would have liked, since most were closed for the Lunar New Year. When I next find myself in Shanghai, though, this… -
Name ten of your favorite books? :)
26 Jan 2012 | 10:42 amOOOH THIS IS TOUGHIE. This is probably an incomplete list (especially since I’m in LA and not currently in front of my bookshelf in Boston) and I do have to separate “literary” recs from pleasure reading, but here’s the former: Fear of Flying, Erica JongSlouching Toward Bethlehem, Joan DidionThe Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, Hunter S. Thompson The Women’s Room, Marilyn FrenchHunger: A Novella and Stories, Lan Samantha Chang You can likely deduce from the above list that my ideal book would be a coming-of-age story… -
The actual “sample” form at the Chinese visa office...
25 Jan 2012 | 12:00 pmThe actual “sample” form at the Chinese visa office in Hong Kong. Copies of this were hung up all over the room - I suppose this was an attempt to encourage foreigners to fill out their applications correctly and honestly? The Chinese government: even more ludicrous that I’d previously imagined. -
Language Immersion
24 Jan 2012 | 3:15 pmWhen I was out at a nightclub in Shanghai the other night, there was this inebriated Chinese guy who was making my gaydar go off in all kinds of ways. One second, he’s humping a male acquaintance in my group - and really, there is no other way to describe the scene except “humping” - the next, he’s grabbing my hand and leading me off the dance floor to his table. I am more than a little confused and he doesn’t speak English so using my barely passable Mandarin, I am able to deduce the following: He is not interested in the aforementioned target of his humping.* He is, in fact,…
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Andi Enns
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MLK on staying silent
16 Jan 2012 | 10:47 amPhoto from the Seattle Times MLK Collection. Andi’s note: Martin Luther King, Jr., has been dead longer than he was alive. Yet his legacy lives on – mostly importantly, in his words about overcoming obstacles and the role of silence in oppression. This is a huge issue in today’s society. In an effort to avoid conflict, we stay silent – or even strive for neutrality – even in the face of oppression, ignorance, and tragic wrongdoing. I read a fable as a child about a man who sees an elephant stepping on a mouse, and the mouse pleads for help. The man says he is… -
Resolutions 2012
29 Dec 2011 | 8:06 amIt’s resolution time again. First, here’s what happened to last year’s resolutions: 1. Make choices that translate into weight loss I didn’t get serious about this until August. I made very little progress for the first 8 months of the year. In fact, it was hard to find any photos to show here, as most photos didn’t show my whole face or using an extreme angle. My wake up call was in August, when someone showed me a photo they took of me straight-on, and I started to cry because I hated how I looked. It wasn’t their fault – I was (and am) overweight. -
Peace journalism, world travel, the politics of doing good
28 Nov 2011 | 3:32 pmI’m revving up for my trip to the Middle East over winter break – assuming I can get the money for a plane ticket. We’re down to the wire here, so something needs to come through and fast, inshallah. (That’s an Arabic word - – that expresses hope for the future. It transliterates as “God willing”.) It would be awesome if an airline would just donate my ticket! Dare to dream. I’ve gotten some great attention for my trip – Kelly Evanson at the Examiner did a really great piece about my trip to Uganda on a peace journalism scholarship and… -
Turn on the lights
11 Nov 2011 | 10:09 amNow revealing my newest project: Turn On The Lights! I have realized (long after everyone else knew this about me) that I have a major passion: healthy relationships and sex lives. I believe that every human being has the inalienable right to feel safe, secure, and fulfilled in his/her/hir romantic relationships. But I also know we don’t pop out of the womb understanding how to connect with others, how to talk about sex and STDs with our partners (still important in adulthood!), and how to effectively communicate our feelings and desires. We have to work on our skills and learn how to… -
United Planet Day Contest
19 Oct 2011 | 3:27 amI won the United Planet Day contest for travel journalism! I entered an essay about my experience in a village outside of Gulu, Uganda. This means I get $2,000 towards my trip to Amman, Jordan this December! I still need $800 for airfare - consider giving a tax-deductible donation!
