Tag Archives: feminism

Comedian Loses Gig After Confronting Staff Over Their Lack Of Response To Sexual Heckling

Jessica WakemanMay 17, 2013 //

Lisa Lampanelli's racist schtick abuses the art of comedy. Read More »

Daniel Tosh Rape Joke

Daniel Tosh joked about a woman in audience getting raped by five men. Read More »

Whitney Talks Comedy

Whitney Cummings on why it's okay for a woman to be pretty in comedy. Read More »

A Funny Rape Joke?

Jamie Kilstein tells one. Read More »

Comedian Christina Walkinshaw was performing as an opening act at Yuk Yuk’s in Casino Niagra in September 2012 when guys in the audience started yelling at her “Show us your tits!” and then “Show us your bush!” After the show — during which the headliner tried to get the staff to kick the sexual harrasers out, to no avail — she confronted the woman who ran the show for the casino, asking why she didn’t remove the audience members. The woman then told her, “Oh! Sorry! We thought you liked it!” She later found out that an upcoming gig had been cancelled because of the “incident.” [The Globe & Mail]
A federal judge has granted an injunction requested by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the ACLU against a new law in Arkansas that would ban most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. [AP]
Two Democratic politicians in New York have introduced a bill to end deceptive practices by so-called “crisis pregnancy centers.” [RH Reality Check]
What is trans feminism and why is it necessary? [Jezebel] Keep reading »

Zoe Saldana: “There Is No Such Thing As People Of Color”

Jessica WakemanMay 17, 2013 //

Casting Nina Simone

Is Hollywood still colorstruck? The search for Nina Simone is skin deep. Read More »

Onion Under Fire

Some feminists are upset about The Onion's piece on Chris Brown. Read More »

Tokenism?

Erica says lay off "Girls" for being all-white and give black girls a show. Read More »

quotable

“I find it uncomfortable to have to speak about my identity all of the time, when in reality it’s not something that drives me or wakes me up out of bed everyday. I didn’t grow up in a household where I was categorized by my mother. I was just Zoe and I could have and be anything that I ever wanted to do…and every human being is the same as you. So to all of a sudden leave your household and have people always ask you, “What are you, what are you” is the most uncomfortable question and it’s literally the most repetitive question. I can’t wait to be in a world where people are sized by their soul and how much they can contribute as individuals and not what they look like. … Keep reading »

True Story: I Was Sexually Harassed At The Corner Store

Abigail CollazoMay 17, 2013 //

Serial Groper

... gets off scot-free, because that's how we do. Read More »

Stop Telling Me To "Smile"

Telling women to "smile" at you on the street is sexual harassment. Read More »

Gun Pulled On Flasher

Woman pulls gun on flasher, flasher puts penis away and runs. Read More »

Legs Filmed On Subway

Some creep is filming videos of your legs on the subway for YouTube. Read More »

true story

Ten minutes. I was hitting the 10-minute mark of just standing in front of the freezers, seemingly debating whether to buy a quart or a gallon of milk. Or perhaps unsure of which kind I wanted. Skim or whole? Maybe 2 percent? I had a pensive look on my face.

It’s the look I get when I’m frozen inside. Generally from shock. Often from fear. Almost always after a harrowing experience that’s left me momentarily paralyzed.

My allergies had been just horrific, but I’d decided to brave the run across the street to the little bodega anyway because I’d been out of dishwasher soap and milk and coffee filters for three days. As I walked up the steps to the entrance, two men walked out. Because I’m a woman who’s been trained by society not to look strange men in the eye when its dark out and they look potentially threatening, I didn’t. But they stopped in the doorway and came up close to me, speaking far louder than was necessary. “Whoa mama, look at those tits.” “Daaaaamn. Naw like really dog, daaaaaaamn.” One started masturbating and pushed up close to my face as I stared at the ground, trying to navigate around them. He rubbed himself and licked his lips as he undressed me with his eyes and loudly proclaimed what he’d do to me. Keep reading »

Feminists Take Over A Misogynist Facebook Page From The Inside

Jessica WakemanMay 16, 2013 //

Read this story about how six feminists took over a misogynist Facebook page from the inside… [The Daily Dot]
Black women are 49 percent less likely than white women to get tested for the mutated genes that lead to breast cancer. Here’s what else you need to know about how race impacts breast healthcare. [Diversity Inc]
Vermont has passed an equal pay law that targets certain factors that lead to a wage gap. [National Women's Law Center]
North Carolina, thank God, has taken out that part of an anti-abortion bill that would have allowed employers to refuse coverage for birth control. [RH Reality Check]
On the ethics of extreme porn: is some sex wrong even among consenting adults? [The Atlantic] Keep reading »

Women Don ’60s “Mad Men” Costumes To Protest North Carolina Birth Control Refusal Bill

Jessica WakemanMay 15, 2013 //

NC Wants Parental Consent

... for STD testing? Are you serious? Read More »

NC Vaginal Probe

North Carolina's ultrasound-before-abortion law challenged. Read More »

Abortion Provider Threat

NC politician calls for public hanging of abortion providers. Read More »

North Carolina’s state house is set to debate a bill that would allow employers to refuse coverage of employees’ birth control. In protest, a bunch of women dressed up in ’60s-era “Mad Men” garb and sat in the audience! [RH Reality Check, Huffington Post]
A bakery in Oregon is refusing to provide a cake to lesbian brides. Oh this again?. [Raw Story]
The White House is taking proactive steps to lower the wage gap between male and female federal workers. [AL.com]
The director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office said that sexism needs to be taken as seriously as racism within the military. Hear, hear! [USA Today]
Meanwhile, a soldier who was to set up a sexual assault prevention program in Texas has been arrested for “abusive sexual contact.” Facepalm. [Talking Points Memo] Keep reading »

Is There A Penalty For Powerful Women Admitting Mental Illness?

Jessica WakemanMay 15, 2013 //

I Have Depression

Jessica has struggled with depression all her adult life. Read More »

Hyberbole & A Half

Webcomic finds the funny moments in the darkest depression. Read More »

Explaining Depression

What does it really feel like to suffer from depression? Read More »

Feminist Blogger's ED

Feministing blogger Chloe Angyal reveals eating disorder, apologizes. Read More »

Is there a penalty for a woman who breaks through the glass ceiling and, then, from her position of power, admits that she struggled with mental illness in her past?

Yesterday New York City’s Speaker of the City Council and the Democratic candidate for mayor Christine Quinn revealed in the New York Times that she had suffered from bulimia and alcoholism for a good portion of her life. Quinn explained how her mom suffered through breast cancer throughout Quinn’s childhood and after her mom died, binge eating and purging gave her a brief feeling of relief. It was also in college that Quinn binge drank to the point of developing alcoholism. She checked into a rehab center at age 26 and got control of her eating disorder and her problematic drinking; it wasn’t until three years ago that Quinn, who is also the first mayoral candidate to be openly gay, went entirely dry.

Christine Quinn’s admission echoed another powerful woman’s recent decision to go public about a private struggle: “Morning Joe” cohost Mika Brzezinski revealed in MORE magazine that she has suffered from exercise bulimia for many years, meaning that she binges on food and then over-exercises to burn off the calories.

Brzezinski and Quinn aren’t the only two well-known women to admit to mental illness: Carrie Fisher and Catherine Zeta-Jones have both been public about their struggles with bipolar disorder, Lena Dunham talks about her OCD, and plenty of other celebs have been open about their mental health struggles, too. But I suppose that Christine Quinn and Mika Brzezinski fascinate me in particular because they both work in fairly male-dominated fields — the mainstream media and politics — that aren’t known for being warm and fuzzy. Keep reading »

Rep. Michele Bachmann Urges “Spiritual Warfare” Against Marriage Equality, Reproductive Rights

Jessica WakemanMay 14, 2013 //

Teen Stands Up To Sex Ed

Katelyn Campbell just said no to her school's abstinence-only sex ed. Read More »

No "Feminist" Blog

Beliefnet wouldn't use the word "feminist" on a blog. Read More »

Nutso Religious Graphic

Your slutty behavior is killing flowers (or something?). Read More »

Rep. Michele Bachmann is urging Christians to engage in “spiritual warfare” to put their religious values in government, like banning marriage equality and criminalizing abortion. Scary, scary stuff. [Raw Story]
In related I’m-moving-to-Canada news, North Carolina’s state Senate has advanced a bill that erroneously lists abortion as a cause of premature birth. Although the medical community vehemently disagrees, abortion opponents frequently claim that abortion causes breast cancer or makes it difficult for women to have children in the future. The NC bill includes abortion as a cause of “preterm birth” up there with drug use lack of prenatal care. [RH Reality Check]
On Planned Parenthood and the real lessons of the Kermit Gosnell case. [The Daily Beast]
“Elementary” actress Lucy Liu on the limits placed on her for being an Asian actress in Hollywood. [xoJane]
On the inappropriate comments being made about Angelina Jolie losing her natural breasts to a double mastectomy, which she chose to have to prevent breast cancer. [Slate] Keep reading »

Allure Publishes Zoe Saldana’s Weight On The Cover, For Some Reason

Jessica WakemanMay 14, 2013 //

Your Fat Partner

Seven ways to be a good ally to your fat lover. Read More »

Diets are depressing

That's what science says! And science is always right! Read More »

Open Letter To The Fat Girl

Winona pens an open letter to the fat girl. Read More »

Loving Weight Gain

It's alright to love the weight you gained. Read More »

Allure has always been the fluffiest of beauty magazines, as if tailor-made for reading during a pedicure. The June 2013 cover with Zoe Saldana made an extremely odd editorial choice: it listed the actress’ weight on the cover. “Zoe Saldana, 115 Pounds of Grit And Heartache,” the cover line reads. What the fuck, Allure? I suppose they’re insinuating that Saldana is a wispy little thing but she’s also gritty and tough, because apparently you can’t be skinny and tough, or something?

But, really, who cares? It’s not necessary to know how much an actress weighs, especially since the numbers on a scale reveal very little of the person’s actual health. (Take, for instance, Anne Hathaway’s dramatic weight loss for “Les Miserables,” which by all accounts, made her truly miserable and unhealthy.) There’s so much pressure for women, other actresses and models in particular, to look attain a mainstream definition of attractiveness, and how much other women with other bodies weigh is not helpful.

This is a total fail, Allure.

Cab Driver Allegedly Rapes Sleeping Woman, Returns Lost Wallet, Wants A Cookie

Jessica WakemanMay 13, 2013 //

A New Orleans cab driver would much prefer that you focus on the fact he returned a man’s lost wallet and didn’t accept the reward and not that he covered the in-cab surveillance camera and allegedly raped a woman sleeping in the back of his taxi. [Jezebel]
Surprise! White men make up the majority of evening cable news hosts. [Media Matters For America]
California’s state Assembly has advanced a bill that will protect trans students who use bathrooms based on their gender identity, not their physical sex. [Los Angeles Times]
What are Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s thoughts on the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision that effectively legalized abortion in America? [Politico] Keep reading »

Minnesota’s Rep. Peggy Scott Says “My Heart Breaks” Over Marriage Equality Win

Jessica WakemanMay 10, 2013 //

Minnesota’s state House has advanced a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage … [Feminist.org]
… which has one Minnesota Republican named Rep. Peggy Scott very upset. “My heart breaks for Minnesota,” she said. Deal with it. [Raw Story]
Microsoft has named Amy Hood as its first-ever female CFO. [The Daily Beast]
Here’s how to participate in a national call-in for Kiera Wilmot, the teen girl in Florida who was expelled, arrested and charged with a felony all for a science project gone wrong. [Crunk Feminist Collective]
ABC News producer Dawn Ennis has come out to her colleagues as transgender, asking now to be referred to as “Dawn” instead of “Don,” and henceforth dressing in her gender at the office. [Cosmopolitan] Keep reading »