Tag Archives: feminism

Quotable: Does Olivia Munn Understand The Definition Of Feminism?

Jessica WakemanJuly 8, 2010 //
Olivia Munn photo

“I just consider myself a person in this world who wants to stand up for everyone who can’t stand up for themselves. I care just as much about the guys as I do about the girls. I want geeks to feel empowered to stand with people who are more socially accepted. And I want girls to feel that they can be pretty and funny and edgy and not apologize for it.”

— Olivia Munn, newest correspondent of “The Daily Show,” won’t label herself a feminist. But isn’t what she stands for — empowering girls to be pretty and funny and edgy and not apologize for it — the exact definition of feminism? Maybe she just doesn’t use the label because feminists have been kinda critical of her (for good reason!). But I still think it’s a cop-out not to just claim the label, like when people say, “Oh, I’m for human rights!” Yeah, we’re all for human rights. And empowering geeks, of course. [NYMag.com] Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: “Today” Will Not Be Throwing A Gay Wedding

Jessica WakemanJuly 7, 2010 //
  • Lesbian and gay couples are urging NBC to open “The Today Show”‘s wedding contest to them, too. The network has said it won’t do so because New York state, where the show is filmed, doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage. Gay rights advocates say that excuse doesn’t hold water because NY actually recognizes marriage licenses from other states, so a ceremony could, in fact, be performed on the show. [TheWrap.com]
  • Louisiana Senator David Vitter said it’s “old news” that his former staffer, Brent Furer, allegedly held a woman at knife point and threatened to kill her. The incident occurred in 2008 and Furer resigned last month after an ABC News report on the incident; Vitter had repeatedly refused to answer questions about why he kept Furer on staff all that time. [ABC News]
  • More crap news from the wage gap trenches: German women expect to earn a lower salary than their male counterparts because men are considered to be the breadwinners. A recent study found German women earn 20 percent less than men, one of the highest gender gaps in the European Union, and researchers theorize they accept the unequal pay as a part of their culture. [Washington Post]

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feminism essay

Jessica WakemanJuly 6, 2010 //

Recently I was at someone’s family party and there were a whole bunch of people I’d never met before. I started chatting about the Twilight books with a woman when she asked me, somewhat accusingly, “You’re not a Christian, right?” Now, I identify as a Christian in the loosest sense of the word. I read liberal, feminist Anne Lamott books, I like Christian teachings about social justice, I used to go to a gay youth group at a Unitarian Church — that sort of thing. What little identification I have with it is more cultural than anything else’ I got the sense that wasn’t the answer she was looking for, though. As tactfully as I could, I said, “I’m probably not the same kind of Christian you are.” She then confirmed that suspicion to me by telling me how she is a true Christian because she lives her life literally from the Bible. She also told me there are a lot of people who think that they are Christians, but they aren’t. I’m guessing she meant me.

Now, like I said, I don’t especially identify as a Christian. But I do resent being told “you’re not Christian enough” or, in this case, “I’m-more-Christian-than-thou.” Who the hell are you to tell me what I am and what I am not? Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Turns Out You Can’t Fire Someone For Getting A Sex Change

Jessica WakemanJuly 6, 2010 //
  • A judge has ruled on behalf of a transgendered woman who claims she was fired when she told her employer she would soon be coming to work dressed as a woman. When Vandy Beth Glenn, a former Georgia state legislative aide, told her employer she would soon be undergoing a sex change, her boss claimed she would make her colleagues feel uncomfortable and the sex change itself was “immoral.” [AP]
  • Feministing co-founder Jessica Valenti is six months pregnant and she has a request: stop touching her belly without asking first. “You wouldn’t touch a non-pregnant person’s belly without asking,” she writes, “so what makes you think it’s okay to just lay hands on mine?” [JessicaValenti.com]
  • South African runner Caster Semenya was cleared today to compete as a woman in future races. Last year, Semenya was found to be intersex — meaning she has both male and female parts — and there was some controversy about how she should be competing. [AFP]

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Al Gore Doesn’t Have To Fight To Get Laid, And Other Things You’ll Learn From Gore Defenders

Jessica WakemanJuly 6, 2010 //

Here are four prominent men who have been accused of sexual assault: former vice president Al Gore, filmmaker Roman Polanski, and football players Ben Roethlisberger and Lawrence Taylor. The accusations against each of them are so very different. But they share one commonality: each has received the benefit of the doubt — in some cases, a lot of doubt — that their accuser is a liar.

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The Women Of “The Daily Show” Say It’s Not A Boys’ Club, Jon Stewart Is Not A Sexist Jerk

Jessica WakemanJuly 6, 2010 //

A few weeks ago, our fellow ladyblog Jezebel.com wrote a post about “The Daily Show,” in which female employees past and present say women correspondents and joke writers aren’t valued as much as men. One past female employee straight-up called it a “boys’ club”; another said the show doesn’t want the jokes and skits to be “too female,” presumably because they might alienate male viewers. When Jezebel penned “The Daily Show’s Woman Problem,” actress/comedian/ex-Playboy model Olivia Munn had just joined the heavily male show and she was the first woman to do so — after Samantha Bee and Kristen Schaal — in several years. Lots of peeps were complaining that “The Daily Show” hires so many new male correspondents, but the most recent female one they hire had Playboy on her resume. All that, when the show is supposed to be so progressive and liberal! It all came to a head last week, when Jon Stewart yelped on air, “Jezebel.com thinks I’m a sexist pr**k!”

Now the women of “The Daily Show” have responded on Comedy Central’s website and they want you to know: they love their job, Jon Stewart is not sexist, and everything is rainbows and bunnies. Portions of their letter, after the jump … Keep reading »

How Women See The Internet

AsylumJuly 5, 2010 //

On the one hand, the Internet can be a great place for women — it’s full of pictures of overweight animals and a wealth of anonymous sex partners. But there’s something else lurking in the Internet’s atmosphere — a mysterious chemical that affects only women in a shocking and tragic way. Watch Asylum’s token girl explain this phenomenon. Read more … Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Staff Argues With Anti-Abortion Protestors

Jessica WakemanJuly 2, 2010 //
  • “Jimmy Kimmel Live”‘s production staff apparently got into a public argument with anti-abortion protesters demonstrating on the streets of L.A. There’s a kind of boring video of the heated encounter, although it’s NSFW due to salty language. [Media Bistro]
  • Lilith Fair, the festival for women musicians, has dropped 10 dates due to poor sales. Well, duh, because you’re charging $250 but you have “artists” like Selena Gomez performing. [Reuters]

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Today’s Lady News: Queen Latifah Says Give Chris Brown “A Second Chance”

Jessica WakemanJuly 1, 2010 //
  • Queen Latifah has spoken up to say it’s time to stop punishing Chris Brown for his assault on Rihanna last year. “The guy is a young guy and he made a big mistake and he needs to bounce back from that,” she said. “And he needs an opportunity for a second chance … We can’t condemn that kid. He’s a kid and he needs to correct the mistake for the future, not live in the past. He needs to be forgiven. Enough already. We can’t keep beating him up.” What do y’all think? [Feministing via Zap2It.com]
  • The Indiana Supreme Court is appointing its first new justice since 1999 and 19 of the 34 applicants (more than half ) are women. Yay! [Chicago Tribune]
  • Judy Blume‘s grandson, 18-year-old Eliot Blume-Pickle, was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with acquaintance rape of a 17-year-old girl last week. The unfortunately named Blume-Pickle allegedly lifted the girl, carried her to a bedroom, and forced her onto a bed in a house on Martha’s Vineyard owned by Judy Blume Trustees. Police say alcohol may have been involved. [The Martha's Vineyard Times (ninth item)]

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Today’s Lady News: “Bright Pill,” A Birth Control Pill For Men, In The Works

Jessica WakemanJune 30, 2010 //
  • Israeli scientist Professor Haim Breitbart is hard at work on the “Bright Pill,” a birth control pill or injection which has proven to cause temporary sterility in mice. But don’t worry! It fades away and the mice are supposedly as virile as they were before. Prof. Breitbart hopes the male birth control will be on the market for human males within the next five years. [Israel21c]
  • Around-the-world-sailor Abby Sunderland, 16, who was recently rescued in the Indian Ocean, is back home in Thousand Oaks, California, and defending herself against critics who say she was too young to sail. “I sailed 12,000 miles by myself, crossed two oceans and sailed around Cape Horn,” Sunderland says. “Questions of my age should have been over a long time ago.” [People]
  • Irresponsible headline of the day: “Brooks man shot wife over nagging.” Do they also run headlines like this: “Man punches wife in the eye because she burns dinner”? [Bangor Daily News]

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