Tag Archives: feminism

Today’s Lady News: Miss America Is Homeless!

  • The cable channel TLC has announced its three-year contract to air the Miss America beauty pageant is complete and there won’t be a renewal. Could it be that beauty pageants are finally no longer relevant? [Variety]
  • Warning, people who live in Bristol, Tennessee: some random person might walk up to you on the street and hand you a pamphlet that says:
    “You may have been given this leaflet because of the way you are dressed. Have you thought about standing before the true and living God to be judged? Scripture tells us that when a man looks on a woman to lust for her he has already committed adultery in his heart. If you are dressed in a way that tempts a men to do this secret (or not so secret) sin, you are a participant in the sin. By the way, some rape victims would not have been raped if they had dressed properly. So can we really say they were innocent victims?”

    If this happens to you, you’ll have a lot in common with 19-year-old Keshia Cantor, who received such a pamphlet from a lady at the drive-thru window at the Hi-Lo Burger where she works. Area religious groups say they have no idea who is responsible for distributing the disturbing pamphlets. [Tricities.com]

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Today’s Lady News: France Considers Making “Psychological Violence” A Crime

  • On Thursday night, France‘s government approved a proposal to add “psychological violence” to a law that intends to help domestic abuse victims. The proposal does not allow a husband or wife to “act or repeatedly say things that could damage the victim’s life conditions, affect his/her rights and his/her dignity or damage his/her physical or mental health.” Punishment for breaking the “psychological violence” law could be three years in prison or a fine of around $100,000. Some are skeptical that the law will be applicable, but the sponsors say it will help victims by taking into account non-physical acts of intimidation, like aggressive text messages or emails. [New York Times]
  • Nineteen-year-old Hani Khan, who is of Indian and Pakistani descent, said she lost her job at the mall clothing store Hollister because her Muslim headscarf violated the “look policy.” Khan’s manager had told her, in accordance with the “look policy,” she had to wear a scarf that was white, gray or navy blue. Khan consented and worked in the stockroom without any problems for six months. Then the store manager popped in for a visit and six days later when Khan came to work, she was put on the phone with Abercrombie & Fitch‘s human resources. (A&F owns Hollister.) The HR person told Khan her headscarf violated the “look policy” and when Khan refused to remove it, she was taken off the work schedule. A&F declined to comment. [AOL News]

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What Do You Think About Female Firefighters?

The president of the United Women’s Firefighters recently wrote a letter to the Brooklyn federal judge in which she claimed that women are so underrepresented in the firefighting world that the organization is considering a lawsuit against the FDNY for discrimination. But some claim the fact that there are just 32 women in the FDNY has nothing to do with discrimination and everything to do with physical ability. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Utah Bill Would Criminalize Miscarriage From “Reckless” Acts

  • Utah’s House of Representatives and Senate have approved a bill which would criminalize miscarriage caused by an “intentional, knowing, or reckless” act, such as drinking while pregnant. The bill is in response to a 17-year-old Utah girl who, while seven months pregnant, paid a man $150 to beat her up and induce a miscarriage. The girl was not successful and gave the child up for adoption. The Utah bill, which would not criminalize abortions obtained legally, is presently awaiting the governor’s signature. [Salt Lake Tribune, Cleveland Leader]
  • Former Governor of Alaska Sarah Palin will headline the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, this May. [CNN]
  • Oh no! Girl Scout Cookie recall! It’s the Lemon Chalet Cremes, I am sorry to report. The cookies are not thought to be dangerous, but have an unusual taste and smell. [Louisville Business First]

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How To Get More Women In Front Of The Camera? Get More Behind It.

We’re hoping that women like Kathryn Bigelow, the woman behind “The Hurt Locker” who could win the Oscar for Best Director this year, will begin to give voice to the silent minority in Hollywood: women. A recent study done at the University of Southern California turned up some disheartening stats about women in film. Of the 100 blockbuster films of 2007 that were studied, only 17 percent of them were written, directed, or produced by women. Even worse, they found that women were minorities onscreen as well. Female actresses were given only 30 percent of all speaking parts. (I wonder how many women were seen and not heard—that would be interesting to know.) While those findings are fairly depressing, there is some good news. Films with women writers, directors, and producers had about twice as many parts for females. So it sounds like the key to building women’s influence in Hollywood is for ladies to make their own material. Sure, it may be intimidating to go up against your allegedly egomaniacal ex for an Oscar, but if Kathryn wins (and even if she doesn’t), she’ll be an inspiration to up-and-coming females in the movie biz. Here’s to equality in Tinsel Town. [AOL] Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Pentagon To End Ban Against Women On Submarines

  • Defense Secretary Robert Gates sent Congress a letter on Friday in which he announced he will repeal the ban on female soldiers in submarines and going forward, all the subs owned by the U.S. military will have to be retrofitted to add sleeping quarters for women. Women have only been allowed on the Navy’s surface ships, such as aircraft carriers, since 1993. [Los Angeles Times]

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Today’s Lady News: Cuba Wants Ladies To Start Smoking Cigars

Is It Fair To Have Women Test Olympic Ski Jumps, But Not Let Them Compete?

I was interested to find out that before men compete in the Olympic ski jump competition and the Nordic combined, that women are testing out the hills for them. This is particularly noteworthy considering that women are barred from competing in these two events. And yet two women agreed to act as forerunners—the athletes that test out the jumps and runs to make sure conditions are optimal—in ski jumping this year. While these two ladies seem to be thrilled to be involved in the Olympics at all, other world-class female skiers are not cool with them participating and refused invitations to participate as forerunners because they believe it sends a message that it’s OK for women to watch from the sidelines. In fact, some female skiers were so upset about not being able to compete in 2012, that 15 of them filed a lawsuit in the Canadian courts. But the Supreme Court ruled against them. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: VA Lawmaker Says Disabled Kids Are Punishment For Abortion

  • Disabled children are God’s punishment to women who have aborted their first pregnancy, Virginia Assemblyman Bob Marshall said in a press conference on Thursday. “The number of children who are born subsequent to a first abortion with handicaps has increased dramatically,” Marshall told reporters. “Why? Because when you abort the first born of any, nature takes its vengeance on the subsequent children.” We’re not even going to dignify that with a response. [WTOP]
  • A new law in Saudi Arabia will allow women lawyers to argue court cases for the first time. Women will only be able to argue family law-related cases, like divorce and child custody, however. [BBC]
  • Kathryn Bigelow took home Best Film and Best Director awards for “The Hurt Locker” at the BAFTAs this weekend, beating out her ex-husband James Cameron and his flick, “Avatar.” [MTV]

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Today’s Lady News: Malaysian Women Say Caning Was Good For Them

  • This is terribly sad: Three Malaysian women, who were caned under the country’s Islamic laws, said the punishment was good for them. The 17-year-old who was caned for having sex out of wedlock has been quoted in a Malaysian newspaper saying, “I deeply regret my actions as I should have married before having sex.” [MSNBC]
  • Surprise, surprise: young women at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this week in Washington, D.C., have a lot of the same criticisms of how women in politics are treated as liberals do. One woman, Andrea Tantaros, said she can’t stand when people comment on female politicans’ looks. “Guess what? Barack Obama is looking pretty darn tired these days too but I don’t see anyone analyzing his bags,” Tantaros said. Agreed! [CBS News]
  • According to a study on women in the workplace released by the nonprofit Catalyst, female M.B.A.-holders lag behind men in pay, positions and promotions. The study of 9,000 respondents also found women received an average $4,600 less at their first job, despite comparable experience. [Wall Street Journal]

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