Todays Lady News

Judge Who Ignored Woman Allegedly Sexually Assaulted By Court Marshal Is No Longer Employed

Daley Quinn8 hours ago //

Patricia Doninger, the hearing master that ignored Monica Contreras pleas after an alleged sexually assault by a court marshal, is no longer employed by the Clark Country Family Courts. [8 News Now]
The Supreme Court is set to rule on a case originally filed by Abigail Fisher, a young woman who claimed that she was denied admission to the University of Texas because she is white. However, many studies have shown that white women have benefited disproportionately within the working world thanks to affirmative action. [TIME]
In Texas, two female inmates are suing three Live Oak County sheriffs after sharing disturbing information about the “rape camp” that was occurring in the county jail. According to the inmates, many girls had been sexually assaulted and humiliated by the various jailers. [The Raw Story] Keep reading »

Italian Politician Calls For Colleague Cecile Kyenge To Be Raped

Jessica WakemanJune 14, 2013 //

"You Deserve Rape" Sign

An Arizona college is totally cool with a student holding this sign. Read More »

Not This Crap Again

Rep. Trent Franks says pregnancy from rape is rare. Read More »

Today's Lady News

Catch up on all your women's news. Read More »

today's lady news

A right-wing female politician in Italy has been kicked out of her party after she called for Cecile Kyenge, Italy’s first Black Cabinet member, to be raped. Dolores Valandro wrote her comment on Facebook and has since removed it, claiming it was a “joke.” Ha … ha? [Huffington Post, Clutch Magazine]
Nitza Quinones Alejandro is the first-ever out lesbian Latina to be confirmed to a federal judgeship. [Advocate]
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) pointed out that the immigration bill gives preferential treatment to people with education and “marketable job skills,” which has the potential to adversely affect women who seek to emigrate here from countries that won’t give them those opportunities. [Jezebel]
Why working class women are better off injured than pregnant. [Gothamist]
On Hollywood’s priorities and the “impenetrable wall of movies about dudes.” [NPR] Keep reading »

Wisconsin Governor Supports Mandating Transvaginal Ultrasounds For Abortion [UPDATE]

Jessica WakemanJune 12, 2013 //

Not This Crap Again

Rep. Trent Franks says pregnancy from rape is rare. Read More »

Parental Consent Laws

Massachusetts considers easing parental consent rules. Read More »

Dudes Enact Bans

This is a photo of eight men discussing a ban on women's health. Read More »

today's lady news

woman reacts to republican who says men's brains are better

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is supporting an anti-abortion bill that is making its way through the state legislature which would require some women seeking first-trimester abortions to have transvaginal ultrasounds, which are performed by inserting a probe into the vagina. The forced transvaginal ultrasounds are medically unnecessary and are a popular ploy of anti-abortion folks to scare women from obtaining abortions . [Think Progress] [UPDATE: Talking Points Memo disputes that the ultrasounds would be transvaginal, instead stating only "ordinary" on-the-belly ultrasounds would be required. — Talking Points Memo]
Facebook announced a new policy in which it will stop treating photographs of post-mastectomy scars (usually scars on removed breast tissue) the same as it does pornography. Recently, FB also tightened its regulations on gender-based hate speech. [Think Progress]
Apropos of nothing, Austrialian soccer team manager Holger Osieck announced at a press conference that “women should shut up in public.” What? Right! He has since issued a non-apology apology in which he said, convincingly, “It was off the record. It was more of a funny remark. It was nothing against any women or whatever. Definitely just a complete misunderstanding.” [Yahoo] Keep reading »

14-Year-Old Pregnant Rape Victim Slutshamed By Indiana Community

Jessica WakemanJune 11, 2013 //

This whole story is horrific: A 13-year-old girl in Ellwood, Indiana, was raped by a 17-year-old and became pregnant. She decided to carry the pregnancy to term because she is against abortion. Now her community has been slutshaming the teen over her traumatic rape and subsequent teen pregnancy, with people writing “slut” and “whore” on her family’s garage door. Despite the fact that the rapist’s case has been working its way through juvenile court, classmates are still gossiping about whether she might be faking the rape. Meanwhile, the rapist has at least two other young victims, one of whom was only 12, and has been charges with three counts of child molesting. [Slate, IndyStar.com]
Check out an op-ed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) about the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would make it easier for women to sue employers over pay discrimination. [Mother Jones]
Just as expected, the Religious Right is already screeching that pedophiles are going to be thrilled the morning-after pill will now be available over-the-counter. [Raw Story] Keep reading »

Steubenville Hacker Could Do More Prison Time Than The Rapists

Jessica WakemanJune 7, 2013 //

Deric Lostutter, the Anonymous hacker who exposed the Steubenville rape case — in which players on the high school football team sexually assaulted a drunk girl at a party and were protected by their community — is facing hacking-related charges from the FBI, which carry up to 10 years in prison. Ten years, by the way, is a lot longer than either of the convicted rapists will spend behind bars. Lostutter said he is being made an example of by the FBI. [Think Progress]
Ohio’s state Senate advanced a budget bill that strips state funding for Planned Parenthood clinics, which provide reproductive health care to low-income women, including cancer screenings and HIV testing. Instead the state would grant funding to so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” which have been known to lie to women about reproductive health while discouraging them away from abortions. The bill now heads to the Ohio state House. [Raw Story] Keep reading »

High School Graduation Speaker Urges Girls To “Devote Yourself To Your Families And Children”

Mary OdellJune 6, 2013 //

Mitt Urges Marriage

Mitt Romney urges 2013 college grads to get married and have kids. Read More »

A social studies teacher named Peter Heck spoke a high school commencement and instead of encouraging all of the graduates to pursue their wildest ambitions, he really just told the boys to do that. Heck urged the graduating girls to “devote yourself to your families and children. … We need more women as invested mothers.” His word’s echoed a college graduation speech given recently by former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who urged graduates to get married and have kids. [Huffington Post]
Louisiana has just passed a bill prohibiting any unmarried people from using a surrogate to have a child. Since same-sex marriage is also illegal in Louisiana, there is no way for same-sex couples to have a child this way. Calling bullshit on that, Louisiana. [Feministing]
Enraged by the injustice done to them, these fearless survivors of sexual assault are telling both their attackers and society that enough is enough! [Glamour] Keep reading »

Topless FEMEN Activists Charged With Debauchery

Jessica WakemanJune 5, 2013 //

The African country of Tunisia put three activists from the topless feminist group FEMEN on trial for debauchery after they bared their breasts in the city’s capital in May. Their lawyers say the women were not behaving in a debauched manner in the deeply Islamic country because they were staging a political protest, not trying to sexually arouse anyone. [Huffington Post]
Samantha Power, a former adviser to President Obama, will be named as the United States’ ambassador to the United Nations. Power is replacing Susan Rice, who will become Obama’s national security advisor. [Huffington Post]
Hitched columnist Andrea Grimes on how Austin might become the first city in Texas to offer 30 days of paid parental leave to city employees. Note it is parental leave — it could be moms, dads, even same-sex couples. [RH Reality Check] Keep reading »

Republican Congresswoman: Women Just Want To Be “Recognized,” Not Paid Equally

Jessica WakemanJune 4, 2013 //

Equal Work, Equal Pay

But not if you're an insurance agent or any of these other careers. Read More »

Mitt Gets Working Women

They need the flexibility to get home in time to cook dinner! Read More »

Female Scientists Earn Less

Female scientists earn less than male scientists do. Read More »

Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn says she opposes equal pay laws because women just want to be “recognized,” just not paid equally for the same work. Rep. Blackburn then added, “You know, I ‘ve always said that I didn’t want to be given a job because I was female, I wanted it because I was the most well-qualified person for the job.” Way to explain away institutionalized sexism, Rep. Blackburn! (And, yeah, I actually do want to get paid equally.) [Raw Story]
Two cops in Texas have been fired for beating a 25-year-old black woman over an unpaid $150 fine. [Raw Story]
A Roman Catholic school district discriminated against a former teacher and must pay $200,000 for firing her because she chose to get pregnant via artificial insemination. Christa Dias was fired after she informed her employers she was pregnant (she is also unmarried, so presumably she explained how she got pregnant). [NBC News] Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Reader Submission Edition!

Amelia McDonell-ParryJune 3, 2013 //

Jessica is off today, which means Today’s Lady News will be a reader submission edition! Submit your own links to news articles and blog posts about women, girls, trans-identified people, gender roles, feminism or sexism in the comments. Just write a sentence or two summary explaining what the link is about and give everyone a heads up if it has language or imagery that’s NSFW. (And links do get posted in comments — just be patient!) Jess will be back tomorrow!