• todays lady news

New York Times Needed Some Help Writing Headlines

Today's Lady News photo
  • The New York Times changed their online headline on this story from “sex charges” to “sexual assault charges” after getting slammed on Twitter. The piece was about the Morehouse student athletes who have been accused of sexual assault. [New York Times]
  • A young Afghani woman was shot dead in front of 300 people by her father for “dishonoring” her family. [Amnesty UK]
  • On Babes At The Museum, a web site of attractive women who frequent art museums. [Gallerist NY]
  • Members of a Cal State San Marcos sorority dressed up like Latina gang members (“cholas”) because I guess that’s funny? [Clutch Magazine]
  • Our Hitched columnist Andrea Grimes on how Texas is seeking to further restrict minors’ access to abortion. [RH Reality Check]
  • The pros and cons of abandoning the word “feminist.” [The Atlantic] Keep reading »

Three Morehouse Basketball Players Accused Of Sexual Assault

Today's Lady News photo
  • An 18-year-old Spelman student has accused three basketball players from Morehouse College of sexual assault. One faces a charge of aggravated sodomy, while two others face both rape and aggravated sodomy charges. [Clutch Online, Madame Noire]
  • Indiana restricted abortion rights even more yesterday. [Think Progress]
  • Hawaii has passed a domestic workers bill of rights, making it only the second state in the country to do so. [Think Progress] Keep reading »

UPDATE: Today’s Lady News: BareMinerals Has Men Carry Creepy “You Look Beautiful Sweaty” Signs At Marathon

Catcalling LEGOs
catcalling construction worker LEGO Sticker
Now we're teaching kids construction workers yell "Hey, babe!" Read More »
Street Harassment
How do you respond? Read More »
Stop Telling Me To "Smile"
Telling women to "smile" at you on the street is sexual harassment. Read More »
  • [UPDATE, May 2: BareMinerals has apologized for the signs, saying they did not "translate" well, and adding "Please rest assured that these signs will not be used going forward on the Go Bare tour." — CollectiveAction DC] Now here’s a corporate stunt that failed to land: the makeup brand BareMinerals had “DC fraternity boys” (their own phrasing) hold signs at this weekend’s Nike Women Half Marathon in Washington, D.C. Sounds innocuous, right? Well, the signs read stuff like “You look beautiful sweaty” (creepy!) and “Cute running shoes!” (Um, thanks?)  If what they wanted was encouragement, they could have chosen slogans that don’t focus on how you look — especially since “You look beautiful sweaty” totally sounds like some creepy comment a dude would make catcalling you. Getting people to cheer on runners would have been a sweet idea. But “frat boys” telling you how attractive you look while running a marathon? FAIL. We must always make the frat boys happy, mustn’t we? Who planned this event, Rebecca Martinson? [Collective Action DC, Facebook.com/BareMinerals]
  • A conservative group is calling up voters in South Carolina and asking, “What would you think of Elizabeth Colbert Busch [the Democratic contender] if I told you she had an abortion?” SLEAZY. [Think Progress]
  • A brief history of “women aren’t funny.” [Bitch Magazine] Keep reading »

LEGO Construction Worker Stickers That Build Sexism!

Little Girls & LEGOs
LEGOs are the perfect gender neutral toy. Why make them "girly"? Read More »
President Barbie
I Can Be President Barbie photo
Meet "I Can Be President" Barbie! Read More »
Wonder Woman LEGO
A Wonder Woman LEGO lady is coming! Read More »
catcalling construction worker LEGO Sticker
  • Last week the blog Talking To Strangers posted about a LEGO sticker showing a construction worker figurines catcalling, “Hey Babe!” LEGO issued a response, where they said, “To communicate the LEGO experience to children we typically use humor and we are sorry that you were unhappy with the way a minifigure was portrayed here.” I’m still scratching my head.  What is funny about the normalizing of street harassment? [Talking To Strangers]
  • A 15-year-old New Jersey teen named Saheela Ibraheem is headed to Harvard next year after being accepted to 13 other prestigious schools including, MIT, Cal Tech, Stanford, Brown and Williams College.  [Clutch Magazine]
  • More in outstanding women, Jennie Lamere, was not only the only female entered in the TVNext Hack Event, but she was also one of three to be titled “best in breed” and win prizes from sponsors.  Her creation, Twivo, would allow you to block tweets about certain shows to avoid spoilers!  She’s a clear reason why we need more girls in tech! [Evolver.fm] Keep reading »

Anti-Abortion Group Live Action Debuts More “Undercover” Videos

Today's Lady News photo
  • The anti-abortion group Live Action today debuted more videos filmed “undercover” at abortion clinics, including ones in Washington, D.C., and the Bronx, NY, claiming they perform “illegal and inhuman practices.” Live Action sent women to clinics where they secretly taped their conversations about a hypothetical, rare late-term abortion with various staff members; to hear Live Action tell it, these doctors are butchering live babies. Live Action videos are always heavily edited — much like reality TV — to make them appear say what Live Action wants them to convey. And what do they want to convey, really? Less than one percent of abortions are performed after 21 weeks. Plus, abortions are legal after 24 weeks in New York State only if a woman’s life is at risk. Not sure what kind of bombshell they were really trying to uncover with this one. [New York Times, Washington Post, Think ProgressMedia Matters]
  • New York is considering a ban on so-called “ex-gay therapy” for minors. [Huffington Post] Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Victims Of 1963 Birmingham Church Bombing Could Receive Congressional Gold Medals

four little girls birmingham church bombing
  • The House of Representatives advanced a bill  to posthumously award Congressional Gold Medals to the four little girls who were victims of a deadly 1963 Baptist church bombing in Alabama. The church bombing was one of the key incidents in the civil rights era. [The Grio]
  • WNBA player Brittney Griner came out of the closet last week and this week the #1 draft pick got signed by Nike. [BuzzFeed]
  • Check out “The UnSlut Project,” an “It Gets Better”-style project for women who were called sluts when they were younger. [Feministing]
  • It’s going to cost Kansas over $1 million to defend its restrictive abortion laws in court. [Think Progress] Keep reading »

Bad-Ass Lady Sailor Beats Up Knife-Wielding Potential Rapist In Dubai

Today's Lady News photo
  • This story is amazing: a soldier in the U.S. Navy beat the crap out of a potential rapist in Dubai who was driving her around on shore leave. During a shopping trip, drove her to a secluded location and attempted to rape her at knifepoint. The 28-year-old woman “ knocked the knife from his grasp, broke it in two, bit his hand, wrestled him to the ground and put him in a stranglehold between her thighs.” The driver was arrested the next day and has been charged with a litany of crimes, including attempted rape. God bless America! [The Atlantic]
  • Meet the dude who stood on the University of Arizona campus holding a “YOU DESERVE RAPE” sign. [BuzzFeed]
  • On race, racism and anti-racism within feminism. [The Feminist Wire Keep reading »

On “Leaning In” While Black

Today's Lady News photo
  • Here’s blogger Tami Winfrey Harris on Sheryl Sandberg and “leaning in” while black. [In These Times]
  • Current students at Dartmouth are warning prospective students about violence against women and queer students on campus. [Feministing]
  • On why pregnancy is more dangerous than birth control. [Slate]
  • Here’s a petition to the White House asking the Obama administration to support sexual assault awareness in education. [Petitions.WhiteHouse.gov] Keep reading »

Black Female Legislators Walk Out Of Florida House Debate On Race-Selective Abortion

Middle Aged Men
7 things we're qualified to teach middle aged men. Read More »
My Abortion
This author says her abortion was the best decision of her life. Read More »
Today's Lady News
Today's Lady News
Catch up on all your women's news. Read More »
black woman
  • Abortion opponents in Florida are currently trying to pass a ban through the House of Representatives that would criminalize abortion on the basis of race or gender. Despite a lack of evidence that race- and sex-selective abortions are a problem in the United States, it’s becoming a popular tactic of the anti-abortion movement to claim reproductive rights are a secret genocidal plot against black folks. You can read a breakdown of such bills — including an amazing smackdown by Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin — from  2011. FL’s Rep. Charles Van Zant, a white dude and a Republican, sponsored the legislation and fulminated last week that abortion is “reducing the black population.” Several black female legislators walked out of the debate on Thursday, claiming the bill is an opportunistic grab to ban abortion. “I don’t appreciate anyone trying to explain what any other ethnic group’s lifestyle is and what they do, when you really don’t have any authority to interpret it,” said pro-choice legislator Rep. Barbara Watson, who is black. “I think the women and people of color in that chamber deserve an apology from him.” Nevertheless, FL’s House eventually passed the bill. [Huffington Post, Feminist.org] Keep reading »

El Salvador Will Not Allow Lifesaving Abortion For Young Mother

Today's Lady News photo
  • A 22-year-old mother of one in El Salvador faces jail time for seeking an abortion on a nonviable pregnancy because her fetus  is developing without a brain. The woman, identified as Beatriz, cannot get an abortion because terminating a pregnancy is illegal in El Salvador under all circumstances, even though the pregnancy is posing a threat to her own life. Beatriz’s hospital asked for permission to legally perform an abortion on her over one month ago, but authorities have not yet responded. She’s now appealing for help from El Salvador’s Supreme Court. [Salon]
  • Posters reading “Stay Strong And Support The Boys” have been posted in the neighborhood of Rehtaeh Parsons, a young woman in Nova Scotia who committed suicide recently after a photograph of her alleged rape was distributed around school and police did nothing to punish her alleged rapists. [Think Progress]
  • Well, it didn’t take long for that Dove Real Beauty Sketches video to get parodied! [YouTube]
  • Carla Hale, a gym teacher at a Catholic high school in Ohio, was fired from her job for being a lesbian after Hale’s mom died and the obituary listed the name of Hale’s partner. Disgraceful. [NBC4i] Keep reading »