The piecemeal approach to women’s rights

I finally got around to reading some of the briefs submitted in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the parental notification case that the Supreme Court will hear November 30.
This brief– submitted on behalf of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Break the Cycle, and other groups—- makes the vital point that parental notification is dangerous or impossible for abused and neglected teens. It got me thinking about the politics of anti-violence and repro-rights groups working together.
Anti-violence organizations bring a lot of political weight when they stand up on choice issues (like those presented in Ayotte). And that weight is largely due to the fact ...

I finally got around to reading some of the briefs submitted in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, the parental notification case that the Supreme Court will hear November 30.

I want this


Groovy Q, makers of Dirty Linens products, have a super cute new pattern (with an unfortunately cheesy name) Girl Power. You can get it in sheets, lounge pants, boxers, and even wrapping paper.
I am a sucker for anything kitschy or pinup girl related–I just can’t help myself. (My birthday is next week, so I’m hoping my conspicuous gift-hinting will be successful.)


Groovy Q, makers of Dirty Linens products, have a super cute new pattern (with an unfortunately cheesy name) Girl Power. You can get it in sheets,

Feminism gets men laid

Kind of.
This headline cracks me up, Want more sex? Do the dishes!
But the sentiment is right on. I don’t think it’s news that women are less likely to want to have sex with a guy who sits on his ass while they’re busy cleaning the whole house. It’s so simple and logical, but for some reason guys need a reminder every once in a while.
But a new study shows that there are other benefits to men sharing the housework load besides getting laid more often:

…a new study has found that women aren’t merely more accommodating of the advances of men who help them – they actually find them more attractive.
…What’s more, children ...

Kind of.
This headline cracks me up, Want more sex? Do the dishes!
But the sentiment is right on. I don’t think it’s news that women are less likely to want to have sex ...

Kansas forced to remove their heads from their asses

Does it amaze anyone else that people still have to be told that discrimination is illegal?

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday unanimously struck down a state law that punished underage sex more severely if it involved homosexual acts, saying “moral disapproval” of such conduct is not enough to justify the different treatment.
In a case closely watched by national groups on all sides of the gay rights debate, the high court said the law “suggests animus toward teenagers who engage in homosexual sex.”

Matthew R. Limon,18, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for having consensual sex with a 14 year-old boy. (Had the sex been with a girl, the maximum sentence for Limon would have been 15 ...

Does it amaze anyone else that people still have to be told that discrimination is illegal?

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday unanimously struck down a state law that punished underage sex more severely if it ...

Salon launches women’s blog, Broadsheet


Salon launched Broadsheet today, a “cheeky” women’s blog:

The issues we’ll tackle are limitless, really, given the fact that our subject includes half the world’s population. Katie Holmes’ pregnancy, Harriet Miers’ Supreme Court nomination, the FDA’s stalling over Plan B — we’ve got something to say about all of it. Our goal is to be opinionated about topics that affect women, but also a filter by which we can look at the news from a (mostly) female point of view.

Awesome. Check out one of today’s posts, Rockettes refused maternity leave.


Salon launched Broadsheet today, a “cheeky” women’s blog:

The issues we’ll tackle are limitless, really, given the fact that our subject includes half the world’s population. Katie Holmes’ pregnancy, Harriet Miers’ Supreme Court nomination, ...

Rosa Parks, “mother of the civil rights movement,” dies


Really sad.

From the Associated Press:

Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday. She was 92.
Mrs. Parks died at her home of natural causes, said Karen Morgan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich.
Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title “mother of the civil rights movement.”
…Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who later earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his ...


Really sad.

From the Associated Press:

Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday. She was 92.
Mrs. Parks ...

New research says Playboy models getting “tougher”


In a recent issue of the Journal of Popular Culture, authors James K. Beggan of the University of Louisville and Scott T. Allison of the University of Richmond argue that the women of Playboy magazine are getting “tougher.”

Beggan and Allison…found a pattern to the way that Playboy’s wordsmiths described the women who graced the magazine’s centerfold. They were typically strong, career-oriented, aggressive and, in a surprising number of instances, downright “tough.” Adjectives suggesting vulnerability, submissiveness or passivity appeared less frequently.
But are these women really as they were described? Perhaps not, Beggan acknowledges. But it doesn’t matter: “This is the image of them that is being presented to men.”

OK, but is the text describing the ...


In a recent issue of the Journal of Popular Culture, authors James K. Beggan of the University of Louisville and Scott T. Allison of the University of Richmond argue that the women ...
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