Weekly Feminist Reader

Birth mothers react to Juno.
Ellen DeGeneres speaks out about the murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King, who was killed because he was gay.
A Japanese video game is about a young woman who is rejected by boys because of her “tremendous size.” In playing the game, “You are that young woman and your mission is weight loss by way of exercise, diet, and mini-games.” Ugh.
Military maternity leaves are awfully short.
On proudly identifying as a “bitch, ballbuster, battleaxe, ballcutter.”
A high-powered networking society is now required to admit women.
Tennessee considers whether to make paternity tests mandatory for every baby born in the state.
As we gear up for the Texas presidential primary on Tuesday, the NY Times had a piece on the history of female leadership in the state.
A nice essay on supporting the notion of Hillary Clilnton, and how that’s separate from supporting the candidate herself.
Public service announcement: You can be a devout Muslim and not wear hijab.
Arizona considers a measure that would undermine the rights of pregnant women.
A 16-year-old girl was raped by four teenage boys, and used MySpace to figure out her attackers’ identities. When police got a warrant and searched their MySpace accounts, they found details of the attack.
Writes Kavita N. Ramdas, of the 2008 election: “What is alarmingly absent from our conversations and arguments, even as they allude to race and gender, is any sense of how our decisions affect the well-being of people across the planet–not least the status of women, 51 percent of us, who are being treated with appalling brutality around the globe.”
More after the jump…

Obama’s open letter to the LGBT community. Pam documents the rabid right-winger response.
Another disgusting “reality” TV offering.
Some right-wingers in Banda Aceh are claiming the 2004 tsunami was punishment for women getting too uppity. (via Muslimah Media Watch.)
Radar names the most misogynistic movies of the decade.
Break the Cycle has new report cards on how the states stack up when it comes to how they deal with teen dating violence.
A new study on Canadian women and body image yields some depressing results.
Joel Stein = truly awful.
Gender essentialists study the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and promptly freak out because not everything conforms. Can you believe that he displays some stereotypically feminine traits, and she some stereotypically masculine traits? No way!
The Catholic Church assures pro-choice voters they’re going to hell. (Wheeee!)
An Australian artist shows an exhibit of porcelain vaginas.
Speaking of not funny…
Researchers say many women avoid seeing the doctor because they dread the weigh-in beforehand. That’s so incredibly sad.
A man put ground-up abortion-inducing pills in his girlfriend’s yogurt.
Remember that Legal Momentum report on abstinence-only education I mentioned awhile ago? Well, they held a briefing on Capitol Hill, and Kay Steiger documented what happened when the virginity-or-death crowd showed up.
A moving essay from novelist Tayari Jones.
New Australian PM Kevin Rudd seeks to convene 1,000 of the country’s “greatest minds” to come up with new solutions to old problems. Now he’s under fire because, surprise surprise, that group doesn’t include many women.
African lesbians demand rights and respect.
The NY Times has a big feature today on sex-segregated education. Most of it is a big ad for the bullshit ideas of Leonard Sax, which we’ve written about before.
The Slog names awesome activist Kim Justice “lobbyist of the year.”
Professor Andrea Smith was denied tenure at the University of Michigan. brownfemipower has a statement of support that explains the backstory.
Two important pieces in the Guardian tackle the connection between misogyny and violent crime against women.
Hillary Clinton’s campaign accepted a donation from a firm that has a long record of sexual harassment.
A Princeton feminist writes about Courtney’s visit to campus.
Wow, this Apple ad makes me proud to be a PC-user. UPDATE: As with the most offensive ads, these are also just spec ads and not officially Apple-sanctioned.
Actions and Events
On Tuesday, UCLA is screening a documentary about body image, our perception of beauty, and celebrity culture.
Women’s Voices, Women’s Vote is asking you to vote for your favorite female blogger.
Brooklyn-Queens NOW is holding an International Women’s Day celebration on Saturday, March 8. Info here. (PDF)
Goods 4 Girls seeks to broaden access to reusable menstrual pads.
Join the online rally for paid family and medical leave!
Tuesday is pro-choice lobby day in Minnesota.