By Ann • 15 years ago

Weekly Feminist Reader


Pioneering photojournalist Mary Morris Lawrence (pictured above) died last week at age 95. At her request, the last line of her obituary reads: “In lieu of flowers, Mary would ask you to join the League of Women Voters, shop at Farmer Joes, write a letter to the editor, or break a glass ceiling!” (Which reminds me of this post by Amanda Marcotte, asking folks to “politicize” her death.)
As we mark the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a few relevant reads:
Katrina’s Hidden Race War, The Nation
Waiting for Charity in New Orleans, The Root
Lunchtime Lessons from New Orleans, The American Prospect
Levees and lives: New Orleans four years after Hurricane Katrina, Global Comment
Remembering Hurricane Katrina, Feministe
On the struggle to reconcile Ted Kennedy’s stellar public record with his far-less-than-stellar personal record. (See Kay Steiger and SarahMC.)
Rebecca Walker responds to Katie Roiphe’s piece on feminism and motherhood.
Monica Roberts on Caster Semenya and the parameters of femininity.
How food stamps influence women’s nutrition.
Women write about their experiences with infertility and pregnancy loss.
Glamour received an outpouring of letters after running a photo of a woman who wasn’t super-skinny. Obviously women want to see more “real” bodies in magazines. Think Glamour will actually do something about that? Me, neither.
Asian American women are more likely than other Americans to think about and attempt suicide.
Support the campaign to remove the Gender Identity Disorder category from the international diagnosis manuals.
Listening to Latinas, a new report by the National Women’s Law Center, “explores the causes of the dropout crisis for Latinas and identifies the actions needed to improve their graduation rates and get them ready for college.”


Chiara Volpato asks why Italians have put up with such a sexist leader.
Cyndee Clay, Executive Director of Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive (HIPS), critiques local TV coverage of sex workers.
A judge interrogated a victim in a rape trial over the sexual position that was used.
Women’s eNews has a great series of articles on women and the health-reform debate.
Considering the new romantic comedy Adam‘s portrayal of people with Asperger’s.
Tami and Shani-O both take on the NY Times piece on Good Hair.
A really great essay on the meaning of Madonna: “For years, Madonna felt like a slippery, elegant key to all feminine mythologies, a shape-shifter inspiring to any young girl (or anyone) who felt her shape shifting… For so many women I knew, she was a living permission slip, suggesting not bravery, exactly, but something more accessible: bravado.” Also — a new anthology about Madonna is seeking submissions!
Conservatives’ hypocrisy on health care: They want to meddle with reproductive health providers, yet fret that health reform will cause the government to meddle with doctors.
Sarah Jaffe asks, “Is the rash of ‘Girl’ comics a revival of this kind of feminism-lite?”
Take a few minutes to fill out this survey on emergency contraception. (The survey is live again now.)
What have you all been reading and writing this week?

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