2009 September Archive

Ginsburg released from hospital

Just a quick update: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was admitted to the hospital last week because of “light headedness and fatigue,” was released on Friday and back to work the same day. That’s what I call bad-ass.

By Professor Foxy • 14 years ago

Ask Professor Foxy: How Do I Handle My Boyfriend’s Sex Work?

This weekly Saturday column “Ask Professor Foxy” will regularly contain sexually explicit material. This material is likely not safe for work viewing. The title of the column will include the major topic of the post, so please read the topic when deciding whether or not to read the entire column.
Dear Professor Foxy,
I am a queer feminist cis woman in my early twenties, in a long-term cohabiting relationship with a male queer partner in his early twenties. Thanks to the recession, we have had a lot of financial trouble over the past two years. Due to the criminally low hours at his day job, my partner applied to be a male escort at a small local agency. He just ...

By Chloe Angyal • 14 years ago

The Feministing Five: Kate Marsh

Kate Marsh, 27, is the Public Liaison Officer for Children by Choice, a pro-choice organization in Queensland, Australia. Children by Choice is a small organization that, in addition to advocating for reproductive rights, also offers pregnancy counseling.
In the last few months, Queensland’s abortion laws have been thrust into the spotlight, thanks in large part to the case of Tegan Leach, a 19-year-old Queensland woman who is being charged for self-inducing a medical abortion using drugs bought overseas. Her boyfriend, who helped her procure the drugs, is also being charged.
The case has brought much-needed attention to the fact that despite the relatively common occurrence of abortion in Australia (in 2002, 25.2% of Australian pregnancies ...

By Miriam • 14 years ago

What We Missed

More health insurance company FAILS. This time, Think Progress reports that Blue Cross Shield denied a woman’s claim because they said her bleeding nipple was not an emergency. If that’s not an emergency, I’m not sure what is.
In good news, a decision to close the Philadelphia Public Library System has been reversed by the State Legislature.
Some follow-up to Ariel’s post about the UC Walkout, from SF Gate and the NYTimes. In short, there was huge participation. Stay tuned to see what the outcomes are.
Happy Friday folks!

By Jos Truitt • 14 years ago

Clinton Global Initiative: Hillary Clinton on Food Security

I have had the opportunity to see a lot of really powerful speakers at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Annual Meeting. Talk about internalized patriarchy: I was most excited to see Presidents Obama and Clinton speak, and though I was excited to see Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, she was not at the top of my list. I have to tell you all, I was most personally affected by Secretary Clinton’s words. Our politics differ in a number of ways, but seeing her speak in person her morally motivated passion is undeniable. As she talked about fundamentally shifting our approach to hunger I got chills and even teared up a little. I have heard Secretary Clinton be accused of ...

By ariel • 14 years ago

Maine Anti-Gays Copy California Bigots Again

I wrote on this last Friday, but now the Yes on Question 1 campaign, primarily funded by anti-gay group Stand For Marriage Maine, has used the exact footage from California’s bigoted Yes on 8 commercials in their newest commercial.
The only significant difference is the casting of Charla Bansley, a Maine anti-gay activist and teabagger, and Maine’s head of Concerned Women for America, in the role of the teacher. Bansley is a teacher at a private Christian school, and wrote an op-ed in the Bangor Daily News in 2000 calling for the abolishment of the Department of Education:

The best thing the Department of Education could do to improve
the quality of education is to close its doors and ...

By Rose • 14 years ago

Wikipedia’s Gender Gap

This week’s Time magazine shed more light on the fact that women make up only 13 percent of Wikipedia contributors. Sue Gardener, Wikimedia Foundation’s E.D. noted:

The average Wikipedian is a young man in a wealthy country who is probably a graduate student — somebody who’s smart, literate, engaged in the world of ideas, thinking, learning and writing all the time.

It should go without saying that if women make up 51 percent of the
population, 13 percent representation at Wikipedia is a DISGRACE!

The graduate student reference also surprised me. It seems odd that women are drastically underrepresented at Wikipedia when women in graduate school outnumber men. This means that there is more to the story, possibly more issues ...

This week’s Time magazine shed more light on the fact that women make up only 13 percent of Wikipedia contributors. Sue Gardener, Wikimedia Foundation’s E.D. noted:

The average Wikipedian is a young man in a wealthy ...

By Miriam • 14 years ago

Quote of the Day

Via Wonkroom’s Twitterfeed, a quote from the health care reform hearings and mark-up:

[US Senator John] Kyl: “I don’t need maternity care” in my benefits package. [US Senator Debbie] Stabenow fires back: “I think your mom probably did.”

For serious.
Video after the jump.

Via Wonkroom’s Twitterfeed, a quote from the health care reform hearings and mark-up:

[US Senator John] Kyl: “I don’t need maternity care” in my benefits package. [US Senator Debbie] Stabenow fires back: “I think your mom probably ...