By Chloe Angyal • 13 years ago

Australian government announces world-first body image initiative

Over the weekend, the Australian government unveiled a new body image initiative, created in partnership with the Butterfly Foundation, an eating disorders awareness and prevention group. The initiative includes a voluntary code of conduct for magazines, designers, retailers and modeling agencies, who will be recognized as “body image friendly” if they adhere to the recommendations of the government’s National Advisory Group on Body Image. Those recommendations include:

“disclosing and avoiding the digital enhancement of images; banning ultra-thin female models or overly muscular male ones, in addition to models under the age of 16 to advertise adult clothes; employing a greater diversity of ethnicities and model body sizes; eschewing editorial and advertising content that promotes negative body image through ...

Over the weekend, the Australian government unveiled a new body image initiative, created in partnership with the Butterfly Foundation, an eating disorders awareness and prevention group. The initiative includes a voluntary code of conduct for ...
By Jessica • 13 years ago

Open Thread: Kagan confirmation hearing

Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings began just a few minutes ago. You can watch it live here.
Some food for thought while you’re watching:
Elena Kagan’s Confirmation Hearings May Involve Republicans’ Special Lady-Math, Jezebel
Legal Analysis of Solicitor General Elena Kagan’s Record on Abortion Rights [pdf], Center for Reproductive Rights
Knocking Kagan’s Experience, GOP Attack May Backfire, The Nation
Elena Kagan’s Gender Matters, Amanda Marcotte

Elena Kagan’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings began just a few minutes ago. You can watch it live here.
Some food for thought while you’re watching:
Elena Kagan’s Confirmation Hearings May Involve Republicans’ Special ...
By Jessica • 13 years ago

10 Amazing Female Firefighters


Bessie Hudson, the first black female battalion chief of Orange County Fire Rescue in Orlando, Florida.
Fire Science Colleges has a great post up highlighting some amazing women firefighters, so check it out. My bud Brenda Berkman even made the list! (I knew Brenda back in my nonprofit days when I worked on nontraditional employment for women.) Brenda was one of NYC’s first female firefighters and sued to be able to get her job. If you’re interested, Taking the Heat is a great film about Brenda and the other women who fought to serve on the fire department.


Bessie Hudson, the first black female battalion chief of Orange County Fire Rescue in Orlando, Florida.
Fire Science Colleges has a great post up highlighting some amazing women firefighters, so check it out. My ...
By Rose • 13 years ago

A few notes on Samhita’s bad-ass Social Forum panel

The Social Forum is soon coming to an end, but I can’t leave without posting something about Samhita’s panel on “Using New Media to Win Racial and Gender Justice.” Also on the panel was Jorge Rivas from Colorlines, a fab tech-spert and all-round charming guy who advocates for racial justice. Together, they schooled a crowd of over 60 on the nitty gritty of leveraging social media to advance their causes. And anyone who has ever attended the forum knows that this is a huge turnout when you consider the large number of panels that are going on in each time slot. But it’s also a great turnout when one considers all the drama that went on that morning.

Odds were ...

The Social Forum is soon coming to an end, but I can’t leave without posting something about Samhita’s panel on “Using New Media to Win Racial and Gender Justice.” Also on the panel was Jorge Rivas ...
By Jessica • 13 years ago

More American women choosing to be child free

According to a new report from the Pew Research Center, more women are choosing not to have children than did thirty years ago.

Nearly 20 percent of older women do not have children, compared to 10 percent in the 1970s…
“In recent decades, social pressure to play traditional roles has lessened in a broad variety of ways and there is more leeway for individual choice. This could play a part in lowering pressure for people to get married and bear children,” said D’Vera Cohn, a co-author of the report.
“Women have more options than in the past to build strong careers and to exercise the choice not to have children,” she added in an email.
…Cohn said another reason for ...

According to a new report from the Pew Research Center, more women are choosing not to have children than did thirty years ago.

Nearly 20 percent of older women do not have children, compared to 10 percent ...
By Ann • 13 years ago

Weekly Feminist Reader


Vintage comic strip panel, hilariously out of context.

A group of women in the West Bank just launched one of the first all-women’s radio stations in the Arab world.

Women who are married to Gulf fisherman attempt to cope with the oil spill.

“[I]t seems to me that this whole article is profiling McChrystal as like this sad doomed exemplar of a certain kind of machismo.”

Horrific violence is being perpetrated against women in post-earthquake Haiti.

How girls are socialized to be music fans, not critics.

These offensive, ageist ads make me ashamed to be a vintage enthusiast.

A recap of the March for Trans Justice in New York.

abby jean at fwd/forward ponders “whether it’s possible ...


Vintage comic strip panel, hilariously out of context.

A group of women in the West Bank just launched one of the first all-women’s radio stations in the Arab world.

Women who are married to Gulf ...
By Chloe Angyal • 13 years ago

The Feministing Five: Don McPherson

Don McPherson is a former professional athlete turned educator and activist. McPherson attended Syracuse University, where he played quarterback, was All-American and captained the university’s undefeated 1987 team. Over the course of his seven years in professional football, he played for the Philadelphia Eagles, the Houston Oilers and for several teams in the Canadian Football League.

At Syracuse, McPherson became involved with social justice causes, and when he retired he joined the Center for the Study of Sport in Society at Northeastern University. It was there that he became interested in and committed to the issue of violence against women and served as the director of MVP – the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program. MVP works with athletes in ...

Don McPherson is a former professional athlete turned educator and activist. McPherson attended Syracuse University, where he played quarterback, was All-American and captained the university’s undefeated 1987 team. Over the course of his seven years in professional ...
By Jessica • 13 years ago

What We Missed: Racism, activism and the myth of ‘cultural’ rape


Thanks to Matt for sending us this vintage Pontiac ad. Wowza.
Four Filipina nurses were fired in Baltimore for speaking in Tagalog. During their lunch break.
In NYC? The great organization Girls Educational Mentoring Service (GEMS) is hosting an anti-trafficking day.
Must read op-ed from The New York Times: No, Sexual Violence Is Not ‘Cultural’

Thanks to Matt for sending us this vintage Pontiac ad. Wowza.
Four Filipina nurses were fired in Baltimore for speaking in Tagalog. During their lunch break.
In NYC? The great organization
Load More