By Lori Adelman • 12 years ago

Breaking: Komen Foundation pulls breast cancer screening funds from Planned Parenthood

What sad and disturbing news. From the Washington Post comes breaking news that will affect hundreds of thousands of dollars in women’s health funding:

“The nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is halting its partnerships with Planned Parenthood affiliates — creating a bitter rift, linked to the abortion debate, between two iconic organizations that have assisted millions of women.

The change will mean a cutoff of hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, mainly for breast exams.” [Emphasis mine.]

The infamous pink Bible “controversy” (in which pink bibles that were being sold to benefit Susan B. Komen for Breast Cancer Awareness were pulled from the shelves because of ties to Planned Parenthood) most likely ...

What sad and disturbing news. From the Washington Post comes breaking news that will affect hundreds of thousands of dollars in women’s health funding:

“The nation’s leading breast-cancer charity, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, is ...
By Lori Adelman • 12 years ago

Why were women’s warnings about the financial crisis ignored?

I read it on the train, and couldn’t stop myself from shaking my head visibly in disgust and anger.

Earlier this month, the Fed released transcripts of some high-level meetings on the economy, and this NY Times article summarizing the conversations was the source of my frustration.

Among the most notable details:

• The officials “laughed about… efforts to make empty homes look occupied.”
• The officials had enough information but failed to comprehend it all properly in part because of their “deep confidence in economic forecasting models that turned out to be broken.”
• “The nation’s pre-eminent economic minds did not fully understand the basic mechanics of the economy that they were charged with shepherding.”
• Some Fed officials went so far as ...

I read it on the train, and couldn’t stop myself from shaking my head visibly in disgust and anger.

Earlier this month, the Fed released transcripts of some high-level meetings on the economy, and this NY ...
By Lori Adelman • 12 years ago

What’s the deal with Facebook’s new ‘Women Connect’ campaign?

Hmmm, dear Feministing readers, how do we feel about this?

Facebook recently released an application called “Women Connect” to raise awareness and promote women’s causes worldwide. According to Facebook, the application is part of their “Diversity campaign” and is meant to be “an online platform for organizations and causes to connect and share information with supporters about issues of gender equality and women’s empowerment.” This sounds all good, but it’s also a bit vague! So what does it do? As an app it has several functions, many of which on their face seem pretty useful and positive. The main page displays a kind of counter module that makes connections between organizations and related causes. It also ...

Hmmm, dear Feministing readers, how do we feel about this?

Facebook recently released an application called “Women Connect” to raise awareness and promote women’s causes worldwide. According to Facebook, the application is part of their ...
By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

Quick hit: Why are all those movie trailers voiced by men?

The New York Times ran an article last weekend about why so few movie trailer voiceovers are performed by women. The article discussed the perception that women’s voices aren’t strong enough to cut through the noise of a movie trailer, and suggested that even if they can, many of us trust men’s voices more than women’s:

Do moviegoers want to hear female voices? Research indicates that our brains are wired to prefer theirs to male ones; that’s the reason robotic voices, like those in GPS devices, tend to be female. (This probably has an evolutionary explanation: fetuses in the womb, identifying with their caretaker, can distinguish their mother’s voice from others, a study published in the journal Psychological Science found.) When ...

The New York Times ran an article last weekend about why so few movie trailer voiceovers are performed by women. The article discussed the perception that women’s voices aren’t strong enough to cut through the noise of ...
By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

In case you missed it: Viola Davis’s SAG Awards speech

When “The Help” hit theaters last year, there was an enormous amount of discussion about it in the feminist and progressive blogosphere. It was harshly criticized for its ahistorical depiction of the Jim Crow South, and for its implication that racism is a thing of the past (and that it is over largely thanks to the efforts of white people).

People were divided about whether or not to see it, and those who did see it were divided about whether or not Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer were to be commended for inarguably great performances or critiqued for taking roles as maids.

At the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards on Sunday night, “The Help” won Best Ensemble, and Viola Davis ...

When “The Help” hit theaters last year, there was an enormous amount of discussion about it in the feminist and progressive blogosphere. It was harshly criticized for its ahistorical depiction of the Jim Crow South, and ...
By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

This Anna Howard Shaw Day, give the gift of Feministing!

Anna Howard Shaw Day, known to some as “Valentine’s Day,” is coming exactly two weeks away.

I know that most of you won’t be celebrating the way Hallmark, Godiva, Zales and Victoria’s Secret want you to, by spending money traditional and tangible symbols of love. Some of you won’t be buying anything at all, because you think that Valentine’s Day is a ridiculous holiday that warrants no presents, or because you’d rather make a present than spend money on one. Some of you will be Occupying Valentine’s Day.

Those are all good choices. Do your thing – or, do nothing, and treat February 14th like just another Tuesday, because quite frankly, it is just another Tuesday.

BUT.

If you do want to ...

Anna Howard Shaw Day, known to some as “Valentine’s Day,” is coming exactly two weeks away.

I know that most of you won’t be celebrating the way Hallmark, Godiva, Zales and Victoria’s Secret want you to, by ...
By Miriam • 12 years ago

Why “I’ll Make Love To You” makes me miss the 90s

I was ten when this song came out. I remember it clearly, and how even at that age such a sexual song seeped into our elementary school lives. I still know all of the lyrics, basically by heart, and am compelled to belt out to it every time it happens to play (aka every time I dig out my old CDs and put it on).

The last time this happened, in the serendipitous company of Vanessa and Chloe, I was struck by just how goddamn sweet, and dare I say feminist, these lyrics actually are. Compared to the song lyrics of today, these almost seem like a farce they are so damn sweet.

Take for example:

Pour the wine, light the fire

I was ten when this song came out. I remember it clearly, and how even at that age such a sexual song seeped into our elementary school lives. I still know all of the lyrics, basically by ...

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