Start 2012 off right by not getting accidentally pregnant! Make sure you back up your birth control!
The number of reported sexual assaults at the three major military academies increased from 41 to 65 in the latest academic year.
“You know what it’s called when male writers write of their sexual exploits? LITERATURE.”
After a brave young woman filed a lawsuit, an Egyptian court has banned the use of forced “virginity tests” by the military.
Meet Manarchist Ryan Gosling. Too real.
A horrifying NYT report on the widespread sexual abuse of women and girls in Somalia.
“I’ve come to understand that “coming out” is more of a daily commitment than a singular event.” A beautiful piece by Jamilah King about coming out to her mom.
Ann has some good ideas for a straight version of Grinder.
A good (read: depressing) roundup of the most extreme attacks on reproductive rights of 2012.
For the first time in decades, more young women are in school than in the work force.
Peggy Orenstein on gendered toys: “At issue, then, is not nature or nurture but how nurture becomes nature.” More from Dana Goldstein on the effect on future careers.
Men of Strength (MOST) is an after-school program that teaches middle school boys to help fight violence against women.
Kate Harding on the recent eruption of sexism in the Reddit atheist community.
In honor of the new year, leave links to the best pieces you’ve read or written in 2011!
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Best of 2011 at re:Cycling, the blog of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research:
What to tell the girl in my life about menstruation?, by Alexandra Jacoby
Boxing and Bleeding, guest post by Robin Percyz
Menopause isn’t for Dummies, by Elizabeth Kissling
Curb Your (Menstrual) Enthusiasm, by David Linton
(A completely subjective ‘best of’ selection, of course!)
And one more from re:Cycling –
Feeling Uncertainty, Confusion, and Frustration about Menopause, by Heather Dillaway
Best of the year? No way you can leave Flavia Dzodan’s piece from Tiger Beatdown:
MY FEMINISM WILL BE INTERSECTIONAL OR IT WILL BE BULLSHIT
I loved this surreal-intense interview/conversation between “Dear Sugar” from rumpus.net and Lidia Yuknavitch that is a little bit her book about The Chronology of Water:
I’m Standing Right Next To You
Oh! And there’s no way that I can forget one of the most powerful pieces of online writing this year: Quiet Hands.
I’ve read way better things than what I’ve written, but I keep better track of what I’ve written, so:
Eating What I Deserve [talk of disordered eating] — “I grew up in a household where both guilt (or Guilt, of the religious variety) and food policing (first mom-induced and then self-sustaining) were fundamentals.”
Me & My Camel [discusses sexual assault] — “I didn’t have nightmares, fear of bedtime, or insomnia… But I remember always, always sleeping with my back to the wall.”
I Wouldn’t Do Anything Differently [discusses sexual assault] — “When talking to people about rape, either personally or in the abstract, there’s often a supposition that I must regret at least some of the decisions I made that night. For me, though, that’s not true.”
Unwisely [discusses relationship abuse and self-harm] — “I didn’t run because I was leaving forever or even because I was scared of him. I ran because I was afraid of myself; I felt like I’d driven him to it. “
This is a mix of what I consider my best, and those posts which appeared the most popular:
Why sex-positivity has often scared the “fun and fearless” out of feminism.
Prevent this! A personal history. Intense trigger warning for sexual assault, rage, swearing.
When other women denigrate feminism. Inspired by a troll.
Ashley Madison, or A very short post about a very obvious douchebag.
Hypatia and the history of misogyny: portrait of the dead astronomer as a naked blonde.
The Dear Sugar blog on The Rumpus: http://therumpus.net/sections/dear-sugar/
Took my first shot at a critique of the sexism in the techno world with this post on Vertigo Shtick: http://www.vertigoshtick.com/2011/11/i-came-for-boobs-sak-noel-nervo-make-us.html
Hoping to write lots more to give female DJs props in 2012!
I’ve written two things that I’d put in my “Best of 2011″ category … since you asked.
The Nobel Peace Prize’s Problem with Women, in which I argue that the Nobel Committee devalued women laureates with the rhetoric they used around this year’s prize. http://tinyurl.com/6w9xqql
The Motherhood Penalty: It’s not Children that Slow Women Down, in which I report on new research revealing that motherhood itself is seen as a disqualification, totally independent of what it actually means for time on the job etc. Mothers are held to higher standards than non-mothers. And there’s a related Fatherhood Bonus! http://tinyurl.com/85mz8gb