By Maya Dusenbery • 12 years ago

Oklahoma Senator wants to make 100% sure we don’t eat aborted fetuses

I think this qualifies as the very definition of a solution in search of a solution.

A Republican state senator from Oklahoma City introduced a bill Tuesday that would ban the use of aborted human fetuses in food, despite conceding that he’s unaware of any company using such a practice.

Freshman Sen. Ralph Shortey said his own Internet research led him to believe such a ban is necessary and prompted him to offer the bill aimed at raising “public awareness” and giving an “ultimatum to companies” that might consider such a policy.

Well, if THE INTERNET told you! Actually, it seems that Shortey is probably talking about a recent anti-choice boycott of Pepsi (which somehow, sadly, flew under our radar) because they’ve ...

I think this qualifies as the very definition of a solution in search of a solution.

A Republican state senator from Oklahoma City introduced a bill Tuesday that would ban the use of aborted human fetuses in ...
By zerlina • 12 years ago

Tennessee Tea Party wants to delete slavery from textbooks

The Tennessee Tea Party thinks slavery is such a small blip in the story of America that they figure, why teach it to kids in school? Ya see, the Founding Fathers were such wonderful gentlemen, and they laid the foundation for this awesome country, and the fact that they owned human beings as chattel is an inconvenient fact. So why teach it at all? Previous attempts to make slavery sound more awesome have included proposing textbooks that teach the kids that it wasn’t slavery but the “Atlantic triangular trade.” Catchy.

It’s certainly true that the founding documents were very complex, particularly the Declaration of Independence, but the fact that the Founding Fathers owned slaves adds to the story. ...

The Tennessee Tea Party thinks slavery is such a small blip in the story of America that they figure, why teach it to kids in school? Ya see, the Founding Fathers were such wonderful gentlemen, and they laid ...
By Katie Halper • 12 years ago

The “Obama’s a Muslim” claim and how to deal with it

Rick Santorum is true renaissance man. He is an equal-opportunity bigot, distributing his hate equitably among several disenfranchised groups, regardless of skin color, gender, sexual orientation, or other non-white dude classification. His tent is so big, he even made up a group of people called “blah people,” and committed to looking down on them, too. It comes as no surprise that Santorum includes Muslims in his rainbow coalition of disdain, advocating the profiling of Muslims, and claiming that equality comes from Judaism and Christianity but not from Islam. In Santorumese, calling someone Muslim is a bad thing. And, indeed, a woman at a Santorum town hall in Florida was using the word “Muslim” pejoratively when she said:

“[Obama] is ...

Rick Santorum is true renaissance man. He is an equal-opportunity bigot, distributing his hate equitably among several disenfranchised groups, regardless of skin color, gender, sexual orientation, or other non-white dude classification. His tent is so big, he ...
By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

Win free tickets to the Athena Film Festival!

Do you like movies by and about women? Do you like movies about women who lead, and make change, and break down barriers? Then you’re going to love this year’s Athena Film Festival. The festival, now in its second year, is a collaboration between Women and Hollywood and the Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College.

Over three days this February, the festival will screen a number of movies, documentaries and shorts on the theme of women’s leadership. The lineup of screenings is wonderful, and includes Gloria: In Her Own Words and The Lady, the new Aung San Suu Kyi biopic. Check out the full program here.

The festival program also includes two free workshops for filmmakers, and ...

Do you like movies by and about women? Do you like movies about women who lead, and make change, and break down barriers? Then you’re going to love this year’s Athena Film Festival. The festival, now ...
By zerlina • 12 years ago

President Obama officially starts campaigning with the State of the Union

There was a moment during last night’s State of the Union address where I thought of the Jay Z line, “I guess I got my swagger back! Truth.”

With last night’s State of the Union, President Obama showed that he does indeed have his campaign swagger back. The president has had to sit through EIGHTEEN (!) Republican presidential debates where the GOP contenders lied and called him names like the “food stamp president” and last night was his first chance to really rebut directly and forcefully.

President Obama spoke with a level confidence and command I haven’t seen in a long while. It seems that this speech marks the official start to his 2012 re-election campaign. ...

There was a moment during last night’s State of the Union address where I thought of the Jay Z line, “I guess I got my swagger back! Truth.”

With last night’s State of ...
By Gwendolyn Beetham • 12 years ago

*The Academic Feminist: Using the Past to Reimagine the Present with Imani Perry

Welcome back to The Academic Feminist, a series that aims to bridge the blogging/academic divide by linking discussions in feminist academia to those taking place online. Today’s interviewee is Imani Perry, Professor at the Center for African American Studies at Princeton. You can learn more about Perry’s work on her website . All comments on the series and suggestions for future interviewees can be sent here. And thank you to all the Feministing readers who have offered suggestions and positive feedback on the series so far!

*Editor’s note: Due to concerns raised that there might be confusion with Barnard Center for Research on Women’s awesome The Scholar and Feminist Conference and ...

Welcome back to The Academic Feminist, a series that aims to bridge the blogging/academic divide by linking discussions in feminist academia to those taking place online. Today’s interviewee is Imani Perry, Professor at the Center for ...
By Vanessa • 12 years ago

What We Missed

You heard the one about Rick Santorum telling rape victims seeking abortion that their unwanted pregnancy is a gift from God? Yeah.

A strapping young man who would like Kirsten Gillibrand’s senate seat has been outed as a serious online misogynist.

Unbreakable: An awesome online photography project for sexual abuse survivors.

Privilege and literature, lipstick feminism and more at the Community blog today!

You heard the one about Rick Santorum telling rape victims seeking abortion that their unwanted pregnancy is a gift from God? Yeah.

A strapping young man who would like Kirsten Gillibrand’s senate seat has ...

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