Weekly Feminist Reader

gabby douglas If you, like us, aren’t quite done gushing about Gabby Douglas…Plus, Dominique Dawes on Gabby’s historic win, the sacrifices her mom made to keep her in gymnastics, and a guide to her victory in gifs.

Roxane Gay has 14 tips for how to be friends with another woman. First off: “Abandon the cultural myth that all female friendships must be toxic, bitchy or competitive.”

The Feminist Wire is hosting a forum on Muslim feminisms this Ramadan. Check it out!

An interesting look at how Cosmo is exported via 64 international editions distributed in more than 100 countries in 35 languages.

On Olympic gymnastics as reality TV
: “In girl world, gymnasts are superheroes not just because of the tremendous power they explode from tiny, ropey bodies, but because they are survivors and infidels.”

Audra Schroeder explains how not to write about female musicians.

A trans neurobiologist explains why women aren’t advancing in math and sciences. Related: “When asked to indicate their gender on a test, girls scored 20% lower.”

Garland has a “not at all respectful or kind or complete assessment” of the late Gore Vidal.

Julianne Escobedo Shepherd on Nicki Minaj’s retro ’90s-style feminism.

The Guardian reports on how the blockade has affected life for the women of Gaza. A recent survey found that more than half of all married women in Gaza had experienced violence from their husbands in the last year.

A Hairpin writer lists all the things that made her angry after her rape.

A sexist dude reacts to watching women’s Olympic judo for the first time and it’s hilariously terrible.

Suparna Chaudhry on the recent spate of violent crimes against women in India.

Be forewarned
: The new no-cost birth control mandate covers all kinds of contraception, but not necessarily all brands.

Reveal, a summer camp sponsored by Texas Right to Life, teaches teenagers to be anti-choice activists.

What have you been reading/writing/watching/learning this week?

St. Paul, MN

Maya Dusenbery is executive director in charge of editorial at Feministing. She is the author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick (HarperOne, March 2018). She has been a fellow at Mother Jones magazine and a columnist at Pacific Standard magazine. Her work has appeared in publications like Cosmopolitan.com, TheAtlantic.com, Bitch Magazine, as well as the anthology The Feminist Utopia Project. Before become a full-time journalist, she worked at the National Institute for Reproductive Health. A Minnesota native, she received her B.A. from Carleton College in 2008. After living in Brooklyn, Oakland, and Atlanta, she is currently based in the Twin Cities.

Maya Dusenbery is an executive director of Feministing and author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm on sexism in medicine.

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