2013 February Archive

GOP lawmakers pushing for government investigation of Planned Parenthood and other pro-choice groups

Conservative lawmakers would like to put your taxpayer dollars to good use by launching a ridiculous witch hunt investigation of pro-choice groups.

A group of 72 lawmakers have revived an effort to ask the government’s watchdog agency to scrutinize taxpayer dollars going to Planned Parenthood and five other organizations who provide family-planning services.

The request for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) probe — which drew a sharp response from Planned Parenthood — focuses on Planned Parenthood Federation of America, International Planned Parenthood Federation, the Population Council, the Guttmacher Institute, Advocates for Youth and the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States.

Pro-life groups have long pushed Congress to investigate Planned Parenthood, noting that although by law federal funds may not be used ...

Conservative lawmakers would like to put your taxpayer dollars to good use by launching a ridiculous witch hunt investigation of pro-choice groups.

A group of 72 lawmakers have revived an effort to ask the government’s watchdog agency ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

University of North Carolina student could be expelled for “intimidating” her rapist by talking about her assault

Alexandra has written before about this ongoing saga at the University of North Carolina. Student survivors and a former assistant dean, who says the administration urged her to intentionally under-report cases of sexual assault, have filed a Title IX lawsuit accusing UNC of mishandling their cases and violating their rights. The heart of complaint is that the school “facilitated a hostile environment” for students reporting sexual assault.

Just how hostile? Well, let UNC really drive it home for you…Now, one of the students involved in the lawsuit could be expelled because she spoke out about her assault. Landen Gambill has repeatedly told her story of enduring sexual abuse and harassment from her ex-boyfriend because, she says, “I don’t want anyone else to have to experience what I ...

By Katie Halper • 11 years ago

Daily Feminist Cheat Sheet

Jennifer Lawrence does an amazing job at answering really dumb questions.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor calls out racist prosecutor.

NY Assemblyman stands By black-face costume. I mean it was Purim.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes won’t attend Conservative CPAC conference (to which he was actually invited) as long as GoProud is banned from it.

Michelle Obama gets photoshopped. I miss her guns!

Ladies and gentlemen… Joe Biden’s new official portrait! Damn! That killer smile gets me every time.

Charlize Theron helped a security guard who had a seizure at the Oscars.

Jennifer Lawrence does an amazing job at answering really dumb questions.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor calls out racist prosecutor.

NY Assemblyman stands By black-face costume. I mean it was Purim.

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes won’t ...

By Katie Halper • 11 years ago

Mental illness and why Silver Linings Playbook deserved an Oscar for Best Screenplay

Besides earning Jennifer Lawrence a well-deserved Oscar for Best Actress, Silver Linings Playbook was robbed at last night’s Academy Awards. The Academy wasted an opportunity to honor a film that dealt with mental illness in a nuanced, realistic, sensitive and engaging way.

Let’s look at the important categories SLP was up for.

Editing: the award went to Argo. If Argo deserved to win for anything it was definitely editing. So, I wasn’t that upset. The film was superbly edited. Props.

Best Actor: the award went to Daniel Day Lewis. I was rooting for Bradley Cooper, but you could hardly say he was robbed. DDL did an exceptional job at becoming Lincoln. Still, given that DDL has now won three Academy Awards for ...

By Katie Halper • 11 years ago

15 women politicians rally for sick days/ thank you Gloria Steinem

You probably didn’t know that more than one million New York City workers, mostly low wage workers, lack paid sick days, with the largest concentrations in food service, retail and health care. Or that nearly one in four workers reports that they have lost a job or were told they would lose their job if they took time off due to personal or family illness. Or that half of working moms miss work when a child gets sick. Of these, half lose pay when they take this time off.

But it’s because of injustices like these that New Yorkers, and everyone, really, needs paid sick days. And that’s why New Yorkers are demanding a a paid sick days bill, ...

By Samhita • 11 years ago

The Oscars gets bro-tastic

Seth MacFarlane put on quite the show last night hosting the Oscars. For a show that could use a dose of relevant humor, he chose a different path–making, racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic and sizist jokes. And beyond being offensive, they weren’t very funny either–instead awkward and uncomfortable, throwing off the tenor of the Oscars.

The opener, a song about actor lady “boobs” as they can be seen in movies, could have quite possibly been the “creative” concept that the rest of the show aligned around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TWLKP8j0zk

Now that you’ve sat through that, imagine watching the whole awards ceremony! BuzzFeed Shift put together a list of 9 sexist things they picked up on during the show.

In the face of this tacky framing, some ...

By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

Weekly Feminist Reader

An early contender for best video of 2013, IMHO.

Oh look, the House GOP is still refusing to pass an inclusive Violence Against Women Act.

Who else cried through the entire Parks and Rec wedding? Alyssa has some great thoughts about Leslie and Ben’s relationship compared to Liz and Criss’s.

Wow, Law and Order, not cool.

If you are a woman and you are injured this year, your partner is the likeliest source of that injury.

We’re all women workers now.

Which countries have the most cosmetic surgery?

Women still need a place to have a voice in the absence of mainstream media equality.

Check out these graphic novels with LGBT characters.

Some responses to Harvard’s new task force that is going to “offer ...

An early contender for best video of 2013, IMHO.

Oh look, the House GOP is still refusing to pass an inclusive Violence Against Women Act.

Who else cried through the entire Parks and Rec wedding? Alyssa has some great thoughts ...

By Katie Halper • 11 years ago

The Feministing Five: Una Aya Osato

Una Aya Osato has been a performer all her life. But she didn’t become a writer until she realized that she had to become one. Unhappy with the limited roles available for women of color and specifically Asian women, Osato decided to write her own shows and own roles. The rest, as they say, is history, and over the last nine years, Una has written, performed and toured internationally with five one-woman-shows. Oh, yeah, and she’s also won awards and received critical acclaim. So there’s that, too!

Una is also a member of the Brown Girls Burlesque troupe, an all women of color burlesque company. And in her latest show, ExHOTic Other, directed by Brown Girl Burlesque founder DawN ...

Una Aya Osato has been a performer all her life. But she didn’t become a writer until she realized that she had to become one. Unhappy with the limited roles available for women of color ...