WHEN CONSERVATIVES CLAIM THAT BEING PRO-STRAIGHT IS DIFFERENT FROM BEING ANTI-GAY

We’re allergic to patriarchy every day of every season. (Via @Shannon_Groll) “They force him to rape his daughter.” A powerful Community post on how rape is used as a weapon of war in Mali. Mississippi could soon set “dangerous precedent” that “unintentional pregnancy loss can be treated as a form of homicide,” meaning  women could go to jail [...]

I’m eager to watch this new documentary about homeless women veterans trying to open the first transitional house for female vets in Connecticut.  War Zone/Comfort Zone , created by filmmaker Lizzie Warren with Connecticut Public Television,  is airing on PBS stations across the country this weekend, and by tomorrow you’ll be able to  watch it online here . Check out the trailer below: http://youtu.be/WsqfIMwKlos [...]

I really love this piece by an abortion clinic counselor about her experiences working at the clinic while she was pregnant with a very wanted–and ultimately failed–pregnancy of her own. One of my biggest pet peeves is anti-choicers who claim that pro-choice advocates refuse to acknowledge the emotional complexity–and physical reality–of abortion. Patricia O’Connor shows how [...]

You know that old truism that I just made up: At any given moment, somewhere  in the United States, your reproductive rights are being debated by old white men. And right now, it’s in the House of Representatives, where Rep. Franks and these guys are having hearing to discuss his proposed 20-week abortion ban.  The bill [...]

At a rally to protest Chicago’s plan to close 53 public schools,  9-year-old Asean Johnson had some words for Mayor Rahm Emanuel. http://youtu.be/oue9HIOM7xU Transcript here . Black students make up about 40 percent of the Chicago public school population but 88 percent of the students who will be affected by the closures. Unfortunately, it looks like only five schools will be spared. One [...]

Check out Flip The News , a tumblr that flips the gender or race of the subjects in news articles. The site explains, “The point here is to shine some light on the way news organizations write about people and strive for more balanced, respectful narratives.” In one of the first posts, the author gender-flips this Atlantic article [...]

Eighteen-year-old  Kaitlyn Hunt was expelled from school and is being charged with a felony  for having a lesbian relationship with a fellow student. Another horrible rape documented on social media. (Trigger warning) Great piece by Tamara Winfrey Harris on Beyonce and feminism . The Virginia GOP nominee for AG previously introduced a bill that would have  required women who miscarry to report [...]

I love this brilliant reversal of all the Nice Guy whining about the how terrible the friend-zone is. It really gets to the heart of why I think complaints about the friend-zone are just so obnoxious. Even more than the sense of entitlement–that men are owed sex or a relationship for being “good guys”–it’s the idea that [...]

Yale is being fined for underreporting sexual assault cases. ” It was exhausting . Exhausting to figure out how to respond to the relentless misogyny from men who are otherwise kind and educated, who would never think of themselves as chauvinist assholes.” Lucy Liu discusses racism in Hollywood . A Michigan school district won’t let two pregnant high schools students [...]

WHEN YET ANOTHER MILITARY SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION OFFICER IS ARRESTED FOR VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

…and it looks like Rihanna is celebrating too! (Because she’s just the greatest.) I’ve previously shared my thoughts about the importance of masturbation –or, as I like call it, “the longest, most consistently satisfying sexual relationship of my life.” So I won’t bore you again with TMI details. Instead, I’ll just direct you to the awesome folks at the M Blog , [...]

Ed note: This is a guest post by Kelly Castagnaro, Communications Director at the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR) . Only days before today, the International Day against Homophobia , a Russian man was beaten, mutilated, and murdered after revealing he was gay to two strangers.  His death reminded me of the many other deaths and injustices that occur [...]

Photo via Planned Parenthood Action Fund of Central NC. In North Carolina, lawmakers are pushing a bill that would allow any boss to decide if employees can access affordable birth control, rolling back the clock on decades of progress. So women’s health advocates showed up to protest the bill dressed in retro attire. Their mantra? “We [...]

Image via. I’m very proud that my home state of Minnesota is set to become the 12th state to legalize same-sex marriage  and the first Midwestern state to do so without a court order. Yesterday the senate passed the bill, and Gov. Dayton is set to sign into law today. This victory comes right on the heels of marriage equality victories in Rhode [...]

Kermit Gosnell was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder. We echo this statement from NARAL : “Justice was served to Kermit Gosnell today and he will pay the price for the atrocities he committed. We hope that the lessons of the trial do not fade with the verdict. Anti-choice politicians, and their unrelenting efforts to deny women access [...]

For fuck’s sake.  Brave‘s heroine Merida is getting a make-over before she’s officially inducted into the Disney Princess collection. The character’s creator Brenda Chapman, who became the first woman to win an Oscar for an animated feature for the film,  said Disney should be ashamed of the decision . “It’s horrible! Merida was created to break that mold — to [...]

I really love this piece by Jennifer Finney Boylan , who has spent six years parenting her children as a dad, followed by 12 years as a mom after her transition. I was especially moved by this section:

I understand the reluctance many people have to play down the importance of gender, or for that matter, biology, in parenting; a [...]