Men-only panel discusses men-only hearing on contraception without a hint of self-awareness? That happened . “It pains me to say this, but I don’t think they have a clue, and that’s the sad part about it.” Umm… The Athena Film festival showcased some awesome films by and about women last week. “Abortion is still legal in America. Physically [...]

Looks like it’s been several months since the last time, so here’s your regular reminder: http://youtu.be/m0vQOnHW0Kc As Kelsey writes at Bitch , “Can’t you just shout BOOBS!!! next time and stop pretending it has anything to do with the ethical treatment of, well, anyone?” Transcript after the jump. Transcript: This is Jessica and she suffers from BWVAKTBOOM: Boyfriend Went Vegan And Knocked [...]

There a lot that’s surreal about the recent debate over birth control coverage . For one: the timing. It’s 2012 and news stories about birth control in the U.S. have to include a reminder that 99% of heterosexually active women have used it. You’ve got Fox news saying liberals support birth control “to get rid of the poor” and the American Life [...]

Yesterday, the Pentagon announced plans to allow women into more front-line, combat jobs . The Service Women’s Action Network expressed disappointment that women will still be barred from serving as infantry, armor, and special operations forces, but said that the new rules were a big step in the right direction. As Adam Weinstein writes, “full gender equity in [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH3giaIzONA RIP Whitney Houston. She will be missed. Rick Santorum thinks birth control shouldn’t be covered by insurance at all because it’s so affordable. Georgia Rep. Tom Price goes farther and claims that “not one woman” has ever been denied access to birth control because she could not afford it . Plan B in a university vending machine? Sounds good [...]

Today, in response to t he obstinate pressure by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops , the Obama administration announced a new plan for no-cost birth control. Essentially, insurance companies will have to pick up the tab if the employer won’t. Via RH Reality Check:

Despite deep concerns, including my own, based on what transpired in the past under [...]

Yesterday, the Pentagon announced plans to allow women into more front-line, combat jobs . The Service Women’s Action Network expressed disappointment that women will still be barred from serving as infantry, armor, and special operations forces, but said that the new rules were a big step in the right direction. As Adam Weinstein writes, “full gender equity in [...]

Via Shakesville , here’s a speech that will make you cry a bunch of times. Representative Maureen Walsh is one of two Republicans in the Washington House who voted to pass the same-sex marriage bill on Wednesday. Before the vote, she took the floor to say she was allowing her heart to guide her on this one and [...]

10 outrageous quotes from Caitlin Flanagan’s new book illustrated with cat photos courtesy of Bitch. Need a good cry? Watch this teen girl make the case for her fathers’ right to marry during New Jersey’s debate over marriage equality. “Few people realize that getting pregnant can mean losing your job.” Molly Fischer writes a critical history of “ladyblogs” like [...]

http://youtu.be/ZJEPxJbXzhw In this video, Shawnta Smith and Jas Cruz , who are are ex-wives or best friends depending on which one of them is doing the telling, talk about the home they’ve built together and what it means to them and their community. It’s wonderful. They have separate beds but their bookcase is merged. I mean, that’s [...]

Over at The American Prospect , Amanda Marcotte argues that Leslie Knope has fallen from her previous heights of feminist heroism and become a “damsel in distress” in this season of Parks and Rec. I disagree.

Things started to go off the rails with an artificial obstacle thrown in the way of Ben and Leslie’s happy coupling: an arbitrary [...]

As Samhita mentioned yesterday, in response to the Komen fiasco, Mayor Bloomberg is matching donations to Planned Parenthood up to $250,000. While he’s probably contributing the biggest chunk of change, Bloomberg is hardly the only supporter rallying to Planned Parenthood’s aid. Just 24 hours after Komen announced they were pulling their funding, Planned Parenthood had raised nearly [...]

Yep, this is basically the wet dream of every feminist I know . The state of reproductive rights since Roe v. Wade in 9 graphs. A powerful piece by Melissa Chadburn on growing up in foster care, being accountable to your community, and the importance of taxes . Santorum says Obama defunded abstinence-only programs not because they don’t work but because he [...]

This weekend, it seemed all of my lady friends on Facebook were linking to this piece by Emily Rapp . It’s a lovingly-rendered tribute to the older mentors who’ve shaped her and the current friends who’ve saved her–and a  beautiful articulation of the power of female friendship.

Recently I overheard a man say at a yoga class, “Yeah, well, you [...]

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 [...]

Today is the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade . Here’s a reminder of what life was like before . Love these poems mocking anti-suffragists by Alice Duer Miller . Speaking of gender in comedy , here are some tips for how to write like a funny woman from Elissa Bassist. After one of Newt’s ex-wives says he asked for an open marriage (after he cheated) , some [...]