*Trigger warning: This piece discusses sexual assault and victim blaming.* Two off-duty firemen in Chicago were arrested after attempting to rape an unconscious woman at a party according to  Shakesville. The assault happened after the woman had had too much to drink and was taken upstairs to lie down by her partner. Her partner, going back [...]

Despite the fact that I renounced Christianity years ago, this story made me slightly proud that my 1-year-old self was doused with holy water (according to my older family, I resisted the rituals of the church back then as well) at a little church in a Chicago suburb called Saint Mary’s. I say that after [...]

The US department of Justice released a survey that suggests that about 20% of juvenile inmates experience sexual assault while doing time in juvenile detention centers and group homes. Colorlines reports:

“The survey covered by both secure juvenile detention facilities and group homes, and involved more than 8,500 boys and girls. In total, 1,720 of those surveyed [...]

For today’s dose of anti-choice fuckery… A bill has successfully passed the Louisiana House that requires “intended parents” to be married in order to be eligible for surrogacy. The bill states:

 “‘Intended parents’ means  married persons  who contribute their gametes to be used in assisted reproduction, and who enter into an enforceable gestational surrogacy contract, as defined in this Chapter, [...]

Susan Rice was selected by President Obama as the National Security Advisor, replacing Tom Donilon. She is the second woman to hold the position (following fellow black woman, and fellow Rice-last named Condoleezza Rice) and the third African American, the first being Colin Powell. The decision is already receiving backlash from Republican lawmakers  who believe that the [...]

Mississippi is on to something amazing. In an effort to reform the disciplinary process and stop the school-to-prison pipeline in Meridien County Mississippi, the Justice Department and the Meridien Public school District came to an agreement to cut school expulsions, suspensions, and police intervention for its mostly black students. Colorlines.com reports:

“In March, the Justice Department  reached [...]

In the midst of so much daunting coverage of queer youth, including homelessness rates and suicides, this really warms my heart. Brad and Dylan won the sacred “Cutest Couple” title for their senior class this year. According to HuffPo, they are the first same-sex couple to win the title at their school. And not only that, they’re receiving tons [...]

Zoe Saldana received a lot of backlash for her role as Nina Simone in an upcoming biopic. While it’s not as much Saldana’s fault as it is casting manager’s, the criticism of the casting is well-deserved in wake of her comments about race and gender. Nina Simone’s legacy and story are rooted in her dark complexion and non-traditional [...]

The “male gaze” is one of the many concepts that dominates feminist discourse. It’s one of the first things that feminists learn about when talking about women in media, entertainment, arts, performance, or anywhere else women are to be physically looked upon. This gaze defines the way in which women are visually represented for the [...]

The Black Youth Project reported that a bus tour in New York City called Real Bronx Tours was apparently offering its patrons the opportunity to see what what a “real ghetto” looks like. They ride through the Bronx, a New York borough that is heavily populated with poor people of color, making fun of residents and wowing their audience [...]

Eesha Khare is an 18-year-old high school senior. She’s going to Harvard in the fall and uses her cellphone. Typical 18-year-old girl stuff. Oh, she also invented a supercapacitor that charges cell phones in 30 seconds! According to Clutch:

“Eesha Khare, 18, invented a fast-charging device called the supercapacitor. It is miniature energy-storing device that can juice a [...]

That’s how much money some working women are missing out on as a result of wage disparities among genders. According to the Huffington Post :

“The typical full-time working woman  stands to miss out on $443,360  over 40 years because of the gender wage gap, according to an April report from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC). That means a [...]

The Loch Ness Monster, among other things that are not real. When I first heard about the Air Force’s top commander, Gen. Mark A. Welsh III, dismissing cases of sexual assault in the military as a result of “hookup mentality”, I was obviously upset for many of the same reasons that Katie expressed yesterday . Why are we [...]

Left: Elizabeth Colbert Busch (D). Right: Mark Sanford (R). (Credit: ABC News) Via. Because it’s not already hard enough to run for political office as a woman in this country, conservative groups in South Carolina are playing dirty politics leading up to the  congressional special election next week. According to ThinkProgress,  the group, identifying themselves only as “SSI polling”, are calling voters and [...]

When we talk about the criminalization of communities and people of color, especially African Americans and Latinos in America, we often talk about the criminal justice system in America that disproportionately targets those communities.Schools are often the major accomplices in making this system run with the school to prison pipeline. Nothing exemplifies this more than what is happening to 16 [...]

President Obama addressed Planned Parenthood’s national conference today. He reassured them that he stands with them in the fight to keep safe and affordable healthcare accessible.

 ”Planned Parenthood is not going anywhere. It’s not going anywhere today. it’s not going anywhere tomorrow.”

Which is a relief because I’m due for my annual! But anyway… He also [...]

  White male lawmakers in Florida’s are playing the race card about abortion, again, and their black female counterparts are not here for it. According to the Grio , as many as five black female representatives among a group of African-American lawmakers walked out of the Florida House in response to factually incorrect comments made by Republican Rep. Charles Van Zant [...]

An artsy and depressing campus rape culture bingo . Louis C.K. likes his feminism funny. “Men are the greatest cause of injury and mayhem to women.” Ohio worries about ” gateway sexual activity .” *rolls eyes* Meet Afghanistan’s female bicyclists . Why do so many YA heroines become beautiful as part of their transformation into a fully realized character? A Twitter convo about the lies [...]

I’ve finally stopped rolling my eyes hard enough to talk about Ray J and his new single ” I Hit It First .” This (terrible) track is basically three minutes and 20 seconds of shade thrown at Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, based on the well-known fact that Ray J was Kim’s partner in the infamous sex tape [...]