Weekly Feminist Reader

SO much stuff this week!
This entire article about sommeliers in Australia never explains why, in the photo, the one female sommelier is naked, while the men are all in suits.
Catholics in New York take to YouTube to bash pro-choice Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
How the media treat Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse differently than Owen Wilson and Heath Ledger.
DC Comics turns a black superheroine white.
More anti-LGBT bullshit in high schools. This week: Belleville, IL and Gary, IN.
Ve vill suck your period blood! (via.)
Can you believe that some whorish women want to wreck the white purity of their wedding gowns with a low-cut neckline? Horrors!
A new documentary explores what the Bible really says about homosexuality, and ponders why anti-gay sentiment is at the heart of the conservative Christian agenda.
I’m playing the world’s tiniest violin for the so-called “angry white male” voting bloc.
A study by the Toronto school board found that “It appears a growing number of young girls are not only being sexually assaulted on campus, but have come to think of it as a normal part of their educational experience.” That’s incredibly upsetting.
Muslim Hedonist on talking to her daughters about FGM.
This article — and the entire situation — is pretty awful. Not only are they charging this woman for homicide for using drugs while pregnant, but the sheriff says her life consisted of “using drugs and having babies.” Disrespectful much? Also, a reader sent along an earlier version of the article, which disclosed the woman is HIV-positive, which is totally unrelated to any charges brought against her. It appears they’ve now deleted the mention of HIV. (Check out our previous posts on drug laws that punish pregnant women.)
Next week the Canadian parliament will debate the “Unborn Victims of Crime Act.” Pro-choice talking points are here.
The Bilerico Project has been running profiles of black LGBT people in history.
A Louisiana woman was arrested for a DWI and then brutally beaten by a police officer, who claims she “slipped and fell.” (Trigger warning.)
They’re marketing Frida Kahlo-brand skin cream? WTF?
A guy actually tried to get mini-silicone implants for his naked-woman tattoo.
An ultra-Orthodox Israeli politician blames gays for earthquakes. Seriously.
Anyone else find it sad that they’re airbrushing kids’ school pictures?
(Way more below the fold…)

Canadian activist gals Kick Action host a blogging carnival.
The State Department has dropped its completely backwards ban on HIV-positive diplomats.
Italian police seize an aborted fetus.
A University of Michigan dorm is selling shirts that say “Superman that Ho.” Stay classy, U of M.
The National Women’s Law Center is running a series of posts on women and health care reform.
Next week the UN Commission on the Status of Women will meet, and will be blogged at OpenDemocracy.
Too much light at night apparently may increase your risk of breast cancer. (Is anyone else annoyed by the slew of articles about all the little things that *might* cause cancer? They might as well publish the headline, “Study says sleeping, eating, breathing may lead to breast cancer.”)
Kroger will sell Ortho-Cyclen and Ortho-Tricyclen at reduced prices. Yay!
Reader Marina forwarded a casting call for a new VH1 show in which “Girls will be learning lessons on being a better gold-digger and competing to be the best gold-digger.” Sounds like this show will be giving Rock of Love a run for its money.
Being happily single is totally normal.
Conservatives are freaked out about what might happen if young girls look at their vaginas.
A bill in Tennessee that would have prevented public elementary school teachers from making any reference to gay people has thankfully died in committee.
And speaking of Tennessee, Tiny Cat Pants took issue with how we handled the outrageous comments about rape made by State Sen. Doug Henry. Her criticism is totally valid, and I just want to take the opportunity to a) apologize to Tennesseans if we’ve made political life harder for you and b) to encourage all readers that if you see us post on something happening in your state and we don’t have the context or nuance right, please email the author of the post and let us know!
A video on representations of gender in hip-hop.
Another gender-nonconforming teen was killed in Charleston, SC, though police say his murder was “not a hate crime.” But Feministe has news on another recent incident that was most definitely a hate crime.
North Carolina hospitals send victims the bill for their rape kits. (Wonder if they ever actually process said rape kits?)
I’m all for promoting the love-your-body message to women with big, beautiful back-ends, but popularizing ass injections isn’t quite the same thing.
Actions, Events, Etc.
The Small Business Association is considering scrapping a program that promotes woman-owned businesses. NOW has an action item.
Send your own artistic interpretation of the nipple to The Nipple Project.
For those of you in the Atlanta area, check out Jezebel Jam next weekend. It’s “a four day multi-disciplinary women’s arts & culture festival benefitting Atlanta based domestic violence prevention agencies.” Awesome.
Meet Ann Fessler, author of The Girls Who Went Away, at Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia.
On March 1, the True/False Film Festival in Columbia, MO is screening Very Young Girls, a documentary about G.E.M.S., an organization that helps young women who are at risk for or involved in sexual exploitation and violence.
Hey Californians: Next week, check out the Davis Feminist Film Festival.
Add your name to UNIFEM’s petition to end violence against women.
And lastly, importantly, please send a few good thoughts toward Sara at F-words.
As always, leave your own links in comments!