Weekly Feminist Reader

Where are the women? all male discussion on Morning Joe
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 invading a woman’s body against her will still isn’t. Let’s not casually pass laws that upend both principles in the name of helping women make better choices.” Dahlia Lithwick on Virginia’s forced ultrasound (a.k.a. forced penetration) bill.

“Romance novels are feminist documents.”

The Daily Caller asks, “What are women for?” Yes, really.

Despite having been banned since 2008, female genital cutting is still prevalent in Egypt.

Good coverage of the birth control coverage hullabaloo from the Daily Show and Stephen Colbert. I imagine this shit is gold for them.

A new report says 1 in 4 children are malnourished worldwide.

The Rumpus’ beloved “Dear Sugar” advice columnist revealed her true identity as the writer Cheryl Strayed.

Just how gendered are children’s toy commercials? See what happens when you remix them.

Santorum is trying to distance himself from the “joke” that his supporter made about how the gals in his day just used aspirin between their knees as birth control. He claims he’s supported funding for contraception, which is weird considering he’s also pledged to defund contraception.

In my biased opinion, the playlist I made for satisfied single people in honor of Valentine’s Day is relevant every day.

Not cool: FIFA’s hijab ban is keeping Muslim women from playing the best sport in the world.

Even in conservative Mississippi, most parents support comprehensive sex education.

The world’s first ever love competition–“in which seven contestants have five minutes to neurochemically love someone as hard as they can.”

In case there was any doubt about the intention of forced ultrasound laws, some anti-choice honesty from Megan McArdle: “I’m all for the government using any non-coercive methods it can to encourage women to carry their pregnancy to term, including things that will make them feel bad about aborting.”

Forty-five years after Mildred and Richard Loving’s case, 1 in 7 new marriages are interracial in the U.S.

“Every time liberals cede the moral frame to the right wing, liberals lose.”

What have you been reading/writing/watching/learning this week?

St. Paul, MN

Maya Dusenbery is executive director in charge of editorial at Feministing. She is the author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick (HarperOne, March 2018). She has been a fellow at Mother Jones magazine and a columnist at Pacific Standard magazine. Her work has appeared in publications like Cosmopolitan.com, TheAtlantic.com, Bitch Magazine, as well as the anthology The Feminist Utopia Project. Before become a full-time journalist, she worked at the National Institute for Reproductive Health. A Minnesota native, she received her B.A. from Carleton College in 2008. After living in Brooklyn, Oakland, and Atlanta, she is currently based in the Twin Cities.

Maya Dusenbery is an executive director of Feministing and author of the forthcoming book Doing Harm on sexism in medicine.

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