Because I am a Woman

[T]he fact that we’re still talking about the overemphasis on looks means that too many people still believe that they can pull the “you’re ugly” trump card when they don’t agree with a woman. You may not agree with a woman, but to criticize her appearance — as opposed to her ideas or actions — isn’t doing anyone any favors, least of all you. Insulting a woman’s looks when they have nothing to do with the issue at hand implies a lack of comprehension on your part, an inability to engage in high-level thinking. You may think she’s ugly, but everyone else thinks you’re an idiot.

“What We’re Really Talking about When We Talk about Hillary Clinton Without Makeup” - Erin Gloria Ryan (via makingfists)

(via sociolab)

democracylookslike:

Thousands of Indians oppose Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP). Here dozens of women lie on the railroad tracks to oppose movement of any materials in and out of the dangerous plant.

(via fuckyeahfeminists)

Reader Submission: How to Spot a Misogynist →

feminishblog:

This is a fantastic article! Thanks for submitting, Lola. :-) It’s got the grit and the wit. The piece is particularly good for those of you who question the title or term ” feminist” or “feminism” and think it is not inclusive. Yes, she touches on that too.

Except you can’t show a topless woman on TV - and you can’t defibrillate a woman in a bra. So victims of heart attacks on TV are *always* male. Did you know that a woman having a heart attack is more likely to have back or jaw pain than chest or left arm pain? I didn’t - because I’ve never seen a woman having a heart attack. I’ve been trained in CPR and Advanced First Aid by the Red Cross over 15 times in my life, the videos and booklets always have a guy and say the same thing about clutching his chest and/or bicep.

And people laugh when I tell them women are still invisible in this world.

distractedbyshinyobjects

re: feministing - for women, heart attacks look different

Things I did not know, but should.

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(via ultralaser)

They put up some awesome billboards in austin a few months ago showing the signs of a heart attack that women will feel. And I know they were effective because I was in the car when mando saw the billboard and said “Man I had no idea women had different symptoms for heart attacks!”

Way to go city of mine :)

Even better? A woman having all the “classic” (read: male) symptoms of heart attack is more than twice as likely to be sent home from the ER than to be checked out, EKGed, and examined.

Because we’re just hormone-addled hysterics. :-(

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i do not endorse feministing but factual quote.

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wat

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IMPORTANT!! IMPORTANT!!!

Did NOT know this.

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(via yesmeansyes)

Reader Submission: Support Planned Parenthood of the Heartland and get a kick-ass anti-Rush shirt!

feminishblog:

Great fundraiser going on in my hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. RAYGUN is a popular t-shirt store here that features progressive, satirical designs and they are teaming up with Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. They wanted to put their own “spin” on the Rush Limbaugh controversy – all while supporting their favorite women’s health care provider.

All proceeds from the sale will support Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. You can be fashionable and support the work we do!
You can buy a shirt online here - http://raygunsite.com/shop/girls/t-shirts/slut-shirt

The shirt says: Just another slut on birth control. Please pass it on, help PP and get some amazingly awesome shirts out there!

Thanks,

Jessica

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I was actually just looking for a shirt with this kind of attitude online last night, but could not find one I liked… this one is perfect. The design looks very cute, simple, powerful, and sleek! I shall be purchasing one. :-) If anyone else has anything like this they’d like me to signal boost, drop me a line and I’ll be more than happy to pass it along as well!

think-progress:

What women could afford if the gender gap didn’t exist.

Put another way, a woman over the course of her lifetime could afford two houses, 7 college degrees from a public university, 14 new cars, or $431,360 for retirement.

(via awesomejuice)

(via feminishblog)

(via hellyeahfeminism)

Weekly News Roundup

standupforwomen:

Here are a few of the stories we’ve been paying attention to:

Local News:

After public uproar from women’s groups, Albany has mandated that health insurers do not deny women their choice of contraceptives: http://www.ny1.com/content/news_beats/political_news/157110/in-reversal—albany-now-supports-women-s-choice-of-birth-control?ap=1&MP4

PPNYC President, Joan Malin penned a Letter to the Editor in the NYT on the consequences of when Catholic and Secular hospitals merge: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/07/opinion/when-catholic-and-secular-hospitals-merge.html?_r=1

National News:

An opinion piece in WNYC asks whether using humor to win the public’s attention back from the right-wing’s divisive and sensational distractions is an effective method: http://www.wnyc.org/blogs/its-free-blog/2012/mar/05/opinion-laughter-legislation-and-war-women/

Mother Jones puts together a humorous flow chart to determine the pressing question of the week: “Are you a slut?” http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/03/flow-chart-are-you-slut

Jezebel introduces the anti-abortion group that’s behind all the recent ultrasound laws: http://jezebel.com/5891386/meet-the-group-behind-all-those-crappy-ultrasound-laws

And BuzzFeed charts the uses of the word “Slut” during all mainstream media mentions within the past month: http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedpolitics/chart-the-great-slut-spike-of-2012

Mother Jones breaks down seven other states that have advanced mandatory transvaginal ultrasound bills in the last year: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/03/transvaginal-ultrasounds-coming-soon-state-near-you

Salon discusses the pro-choice reawakening: http://www.salon.com/2012/03/06/the_pro_choice_reawakening/

The Nation highlights Cecile Richards’s effective leadership strategy during the Komen defunding controversy: http://www.thenation.com/article/166670/genius-cecile-richards

Eesha Pandit of Feministing discusses why differentiating private vs. federal funding of contraceptive coverage does more harm than good: http://feministing.com/2012/03/07/sandra-fluke-and-the-birth-control-divide/

The Gender Across Borders blog hosted an event inviting bloggers to write for International Women’s Day: http://www.genderacrossborders.com/blogforiwd/

Mother Jones lists all the states that have proposed insane sex laws in response to overwhelming anti-abortion bills: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2012/03/birth-control-viagra-vasectomy-laws

An analysis from the Brookings Institution finds that birth control saves taxpayer money: http://www.wnyc.org/npr_articles/2012/mar/06/how-birth-control-saves-taxpayers-money/

A major study of nearly 10,000 women that’s under way in St. Louis provides a clue about what might happen when the birth control policy takes effect: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/national_world&id=8574901

State News:

The Arizona Senate passed a bill this week that gives doctors a free pass to not inform pregnant women of prenatal problems because such information could lead to an abortion: http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/03/07/arizona-senate-passes-bill-allowing-doctors-to-not-inform-women-of-prenatal-issues-to-prevent-abortions/

Poll reveals voters want to keep Planned Parenthood in Texas Women’s Health Program: http://www.texastribune.org/texas-health-resources/abortion-texas/poll-voters-want-keep-planned-parenthood-whp/

And the NYT delves deeper into how the recent cuts to Texas’s Medicaid Women’s Health Program affect women individually: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/us/texas-womens-clinics-retreat-as-finances-are-cut.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

The Daily Beast explores the attacks on reproductive rights and how Planned Parenthood is fighting back in Texas: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/03/04/planned-parenthood-under-attack-fighting-back-in-texas.html

The Utah Senate passed an abstinence only sex education bill which also prohibits talk of homosexuality in the classroom: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/07/utah-passes-bill-allowing_n_1326777.html

Virginia Governor, Bob McDonnell, signed into law controversial ultrasound bill: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57392796-503544/virginia-gov-bob-mcdonnell-signs-virginia-ultrasound-bill/

I was first scouted at the age of 14 by one of the world’s most prestigious model agencies. I was told that my life had now changed and had to be perfect: bikini waxes, leg waxes, lots of water, perfect skin and having to stay slim were all on the agenda. I had just about started my period by then. When I put on seven pounds to become a whopping seven and a half stone, it was commented on before I’d made it halfway through the office.

I did my first topless shoot a year later for a well-known photographer, and they were photographs that oozed sex. They will tell you that it wouldn’t happen in the UK, that it’s illegal; I would ask you not to be naive. My father shuddered and wept when he saw them in my model book by accident. He wanted nothing to do with it ever again. I quit modelling at 18 and went to university, tired of seeing my 15 and 16-year-old colleagues on Vogue front pages looking like they were all about sex, while overhearing men saying things I couldn’t repeat about girls I knew to be still awkward about kissing boys.

Anonymous, who replied to our call to readers on the hypersexualisation of girls (via guardiancomment)

(via feminishblog)

guardiancomment:

To celebrate International Women’s Day, we asked 11 women from different countries to choose one reason we should celebrate this year.

• From the US: Jessica Valenti - let’s celebrate the backlash against sexism

• From Egypt: Adhaf Souef - let’s celebrate the women of Egypt’s revolution

• From India: Mari Marcel Thekaekara - let’s celebrate Indian women being more visible than ever

• From Sudan: Lubna Hussein - let’s celebrate the women of Sudan’s Nuba mountains

• From China: Lijia Zhan - let’s celebrate China leading the world in wealthy self-made women

• From Afghanistan: Orzala Ashraf Nemat - let’s celebrate Afghanistan’s grassroots activists

• From Norway: Maria Reinertsen - let’s celebrate more dad time for kids in Norway

• From Chile: Catalina May - let’s celebrate a belated discission about women’s rights in Chile

• From the UK: Anna Bird - let’s celebrate a new energy among UK feminist activists

• From Russia: Natalia Antonova - let’s celebrate women taking on the government

• From Saudi Arabia: Eman Al Nafjan - let’s celebrate the Saudi women’s driving campaign

Photographs: Reuters; Phil Moore for the Guardian; Manish Swarup/AP; AP; Janine Wiedel/Alam; AFP/Getty Images; David Wong/AP; AP

(via jessbennett)

(via The small, sexist joke that became a big deal )

Well this isn’t funny. However, I must have totally missed this “social media fire-storm”. I didn’t see this prior to this article being written.

SNL: Weekend Update with Seth Meyers

Well played, SNL

(via hellyeahfeminism)

Most preadolescent girls are excellent company because they are interested in everything — sports, nature, people, music, and books. Almost all of the heroines of girls’ literature come from this age group — Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, Pippi Longstocking, and Caddie Woodlawn. Girls this age bake pies, solve mysteries, and go on quests.

Mary Pipher, Reviving Ophelia (via girlthatread)

I have this book reserved at the library.

(via kungfucarrie)

Eve Ensler--Over It →

Forever reblog. How powerful is this?