Tag Archives: feminism

All the important women’s issues articles from the past week in one convenient post!

+ Towards My Personal Sex-Positive Feminist 101 | A quick guide to the gender spectrum, the sometimes grey areas of consent, and why the “bases” are outdated.

All sex is completely fine with me as long as it’s consensual. Seriously, I really don’t care what you do — as long as it’s consensual. (Try to find a consensual sex act that shocks me. I dare you.)

+ Mothers We Could Save | Nicholas Kristof on saving the lives of women through the distribution of contraception and the Republican commitment to family planning – for horses.

By United Nations estimates, 215 million women worldwide have an “unmet need” for family planning, meaning they don’t want to become pregnant but are not using effective contraception. The Guttmacher Institute, a widely respected research organization, estimates that if all the unmet need for contraception were met, the result would be 94,000 fewer women dying of pregnancy complications each year, and almost 25 million fewer abortions each year.

+ NBC May Offer Lady-Centric Comedy Block This Fall | Sorry 30 Rock, looks like you’re not “lady-centric” enough to satisfy the appetite of the feminist community.

Keep in mind that this is all a bigif, because NBC has to decide that they actually like the shows they’ve ordered. But this block of entertainment sounds promising — and could only be better is if they steal Kathie Lee and Hoda from Today‘s 4th hour to host!

+ Ministers face calls for apology as extent of 1970s ‘virginity tests’ revealed | Asian women immigrating to the UK were subjected to gynecological examinations to see if they were, in fact, a “wife-to-be who had not borne children and was still a virgin.”

Whilst this is a practice of the past, it is demonstrative of a wider, and indeed ongoing tendency to sideline women in immigration policy making. Whilst in 2011 we may no longer be virginity testing South Asian brides, the sad reality is that many migrant women continue to be denied equal treatment, and the full enjoyment of their human rights.

-Hina Majid, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants Policy Director

+ “Believe It Or Not” Salad and Other Dishes from the 1933 Congressional Cook Book

(It is not appropriate to use knives for buffet and porch affairs)

+ Kathleen Sebelius: Health reform will do wonders for women | The Secretary of Health and Human Services explains the impact health care reform will have, especially for American Women.

The health care law won’t fix all the problems for women in our health care system. But it’s a big step in the right direction. So this National Women’s Health Week, give the women in your life the gift of better health, and make sure they know what the health care law is doing for them.

+ Hold On for One More Day | Judd Apatow discusses Bridesmaids and what it means for the future of female-based comedies. (This means I can stop pretending to not like Judd Apatow, right?)

I always felt it was important to sell it to women and hope the buzz got around to men, that it’s just as funny to them. It’s ridiculous that women have to see 8 million male-driven films, and no one ever says, “Will women come to see these five guys hijack a plane?” They just assume they’ll come because they have no other options. This conversation never happens in the reverse.

+ Let’s Get Rid of Engagement Rings | Emily Yoffe (Slate’s Dear Prudence) is sick of being asked about “the ring”, and you’re not the only one snooping through your boyfriend’s sock drawer for the box.

It turns young women — otherwise independent, successful strivers — into passive recipients, waiting for their prince to rescue them from their single state. In what other aspect of their lives do young women so totally turn over their future to the decisions of others?