Topic - Feministing

Gallup just released the results of its annual poll surveying Americans’ moral views on a number of hot topics, from adultery to polygamy to birth control. In general, respondents seem to have grown more progressive. According to Gallup, 59% of Americans believe gay and lesbian relationships are “morally acceptable,” up from 40% in 2001, when [...]

I’m eager to watch this new documentary about homeless women veterans trying to open the first transitional house for female vets in Connecticut. War Zone/Comfort Zone, created by filmmaker Lizzie Warren with Connecticut Public Television, is airing on PBS stations across the country this weekend, and by tomorrow you’ll be able to watch it online here. Check out the trailer below: [...]

At a rally to protest Chicago’s plan to close 53 public schools, 9-year-old Asean Johnson had some words for Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Transcript here. Black students make up about 40 percent of the Chicago public school population but 88 percent of the students who will be affected by the closures. Unfortunately, it looks like only five schools will be spared. [...]

Women, Action, and the Media (WAM!) is organizing its first-ever social media initiative today around content promoting gender-based hate on Facebook, targeting companies like Dove, American Express, and Audible.com. Read the Open Letter to Facebook and visit the WAM website for more information. Judging from the responses from advertisers, the campaign is already a huge [...]

The quick and dirty breakdown of one of the most significant laws affecting our generation in 90 seconds. h/t Upworthy Does anyone have time to add a transcript in the comments?

Photo: Coqueran/FameFlynet Pictures We haven’t talked about this at great length yet but I’d been thinking about Zoe Saldana’s comments about race in recent interviews (BET and Allure) she’s done to promote the new Star Trek film. I don’t know. The key problem in Zoe’s comments seems to be rooted in the fact that she [...]

Ed note: This is a guest post by Kelly Castagnaro, Communications Director at the International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region (IPPF/WHR). Only days before today, the International Day against Homophobia, a Russian man was beaten, mutilated, and murdered after revealing he was gay to two strangers. His death reminded me of the many other deaths [...]

May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, which basically means it’s the season for teen mom shaming. And damn if the Candie’s Foundation doesn’t deliver! On May 1 they revealed their new celebrity-endorsed PSAs, which include lots of messages that provide the super useful combo of shame and no actual helpful information whatsoever. I want [...]

I cried when I watched this trailer. Because it makes me cry to watch unapologetically fat, confident women being really good at their jobs, being recognised for it, and making their revolutionary bodies part of that success. It makes me cry like a big feminist baby. Damn, Rebel Wilson, you make me (even) proud(er) to [...]

California domestic workers demand a Bill of Rights. Remember when prison abolition was a feminist priority? In case you needed another reason to hate drones, Amanda Marcotte has you covered. “What theory did you use to stay warm at night?” A map of New York publications. NC Senate passes bill erroneously listing abortion as a [...]

Tonight, reproductive justice advocates in New York City will join together in a flashmob to demand over-the-counter emergency contraception for people of all ages. As Feminsting has written about before, the Obama administration refuses to respect voluminous research that EC is really, really safe and instead relies on sexist, paternalistic instinct to deny access to [...]

The North Carolina Senate voted to give a second reading to a bill that requires schools to teach that abortion causes premature birth in subsequent pregnancies. The Obama Administration asked for an extension of the deadline to make Plan B available over the counter without an age restriction. The judge said no. California passes new [...]

That’s a pretty depressing number. Newspoll just released the finding, and the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) is using it as an opportunity to draw the connection between education and political leadership. Just 50% of Indigenous kids finish high school at the moment, and among kids in AIEF programs, which it calls “Australia’s most proven [...]

Remember PINK loves CONSENT? The activists behind the brilliant pank campaign to promote communicative, hot, consensual sex have been building temporary tributes to survivors of sexual violence (like the projection above) on the national mall while working to create a permanent national monument. FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture is now planning its biggest intervention yet. The collective [...]

The happy ending to a terrible and frightening story of three missing women held in captivity in a Cleveland neighborhood for over ten years: They have been reunited with their families because a neighbor intervened in what he thought was a domestic violence incident. Charles Ramsey “heard screaming. I’m eating McDonald’s. I see this girl [...]

Autostraddle takes on misogyny within butch communities. Feminists aren’t the ones who think all men are rapists. Rapists are. An open letter to Eve Ensler. 17-year-old girl wins hackathon. Angela Davis and Lennox Hinds denounce the FBI for naming Assata Shakur a “Most Wanted Terrorist.” Why the hunt for Shakur matters. Cosponsor the Employment Non-Discrimination [...]

Feminist in-fighting is still a problem. Why aren’t men funny? “Newsrooms should also hire a few journalists who aren’t effete liberal p*ssies.” A class analysis of Jason Collins’ announcement. “Natural” isn’t always feminist. Newsflash, Fox News: teen sex isn’t illegal. Bloomberg can’t defend “stop and frisk” policies. One fake rape threat doesn’t mean all women “cry rape.” [...]

It’s an ad for the new EMILY’s List campaign, Madam President, which is about the need for a woman POTUS. You might also enjoy the campaign video, in which a gaggle of eloquent little girls snort at the idea that only boys can grow up to be President. I disagree with the claim that “there’s [...]

Happy May Day. Workers of the World Unite. Check out this awesome new feminist bioethics blog. Welcome to the blogosphere! Maybe men don’t “want it all” because they find childcare to be boring? Transphobia has no place in feminism. By way of update to Sesali’s earlier post, there is now a petition on change.org to [...]

We’re leaving today’s Reader to you all. Here’s my new favorite song for inspiration. What have you been reading/writing/watching/learning this week?

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 [...]

The New Zealand House of Reps legalized same-sex marriage–and then burst into song. The Onion nails it. Great photo of a Muslim frat at the anti-domestic violence rally in Dallas last month. Vulture analyzes the age gap between Hollywood’s leading men and their on-screen love interests. Michelle Dean on how to win in the women’s [...]

To say this week has been incredibly difficult would be an understatement. Here’s a beautiful video about family and love: Germany has voted in favor of quotes for leading companies to be compelled to increase the number of women on their boards. Malala is on the cover of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People issue. Under [...]

This week’s “Ask Amy” is called “I Love You Boston,” but it’s really about the larger issues of hard news weeks, how to consume media coverage of traumatic events, and self care. It’s full of thought and doubt and empathy and “I don’t know,” all things that a lot of us are feeling today. I [...]

“You’ve just been raped by a student who lives down the hall from you. You suppose you’ll have to stick out the rest of the year seeing him every morning on your way to class. You work with him at your campus job. You decide you’ll just have to grin and bear it. He begins [...]

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 [...]

Over the weekend, Dove released a new video promoting its carefully constructed brand of “real beauty” self-esteeming boosting. The concept is clever. A series of women describe themselves to a forensic sketch artist behind a curtain. Afterward, new friends describe these same women to the same guy and he draws a new picture. Inevitably, the [...]

We love this animated video about street harassment. There is no grand liberal conspiracy to cover up the Kermit Gosnell story. The greatest tragedy is that conservatives ignored it for over 2 years and fail to understand how their policies contribute to horrific conditions for poor women seeking abortions. This also needs to stop happening. This little girl is a bawse. More thoughts about misogyny, [...]

This ad is probably the most persuasive argument for gun control that I’ve ever seen: Some have argued that in the few months since the Sandy Hook shooting raised serious questions about masculinity and gun violence in this country, our collective passion for gun control has diminished. And gun enthusiasts have tried everything to reinforce [...]

If you thought you couldn’t love Michelle Obama more, listen to her say important things about gun violence to an audience in Chicago. Exhibit of awesomeness a) “Resources matter, what it takes to build strong successful young people isn’t genetics, pedigree or good luck — it’s opportunity.” and b) “I started with the same aptitude and intellectual capabilities as [...]

Ed. note: This is a guest from Verónica Bayetti Flores. Verónica is the Assistant Director of the Civil Liberties and Public Policy program (CLPP) at Hampshire College. She has worked to increase access to contraception and abortion, fought for paid sick leave, demanded access to safe public space for queer youth of color, and helped to lead [...]

Shout out to Miami University Hamilton Association of Women Students and PRISM for hosting Feministing Editors at their campus this week. R.I.P. Roger Ebert. Workers are striking as we speak for fair wages and rights. Sign the petition to support them and learn more about Fast Food Forward, It’s great that AP decided to remove “illegal immigrant” from its Stylebo; [...]

Yesterday Rutgers University fired its men’s basketball coach, Mike Rice, after video surfaced of him abusing his players both physically and verbally. In addition to kicking, shoving, and pelting them with basketballs, he used homophobic slurs against them including the f-word. After the video went viral, Rice was quick to apologize for the shameful behavior he had [...]

Answer: This is a stupid question. New York magazine’s profile of Nora Lum, aka Awkwafina, details the Korean-Chinese-American rapper’s rise from her hilarious “My Vag” track last year to the harder “NYC Bitche$,” which was released in March. The article’s headline asks: “Can an Asian Woman Be Taken Seriously in Rap?” The piece dabbles in [...]

So says John Legend. “All men should be feminists. If men care about women’s rights the world will be a better place. We are better off when women are empowered – it leads to a better society.” Via Shakesville.

Check out just how far North Dakotans would have to travel for an abortion if their only clinic closes. Some great photos from marriage equality rallies this week. Ann Friedman talks to Chris Hayes on diversity quotas. Arizona passed a bill legalizing anti-trans discrimination. (Sidenote: The Washington Post still doesn’t know how to cover trans issues.) The Human Rights [...]

A few days ago I had the, ahem, pleasure? of seeing the video of Miley Cyrus twerking. I was a little put off by it but couldn’t immediately identify why. There was the obvious discomfort at the fact that she wasn’t really good at twerking in the first place, but there was something else that [...]

Flashback to 2009 for some musical Prop 8-hating. SCOTUSblog predicts the Court’s June decision and analyzes Kennedy’s power. The Atlantic Wire: “The Justices are Hedging.” Check out the (now hours-old) live updates from The Lede. Think Progress calls out the SCOTUS on its cowardice. A timeline of politicians’ support for marriage equality. The Onion weighs [...]

Ed. note: I’m off this week. The wonderful Tobias Rodriguez is filling in for me. Tobias originally hails from Texas and now lives in New York where he works in social media at a reproductive health organization. *Trigger warning for discussion of sexual assault and alluding imagery.* Since Steubenville, there’s been a lot of discussion [...]

Ed. note: I’m off this week. The wonderful Tobias Rodriguez is filling in for me. Tobias originally hails from Texas and now lives in New York where he works in social media at a reproductive health organization. Before tomorrow’s Supreme Court hearing on Prop 8, take a look at California’s Attorney General’s argument against the ban on [...]

Found a drunk girl passed out on your couch? Unsure of what to do in this situation? Here’s a quick instructional video. This guide is applicable for people of any gender and may be adjusted as needed in other locations. Consent: not very difficult. But apparently some kids aren’t getting the message, so that’s got to [...]

Two weeks ago, Zerlina was on the Sean Hannity show to talk women, guns and rape. If you’ve been following this blog, or her Twitter, or watching cable news in general, then you’ve almost certainly heard about her appearance. The premise of the segment was that all women should have the right to own a [...]

This is why stop and frisk is the worst and must end. Mia McKenzie’s piece on the Steubenville verdict shows how we can condemn rape and the prison system at the same time. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand lays it down during the Senate hearing on sexual assault in the military. New Beyonce song!! The “opt-out trend” is a [...]

I was on Democracy Now! this morning to talk about rape culture, Steubenville, and consent. Check out the segment below. The first two days of testimony in the Steubenville rape trial are proof positive that we need to teach young people about consent. The testimony about the text messages the defendants sent and received that [...]

We got all KINDS of Pi here for you today at Feministing on March 14th, or 3/14, also known as Pi Day. Here is a teenage girl who can recite Pi to the hundredth digit while solving a Rubik’s Cube and balancing fifteen books on her head. And here is a Feminist Ryan Gosling that [...]

Over the weekend, New Haven activist group People Against Police Brutality threw a party at the local People’s Arts Collective. Although surrounded by friends and supporters, the organizers weren’t celebrating: they needed money. Long-time community activist Jewu Richardson’s trial starts March 25. After years of harassment by the New Haven Police Department, which tried to [...]

Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency has posted the first installment of her “Tropes vs Women in Video Games” project. In this video, she explores the role, history, and forms of the damsel in distress in popular media from military recruitment ads to silent film to Donkey Kong. Most importantly, Sarkeesian talks about how women’s portrayal [...]

Happy International Women’s Day! Here’s an awesome image recognizing the work of indigenous women from from F.A.I.R Media. Listen to the UN’s official “One Women” song. A reminder of IWD’s roots in the Left. 16 of history’s most rebellious women. Melinda Gates at CNN on why we celebrate IWD. The UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet calls for an end to gender-based [...]