Another fine example of the nurturing, loving, solidarity of sisterhood MTF folks so often pine over.
Revolution at Harvard
Congrats to Drew Gilpin Faust, the first female president of Harvard University – first in a 371 year history.
National Organization for Women (NOW) President Kim Gandy said of the announcement, “NOW is so pleased that Harvard will finally have a female president — and it has only taken them 371 years. Larry Summers, we couldn’t have done it without you.”
Tennessee Blues
As if to send me on my way to North Carolina, this bizarre news from Tennessee: legislation has been introduced to require death certificates for dead foetuses.
Can we possibly get these people with too much time on their hands to feed hungry kids or something? I guess the legislators in Tennessee are perfectly happy with the state placing 41st out of 50 for education.
Please, Rep. Campfield, work for your money, would you?
How To Be A Feminist Although Male
People ask me often whether or not it’s possible to be a man and a feminist, and my answer is always “Well of course, some of the coolest feminists were men, & right from the beginning, too.” But in case anyone needed a concrete example, this former coach from UC Davis is a damned good one.
Thanks, Michael Burch.
Breast Health
If you’re over 40, go get your mammogram. Screening rates are in decline, which means less cancers caught sooner and more likeliness of mortality. Please, just go.
Feed the Children
The Senate and House voted to approve an increase in the Minimum Wage, finally. The good news is that the increase will help working women – especially all those single mothers – who are struggling to get by. Now that’s family values.
Empowered Women Still Terrifying
… At least to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. Three female journalists who are also feminist activists have been arrested for trying to attend a workshop on journalism in India. Trying to attend, because they never got to: they were arrested at the airport.
“The arrest of these online journalists demonstrates President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s security and ideological paranoia which prompts him to ban all contact between journalists and foreign organizations and media,” said Reporters Without Borders (RSF), adding that the incident reveals “the fear that the women’s rights movement produces within the regime.” The three journalists are members of the Women’s Cultural Center, which runs a “One Million Signatures” campaign aimed at repealing Iran’s sexist laws. Recently, the campaign’s website was reportedly blocked by Iranian authorities, according to the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders.
Good thing they’ve got a kick-ass lawyer.
Rah Rah, They Suck
Cheerleaders in upstate New York quit the cheerleading team in droves when they were told the laws in the state made them do something they didn’t want to do.
The thing they didn’t want to do?…. cheer! But the catch was that they had to cheer for the girls’ teams in addition to cheering on the boys’ teams.
I can’t figure out if women are their own worst enemies or if this is about homophobia or if (frankly) they’re just being princesses and don’t want to cheer for less-well-attended events. But no matter what it is, it’s a pretty sucky attitude for a cheerleader to have, no?
(Thanks to Dana at BlogHer for the clever title to this post.)
Why I’m Pro Choice
Today is Blog for Choice Day.
There is one reason and one reason only: because if abortion is illegal, women with money & power & connections will be able to have them still, and poor women with no power & access to pay for blackmarket services will not. While there are significant disparities of access and care with abortion legal, it is nothing like what it would be if it weren’t legal.
Abortion will not go away. It has always been with us. That said, holding men/boys responsible for children they father would be a good start. Getting honest sex education to teenagers and adults would be great. Free and easily-accessible birth control would go a long way toward preventing abortions. Dealing with the fact that people have sex – priceless.
& Yes, I’ll be participating!