The latest entry in the headache-inducing saga of politicians attempting to debunk the fact that women can become pregnant from rape comes from Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), an anti-choice congressperson who believes in abortion exceptions for rape but only because they are so small in number. While speaking at a town hall meeting this week, [...]
In the last week, federal courts have delivered major victories against voter-suppression legislation that seeks to disenfranchise millions of registered voters this November. A federal appeals court struck down a voter I.D. law in Texas last Thursday, ruling that it violated Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against minority voters. The three-judge [...]
Though they care for our homes, children, elderly parents and disabled family members, domestic workers are often made invisible. Not only does their work go largely unnoticed by society, but more importantly they’re denied basic labor protection laws. Currently, the National Labor Relations Act excludes domestic workers, including childcare providers, housekeepers and caregivers. These workers [...]
UPDATE 8/30/12: The Colorado Personhood Coalition announced that it is challenging Colorado’s Secretary of State, who determined the group did not have enough valid signatures for its ballot initiative. Members from Colorado Personhood claim petitions with valid signatures were discarded. A personhood amendment, which would have defined a “person” at “any stage of development,” including [...]
Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), a current U.S. Senate candidate, raised America’s consciousness last week when he revealed that there are people out there who believe that 1) there is such a thing as “legitimate rape” and 2) women cannot get pregnant from “legitimate rape” because their reproductive systems go on some sort of anti-rape lockdown. [...]
Late on Tuesday, a federal appeals court lifted an injunction that blocked a new Texas law from barring federal Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood and other abortion provider-affiliated clinics around the state. It’s the latest in a string of affronts to women’s health in the Lone Star State, where the lives of Texan women have [...]
Social Security turns 77 years old today, but there’s hardly a wrinkle on the system. Sure, the government program has been a passionate talking point for numerous politicians over the last seven decades—with some eager to reform, privatize or dismantle it altogether—but Social Security continues to be one of America’s most successful anti-poverty programs. During [...]
Though both the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the International Violence Against Women Act have been bogged down in Congress, the U.S. government hasn’t given up on addressing gender-related violence. Last Friday, President Obama released an executive order that promises to prevent and respond to violence against girls and women globally. According to the Obama [...]
Slutitude. What is it? That was the question posed to a crowd Sunday afternoon crammed in a tiny studio space behind, of all places, the Chick-fil-A on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Dressed in bras and underwear, fishnets and the occasional lace-up platform boot, we all had, according to comedian Luce Tomlin-Brenner, an air of slutitude. [...]
What’s that, Louis C.K.? Feminists don’t have a sense of humor? Trying telling that to comedian-actress-musician-feminist Katie Goodman. Before there was the women-in-comedy phenom Bridesmaids, there was Goodman, a long-time women’s theater advocate who performs solo and with the show Broad Comedy. Goodman is all kinds of myth-busting. Not only is she a funny feminist, but she’s also [...]
