Picture this: Johnny, 13, lives in Tennessee. Sally, 13, lives in California. Both are in the 8th grade and both are questioning their sexuality. When Sally asks her teacher or counselor about being a lesbian, a new policy proposed by California lawmakers would allow for a healthy dialogue. But when Johnny tries to talk about [...]
Last week, a small church in Kentucky renounced their right to grant marriages to heterosexual couples until full equality for same-sex couples has been legalized at the federal level. The congregation of Douglass Boulevard Christian Church (DBCC) voted unanimously for the church to stop signing marriages licenses. In an interview with WHAS 11 in Louisville, [...]
One in four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime, and each year that abuse costs the U.S. health-care system an estimated $8.3 billion. In an effort to end widespread spousal abuse–and thus reduce health-care spending–Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) last week reintroduced the Violence Against Women Health Initiative Act (HR 1578), a bill to [...]
In Wichita this week, a judge refused to issue an injunction requiring abortion opponent Angel Dillard to stay 250 feet away from Dr. Mila Means, her clinic and her home. The civil injunction was requested by the Department of Justice under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act after Dillard sent a threatening [...]
Last month, Sandra Torres announced that she was divorcing her husband, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom, in order to run for the presidency herself. “I am getting a divorce from my husband, but I am getting married to the people,” she told reporters. The Guatemalan constitution bans the president’s relatives from running for office. If Torres [...]
Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J., a struggling casino that was purchased by new owners in December 2010, fired 15 cocktail waitresses for “violating uniform standards” after forcing them to try on skimpy 1920s-inspired flapper outfits and subjecting them to a degrading photo shoot. Seven of those fired have filed a lawsuit against the [...]
After a week of fear and uncertainty surrounding her fate, Libya’s Eman al-Obeidi has finally been released. Al-Obeidi was dragged from a Tripoli hotel by security forces on March 26 after she cried out to a group of international reporters that she had been raped and beaten by 15 pro-government militiamen over a two-day period. [...]
UPDATE: D.J. Gay and San Diego State will bring the power of women’s studies to the Sweet Sixteen! Read on … March Madness is in full swing, and it is time for the Ms. Blog to fill out our brackets for the NCAA women’s and men’s basketball tournaments. We can’t tell you all our picks, but [...]
First, congratulations to Lauren Karaffa for winning last week’s Femmy (given to the best comment on the Ms. Blog) for her excellent response to “Was the Shooting of Giffords a Hate Crime?”. Your wit, intelligence and savvy made you a clear victor. Without further adieu, we present the nominees for this week’s Femmy, all of [...]
Dr. David Gunn: Murdered on March 10, 1993. Dr. Barnett Slepian: Murdered on October 23, 1998. Dr. George Tiller: Murdered on May 31, 2009. These are just three of the most sobering examples of the violence extremists have levied against abortion providers in the U.S.. Though threats of violence against abortion providers are prohibited by [...]
