Alexandra Tweten's Posts

Newsflash: Tuxedo-Wearing Girl Barred from Yearbook; ACLU Sues

A Mississippi school cut student Ceara Sturgis out of her yearbook’s “senior photos” section because she wore a tuxedo, rather than a dress, in her photo. Now, the ACLU is suing the school for gender discrimination. According to the ACLU’s Blog of Rights: Ceara, who’s worn boys’ clothes all her life, tried posing with the [...]

Newsflash: Women Aren’t Bad Drivers

If a visitor from another planet had to judge solely by the plethora of YouTube videos about “bad women drivers,” they might be perplexed that women are allowed to operate motor vehicles at all. Women have gotten a bad rap for their drivings skills since the invention of the car. So we’d like to, ahem, [...]

Newsflash: Same-Gender Marriages On Hold

Sad news today: Same-gender marriages in California will not resume this week, as had looked likely. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to keep same-gender marriages on hold until December, even though gay couples were already lined up outside California clerk’s offices waiting for the ban to lift. The three judges on the court [...]

Newsflash: It’s World Breastfeeding Week (Somebody Tell Tulsa!)

On Monday, Tulsa, Okla. coffee shop The Double Shot caused an uproar by Tweeting that breastfeeding was now banned on their premises. Too bad breastfeeding is protected by state law. Mothers and advocates led a firestorm of Tweets directed @thedoubleshot explaining the law. After protesting that boobs are gross, “Settle down, folks. We just don’t [...]

In ’12th and Delaware,’ A Glimpse at CPC Tactics

From the makers of the terrifying Jesus Camp, which went inside an evangelical  summer camp, comes an equally chilling documentary exploring the abortion debate as it plays out on a single street corner in Fort Pierce, Florida. 12th and Delaware, which debuted on HBO last night, follows the goings-on at A Woman’s World Medical Center, [...]

We Heart: Penelope Cruz Speaking Out Against Teen Mags

Penelope Cruz recently opened up in a Daily Mail interview (which seems to be missing from their website), saying she struggled with self-confidence when she was younger. But we especially heart her for her quote on teen magazines: I would close down all those teenage magazines that encourage young girls to diet. Who says that [...]

Can Soccer Reduce Brazil’s Domestic Violence?

A troubling statistic from Brazil: Ten women are killed in the country every day due to domestic violence, according to a recent study called the “Map of Violence” published by the Sao Paulo Instituto Sangari. The study found that 41,532 women were killed in Brazil between 1997 and 2007, which amounts to a woman’s life [...]

Newsflash: White House Urges Paycheck Fairness Act

Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Attorney General Eric Holder announced recommendations to the Senate today to advance the Paycheck Fairness Act (PFA), which passed in the House in January of last year. President Obama also issued a recommendation, saying: This is not just a question of fairness for hard-working women. [...]

Newsflash: Dept. of Labor Expands Definition of “Parent”

In a victory for non-traditional families, the U.S. Department of Labor has expanded the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) so that anyone who assumes caregiving duties for a child may take parental leave regardless of legal or biological relationship. The words “son and daughter” under the FMLA now mean a “biological, adopted or foster [...]

From the Stacks: Does She Really Have Everything If She Doesn’t Have a Bidet?

“She’s rich, she’s beautiful, she’s smart. She has everything…but does she have everything? Not if she doesn’t have a Rusco American Bidet!” This ad was reprinted in the June 1978 No Comment section of Ms. It goes on to explain that “a woman’s femininity comes from the assurance that she’s always fresh.” Apparently you’re not [...]

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