Internet + Tech

The Pinterest Problem

by Tara L. Conley · May 21, 2012 · 3 comments

Recently, Pinterest, the newest billion-dollar social network, has been overwhelmingly characterized by online journalists and bloggers as a women-centered social media platform. While there have been discussions, most notably by Johanna Blakely, which suggest that social media neutralizes gender when it comes to marketing demographics, some of us, like my friend Goddessjaz, still wonder if/how social media can function to ameliorate social and cultural problems stemming from sexism and gender stereotypes. As Pinterest’s ...Read More

Activism

Occupy Wall Street Holds First Feminist General Assembly

by Melanie Butler · May 18, 2012 · 2 comments

“What took so long?” was the general sentiment among those gathered in Washington Square Park in Manhattan last night for Occupy Wall Street’s first ever Feminist General Assembly. Despite being woefully overdue, May 17 was a beautiful and significant night: Not only was it the eight-month anniversary of our movement, it was also the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia and the 181st anniversary of the First Women’s Anti-Slavery Convention. This intersection of issues created a perfect backdrop ...Read More

Crime + Policing

Missoula Isn’t the Only Site of Rape Culture

by Kate Whittle · May 18, 2012 · no comments

[TRIGGER WARNING: This story discusses sexual assault and rape culture.] The police department, county prosecutor’s office and university in my hometown of Missoula, Montana, are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. Allegedly, they have failed to correctly handle sexual assault cases, so 80 reported rapes from the past three years will be reviewed. A couple of months prior to that announcement, the University of Montana fired its football coach and athletics director under speculation that the ...Read More

Books

Lizz Winstead Takes Brainy Satire Beyond The Daily Show

by Audrey Bilger · May 18, 2012 · no comments

Lizz Winstead is a household name for millions who’ve never even heard of her. At the end of each episode of The Daily Show, right after the “Moment of Zen” and at the conclusion of the credits, her name flashes by, like a subliminal advertisement for women’s genius: Created by Madeleine Smithberg and Lizz Winstead. In her new book, Lizz Free or Die, Winstead recounts the beginnings of the show that Jon Stewart would make famous, telling how she found her calling as a political satirist in ...Read More

Film

Hollywood’s War on Women

by Natalie Wilson · May 15, 2012 · 14 comments

While Hollywood’s marginalization of women may not yet have reached the scale of the Republican Party’s, a study released today reveals that the top-grossing films of 2011 were far from gender-equitable. The study, “It’s a Man’s (Celluloid) World: On-Screen Representations of Female Characters in the Top 100 Films of 2011,” conducted by San Diego State University‘s Martha M. Lauzen, reveals that women accounted for only 33 percent of characters. Given that women are 50.8 percent of the population, ...Read More

Identities

The Arc of My Mother’s Brow

by Leslie Absher · May 13, 2012 · 17 comments

We called ourselves the Dead Mothers Support Group or DMSG for short. If there was a touch of the macabre in the name, that was okay with us. Losing our moms as kids had been devastating. Why sugarcoat it? We were Harvard grad students who came together inside a dingy lecture hall to swap stories and cry. When it was my turn, I talked about who my mother had been–a painter with a sharp eye for beauty. As a semi-tomboy, I sat cross-legged at her feet before school, watching her go through her makeup routine. It ...Read More

Ms.cellany

HERvotes Blog Carnival: National Women’s Health Week

by Cindy Pearson · May 17, 2012 · no comments

For the 13th #HERvotesblog carnival, we’re celebrating National Women’s Health Week. The federal government launched National Women’s Health Week ten years ago in an effort to improve women’s health by building awareness about things like exercise, healthy eating ...Read More

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