Today is my first day at Ms., and I’m feeling blissfully overwhelmed by the wealth of feminist knowledge in this office—including information on hundreds of upcoming feminist or women-centered events. Below are my top six picks for this week. Here’s hoping you live near one of these cities: Hart, Mich.: This week is the legendary […]
Month: August 2011
A Celebrity Making Change in Africa–And Not the One You Think
This time, we’re not talking about an Irish guy in aviator glasses. Or anyone who has ever headlined a Hollywood movie. Or a billionaire media empress. We’re talking about fearless West African singer and rapper Sister Fa. Not yet 30 years old, Fatou Mandiang Diatta, aka “Sister Fa,” has become a global phenomenon. Her music […]
We’ve Got Birth Control Covered!
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced they would accept the Institute of Medicine’s proposed guidelines, ensuring women receive vital preventative health care at no extra cost. The decision will require health insurance plans to fully cover key services such as well-woman visits, breastfeeding support, domestic violence screening and–most importantly– contraception. On […]
Trans in the Workplace: It’s Not Just About Gender
Chris is a straight white man in his early 20s living in Maryland. Chris is also transgender. In October 2007, he left his job at a local amusement park because he could no longer put up with the severe homophobic harassment and transphobic dress codes he was forced to endure. From the beginning, the pay […]
Smurf Girls Are Easy … and Love To Shop!
In her classic 1991 article, Katha Pollitt named the tendency in media where “a group of male buddies will be accented by a lone female, stereotypically defined” the “Smurfette Principle.” Twenty years later, this principle is still all too common–including in the new movie The Smurfs. In the film, Smurfette–the first and usually only female Smurf–is […]
Respect and Protect the Pelvic Floor
This month, the FDA issued an advisory warning against the use of mesh implants that are routinely used for transvaginal surgical repairs of women’s pelvic floor damage. Tens of thousands of women opt for surgery each year to correct prolapses of the uterus and surrounding organs caused by damaged pelvic floors–which, to put it bluntly, […]