Arizona state legislators were smug last April when they passed a 20-week abortion ban that remains the earliest abortion restriction in the nation. But enacting this law won’t be a cakewalk for anti-choice Gov. Jan Brewer and co. The Center for Reproductive Rights and the ACLU of Arizona have joined forces in fighting the Arizona […]
Month: July 2012
On Grunting in Women’s Tennis
Tennis is not a silent sport. Anyone who tells you otherwise has never witnessed tense moments in a game between, say, top-ranked player Maria Sharapova and champion Serena Williams. Or listened to Victoria Azarenka or Michelle Larcher de Brito play. Sharapova’s hallmark screams have been clocked at 102.7 decibels. The loudest women’s tennis grunt on […]
Virginia Promotes CPCs, Along with Anti-Abortion Agenda
Feminists across the country heralded the defeat of Virginia’s transvaginal ultrasound bill last February as one of the major victories in the War on Women. But while its amended law, which went into effect July 1, mandates only external ultrasounds, the statute still requires women to seek an ultrasound 24 hours before their scheduled abortions–a medically unnecessary […]
A Zodiac of Lesbian Poets
In 2009, a gay poet wrote to me, “I just don’t think lesbian poetry is that important.” This wounding statement fueled my engines, and I wrote a series of poems in which I placed my favorite poets in the sky as constellations, beginning with “Sappho the Ram,” and ending with “Jackie Kay the Fish.” When […]
Afghan Women’s Rights Leader Assassinated
The director of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs in the Laghman province of eastern Afghanistan, Hanifa Safi, was assassinated on Friday. A magnetic bomb, attached to her car, exploded as she left her home with her husband and daughter, both of whom were critically injured. Safi, a leading Afghan politician, was a longtime advocate of […]
The Femisphere: African Feminist Bloggers, Part 3
Spectra, 30, is an award-winning Nigerian writer and women’s rights activist, and the voice behind Spectra Speaks, which publishes news, opinions and personal stories about gender, media and diversity as they pertain to Africa and the Diaspora. She is also founder and executive editor of Queer Women of Color Media Wire, a media advocacy and publishing organization that […]
Fighting Words: The Best Signs Against the War on Women
When reproductive rights are threatened, feminists march. And they make great signs to march with! Here’s a selection of some of the most entertaining–and truth-telling–signs at recent demonstrations. [nggallery id=8 template=caption]
Sexual Objectification 4: Daily Rituals to Start
The fourth and last in a series about how girls and women can navigate a culture that treats them like sex objects. (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). This post details some daily rituals that women can start doing to interrupt damaging beauty culture scripts. 1) Start enjoying your body as a physical instrument. Girls […]
Merger with Catholic Hospital Could Deny Women Abortions in Pennsylvania
Abington Memorial Hospital is a major medical center on the eastern side of Montgomery County, Penn. With more than 60 OB/GYNs on staff, the hospital delivers more than 5,000 babies a year. The obstetricians and gynecologists at Abington also provide abortions, though doctors performed less than 100 of those in each of the last two […]
Saudi Women Athletes Are Going to the Games!
After back-and-forth, will-she-won’t-she news reports about Saudi Arabia sending its first women to compete in the Olympics, the word has now come down that two Saudi women–800-meter track runner Sarah Attar and judoist Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani–have made the team. Attar, who trains in the U.S., said, “It’s such a huge honor and I […]