Bishop Robert W. Finn of the diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph (Missouri) was convicted Thursday of failing to report suspicions of child abuse that took place within his diocese. He is the highest-ranking American cleric to be convicted of a child abuse crime in the Catholic Church. However, he was sentenced to just two years […]
Month: September 2012
Domestic Workers Rights Are Women’s Rights
Gov. Jerry Brown (D-Calif.) has a big decision to make for the cause of women’s rights. On his desk at the moment is a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights that recently passed both houses of the California legislature. The bill only needs Gov. Brown’s signature to become law; if he doesn’t sign it before September […]
Arizona Cop Gropes Woman, Victim-Blaming Ensues
A police officer walks into a bar, flashes his badge and gropes a woman. Who gets the strict talking-to in court? The assaulted woman, of course. Robb Gary Evans, a 43-year-old Department of Public Safety officer, was convicted of groping a woman at a Flagstaff bar, the Arizona Daily Sun reports. According to prosecutors, Evans […]
“Respectability” Politics: Michelle Obama vs. Nicki Minaj
During this past week of presidential politics, the contrast in depictions of black women in the public sphere couldn’t have been more striking. On one end was the dignified, eloquent First Lady Michelle Obama, universally praised for her speech at the Democratic National Convention. On the opposite end was rapper Nicki Minaj seemingly “betraying” her […]
At the Risk of Sounding Angry: On Melissa Harris-Perry’s Eloquent Rage
The Internets were all abuzz over the weekend sharing clips of our collective Black feminist shero Melissa Harris-Perry’s Saturday morning show. During the show, she lost her cool with panelist Monica Mehta, a conservative financial expert, when Mehta brought up risk-taking by entrepreneurs. (“What is riskier than being poor?” asked Harris-Perry, her voice rising.) After […]
We Spleen: CNN Pundit Calls Speeches by Dem Women the “Vagina Monologues”
The first night of the Democratic National Convention kicked off with a number of impressive women at the podium, including Congressional candidate Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran who lost both her legs in combat; Nancy Keenan, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice America; Lilly Ledbetter, the namesake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act; Secretary […]
NEWSFLASH: Yet Another Male Politician Shows Abortion and Rape Ignorance
The latest entry in the headache-inducing saga of politicians attempting to debunk the fact that women can become pregnant from rape comes from Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), an anti-choice congressperson who believes in abortion exceptions for rape but only because they are so small in number. While speaking at a town hall meeting this week, […]
Bad News for Brit Women: Government Brings in More Anti-Choice Ministers
Following a string of anti-choice efforts which began when the British coalition government came to power in 2010, its recent cabinet reshuffle has resulted in even more anti-abortion ministers at the top. Maria Miller, promoted to both culture secretary and minister in charge of women and equalities, has a track record on abortion rights and […]
What’s the Connection Between Violence Against Women and Our Prison Nation?
As CeCe McDonald lingers in jail for being a Black transwoman who defended herself in a public space, and Kelley Williams-Bolar is convicted of a felony for sending her children to a higher-ranked Ohio school district in which she did not reside, it’s time to read Beth E. Richie’s Arrested Justice: Black Women, Violence and […]
Philippine Senator Plagiarizes Pro-Choice Blogger to Make Anti-Choice Arguments
For decades, Filipina women have fought for the right to control their own bodies, from contraception access to abortion rights. And now they are closer than ever to achieving that goal—but it is turning into a raging political battle that leaves countless women’s lives hanging in the balance. I am not Filipina. I am a […]