[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. […]
Author: Kate Whittle
Budding journalist hailing from Montana. l like long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, and arguing about women and gender issues.
We Heart: YouTube Response to Beyonce
Recently, we posted about the problems with Beyonce’s brand image: We love the girl power, not so much the racialized and sexualized fetishization. As blogger Janell Hobson wrote, Beyonce’s video for Run the World (Girls) presents a “cliched, sexualized display of the Battle of the Sexes in which power derives only from sexual and embodied […]
Rutgers’ Co-Ed Dorms: A Step in the Right Direction
This fall, Rutgers University will join a small number of colleges in the U.S. that allow mixed-gender dorms. Some attribute Rutger’s decision to the recent suicide of Tyler Clementi, a freshman who was harassed after his roommate videotaped him having sex with a man, but Rutgers staff say it’s to better serve their lesbian, gay […]
A Feminist’s First Pap Smear
I’m officially a woman now. I’ve had my first annual visit to the gynecologist. I’ve been putting it off, even though doctors recommend a woman start getting exams when she turns 18 or becomes sexually active. (And both those ships have sailed for me.) As a feminist journalist, I spend much of my time eagerly discussing women’s […]
Newsflash: Senate Appoints Elena Kagan to Supreme Court
Today, Elena Kagan became the fourth woman justice appointed to the United States Supreme Court. Ms. has been following Kagan’s path to the court closely. Justine Andronici outlined in May why we need women justices: As Obama and subsequent presidents continue to make selections … we can only hope that they will do so with […]
Oh SNAP! Reduced Food Stamps Are a Feminist Issue
The Senate has voted to cut funding for SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. Over 40 million Americans receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. In 2014, the assistance for a family of three will drop by about $50 a month. This is going to hit low-income women hard. SNAP statistics don’t break down recipients by […]
With Miss Cougar 2010, Is the Word Losing Its Teeth?
In 2010, it’s officially beyond a doubt that “cougar” is a part of our cultural lexicon. That’s especially true now that the 40-years-and-older women who date younger men have their own beauty pageant. Los Angeles resident CC Perkinson was crowned Miss Cougar 2010 Del Mar last week in the second annual contest. The LA Weekly […]
Global Gag Rule May Permanently Bite the Dust
The Global Gag Rule, originally an executive order from President Ronald Reagan to prevent U.S. funds from reaching organizations that provided abortion-related services overseas, may soon be permanently struck down. President Obama signed an executive order repealing the Gag Rule in 2009, but the Senate’s new amendment to its Foreign Operations bill would once and for […]
Federal Judge Blocks Parts of Arizona Immigration Law
The most controversial parts of Arizona’s new immigration law won’t take effect at midnight as originally scheduled, thanks to federal judge Susan Bolton. SB 1070, signed into law in late April, would have allowed police to detain people based on suspected immigration status and would have made it a state crime for a person to […]
Women Musicians Tell NPR It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World
Women in rock have come a long way since Joan Jett was told girls don’t play electric guitar. We have guitars made for women, by women. We have girl rock camps. Surely the music world is a friendlier place in this day and age. Right? Maybe not so much. In March, National Public Radio surveyed […]