The Supreme Court announced this afternoon that it will consider both Hollingsworth v. Perry (the case involving California’s same-sex marriage initiative, Proposition 8), and Windsor v. United States, which involves the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) According to the SCOTUS Blog (the prime source for this post) the case arguments will likely […]
Justice & Law
I’m Mad as Hell at Conventional Manhood
There are too many damn tragic anniversaries of men killing women. Pick any month and you’ll find them. Take today, December 6–it’s the 23rd anniversary of the Montréal Massacre. Marc Lépine stormed into the city’s École Polytechnique and murdered 14 women, wounding 10 others. The mass-murderer, who then killed himself, was 25–the same age as […]
Kasandra Perkins Deserves Better
In light of the murder of Kasandra Perkins at the hands of her boyfriend, Kansas City pro football player Jovan Belcher, I am reminded of my own experience with domestic violence, which nearly ended my life 22 years ago. Much of the early breaking news in this story focuses on Belcher and how disturbing it […]
VAWA in the Crosshairs
Passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) should be among the top priorities of the lame-duck congressional session, say women’s rights advocates who held a “National Day of Action” in support of the bill yesterday. With President Barack Obama winning a second term and Congress turning its attention away from the election cycle, groups […]
Ballot Measures: Big Wins for Same-Sex Marriage and Reproductive Rights
Last night was a celebration for feminists on so many levels, nationally and locally. Women’s voices were heard!! Among the most ballot measure victories were the passage of marriage equality-related measures in every state that they were up for a vote, and a solid rejection of anti-abortion Amendment 6 in Florida. Here is a rundown […]
What Does Sex Have to Do with World Peace?
Last year, a quiet but powerful book, Sex and World Peace, was published by an interdisciplinary group of researchers and scholars. The authors, Valerie M. Hudson, Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill, Mary Caprioli and Chad F. Emmett, set out to demonstrate and document the complex but evident relationship between how girls and women are treated and the security […]
Domestic Violence Survivors and Allies: We Won’t Be Silenced
In an unfortunate coincidence, Ross Mirkarimi, San Francisco’s sheriff who was convicted of a domestic violence-related offense and suspended from official duty–successfully argued for his reinstatement during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which ends today. The commentary around the Mirkarimi case, as well as around the sheriff himself, misrepresents domestic violence agencies’ everyday work. The success […]
How Do We Address Misogyny in a Racist Society?
You know things seem dire for women when you find yourself revisiting Andrea Dworkin. Not the Dworkin who’s often misquoted as saying, “All heterosexual sex is rape,” but the Dworkin who once said this: Have you ever wondered why we [women] are not just in armed combat against you [men]? It’s not because there’s a […]
Marriage Equality is Here to Stay!
What if the federal government decided to require fertility tests for married couples and declared that only couples capable of having children could marry and receive the marriage benefits? Or, what if a powerful coalition of Christian or Jewish or Buddhist (why not?) congresspeople decided that the government would only recognize marriages between people of […]