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Feminist Friday: Hillary Clinton plans to hop off the high-wire, a seven-year-old superhero slaps her mom with a pizza

Welcome to Feminist Friday, a round-up of women-centric stories from the world wide web this week.

Yesterday, every lesbian’s favorite diplomat, Hillary Clinton announced that she will be stepping down as Secretary of State if President Obama is elected to a second term. In a town hall meeting speech yesterday, Clinton said:

I have made it clear that I will certainly stay on until the president nominates someone and that transition can occur. But I think after 20 years, and it will be 20 years, of being on the high wire of American politics and all of the challenges that come with that, it would be probably a good idea to just find out how tired I am.

She said she’s not closing the door on returning to politics, but that she’s really enjoyed not having to pay attention to the Republican primary circus that’s been dragging on for the last fifteen billion years. (Actually, she just said the thing about not paying attention; I added the part about the circus and the timeline.) I, for one, hope Hillary won’t be gone from the political stage for long. But if she is, I’ll enjoy the hell out of reading her next memoir.

And now I’m going to post my most recent favorite photo of Clinton because the next thing I’m talking about is the WNBA and so it makes perfect sense.

That bastion of lezzy lady athletic competition, the WNBA, is coming together for the 26th annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day next Wednesday. If your city has a WNBA team, chances are there will be an event in your area. Players will be participating in fitness clinics, holding press conferences, and some teams are even holding 40th anniversary bashes for Title IX. Check out WNBA.com to find out how to join the fun.

It’s been less than a year since high school senior Gaby Rodriguez faked her own pregnancy as a way to do social experiment about the stigma surrounding teenage mothers. The story made national headlines and divided students, teachers, and onlookers alike. This weekend, Lifetime will unveil The Pregnancy Project a made-for-TV movie about the event. The film stars Alex Vega and was directed by Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl favorite Norman Buckley.

In a recent interview with Legendary Women, Buckley said:

I was fascinated by [the moreal] ambiguity. As a gay man, I started to wonder how I would have responded had someone in my high school days told me they were also gay, and then how I would feel if I found out that this wasn’t so, that it was only part of an experiment. It would be hurtful, even if the end were for something greater. The movie doesn’t shy away from this duality. In the film Gaby befriends a pregnant foster teen and the character does indeed feel betrayed when she discovers the truth. Again, I think this created a ripe opportunity for drama. Most all of our decisions, however well-meaning, have shadow implications and are worth contemplating. Sometimes the end justifies the means, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences.

I’m not usually a big Lifetime fan, but the response to this story fascinated me last year, and I’m an enormous fan of Buckley, so I’ll definitely be checking this one out.

Did you know today is the 50th anniversary of Madeleine L’Engle‘s A Wrinkle In Time? Meg Murray was bending the space-time continuum before Hermione Granger had even heard of a Time-Turner. Man, they would have been great friends.

Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords announced this week that she’ll be stepping down from her post to continue concentrating on her recovery. Giffords was shot at a rally last year. Feministing.com takes a closer look at the lessons of Giffords shooting, from the repercussions of hyperbolic rhetoric to the continuing rise of gun violence.

Every superhero has to start somewhere, and thanks to Jezebel, we get to watch the origin of a future Batgirl. Seven-year-old Rita Lawlor from south Florida smacked her mom in the face with a piece of pizza, then when that didn’t work, called 911 and waited outside for an ambulance when to arrive. Her mom has made a full recovery and the Sarasota County Fire Department has awarded Lawlor with a medal for bravery.

Seriously, get this kid a cape. (And have a good weekend!)

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