Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Marina Alyokhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich of Pussy Riot have been sentenced to two years in prison, officially for hooliganism and having a concert at a Moscow Cathedral, but many believe their actual crime is pissing off Vladimir Putin. Gawker published their fierce and moving closing statements last week. I highly recommend them.
This Week in Ladybits
Feministing pointed to a remarkable article by an abortion provider on what’s at stake in the ongoing attempts to lock down your uterus.
Hey, Rachel Maddow, are your arms tired from hammering Paul Ryan all week? In addition to looking like Will Schuester‘s evil twin, Ryan really, really, really does not care for ladies controlling their own ladybits. For example, he sponsored a bill that would make abortion illegal even in the case of rape or incest – and Kevin Drum over at Mother Jones argues that if that bill became law, a rapist could take his victim to court in order to force her to have his child. Dr. Maddow and the good folks at TRMS, of course, have more.
Zerlina Maxwell is also not a particular fan.
Seriously: Paul Ryan does not like your ladybits. I’d say he doesn’t like you, but I’m not sure he thinks of you as a person. Just an incubator.
Oh, and did you want to hear what Elizabeth Banks has to say about women’s health and Planned Parenthood? (Hint: Yes.)
This Week in Thinky
We said goodbye to Helen Gurley Brown this week. I don’t think “feminist” and “Cosmo girl” are exactly synonyms, but she certainly defined herself as a feminist, which is a lot more than some other powerful women I could name. For your enjoyment, here’s the Daily Beast’s round up of memorable quotes from GurleyBrown, some of which will make you cheer, and some of which will make you whack yourself in the head with a breadboard. If nothing else, goodbye to a unique woman and condolences to her loved ones.
ESPN.com had some interesting commentary on Evelyn Lozada‘s impending divorce from Chad Johnson.
Jezebel reported that more police women are hitting the streets in Mumbai.
Remember that kerfuffle a few weeks ago over whether women can have it all? Notice how those same questions still don’t get asked about men? Amamda Terkel gave us an excellent read on the subject.
The always wonderful Holland Taylor and Martha Plimpton had good advice for us all.
Just vote. And encourage all your friends and family to enjoy and employ the most basic right they have as citizens.
– Holland Taylor (@HollandTaylor) August 16, 2012
You gotta vote, man. Totes. Here’s the way to register. It’s fun, it’s easy, and it makes you feel gooooooood. register.rockthevote.com/registrants/ne…
– Martha Plimpton (@MarthaPlimpton) August 16, 2012
Angie’s Anti-Theistic Thoughts addressed the different ways men and women view street harassment.
Saudi Arabia, which has a, uh, problematic attitude towards its women, is preparing to open up some opportunities independence for them by developing a women-only industrial sector. Once you have the infrastructure, ladies, there’s no reason you can’t build yourselves a few airships and monster trucks on the sly. Just saying.
And for my fellow movie nerds, the New York Times hosted an interesting forum on how women can gain more influence inHollywood.
This Week in Awesome
Oh, heavens to Betsy. As if Parks and Recreation needed to get any more delightful, it’s about to get 100% more Lucy Lawless. She’ll be playing a single Pawnee mom and potential love interest to Ron Swanson for two episodes in the coming season. Which sounds great and all, but Lawless is an experienced sketch comedian – I can’t wait to see her bounce off Amy Poehler‘s brilliance.
I am so thrilled to work with the #ParksandRecreation crew. I am always amazed by the Acting and writing. It’s kooky, ironic and elegant.
– Lucy Lawless (@RealLucyLawless) August 15, 2012
Check out Pop Culture Passionistas’ feature on Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner.
Women kicked some serious tail in this year’s Olympics, but 2016 may take them even higher. The Mary Sue reported that the 2016 Rio games may be the first gender-equal Olympiad in history.
Speaking of gender parity, after 20 solid years of male-only moderators for presidential debates, the Commission for Presidential Debates finally decided to mix things up again. Candy Crowley and Martha Raddatz will join Jim Lehrer and Bob Scheiffer in moderating a series of debates. (One hopes that at least one of them will put an egg on the table and ask Mitt Romney if it can jump in there with a few questions too.)
Even better? The long-overdue decision was nudged along by three high schoolers who started a Change.Org petition. Way to help reboot the world, Emma Axelrod, Sammi Siegel, and Elena Tsemberis. You’re just starting out, and already you are paragons of enlightened bad-assery.
Whenever you’re feeling low about the general state of the things, remember the words of Margaret Mead, who was no slouch at bad-assery herself:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Have a great weekend. Get out there and change your own little slice of the planet.
