This Week in Ladybits
Hang on to your utes. Since the big Republican anti-choice push started in 2010, more than 50 abortion providers across the country have been shuttered.
At least North Carolina’s Femcare has reopened. (Via MaddowBlog)Lizz Winstead is more than smart, more than hilarious, and more than a co-creator of The Daily Show. She’s also a bad-ass who is touring the country to support Planned Parenthood and bring attention to the GOP attempts to de-fund it. Sales of the movie Smear Campaign, which chronicles her tour, will benefit the nonprofit A is For.
Image courtesy of A is For
Oh, hey. Remember how the Texas PD totally needed to confiscate tampons and maxipads from female protesters at the state capitol because they were so clearly going to throw them, and the slam-dunk evidence for that was that protesters had tried to smuggle in jars of feces and urine? Looks like they smuggled in magic teleporting jars, because there is now no evidence whatsoever that any ever existed. Darn you ladies and your magical canning skills! (Via Wonkette)
This Week in Thinky
Say, had you heard that Miley Cyrus did some dancing at the VMAs? I believe one or two media outlets may have had an item about it. The first wave of commentary was a nationwide howl that Cyrus should not have been so “slutty.” Dr. Jill McDevitt suggested we maybe throw some of that judgment at Robin Thicke, who was on the same stage and involved in the same grinding and was the guy who made the video that Cyrus was dressed to match. Not to mention the creepy “I know you want it” song lyrics.
A more trenchant second wave of objections was raised about the troubling racial issues that her performance brought up.
Not sure why this was so hard for the media, but at least we’re taking a few small steps.
AP Style: Use Pvt. Chelsea E. Manning and female pronouns for soldier formerly known as Bradley Manning, per her wishes to live as a woman.– AP Stylebook (@APStylebook) August 27, 2013
Speaking of small steps, California may outlaw revenge porn.
Ms. gave us 99 ways to respect black women.
ESPN ran an article claiming that Bobby Riggs threw his match against Billy Jean King. Amanda Marcotte in Slate noted that the evidence is iffy and also, even if he did, so what?
This Week in Ugh
Council for Marriage Policy president Davis Usher says that if marriage equality happens, lesbians will enslave men. Who blabbed the plan?Married same-sex veterans aren’t getting the same benefits that straight couples do. At least the IRS is doing it right.
If you have loved ones in Virginia, get them the hell out to the polls for the election. Ken Cuccinelli is only getting weasellier. He’s trying to pretend he’s totes cool with birth control even though he has long been of the position that every uterus should be married off and put to work. (Straight couples only!) And he’s got some tricky “fathers’ rights” associations. Like the group that says women often lie about domestic abuse.
Ol’ Ken would probably get along well with this guy, who surgeried himself up a “perfect” wife.
Turns out the latest excuse for modern tech dudes to indulge in old-fashioned discrimination is “culture fit.” Sounds like Silicon Valley is even worse than I’d heard.
And a Montana judge sentenced a high school teacher just 30 days for his statutory rape of a 14-year-old student because she was “as much in control” of the situation as the teacher. So in control, in fact, that his victim committed suicide. After every single thinking human being in the entire nation reacted with revulsion, the judge apologized, but still seems to be missing the point.
This Week in Awesome
As we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the YWCA ran a feature on civil rights heroines we should all get to know. On that note, Feministing pointed out that Gloria Richardson was scheduled to speak and had the mic taken away from her. That was not, apparently, because Richardson was too shy.
(While we’re on the topic, this is distinctly not awesome, but can we talk about how none of the Republican officials who were invited made it to the celebration? That is just astonishingly bad form. Or maybe they couldn’t show their faces when so many in their party are actively working to roll back civil rights progress with the new wave of voter suppression laws, because, damn, those are heinous. And, yes, I know I keep harping on this, but you can’t call yourself a good feminist or a good queer if you aren’t screaming at your state and national elected officials about voter suppression. If your own rights have been infringed, you have to work extra hard to make sure nobody else’s are. It just comes with being a member of an out-group because you know how it feels and you thus know better. Yes, I know it’s extra work and worry. So is having your right to vote taken away.)
Hey, let’s lighten things up! This Calvin and Hobbes-style illustration of Bill Watterson‘s advice to graduates would be enough of a joybomb on its own, but its lovely little gender equality streak makes it even sweeter. For real, read the whole thing.
Gail Simone offered up a perfectly reasonable point about male characters in comics.
I am okay with male characters in comics, I just don’t want them to act too much like guys or talk about guy issues. What is this, BrOprah?– GailSimone (@GailSimone) August 26, 2013
New Mexico slid into legalizing same-sex marriage… Sort of. Here’s to making that an “all the way” soon.
Sweet Shesus, Geena Davis, how do you contain all your amazingness? (Via The Mary Sue)
Geena Davis Archery Tricks from Geena Davis
And, yes, she really is an archer, and she really is that good.
Behind The Scenes: Geena Davis Archery Tricks from Geena Davis
Oh, did you need an even more humongous dose of bad-assery to launch you into your weekend? How about Samantha Swords, who designs swords and fights with swords and, oh, yeah, won the longsword competition at this year’s Harcourt Park World Invitational Jousting Tournament.
Image by Rey Alabasto Photography via Samantha Swords’ tumblr
Have a great weekend. Get out there and find your own inner bad-ass.
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