Special Coverage: Reproductive Justice and Gender

From the blogs

Will the Stupak Amendment Force Women Who've Miscarried to Lose Insurance Coverage?

I think so.

Pretentious Scold Bernard-Henri Lévy Decries "Lynching" of Roman Polanski

"Why don't we hear these intellectuals denounce with equal ardor ... the martyrdom of child soldiers in Africa, or child slaves in Asia?"

Anti-Woman Amendment to Health Care Passes House

by Adele Stan

The Stupak amendment -- an anti-choice measure that could virtually eliminate insurance coverage for abortion -- will be attached to the health-care reform bill.

House Takes Up-or-Down Vote on Stupak Amendment, Threatening Women's Rights

by RH Reality Check, RH Reality Check

The House leadership bows to anti-choice congressmen, allowing them a vote on an anti-choice amendment to the health-care bill.

Anti-Rape Activist Gabrielle Union Speaks Out About Her Own Rape and the Richmond, CA Gang Rape

by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville

"After googling the gang rape story in Richmond and reading comments on blogs, it just leaves me sickened and really sad."

Meet the 28 (Male) Anti-Choice Dems Who Are Stalling Health Reform

by mcjoan, Daily Kos

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) claims he's recruited over 40 anti-choice Dems to sabotage the current bill.

Do Pregnant Women Have Fewer Rights?

by Alexa Kolbi-Molinas, Blog of Rights

A slew of recent cases reveal a persistent paternalistic treatment of pregnant women by overzealous prosecutors and judges.

Are Obama's All-Guy Basketball Games Really a Big Deal?

by Sady Doyle, Comment Is Free

When the president held an office basketball game and invited only male employees to play, it sparked anger, simply because it looked so familiar.

National Women's History Museum Bill Moves to the Senate

by Rachel , Feministe

Pretty cool.

House Health Reform Bill Outlaws Treating Domestic Violence As a Pre-Existing Condition

by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress

Part of the bill would ensure that insurers in the individual market would no longer treat domestic violence as a pre-existing condition.

Fetus-Shaped Potatoes? Going Undercover Inside the Weird World of Right-Wing Abortion Foes

Ann Neumann, AlterNet. November 3, 2009.
I went undercover to a Pro-Life Federation conference. What I found there was not "middle America" or even conservative America. It was fringe America.

"Restless Vagina Syndrome": Big Pharma's Newest Fake Disease

Terry J. Allen, In These Times. November 3, 2009.
The pharmaceutical industry wants you to think that if you don't have sex like a porn star, you're in need of their drugs.

Why It's Not Smart to Call Women Conservatives 'Whores'

Tana Ganeva, AlterNet. November 2, 2009.
Conservative women should be strongly criticized. But using gendered language to attack them doesn't help progressives.

Boobs to Die For

Elisheva Wolfe, Nerve.com. November 1, 2009.
I love my boobs. I'm going to use them every day until they start to kill me.

How a Racist Judge Inadvertently Made the Case for Gay Marriage

Madison Shockley, Truthdig. October 30, 2009.
A bigoted justice of the peace in the backwoods of Louisiana accidentally got to the heart of the issue around a key argument in California's gay marriage debate.

There's No Hope for Afghanistan If Women Aren't Involved

Ann Jones, The Nation. October 28, 2009.
What happens to women in Afghanistan is not merely a "women's issue." It is the central issue of stability, development and durable peace.

Is the Catholic Leadership Trying to Silence Nuns?

Maureen Fiedler, Ms. Magazine. October 27, 2009.
The Vatican's secretive investigations of American nuns is seen by many as attempts to intimidate outspoken, liberal nuns into submission.

Is Sleeping With a Married Man Sexist?

Mandy Van Deven, RH Reality Check. October 27, 2009.
How does sleeping with a married man square with feminist politics?

Rape Is a Pre-Existing Condition? The Heartlessness of the Health Insurance Industry Exposed

Danielle Ivory, The Huffington Post Investigative Fund. October 21, 2009.
By taking anti-AIDS medicine after a rape, Christina Turner discovered that she had made herself all but uninsurable.

Why Do Men Catcall?

Ronnie Koenig, AlterNet. October 21, 2009.
Screaming at women about their appearances reinforces some men's sense of dominance -- but it's street harassment.

A National Treasure -- The Memoirs of Gay Rights Pioneer Martin Duberman

Doug Ireland, Gay City News. October 20, 2009.
Father of gay studies programs in universities, Duberman was early to embrace the nascent, post-Stonewall gay liberation movement and join its militant ranks.

Rethinking Marriage. The World Has Changed. It's Time!

Melissa Harris-Lacewell, The Nation. October 19, 2009.
We must do more than simply re-integrate new groups into an old system. We need to seriously consider our assumptions about the system itself.

Gloria Steinem: Why We Should Be Both Optimistic and Cautious About a New Report on Women in the Workplace

Gloria Steinem, Women's Media Center. October 19, 2009.
The Shriver Report stands to attract some serious (and overdue) attention to a woman's role in the workplace. Whether that will translate to action is yet unclear.

Going Green Means Having Fewer Kids

Emily Badger, Miller-McCune.com. October 19, 2009.
There are already just too many people on the planet. What are we supposed to do about it?

How to Have Sex Like a Virgin for Only 30 Bucks

Tana Ganeva, AlterNet. October 16, 2009.
Who doesn't want to have sex with virgins?

There's Another Way to Dress Up for Halloween Instead of Slutty Nurse Outfits

Vanessa Richmond, The Tyee. October 15, 2009.
Hallow'green is freakier than scarily packaged costumes.

Why Running Can Be a Feminist Act

Courtney Wilder, Minnesota Women's Press. October 14, 2009.
Nothing -- especially nothing involving women and their bodies -- can remain politically neutral for long.

Ridiculous Study Blames Feminism for Non-Existent 'Happiness Gap' Between Men and Women

Barbara Ehrenreich, Tomdispatch.com. October 14, 2009.
Much-discussed study claims that women are more depressed relative to men in recent decades, when it actually suggests that neither marriage nor children make women happy.

Working With the Victims in the Complex Struggle to Fight Sex Trafficking

Noy Thrupkaew, The Nation. October 13, 2009.
The Philippines suffers from a significant problem with child sex exploitation, but it also provides more fertile ground for US work on anti-trafficking.

Barbie's "Fat Ankles"? 9 of the Doll's Most Embarrassing Controversies

Wendy Norris, RH Reality Check. October 13, 2009.
The doll's history is filled with gender, body image and racial gaffes.

Why I Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Body Better Than Jennifer's

W. Scott Poole, Religion Dispatches. October 13, 2009.
Has a new horror film about a murderous cheerleader subverted the mythos of woman as the source of evil or just the opposite?

Lysol-Scented Vaginas: The Strange History of Douching

Cherry Trifle, SeXis Magazine. October 5, 2009.
Thanks to a media marketing machine bent on making money by making women feel bad, women used to pour Lysol in their vaginas. Some still douche. But why?

We Are All Roman Polanski's Victims, And We All Deserve Justice

Jaclyn Friedman, AlterNet. October 2, 2009.
When a rapist, no matter how gifted or famous, is allowed to escape justice, we're all harmed.

At the Values Voter Summit, Wing-Nut Christian Right Plots Its Comeback

Rob Boston, Church and State. September 28, 2009.
Religious conservatives, safely out of the public eye, let loose a string of shocking diatribes at the Values Voter Summit.

A Day in the Life of an Abortion Clinic Escort

Anonymous, RH Reality Check. September 28, 2009.
Every day that our doors are open to women seeking abortions, the sidewalk in front of our clinic is occupied by stalkers, harassers, and creeps.

Israel's Fear of Jewish Girls Dating Arabs; Team of Psychologists to "Rescue" Women

Jonathan Cook, AlterNet. September 25, 2009.
Youth counselors and psychologists are going after young Jewish women who are dating Arab men to "rescue" them.

I'm a Feminist But I Do All the Housework: What's Up With That?

Vanessa Richmond, AlterNet. September 25, 2009.
By and large, women do far more housework than men and are better at it. It's creating a dirty situation.

Anti-Choice Zealots' Latest Bizarre Ploy

Amanda Marcotte, RH Reality Check. September 24, 2009.
The one good thing about these extremists is that they help reveal the anti-woman, anti-sex agenda of the anti-choice movement.

Our Thinness Obsessed Culture Is Destroying Women

Johann Hari, Independent UK. September 21, 2009.
One day, we will look back on a time when women aspired to be Belsen-thin with the incomprehension we feel for Chinese foot-binding. But how do we get there?

Men Kidnapped and Forced Into Marriage

Deepali Gaur Singh, RH Reality Check. September 21, 2009.
In India, huge dowry demands have led families to use criminal gangs that kidnap men and force them into wedlock. The women in these unions fare even worse.

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Coverage concerning women's rights, reproductive health and education, gender, race, sexuality and more.

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Rebecca Project for Human Rights

Raising the voices of vulnerable families by advocating reform of child welfare, criminal justice, and substance abuse policies that impact the lives of women and girls.

NFPRHA

Family planning services are critical to reducing the need for abortion and providing much-needed health care for low-income communities. Nearly 90 percent of the voting public favors family planning, yet the government routinely underfunds it. Find out how the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association is fighting to keep those services available, and learn how you can help.

ACRJ

The control and regulation of bodies, gender and sexuality is reproductive oppression. Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice organizes to increase the well-being of our families and communities through collective action. Learn more at reproductivejustice.org.