I don't have time to read all of the articles here right now, but I did read Baumgarder's article on supporting Hillary Clinton and I'm surprised at how much it moved me, especially when she noted that Clinton is of her mother's generation, and wasn't it the next generation that was "supposed" to achieve the equality our mother's spent their youth fight for. I'd never heard it phrased like that before, and it really struck me as amazing...though also, perhaps, makes me a little sad that our mothers' generation still has to fight for things like respect in a presidential campaign, in part because so many of my peers think that feminism is a thing of the past.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I hope Hillary wins. This is just another reason.

nitpicking, but the high school where the student paper was pulled for showing a diagram of the vagina isn't in Cleveland. It's Grover Cleveland High in SoCal.

This is kind of old news, but I came upon the article this week and it totally blew my mind (the article is about the English translation of The Second Sex).

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9402EED6163FF931A1575BC0A9629C8B63&pagewanted=all

Great story about women helping women in Mali:

Using quiet diplomacy to reshape women's lives, by Stephanie Nolen

"[The mammy] is a uniquely American icon who first emerged as our young country was trying to put itself back together after the Civil War. The romanticism about this period is a bizarre historical anomaly that underscores America's deep racism: The defeated traitors of the Confederacy have been allowed to reinterpret the war's battles, fly the flag of secession over state houses, and raise monuments to those who fought to tear down the country."

Yeah, I could support Hillary Clinton if only she weren't such a big Confederate flag partisan.

Seriously, what? Hillary is putting on a "Scarlett O'Hara act"? The only similarity between Hillary and Scarlett mentioned in the article is that they are both white.

A book- Fight Like a Girl: How to be a Fearless Feminist by Megan Seely

I grew up in Illinois (graduated from public high school in '03).
During sex ed, I was taught:
1. Menstrual cramps and PMS were all in a woman's head (I had crippling cramping monthly).
2. HIV can pass through the holes in a condom.
3. Abortion is shameful, is painful to the fetus, and causes permanent psychological damage to the woman.
4. Women do not become aroused, but a penis in their vagina stimulates the production of natural lubricant.
5. Homosexuality is aberrant, unnatural, and wrong.
6. While BC can keep you from getting pregnant and prevent STIs, this is not worth it, as you are damaging yourself by having extramarital sex. Married couples do not use BC, ever.

I could go on. So, the question asked above, "Is sex ed in Illinois really comprehensive?" I'd answer with a snort of disbelief and a resounding no, at least where I grew up (small, religious, conservative farming town). The high school "sex ed" teacher (I put that in quotes for a reason) literally took the state-issued manual for teaching sex ed and told the students how it was wrong. The man's credentials to teach sex ed to a bunch of 15-year-olds? He was the basketball coach, and he had to teach something.
In 6th grade, we had a sex-segregated class where we were taught about our bodies and the normal things that happen (puberty, menstruation, et cetera). This was quite nice, actually, and remarkably free of bleating, except for the things that it left out: there was no mention (zero) of sex, we learned nothing about the male body, and were taught that disrespecting your parents leads to doing drugs and drinking, which leads to either dying horribly or becoming a horrible person. Unless, of course, we were "righteous."
Maybe this situation is a bit better in more urban areas. Hard to say, though.

I emailed CafePress asking that the shirt be removed from sale. I realize that they claim no responsibility for the things printed on their products, but I could not just sit here with my jaw dropped.

Insightful article on the Daring Book for Girls. This book cover has been bothering me since I first saw it at the book store at Christmas. I had not been able to put my finger on exactly what bothered me about it, but I think that it is the idea of labeling activities and games by gender on a big book cover, to be imprinted on the minds of little boys and girls who see it and read it.

I forgot to get the link but I read an article about a county somewhere in America making all schools, or for sure all grade schools, single-sex. Apparently the education there is currently so bad, they are trying this. Some parents are saying you can't do that, it's illegal to not give a choice while others are arguing it is legal.

In Ontario, there has recently been a debate among some about whether there should be schools directed at black children. Our premier cannot see how it could be a good thing because well, how many examples can you think of where segregation is advantageous? But the black people on some committee or board say they want to teach the same as other schools with an emphasis on black history and such added in and could the students really fare worse than they are now? I think it's an interesting debate and I can see both sides.

Separation in education is the kind of thing that can either be a lot better or a lot worse I think.

California courts overturned the conviction of a dangerous rapist on appeal because of an issue with the law. The State Supreme Court will now hear the case to determine if rape and sexual assault victims can be hauled in from another state to respond to a subpoena.

Whether girlie or girlist, girls, because they’re allowed more latitude in their identities, can still be girls: Boys, on the other hand, must be boys — unless no one is watching.

This is the line that caught my attention in the review of the "Daring Book for Girls." It's what I've been thinking a lot about in the last couple of years vis a vis where my feminism leads me. Unlike the anti-feminists, I don't blame feminism for its supposed "war on boys"--rather, it seems like somehow the positive aspects of feminism (like gender fluidity) have made a difference is so many women's lives--even though we have still to go--but somehow we (as feminist activists) haven't been so effective at impacting the lives of our fathers, brothers, sons, boyfriends and boy friends for the better. I really hope that can change. It would make the world a better place for everyone.

"I forgot to get the link but I read an article about a county somewhere in America making all schools, or for sure all grade schools, single-sex."

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2008/02/14/gaschools_0215.html

"...Leonard Sax, head of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education, said he knows of no other public school district that has switched entirely to single-gender classrooms.

"He called the move illegal.

"Federal law allows single-sex classrooms or schools but parents must also have the option of a publicly funded coeducational experience for their children, Sax said.

"'This is the worst kind of publicity for our movement,' he said. 'It misses the whole point. Our movement is about choice, about giving parents a choice. One size does not fit all. Even a small school district needs to provide choice.'

"He called the news of the school board's vote 'very embarrassing.'..."

"...Under the model approved by the school board, boys and girls in Greene County will be split into different classrooms in the district's two elementary schools and will attend separate middle and high schools, McCollough said.

"The county's one charter school – Lake Oconee Academy – will remain coed. It is public, but has autonomy and is governed by a committee of parents and community leaders.

"The charter school, unlike the rest of the county's public schools, has an enrollment zone focused on the predominantly affluent, white lakefront community south of I-20. The rest of Greene is mostly black and middle class or low income.

"The charter school opened last fall amid protests by black citizens who said the enrollment zones created de facto segregation. Attending the charter school would not be an option for the majority of families in Greene County, who live north of the interstate..."

That t-shirt on cafepress is disgusting. If you think it's "objectionable content", the place to complain on cafepress is here: http://help.cafepress.com/hc/s-74058960/cmd/kbresource/kb-4303938122924562199/escalate!PAGETYPE?VisitorProfile=cafepress

GLSEN is encouraging GSA's and other GLBT groups to join in a anti-hate crimes project in memory of the student that was killed. More here.

Holy shit, there should be a trigger warning on that Cafe Press shirt. I'm trying not to fucking throw up right now. I, too, will be writing to Cafe Press. Disgusting.

Apparently gender equality is a bad thing, because sometimes teenage girls want to drink or use drugs. Which, you know, they never did when they thought their future career choices were homemaker, nurse or teacher.

Right, y'see, back in the good old days, women waited until marriage to become hooked on valium or alcoholics. Does nobody remember "Mother's Little Helper"?

Holy fuck... that Cafepress shirt.

If I ever see anyone waering that I will kick them in the box and shove them into traffic immediately.

I almost want to see a car with that Cafe Press bumper sticker on it so I can slam my car right into it.

stereocilia,
I read the article you linked. Damn! I was mid-way into "The second sex!" I always felt there was something wrong with the translation. Its good I'm taking French (and Italian) in college!Then I can read the actual text in French.....someday!

Ironically there was also an article on a new book titled, "The Age of American Unreason." I thought it fit nicely with Knopfs refusal to update their old version of "The Second Sex."

I hate the "Daring Book for Girls," and the "Dangerous Book for Boys!"
Its nothing but indoctrinating our kids into oppressive (if youre the female) gender roles, and it unfairly coincides with misogyny already instituted in the US to unfairly gives boys leverage for employing discrimination against girls.

What are parents thinking?

I mean, a couple of days ago I saw a little girl who looked like a sex worker (or Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver)! Why is she dressed up in little halter tops and wearing make-up when shes only about 7? She should have dirt underneath her nails!

These ads represent just one more instance of PETA's hypocritical methods of serving their own agenda, namely, making money:
http://www.activistcash.com/organization_financials.cfm/oid/21

It's been well-documented that many of the models/actresses in PETA's campaigns enjoy, wear and sell products made from animals. They regularly exploit children, animals and sick people in addition to women's bodies to get people to send in cash.

This opinion is not a comment on vegetarianism.

Just bitched to CafePress.

"I just wanted to alert you to how disgusting this shirt is.
http://www.cafepress.com/buy/sell+out/-/pv_design_details/pg_3/id_1497210/opt_/fpt_/c_666/
If this is the sort of "humor" you profit from, I will not purchase products from you again. I understand that the company probably believes in freedom of speech, and I am quite a fan of that particular freedom also.
So I'm using it to freely speak to you about the financial repercussions certain behavior may entail."

Their products are crap anyway.

Also requested that CafePress take the shirt down:

I am quite concerned about the message on the t-shirt at http://www.cafepress.com/buy/sell+out/-/pv_design_details/pg_3/id_1497210/opt_/fpt_/c_666/. I understand that CafePress does not censor its users and is a forum for free speech, but I believe that the message on the t-shirt borders on hate speech towards women if it is not there already. Consider the possibility of a similar t-shirt reading, "My son gang banged your honor student." Are those two statements that far apart? Is the one already on CafePress an acceptable assault on women? Thanks for considering; I'm also addressing my concerns to the content creators.

As well as contacted the registrant of JumpingMens.com (the only contact info I could find for the store's owner):

I am very concerned about the design you feature on CafePress. I think that it is borderline hate speech toward women if not there already. Understand that this is not a knee-jerk reaction to something that isn't "politically correct." I'm a big fan of the kind of humor on tshirthell.com, and I see plenty of room for tacky, offensive (even brutally offensive) jokes. What bothers me about the message on your shirt is that the humor revolves around the word 'date.' Think, if you remove it from the phrase, you get, "My son raped your honor student." I hope that sounds a lot less funny to you. The truth is that date rape is no different from any other kind of rape. Ask any woman it has happened to; you very likely will find some among your friends.

Please take note that I'm not attacking you. I believe that the joke is probably a misunderstanding of what the shirt really is saying: that it is okay, even funny, to violate women. Take that into consideration, please.

Um, Fay Weldon is NOT a government official, she's a batso attention-seeking novelist.

Though it pains me to defend New Labour, they're actually giving a cash injection to the anti-teenage pregnancy fund, at least some of which will go towards improving sex education and encouraging boys to use condoms. A lot will go to encouraging GPs to encourage girls to use implant/injected contraceptives.

Here is another avenue for complaining about that t-shirt, from their FAQ:

CafePress.com provides an automated service to a rich and vibrant community of international users. Unfortunately, because our service is automated, sometimes content that is not consistent with our Content Usage Policy is posted on CafePress.com. If you have any issues or questions regarding our shopkeepers’ content, please contact the Content Usage Team at cup@cafepress.com.

In response to the English guy who wants to sterilize teen girls: I understand what you're getting at, but shut up. Just stop talking, right now.

1. His argument is unethical. Forcing someone to go on birth control is just as unethical as forcing someone to go through with a pregnancy they don't want. Either way, you have no control over what happens to your own body.

2. He's using sexist stereotypes to try and delve into the minds of young men and women (the old men want sex and women want babies stereotype)

Ugh. It's 2am...can't think straight.

My proposal to lower the rates of teen pregnancy: Do what they do in France. Make birth control (both condoms and hormonal bc) available through the schools. That way, a student can effectively make their own reproductive choices with little or no interference from their parents.

"My proposal to lower the rates of teen pregnancy: Do what they do in France. Make birth control (both condoms and hormonal bc) available through the schools. That way, a student can effectively make their own reproductive choices with little or no interference from their parents."

Now I'm wondering how Uk and French laws (and enforcement thereof) on forced marriage compare. Aren't some UK teen pregnancies due to teens being married off?

I found a couple more possibly-relevant articles:

one on having a baby while in the US military:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/17/AR2008021702324.html?hpid=topnews

and one on gender and tech design:

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2008/02/18/techs_feminine_side/

I finally got a cafepress account after reading this blog for over a year. What prompted me? Last night it seemed as if NO ONE had a problem with the suggestion of "forced temporary sterilization of teenagers."

Happy to see that this morning, at least one person thinks this is wrong. Anyone else have a problem with forcing someone to use b.c.?

And, note in the comments section that there is more than one person heralding this as a great idea to control one *particular* segment of the population "that nobody ever talks about because we will be called racist...

Ugh okay my first comment didn't work so well.

To clarify, above, last paragraph: I was referring to the comments section of the article on the forced sterilization. Also there should have been a close quotes at the end of my comment because I was (from memory) quoting one of the racist commenters.

And, since I have now had to post twice anyway I will use this second time to say, Fuck Cafepress. And, I heart Twisty, really hard.

"Forcing someone to go on birth control is just as unethical as forcing someone to go through with a pregnancy they don't want. Either way, you have no control over what happens to your own body."

True, with 1 exception because abstinence is one of the birth control methods. If we end up forcing someone to use abstinence by all of us refusing to have sex with her or him, is that just as bad as forcing someone to go through with a pregnancy she doesn't want?

"Ask any woman it has happened to; you very likely will find some among your friends."

...if he has any women as friends in the first place. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't.

The anonymous STD site is exciting. I hope people actually make use of the thing.

I'd also like to point out that the wine rack is not a sexualized version of the beer-hat. It's meant as a way to conceal beer, more as a feminine counter part to this product:
http://www.thebeerbelly.com/
I think the fact that the liquid is stored in the breasts shows that the producers of this device believe that women will not want huge bellies in order to sneak in beer, but wouldn't mind some more cuppage.

Fay weldon writes oped pieces for the UK Daily Mail, well known for its racist, homophobic stance on most things. Dawn Primarolo is in fact in the UK government (god help us) - one of the many members of the NuLabour ministry of silly ideas.
We recently had the housing minister suggesting that single parents on benefit should be thrown out of their social housing if they turned down 3 jobs, for example.
There is a significant constituency that believes that punishing those who have hit hard times is a good idea, and they pander to it. Yes, some are probably just taking the piss, but some really have little choice but to be on benefit.

@ Persephone, Mina
Actually, the government minister advocating for the forced sterilization is a woman herself.

This is nitpicky, but I'm sad to see on a feminist site the phrase "you guys" used as in "What have you guys been reading this week?" The phrase has sexist implications (you'd never walk up to a mixed gender group and say "Hi gals!").

Some reading: http://www.iuinfo.indiana.edu/homepages/022098/text/sexism.htm

Maybe I'm giving them too much credit, but I'm pretty sure the Fay Weldon article is a farce. The reason being: "Now, many people will see this modest proposal as little short of horrific - nothing less than state interference in our reproductive lives."

This just smacks of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" (http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html) where he (ironically) advocated eating Irish babies as a means to keep down the populations and deal with famine.

To be fair, I know nothing about teen pregnancy issues in the UK or this Fay Weldon person, but this article is just too ridiculous to be real. Somebody please tell me it's a farce!

Sorry to disappoint, ladylinguist.

That is exactly the attitude that particular newspaper has, exactly the attitude that particular journalist has, and exactly the attitude many people in Britain have.

You Americans don't have exclusive rights on crazy right-wingers! We have our fair share :(

By the time I clicked on the Cafe Press link, the offending shirt was gone (which I gather is a good thing)--could anyone tell me exactly what it said?

Twisty's piece is great (just the phrase "massive pussygrab," wow...), I mentioned it in my obligatory Valentine's griping blog post, which also covered the awesome "Take Back the Loser" piece here, and a rant on an ad for customized t-shirts (in Us Weekly) with delights such as "Matt's Playground" and "Jason's Property"...I fail to see the romance there!

I just wanted to let everyone know that complaining to Cafe Press worked. I just received an e-mail from them that says, "Thank you for contacting CafePress.com!

As you may know, CafePress.com provides an automated service to a rich and vibrant community of international users. Unfortunately, because our service is automated, sometimes content that is not consistent with our Offensive Material & Prohibited Content policy is posted on CafePress.com. We appreciate that you have brought this content to our attention and it has been removed from our site. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance."

I checked and it has been taken down. I know that lots of people complained and it's nice to know that our actions can have affects, and good ones.
Good job everyone.

Just got email from CafePress, the shirt has been removed. Yay us!
(by the way, th email was addressed to "Meghan", not my name, so I suppose this is the name of the first complainer? If so, good on ya, sister!)

And to Katherine (of Chicago), the shirt said, "My son date raped your honor student" and had a crude drawing of a martini glass with an olive and a pill in it.

Did anyone read the article about sterilizing teenagers? The article is so demeaning I can't believe it got through the editing board. While I don't know how I feel about the subject yet, they're definitely not making a good case for it. Here was one of their arguments for sterilization:

"Love is seen as little more than a neurotic dependency to the young.

The fear of pregnancy used to stop girls having sex. To be pregnant and unmarried was a major life disaster (as it is still in some of our ethnic communities.)

You were disgraced, soiled goods: the child was removed, no one would marry you.

I had a great aunt locked up for life in an asylum from the age of 20 until she died. She had been declared a "moral imbecile" because she had a baby out of wedlock.

...

It was a moral issue but the stigma was born out of necessity: a desperate attempt to stop girls from doing what came naturally until a father and a home could be provided."

Apparently this writer things being disgraced, soiled, and thrown in an asylum for the greater part of your life is better than getting pregnant. And they're actually using this backward logic to try and convince the public to use sterilization. I have a feeling it isn't going to fare well for them.

Umm….I’ve thought for a long time that the only way to right the world (for the created children not necessarily their parents) is to give vasectomies to all boys at about the age of 12.

(Well in my perfect science fiction/fantasy world I discover something to put in the water supply—so that it can be done everywhere in the world. Then I give women control of the antidote.)

I mean think how many problems that would solve! How different would society be in 100 years if it were as hard to create a child as it is for ….let’s say… my husband to get into the refinery he works at? He has to pass a drug screening, a background check including credit, his car is inspected and he has to take a number of safety classes, each several hours long, and then pass tests on the material. That’s not to be able to actually do anything (that takes a lot more classes and tests and paperwork). All that is just to walk in and look around. If sperm were declared as hazardous a compound as say, sulfur, which it most definitely is, it could only be handled by workers who were hazmat certified.

Does that violate the little boy’s reproductive rights? Well, probably. But the only response I can come up with it too fucking bad. So I guess it would be somewhat hypocritical of me to say girls should be treated much differently.

I am a radical abortions rights supporter. My support of abortion rights (from egg to leaving the birth canal) rests on my resolute belief that the constitution does and should protect a person from government intrusion into one’s physical self. But this—automatic birth control—is something different. Whether it is by female or male sterilization, none of these methods suggest the person does not have control of their own reproductive system. The boy would control his sperm and the girl would have the power to remove the implant.

What automatic birth control does is give every child the right to come into the world wanted.

Should a responsible parent intervene with involuntary birth control for a 13-year-old who is already promiscuous and a Special Ed student who probably lacks the impulse control to ever hold a job? What about for a 30-year-old woman who is so profoundly mental handicapped that she is a legal ward of the parent? Unless your family has faced such a decision you may have a difficult time understanding it. How far a leap is it from there, where I could clearly agree that someone else imposing birth control on those women was the only responsible choice, to all teenagers are so erratic that they need birth control imposed on them so that they have the longer time period they need to think before they make the decision to begin reproduction.

FWIW my daughters call their Nintendo Gameboys Gamegirls and they insist that everyone else only refer to their toy as a Gamegirl. Both of them got the toy with blue covers (only color available) but they did both want pink ones.

The 15th---I'm as confused as you on that one.

At the beginning of the article she says it's not a race vs. gender issue, and then continues to outline why black women should vote for a black man over a white woman.

And I don't get the Scarlet O'Hara/Mammy references, either. She wants black women to baby her??

That last link is totally my former high school where I was on the newspaper staff. It used to be a totally awesome high school where I learned about the Vagina Monologues for the first time. At least the students are still kicking ass.

I know this ain't the right place to post this, but if anyone has been waiting on the edge of their seat for a Jessica fan club on Facebook -- I started one today!

Join up: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7951639350

California courts overturned the conviction of a dangerous rapist on appeal because of an issue with the law. The State Supreme Court will now hear the case to determine if rape and sexual assault victims can be hauled in from another state to respond to a subpoena.

No. Actually they'll hear if the rapist could be convicted using the victim's testimony from a preliminary hearing (considering that the prosecutor didn't use due diligence in getting the victim to testify). Using that testimony is usually unconstitutional since defendants have a Constitutional right to challenge their accusers in court.

It pains me to see violent bastards use the system to get away with their crimes, but I'll be damned if I see all of our civil liberties go down the crapper just to keep a few extra people in prison.

I also need to add that victims must come forward and must testify against their attackers. End runs around the Constitution hurt everyone and should not be attempted because a few people are too scared to seek justice for themselves.

After reading and re-reading the article on Cleveland's vagina ban, I got even more mad and wrote them a letter and blogged about it. Grrr. http://basketofpuppies.wordpress.com/2008/02/19/im-back/

Just a note as to the So.Not.Funny link (the bumper sticker that said "My son raped your Honour student"

I complained to the company about the sticker and got it removed!! Check it:

Thank you for contacting CafePress.com!

As you may know, CafePress.com provides an automated service to a rich and vibrant community of international users. Unfortunately, because our service is automated, sometimes content that is not consistent with our Offensive Material & Prohibited Content policy is posted on CafePress.com. We appreciate that you have brought this content to our attention and it has been removed from our site. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

W00t for complaining!! XD

Ok I dont know what happened to my last comment. But...

regarding the So.Not.Funny link (the bumper sticker saying "My son raped your Honour student") - I complained to the company and got it removed! Check it:

Thank you for contacting CafePress.com!

As you may know, CafePress.com provides an automated service to a rich and vibrant community of international users. Unfortunately, because our service is automated, sometimes content that is not consistent with our Offensive Material & Prohibited Content policy is posted on CafePress.com. We appreciate that you have brought this content to our attention and it has been removed from our site. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

W00t for complaining!

Two more articles:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7255657.stm

"An Israeli MP has blamed parliament's tolerance of gays for earthquakes that have rocked the Holy Land recently.

"Shlomo Benizri, of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish Shas Party, said the tremors had been caused by lawmaking that gave 'legitimacy to sodomy'..."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7256056.stm

"Another US military serviceman has been detained over an alleged sexual assault on Japan's southern island of Okinawa.

"In the latest of a string of incidents involving US troops, the man is accused of raping a Filipino woman at a hotel..."