Prom (oting) Homophobia...

This month in Fulton, Mississippi, two girls wanted to go to prom together, and one of them wanted to wear a tux. When one of the girls—high school senior Constance McMillen—challenged the school’s written policy that prom dates must be of the opposite sex, the school board decided:...

Happy International Women’s Day!...

To our readers–and all women–around the globe. Today marks the 99th such observation, although the roots of International Women’s Day go back even further, to 1908, when 15,000 New York women marched for their labor rights (and my little socialist heart sings!). This year’s theme...

You Want To Go To There...

Mom, can I ask you a question? And so do I. I just got an email from the Dude with that subject line, about an event next Monday that is full of awesome.  If you’re in the NYC metro area, heads up! 1.  It’s taking place at the Bookstore/Cafe of  Housing Works, which is a great charity...

Not All Athletes Are Like Tim Tebow...

This football-playing dog is more open-minded than Tim Tebow. via ellenc995 @ flickr For those who are justifiably pissed at Focus on the Family — better termed “Focus on the Patriarchy, Ignore Women’s Needs,” which I suppose is not very catchy –running an anti-choice Super...

In Case Your Labia Were Wondering…...

Did you read my rant about “My New Pink Button”?  Did you think: Yeah, yeah, Becky, that was bitchy, but totally uninformative? Did you, like me, secretly wonder: What does that stuff actually do to a poor, unsuspecting vulva? Well, thanks to Amanda Marcotte for alerting me to a brave blogger...

Justice for Ruchika...

Ruchika Girhotra. The two weeks I was in India, I read the Times of India every day. The Times is the world’s largest English-language daily newspaper by circulation, with a readership of 13.3 million. It is of a decidedly progressive bent, and the stories are expressive, opinionated and don’t...

Can I Get a Witness?...

Last week, during one leg of my hellish commute, I picked up one of the free tabloid papers that are 50% ads, 23% sports, 23% celebrity gossip, and 4% “news,” digested into its blandest, most thoughtless form.   It’s one of the last places I expect to find counter-cultural messages....

Make Coakley #18!...

Have we any Massachusetts residents* among our readers?  If so, may I urge you to donate to–or at least vote for–Martha Coakley, currently your Attorney General, to take over the late lamented Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat? Yesterday, Coakley handily won the Democratic primary, and is...

World AIDS Day...

Today is the twenty-first annual observation of World AIDS Day.  I have a tendency to forget about it, even though a family friend close to my own age is HIV-positive.  Thanks to meds, he is thriving. Women, in part because they suffer from HIV and AIDS at higher rates, in part because they are less...

The Kids Are Alright...

At least, this kid is definitely alright. And he’s also right. 10-year-old Will Phillips of Arkansas has hit the national news thanks to a CNN interview in which he explains that he refuses to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance until gays and lesbians have equal rights, particularly marriage...

Rad New Blog Alert...

I want to call your attention to a fantastic new blog called FWD/Forward – Feminists with disabilities for a way forward. The blog’s purpose is pretty self-explanatory. The folks who started it are feminists with disabilities who write about disability issues and the intersection between...

He’s Good Enough, He’s Smart...

Via Aaron Landry @ Flickr.And for damned good reason. Last week, Becky drafted Senator Al Franken (D-MN) to Team Womanity, and yesterday he proved his worthiness yet again. You might remember the horrific story of Jamie Leigh Jones, who, while employed in Iraq by KBR/Halliburton (the companies are now...