Hi folks. Christine is taking a sick day this week - get well soon! So, this week is a group effort. Many thanks to ramara and elenacarlena for collecting links. We can really use some volunteers for the coming weeks!
The good, the bad and the ugly below the orange XX chromosome.
Reproductive rights:
The latest anti-choice tactic: forcing medical schools to stop teaching abortion.
Kansas passed a bill to outlaw the most common second-trimester abortion procedure. Now Oklahoma has introduced a similar bill.
Kansas' new bill comes on top of other laws passed in Kansas over the last few years that have made Kansas one of the most anti-choice states in the nation: A "life begins at fertilization" law; no abortions after 21 weeks; gag rules about referring women for abortion services; mandatory waiting periods, and biased and unscientific counseling mandates when a woman seeks an abortion; restrictions on the use of insurance, public funds, and public employees for abortion services; laws that allow medical personnel to refuse abortion services even if they would be the only option; over-regulation of abortion providers well beyond regulations of other healthcare providers; ultrasound requirements; and parental consent required for minors to have an abortion unless she can convince a judge otherwise.
An inside look at a conference for deceptive
"crisis pregnancy centers."
Violence:
Todd Kincannon, former executive director of the South Carolina Republican party, has been arrested for domestic violence.
How football player Darren Sharper got away with drugging and raping nine women while authorities failed to act.
A chilling piece on missing and murdered First Nations women in Canada.
An Orange County judge inexplicably reduces the sentence of a man who sexually assaulted a 3-year-old.
A women-only motorcyle rickshaw service in Pakistan promises women relief from abusive drivers.
Phoenix police to pay $3.5 million to family of 13-year-old for a botched rape investigation that allowed the abuse to continue.
After the Rolling Stone debacle, the usual suspects have tried to push the idea that rape culture is a myth and the college rape problem is exaggerated. Jezebel counters with the voices of survivors.
Workplace Issues and Economics:
Kansas wants to limit the spending choices of welfare recipients in the most controlling way possible. Because freedom!
And here's a bit of first-person experience on how poverty-shaming can stay with you even after you get out.
The woman tax on common household items.
Jezebel asks for examples of "soft sexism." The readers come through.
Intersectionality:
A Denver-area school misses the mark with posters on 101 Things Black & Latina Girls Should Know. They're full of "helpful" advice like "Wearing too much makeup looks like a clown. Twerkin’ and grinding ain’t cute." How about "Speak up when you get condescending, useless advice"?
Media:
I posted earlier about The Daily Caller's Buckley Carlson sending a grossly misogynist email to deBlasio spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick, and Carlson's brother Tucker smugly backing him up. Now Tucker's whining about how he and Buckley are the real victims.
Rand Paul seems to have a problem with women journalists. Rand, when you've lost Megyn Kelly, you're done.
A group of aggrieved men calling themselves the Sad Puppies (no, really) gamed the system to make sure the Hugo Awards nominated a slew of stories by white male authors who didn't stray into any "social justice" territory. Because science fiction shouldn't be about anything innovative, imaginative, or thought-provoking, amirite? It's all about ethics in book-cover art!
A new video game explores unwanted sexual attention.
A first peek at the biography of Notorious RBG.
Health Care:
A successful program for women with HIV is in danger of being cut.
Religion and Spirituality:
Former President Jimmy Carter severs ties with the Southern Baptist Convention over its embrace of male supremacy.
Good News and Action Items:
Kenya started addressing its rape problem with self-defense classes for schoolgirls. Then it started listening to the girls, who said the biggest problem wasn't strangers in the dark, it was boyfriends. The result: No Means No, a program teaching boys to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem, with significant success.
Tell Congress not to cut food stamps.
Petition to overturn the conviction of Purvi Patel for having a miscarriage. Background here.