Who Says Women Aren't Funny?

The Hollywood Reporter held an Emmy roundtable discussion featuring Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Christina Applegate, Mary-Louise Parker and Jane Krakowski.







Love these women.

You can see the rest of the interview here.

Modern-day Fairy Tales

Check out the work by Vancouver photographer, Dina Goldstein.



From Goldstein:

The project was inspired by my observation of three-year-old girls, who were developing an interest in Disney's Fairy tales. As a new mother I have been able to get a close up look at the phenomenon of young girls fascinated with Princesses and their desire to dress up like them. The Disney versions almost always have a sad beginning, with an overbearing female villain, and the end is predictably a happy one. The Prince usually saves the day and makes the victimized young beauty into a Princess.

I have never been a fan of Disney. I've certainly never understood the fascination with passive women always needing to be saved. Disney constantly promotes ageism, racism and sexism (Don't believe me? Check out Mickey Mouse Monopoly) and I appreciate the fact that Goldstein has found a smart, creative way to combat useless stereotypes.


See the rest of the series and more on her website.

Honoring George Tiller

George Tiller, the abortion provider who was murdered yesterday is being honored this evening in Union Square in New York. Had I known a bit earlier, I would have gone (I'm in NY for the summer), but I was on my way back home by the time I found out.

Feministing has a list of vigils across the country, so if there's one in your area, I hope you have the chance to go. Here's the list and more information about what you can do.

Read more about what's going on at RH Reality Check.

Sotomayor nominated for Supreme Court Justice

Great news! Today President Obama announced his nomination for the next Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor.



As a fellow Puerto Rican woman from the Bronx, I can't not be excited. Whoop whoop!

There's already been so much debate over her qualifications (Limbaugh: "she's a 'reverse racist'") and it's only been a day. I'm excited to see what will happen, but for now I'm just grateful that a Latina woman has come so far.

However, I am really interested to see what her stance on abortion is. Does anyone know?

Read more here, here and here.

Plan B now available to 17-year-olds

Good news! The age at which women (and men) are allowed to buy Plan B has been lowered by a year. This still poses a problem for teens below 17, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.

Afghan women protest new law that restricts their rights

From the NY Times:

About 300 Afghan women, facing an angry throng three times that number, walked the streets of the capital on Wednesday to demand that Parliament repeal a new law that introduces a range of Taliban-like restrictions on women, and permits, among other things, marital rape.

It was an extraordinary scene. Women are mostly illiterate in this impoverished country, and they do not, generally speaking, enjoy anything near the freedom accorded to men. But there they were, most of them young, many in jeans, defying a threatening crowd and calling out slogans heavy with meaning.

This new law has three provisions that are especially upsetting: women cannot refuse sexual advances from men, women must have permission from their husbands before they can go to school or work outside the home, and women must dress up and wear make up if her husband wants her to.

President Hamid Karzai, who signed the bill into law, is looking for a way to have these provisions removed.

This is such an incredible example of global feminism and I'm thrilled that it made the front page of the NY Times.

Amazon suspected of homophobia

Some concern and suspicion rose up this week, especially on Twitter, over Amazon. Books with "adult content," especially those with GLBT themes, have been removed from Amazon's ranking system, making it impossible for these titles to come up unless they are specifically searched for. This even includes titles on best sellers lists. Amazon is saying that it was caused by a glitch, but no one's really buying it. Read the Publisher's Weekly article for more, or follow the discussion on Twitter at #amazonfail.

A Night of Female Empowerment

Last night I went to Rollins College to see a performance of The Vagina Monologues. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go because my school is having one this week, and I didn't know how many Monologues I could take. But I'm glad I went because watching it is always an amazing experience. It's such an incredible feeling to find yourself in such a safe space, where it's okay to be open and honest about domestic and sexual violence. Plus it was great to show some feminist solidarity within the whole community, not just my campus.
After the performance, they held a Take Back the Night rally. It was my first one ever, and it was a great experience. I'm helping organize one that will be this Thursday, so I definitely wanted to see how theirs turned out and pick up any pointers. It was very simple and short, but it was still such an emotional and empowering experience. I've been fortunate enough to have never been a victim of any kind of abuse, but I definitely shed a few tears during the speak-out. If you haven't before, but you ever have the chance to attend either The Vagina Monologues or a Take Back the Night rally, definitely go. You won't regret it.


Here is one of my favorite Monologues. What's yours?





- Bianca