Bitch HQ

• In sad news, we lost rapper, artist, producer, and activist Adam Yauch today to cancer. We'll miss you, MCA.
• Rosario Dawson and America Ferrera are cast in an upcoming indie film on Caesar Chavez. Dawson will play activist Dolores Huerta, Ferrera will play Chavez's wife. 
• Wow. No words for the Chronicle of Higher Education publishing Naomi Schaefer Riley's call for eliminating Black Studies. Read this great response,then sign this petition to dismiss Riley. 
• Kenyon Farrow writes a moving piece on Colorlines about why we should support CeCe McDonald, "'innocent' or not." Speaking of support, here's info on sending mail to her.
• Hey comics industry, here are some tips for illustrating wheelchairs from someone who uses one.   
• At Think Progress, Alyssa Rosenberg writes about Glee's continual practice of exploiting oppressed identities while claiming to do the opposite. 
• After that "Motherhood vs. Feminism" article in the New York Times, Anna North follows up with black stay-at-home moms at Buzzfeed. 
• Crunkadelic is skeptical about Brian McKnight's new "adult" mixtape. 
• Did you see 8th grader Julia Bluhm's campaign for Seventeen magazine to use less Photoshop? Get it, girls. Sign the petition here!

Here's what we've been reading this week:

• Today is the 16th annual National Day of Silence, when students across the country vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.
• Raw Story's Megan Carpentier writes about what getting a transvaginal ultrasound is really like. 
• Julia Serano responds to Aviva Dove-Viebahn's post the on the Ms. Blog with "Trans Feminism: There's No Conundrum About It."
• A group of Nashville residents are filing a class-action lawsuit against ABC series The Bachelor and The Bachelorette for racial discrimination. Looks like the shows' utter lack of diversity wasn't just an "accident."
• Portlanders: This weekend, check out Rebooting Democracy and see Bitch's own Andi Zeisler and Kelsey Wallace on the "War on Women" panel!
• Portlanders: Next weekend, check out Disability Art and Culture Project's festival: there will be performances and panels of such topics as the intersections of race and disability.
• Did you read our recap of HBO's Girls? Colorlines responds to the show's story editor's racist tweets from earlier this week and how we don't need another TV show about a group of 20-something, white women living in NY. 
• Actress Vanessa Williams is unapologetic and honest about getting an abortion in her new memoir. 
• If you haven't seen it yet, this Funny or Die video on Rick Santorum "aborting" his presidential campaign is worth a watch.
• Bianca Laureano pens "An Open Letter to White People in the Sexuality/Sexology Field" at RH Reality Check. 
• Are you a female cyclist? On May 13 the organization Girl Bike Love is holding CycloFemme, an event to celebrate women bikers in Boulder, Colorado. 
• Getting pumped for the weekend? Allow us to recommend "QueenS", the newest video from THEESatisfaction, to put you in the party mood.

It's Friday the 13th! We're not superstitious or anything, but these links are bound to bring you good luck (or at least some weekend reading material):

• Bitch editorial director and co-founder Andi Zeisler was on Chicago's WBEZ this week talking about...the b-word!
• The Guardian covers how female-centered television dramas are becoming increasingly popular in the UK.
• At Rookie, Jamia Wilson shares her story of how she came to stop dreading her dreads. 
• PBS is making a new documentary on the life of Gone with the Wind author, Margaret Mitchell.
• Vulture interviews Teyonah Parris about playing Sterling Cooper Draper Price's first black employee. And here's another interview with her for the LA Times! 
• On the Awl, Lucy Madison talks about How 25 National Magazine Award Nominations Went To 25 Male Writers.
• Hey girl, Rachel Maddow is speaking this Sunday here in Portland!
• Roxane Gay has a moving piece at The Rumpus on strong women and The Hunger Games (trigger warning for sexual assault).
• Eleanor Ray deconstructs RISUG/Vasalgel, the best male contraception you've never heard of, on The Hairpin.
• "A writers' retreat for hackers?" Yes please! Check out Etsy's Hacker School, a 3-month long program (with grants available!) for women hackers. 
• Rebecca Traister talks female friendships on HBO's Girls.
• Beyoncé posted a hand-written open letter to Michelle Obama commending her on being an "example of a truly strong African American woman" on her Tumblr. FLOTUS responded with an adorable tweet. 
• Speaking of Bey's Tumblr, Anne Helen Peterson has some thoughts on what makes it so compelling.

Here's what we've been reading this week:

• Issa Rae responds to racist tweets following her web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl's Shorty Award win on xoJane. (Read Rae's Bitch interview here.)
• Bim Adewunmi at Comment is Free tackles the racist response to The Hunger Games and why sadyly, she isn't surprised. 
• META magazine is a new digital publication from the UK covering trans and genderqueer issues—get yours on iTunes!
• Feministing wonders if Facebook enabling eating disorders.
• Latoya Peterson has posted a requiem for the website Sepia Mutiny at Racialicious and also reflects on the state of independent blogs.
• SNL has hired a new female castmember, Kate McKinnon. You might recognize Kate from her sketch series Vag Magazine a web series where a group of feminists take over a woman's magazine. 
• Andrea Plaid reminds us the importance of abortion rights and awareness for women over 40 on RH Reality Check.
• Buzzfeed has a "lady dictionary" to help define the necessity of placing the word "lady" in front of everything. 
• Melissa Harris-Perry comments on the acceptable dress code for black men following Trayvon Martin's death, and at Colorlines, Kai Wright has a must-read on being a black male in America. 
• Naomi Wolf is calling for a ban on Katy Perry. What?
• Bitchflicks has a list of some of the best woman-centered film biopics ever made.