abortion

We as a nation just can’t seem to trust women to make their own choices, especially when their reproductive organs are involved.

It’s not earth-shattering to point out a good deal of language tossed around by our nation’s lawmakers, major media presences and religious institutions, is detrimental to the agency of women.  The wave of laws restricting abortion rights in 49 states often portray the woman as nothing more than a vessel for a fetus from the point of conception  

But recently, rhetoric has taken the issue even further. Current public education campaigns imply that we have a civic duty to tell women when they should get pregnant and reinforce the idea that pregnant women’s bodies are public property.

Good morning, folks! Here's all the feminist and feminist-adjacent news on our radar this fine morning.

• Who says online activism doesn't get results? Reebok has dropped Rick Ross as a spokesperson in the wake of his rapey lyrical outing on the track "U.O.E.N.O." The company's statement reads, in part, "While we do not believe that Rick Ross condones sexual assault, we are very disappointed he has yet to display an understanding of the seriousness of this issue or an appropriate level of remorse." [TMZ] 

• With the capital murder trial of former abortion provider Kermit Gosnell now underway in Philadelphia, Women's Law Project looks at how Pennsylvania's longstanding attitudes toward legal abortion made it possible for Gosnell's crimes to go unreported for so long. [Women's Law Project]

• In a rare move for the fashion industry, the summer lookbook for U.K. high-street clothier Debenhams features models who are plus-size, older than 40, of different races, and, in one case, a Paralympian. Hopefully, this won't be a one-off move. [Refinery29]

• Now that the likes of Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj have embraced it, has the word "ratchet" become a compliment? Insert side-eye here. [The Cut]

• If all you know about children's singer Raffi is that he's responsible for that infernal "Baby Beluga" song, time to get reacquainted: In the wake of Canadian teen Rehtaeh Parsons's suicide, he's using Twitter to speak out against rape culture and bullying. [ThinkProgress]

• Pro-choice fans of Edensoy milk, better start looking for an alternative: Eden Foods founder and CEO Michael Potter is trying to impose his sex-is-for-babies beliefs on the company's employees, suing the Obama administration to protest its mandate to cover contraception for workers. [Salon]

• Connie Britton will play the love interest of Girls' Adam Driver in the ensemble film This Is Where I Leave You, a flip of the typical May-December romance setup that definitely counts as exciting and mold-busting Hollywood news. Also in the film: Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, and Jane Fonda. Stoke your anticipation with the book, which is awesome.

As ever, share your own fave reads from this week in the comments!

Good morning! Ready to start your weekend off right with a big bowl of healthy links from around the web?

• Tyler Perry's new movie, Temptation, looks to be a moralizing mess. But it's also dangerously cavalier about rape, according to Carolyn Edgar, who posits that the movie's larger message about "fallen" women getting what they deserve makes it even trickier to discuss the issue. [Carolyn Edgar]

• Earlier this week, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban caused a stir in the sports press by saying he's interested in drafting Brittney Griner, the star player for Baylor University's women's basketball team. But is it simply a "publicity stunt" on Cuban's part? Would drafting a woman into the NBA be terrible for women's basketball? Everybody's got an opinion. [ESPN, ThinkProgress, Business Insider]

• Elsewhere in basketball news, Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice was fired this week after video surfaced of him physically and verbally abusing players during practice. At Autostraddle, a Rutgers alumna considers why Rice's apparently longstanding habit of using antigay slurs to bully (or, as he thought of it, "motivate") players was hush-hush for so long. [Autostraddle]

• In all the recent discussion about women leaning in and having it all, where's the discussion about what men can do? A paid paternity-leave quota in Quebec could be changing both how typically gendered work is valued as it allows mothers more freedom to continue working post-childbirth. [New York Times]

• It's Steubenville all over again: In the town of Torrington, Connecticut, two high-school football players have been charged with the rape of two 13-year-old girls—and the girls are on the receiving end of bullying and vitriol. [New York Times]

• Nevada assemplywoman Lucy Flores testified this week about the consequences of inadequate sex education, noting that her sister all gave birth as teenagers, and that she herself opted for an abortion. Cue the death threats, since as we all know, that's the pro-life way to do it! [ThinkProgress]

• If you're a Walking Dead fan who's been frustrated with how the show portrays women, well, get ready to be a little more frustrated: The comic series' author is on record as believing that women are weaker than men. "That's science." [Village Voice]

• Yesterday we lost Roger Ebert, a film critic who was so much more than just that. The Daily Beast rounds up some of his best reviews—as well as his most awesome burns. (Lookin' at you, Vinccent Gallo.) [Daily Beast]

As ever, let us know what you're reading in the comments!

This week, we’re all hoping that the Supreme Court will rule on the side of all that is fair and good and affirm the rights of gay and lesbian people to be married.

But while we’ve got our thumbs on champagne corks, anxiously waiting to celebrate, let’s just take a breath for a minute and recognize that while marriage equality is just major step forward toward equality for same-sex couples, it’s just a step toward equality for all in America. We’ve got to look beyond marriage to the other ways gender, sexuality, and love will still be regulated by the government, even if gays can finally tie the knot.

The North Dakota legislature approved a “personhood” measure for the ballot last week—if the governor signs off on the measure, voters will decide in 2014 if North Dakota should criminalize abortion and shut down the state’s only abortion-providing clinic.

These are the most restrictive laws proposed in the United States, but a slew of lesser restrictions have passed legislatures across the country in recent years.  While they’ll have real, personal impact if enacted, the bills serve another purpose: media stunt.

Finally: A smart book about abortion that doesn’t hew to a party line.

Sarah Erdreich’s Generation Roe: Inside the Future of the Pro-Choice Movement, is an incisive and comprehensive overview of the current state of the reproductive rights movement.

Half-way through the week and here's what we've been reading up on for the day:

• Are you also upset about CNN's coverage of the Steubenville rape case?  Sign this petition and demand an apology. [Change.org]
• 50 years following Gideon v. Wainwright, the decision to allow defendants the right to council hasn't brought justice-for-all as some hoped it would. [Colorlines]
• Move over, Westboro Baptist Church.  There are some new neighbors in town, and their freshly painted, rainbow-colored house outshines yours. [Salon]

Good morning Bitch readers! Here's your daily feminist news, fresh off the press. 

• The Pakistani schoolgirl activist attacked by the Taliban speaks out and announces the creation of a new foundation for children. [Democracy Now]

• Shocker: Teen pregnancy declines in NYC thanks for use of contraceptives.  [NY Daily News] 

• Do you want a dolphin or a tiger with those fries? Sounding off on gender stereotyping in kids' meals. [The Baltimore Sun]

• Ugh. Take a look at the Western coverage of South Korean beauty standards.  [Racialicious]

• In Britain, people are having sex-selection abortions. [The Telegraph]

• Writing characters of color on TV is not as hard as it’s made out to be.  [Geek Quality]• Activists in Nepal are trying to eradicate the practice of child marriage. [Global Press Institute] 

• Getting Closure: Oregon has a new program where domestic violence survivors can ask questions of their abusers. [Willamette Week]

• Call for submissions! Share your strategies for wealth redistribution in Dean Spade's project Enough: The Personal Politics of Resisting Capitalism.  [Enough]

That's all for today folks! Stay tuned for more news from our radar.

Feminist book-lovers will already be long familiar with novels depicting the rollback of reproductive rights, such as The Handmaid's Tale, The Misconceiver, and Woman on The Edge of Time. So is there room for another book looking at a the consequences of criminalizing abortion? Yes, there is—perhaps more than ever.

Having a hard time wrapping your mind around the shitshow that is the Republican National Convention? Us too. That's why we appreciate the intrepid reporting of The Daily Show's Samantha Bee, who took on the brave task of asking RNC delegates how they really feel about Romney's stance on abortion, which includes exceptions if the life of the mother is threatened.

At the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Samantha Bee learns that government is meant to protect the individual liberties of everyone lacking a uterus.