guns

Good morning! Hopefully you're recovering from spending four long hours watching the Oscars last night. Gah! Here's your list of feminist news for today. 

• The White Male Vote: The NYTimes put together this composite picture of the 117 men who will vote for the next pope. Not surprising! [NYTimes]

• Most mass shootings don't get national headlines—they're domestic violence situations where the victims are women and family members. [AlterNet]

• Women's groups in Britain are petitioning to change sexist coverage in the nation's infamous tabloids. [Change.org]

• The Oscars were pretty "bro-tastic." [Feministing] 

• Satricial newspaper The Onion has finally discovered a line not to cross: their tweet joking that beloved actress Quvenzhane Wallis is a "cunt" quickly got deleted. This is the only time I can remember The Onion issuing an apology. [Daily Beast + Slate]

• Actually, it seems like a lot of people have beef with the nine-year-old for some reason. [Racialicious] 

• Over on Jezebel, one feminist porn star tells her story about how she got into the business. [Jezebel] 

• The show Scandal seems to actually have a good female, African-American lead character. [Bitch Flicks]

• An interesting forum over on Colorlines: Does Beyonce need to talk about her blackness? [Colorlines] 

• Facebook exec Sheryl Sandberg wants to be the "pom pom girl for feminism," but columnist Maureen Dowd notes that critics say her vision is a bit elitist. [NYTimes]

Mad about sexism at the Oscars? Sign our letter telling the Academy five things they need to change right now. 

There's a script for women in commercial country music that doesn't necessarily coincide with more mainstream stereotypes and assumptions about women. If you've ever heard Carrie Underwood's ubiquitous 2007 single, "Before He Cheats" (lyrics), you'll recognize the tropes.

Of course there are exceptions, but the ideal country woman is often blond (and white), feisty, world-wise, and hot. She is deeply possessive of her man, and aims to squelch competitors for his affection. She gives the appearance of working-class roots even if she didn't grow up working class, and she's equally comfortable talking about guns (Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder and Lead"), Jesus (Underwood's "Jesus Take the Wheel"), and heterosexual romantic relationships (Dixie Chicks' "Cowboy Take Me Away").

One of the newer variations on these themes is the girl group Pistol Annies (Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe, and Angaleena Presley). Check out the first single of their August LP, Hell on Heels (lyrics):

Two weeks ago the Disarm Domestic Violence Campaign launched worldwide. The first international campaign to protect women from gun violence featured women activists from 28 countries who spoke out against small arms proliferation through art, advocacy, media outreach, and direct action.