journalism

While newspapers at home struggle to stay relevant and profitable, reporters abroad struggle to stay alive. Dedicated to exposing the truth, protecting their sources, and improving the quality of life for those living in war-torn nations, the men and women (especially women) reporting intenationally frequently find themselves targeted. Since the Committee to Protect Journalists started keeping track in 1992, 972 journalists have been killed. In her new gallery exhibition of oil portraits, “Frontline Heroines,” Seattle artist Judith Larson puts faces to some of those numbers.

"This represents my return to art, because I had a motive," says Larson, who herself has spent the last 20 years working primarily as a reporter. Seattle’s Fountainhead Gallery is filled with the large portraits of women killed while working as journalists. 

Games say important things about who we are and the cultural lessons we have learned, subconsciously or not. When a game breaks from the larger narratives of culture, it is because its creator has chosen to tell a story rarely heard. Unless you’re involved with games, deeply, sometimes daily, some of the stories I have to tell will not be ones you know.

Start your weekend off right: with compelling articles from around the web!

• Bitch contributor s.e. smith discusses asexuality on Tiger Beatdown.
• Katha Pollitt writes for The Nation about the DC Abortion Fund and the right's vendetta against Planned Parenthood. (via AlterNet)
• ColorLines shares three scholars' thoughts on fighting homophobia in hip-hop.
• Check out journalist Barbie Latza Nadeau's piece at The Daily Beast about reporting on sexism in Italy.
• In These Times interviews Sady Doyle, founder of Tiger Beatdown and Bitch contributor, about blogging and online activism.
• Jill at Feministe hopes everyone who celebrates had a happy feminist Passover.
• As the New York Times searches for a new columnist, Feministing has a plea: "Don't hire another white dude!"
• The Root interviews our recent Bitch High Five candidate Joycelyn Elders, who was forced to resign for saying sex ed should include information about masturbation.
• We're keeping our fingers crossed for the Uniting American Families Act, "a bill which would allow same-sex couples to sponsor their partners for legal residency in the U.S."
• 90s Woman praises Heather Corinna's book S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-To-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School and College. I'm personally a fan as well, and we have a copy in the Bitch Media Community Lending Library!
• One year after the BP oil spill, Ms. talks about the danger of the status quo as explored in Antonia Juhasz's new book about the disaster, Black Tide.
• Also at Ms., look at this profile of Bitch contributor Mandy Van Deven's, Joanne Smith's and Meghan Huppuch's group, Girls for Gender Equity, and book, Hey, Shorty! A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets.
• Shakesville shares an excellent quote by Ms. Geena Davis about the power of gendered media images.
• Nick at Original Plumbing reflects powerfully on reconnecting with family members.
• At the ACLU blog, one rockin' woman recalls confronting a street harasser.
  
• Bad news: QUILTBAG-oriented site Queerty has "come to a close."

What have you been reading? Share away!

Once, twice, three times a douchebag for Johns Hopkins University's student newspaper The News-Letter, who hit the student body with a double-whammy of sexist, rape-apologetic articles in the last two weeks.

Such sad news today: veteran Los Angeles Times sportswriter Christine Daniels was found dead today in her home. Suicide is the suspected cause. She was 52 years old.

Daniels made national headlines when in 2007 she announced in that she was transitioning from male to female. Then under the byline of Mike Penner, she wrote her groundbreaking sports column:

In Monday’s post I shared a very condensed herstory of Lois Lane’s appearances on film, as well as some clips of her filmic influences and contemporaries.

I know most people don’t care for Lois, but I think that’s because they haven’t really given her consideration. I mean, here’s a female character who, despite office sexism perseveres with moxie. She’s tough-talking, street smart, and modern. She has her own apartment in the City, is an award-winning reporter, and is dedicated to her profession—all of which sounds admirably progressive, even feminist to me. It reminds me of something I wrote in my book about Gloria Steinem’s comment about rescuing Wonder Woman by putting her on the cover of Ms. magazine. While Wonder Woman serves as a symbol of our highest aspirations, Lois may have more accurately reflected the lives of journalists at Ms., and at the time was certainly in need of as much rescuing as Diana Prince.