online

One of the best parts of writing for Bitch has been hearing from folks who read the series, particularly when they recommend media I’ve never seen before. Such is the case with Rose By Any Other Name, a web series that recently finished its second season. Produced by Kyle Schickner of FenceSitter Films, the series follows Rose, a woman coming to terms with her bisexuality after falling in love with a man, Anthony (played by Schickner). The episodes chronicle Rose’s relationship with Anthony as she struggles to find a way to talk about her identity with her lesbian friends, the new acquaintances she’s met in a bisexual support group, and Anthony himself. The show is incredibly funny and emotional, but most importantly, it’s honest.

You know the fury that comes over you when you're affected by other people's prejudice? The coldness, shock, or devastation when they put you or your loved ones down over race, sexual orientation, age, gender, size, class or ability? Maybe you felt it when your folks wouldn't let you bring your partner to a family celebration, when a white woman crashed your MLK event to announce that she deals with racism too, or when a classmate blocked your path to stare at your walking aid. Despite what a lot of defensive apologists might try to tell you, these incidents do matter: They're called microaggressions.

Read more about this amazing website after the jump!

"Welcome to the free birth-control support network. Find a doctor, find a method, find a happier you in bed."

So reads the tagline of Bedsider.org, a new online resource operated by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Though still in its beta version, the Bedsider site is already full of useful tools like SMS birth control reminders and video factoids that manage to inform without being patronizing or boring. Hooray!

No surprise here: the internets can be a hostile space women. Women who are sports fans and athletes find their fair share of, by turns, erasure and hostility.

As Salon's Broadsheet points out, you can't even Google "female athlete of the decade" or even "best female athlete of the decade" without be bombarded by "hottest female athlete" paraphernalia that is enough to depress the most passionate fan. Likewise, paging through the daily coverage of ESPN and Sports Illustrated, you'd be forgiven if you started to wonder if you'd entered some kind of time warp in which such a thing as a "female athlete" or "female sports fan" or, hell, even a "female sportwriter" had not been invented yet.

But I assure you, they -- we -- are out there. And not finding the the digital world an especially hospitable space for women who dig sports, gals are creating their own online news networks and communities, filling the void with bright, intelligent, and passionate commentary that is grounded in a belief that women matter.

It might be hard to find them if you dare to brave Google to track them down, so here's your handy primer on the best of women and sports on the internet. I hope you'll join me there!