Violence Against Women Act

Good morning! Here's all the feminist news on our radar today. 

• Did England's Queen come out in support of gay rights? Well, not specifically. [Guardian] 

• Senators drafting immigration reform bill finally agree on one thing: The bill needs to offer legal status to the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants currently in the country. [LA Times] 

• Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski added a special exclusion to the Violence Against Women Act that bars 229 Alaskan tribes from getting help under the act. Since when do senators want fewer benenfits for their constituents? [Anchorage Daily News] 

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg! The New Yorker has a long profile of the Supreme Court "heavyweight" who has been a legal force for equality. [New Yorker] 

• With traditional social structures around dating and marriage in China dissolving, the process of finding a spouse has become a bizarre commercial transaction that puts The Bachelor to shame. [New York Times]

• Yesterday was national Thank an Abortion Provider Day! I bet they'd still appreciate some thanks a day late. [Feministing]

• Writer Zerlina Maxwell managed to use a guest spot on FOX News to critique rape culture. [Colorlines] 

• What's next for Susan Rice? Maybe a spot as Obama's national security adviser. [Guardian]

• New film Spring Breakers is garnering a lot of attention for two of its female leads: former "squeaky clean" Disney stars who are flipping to the other side of the sexual continuum. [New York Times]    

What did I miss? Add it to the comments!

Welcome to Monday! Here's all the feminist news on our radar this morning. 

• Scientists say a baby born with HIV has been cured—if they're right, it's a medical first. [NPR]

• Did your representatives vote for the Violence Against Women Act? Here's the map. [Mother Jones] 

• Actress and potential political candidate Ashley Judd talks about being a survivor of rape, three times over. [Mother Jones]

• Female political leaders bring "soft power" to the traditionally macho Balkan states. [Jezebel] 

• Yet another vocal homophobe admits to a history of sexual misconduct: This time it's a Cardinal in Scotland. [Advocate]

• NFL! You're not allowed to ask your new recruits whether or not they're gay. Focus on the game! [Colorlines] 

• One opinion on Black History Month: The annual celebration of black history now feels irrelevant. [xoJane] 

• New book Hard to Get is a "nuanced look at hook-up culture." [AlterNet]  

• Oooo... there's a new magazine launching that's about black LGBT culture. [Autostraddle] 

Did I miss anything? Add it to the comments!

While I was watching regrettable late-night TV recently, an interview caught my attention: Ultra-conservative Florida Senator Marco Rubio discussing his admiration of the music of Tupac Shakur and NWA.

This isn’t breaking news; Rubio has been openly discussing his love of hip-hop since a December 2012 GQ interview.  To be clear, Rubio says he only knows about Wu Tang from The Dave Chapelle Show, which I am pretty sure is the main reason why Chappelle stopped doing that show in the middle of its third season.

It’s entirely possible that Rubio is just pandering to a younger crowd by proclaiming his love of rap. It’s no secret that the GOP has high hopes that Rubio will be their Barack Obama in 2016.  Obama loves Jay-Z, so maybe Rubio’s banking on dropping Tupac’s name to win youth votes. 

But if Rubio is sincere, it’s ironic that a rising GOP star to profess his love for a music genre that his party put on trial at a Congressional hearing just six years ago. Rubio’s explanation? “I don’t listen to music for the politics of it.”

Happy Friday! Here's all the feminist news that's fit to print...you know, on the Internet.

• As you probably already know, the comprehensive Violence Against Women Act was passed yesterday. [New York Times]

• Here are all the Republicans who voted against the act—no Democrats did. Oh hey, Michelle Bachmann! Didn't expect to see you here! (Just kidding, we totally did.) [The Atlantic]

• Ladies doing less housework means that ladies be plumpin' up, according to this really awfully sexist piece in the New York Times. I mean. [New York Times]

• Whoa, Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Who vetted this incredibly racist cover illustration? And also, can you issue a real apology next time? [Columbia Journalism Review]

• South Dakota is attempting to amend its 72-hour waiting period for an abortion so that weekends and holidays don't count as part of those hours, thereby lengthening the wait considerably. Perhaps they're counting on a lot of women being like, "Huh, it's Labor Day, guess I'll go through with this after all." [Think Progress]

• Clutch magazine wants to know why so few white feminists had anything to say about The Onion's Oscar-night tweet about Quvenzhané Wallis. [Clutch]

• And on the Oscar tip.... As a non–Hathaway hater, I appreciate that someone took on the question of why everyone seems to hate Anne Hathaway but love Jennifer Lawrence. Does no one here remember Mia Thermopolis? [The Cut]

• Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop died this week at the age of 96. This remembrance praises his rational, science-based, and nonsensational approach to public health—among other things, it notes that while Koop himself was prolife, he refused political pressure to declare that abortion caused detrimental health effects in women. [RH Reality Check]

• Finally, kick off your weekend right by imagining, with the help of this photo, how great a Veronica Mars reunion special would be. [Vulture]

Have a great weekend! And as always, link to any further reading suggestions in the comments...

Supporting survivors of domestic violence should be an easy political issue. And yet! For months, the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act has been derailed by Republican opposition to the bill's plans to expand protections for Native American, LGBT, and immigrant communities. 

This morning, the House finally passed the Violence Against Women Act, including those "controversial" provisions. Here are the 138 Representatives who voted no. 

In our most recent print issue, writer Maya Dusenbery spells out why violence against women is such a crucial issue for the government to address—but why focusing efforts primarily on putting abusers in jail is problematic: 

While ostensibly committed to building a “coordinated community response” to violence against women, the law privileges a pro-criminalization strategy. The original legislation was wrapped in the largest crime bill in U.S. history, and more than half of the initial funding was allocated to law-enforcement efforts. This focus means, for example, that U visas are only available to undocumented survivors who are willing to cooperate with a criminal investigation. Critics of the legislation have argued that relying on the state to protect women from violence can be counterproductive, particularly for poor communities of color. As Angela Davis asked in 2000, “Can a state that is thoroughly infused with racism, male dominance, class-bias, and homophobia, and that constructs itself in and through violence act to minimize violence in the lives of women?”

Good morning! Here's the list of feminist news on our radar this morning! 

• It's been 365 days since Trayvon Martin was shot. Colorlines documents the acts of kindness and resistance that have come from the shooting in that year. 

• With rape so prevelant on reservations, how can Congress consider stripping back new protections for Native American survivors of domestic violence? 

• Speaking up about military assault: An Air Force veteran details how the military's structure enabled the crime against her. 

• You go guys! A Boston frat rallies to raise thousands of dollars for their transgender brother's surgery.

• Did anyone watch the MAKERS documentary last night on PBS? What'd you think?

• Who are the Black female comic book superheroes? 

• Oooo! Feminist summer camp! 

• Was the Oscars song "We Saw Your Boobs" offensive or just unfunny?  

• Let's send the Oscars a message! Our letter demanding five changes at the awards has 960 signatures. Let's take it to 1,000 today! 

 

Yesterday, in a 222-205 vote, the House of Representatives voted to approve the Republican-authored version of the 2012 Violence Against Women Act. This version significantly strips the resources of undocumented, Native, and homosexual victims of violence, among others. Joe Biden, one of the original authors of the VAWA, says the revision will “roll back critical provisions to help victims of abuse.” A Douchebag Decree doesn't even begin to cover the authors and defenders of this act, which appears to solely help privileged white people.