Illustration by Carolyn Main Whether or not I eventually want children, I know that were I in that predicament today, I would exercise my right to choose. Due to a lot of health issues I had during puberty, I’ve had oodles of pregnancy scares, not bragging. Because of that I’m super pro-choice. A person’s right […]
Sexual Politics
Posted inSexual Politics
My Least Favorite Piece of Misogyny This Week: Comic Book Edition
Illustration by Carolyn Main I’m a girl and I like reading comic books. Don’t propose to me. Last week saw the release of the new X-Men which features an all-female team. And, of course, this week featured a backlash on message boards. My least favorite piece of misogyny this week is sexism against women in […]
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Object Lessons: On Sexual Harassment and Loretta Smith
Last week, Baruti Artharee—policy director for Mayor Charlie Hales—introduced Multnomah County Commissioner Loretta Smith to a crowd like this: “Here’s our beautiful commissioner, Loretta Smith—mmm, mmm, mmm—she looks good tonight.” Sometimes I feel like straight men don’t understand that sexual harassment at an after-work party or a bar or a (gasp) comedy club still counts […]
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Re: Lindy West vs. Jim Norton
Presumably most of you have seen this—it’s been making the rounds of Facebook like crazy—but just in case you missed it, here’s Lindy West summing up some of the violent, violently misogynistic responses she’s gotten to her recent debate with Jim Norton. Lindy has decided to allow herself to be a lightening rod so many […]
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My Least Favorite Piece of Misogyny This Week: Jose Canseco Edition
Last week, former baseball player Jose Canseco tweeted to 515,464 followers that he had been accused of rape. But the accusation didn’t shame him into a spiral of Lady Macbeth handwashing: Instead, Canseco tweeted the alleged victim’s name, telephone number, and work address to his horde of fans. He handed an angry mob a witch […]
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“You Were Probably Kind of Asking for the Holocaust”
Jezebel writer Lindy West debates comic Jim Norton about rape jokes. I like that Lindy West.
Posted inSexual Politics
The Week in Sex
Another weekly round-up of government-controlled genital stories! If you’re female and don’t want to be a parent any time soon, then you might not want to move to Georgia, Indiana, Virgina, Texas, West Virginia, Arkansas, Kansas, Alabama, or any state that fought in the civil war. Legislators in Arkansas banned abortion after 12 weeks of […]
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This Week in Sex
Every week, lawmakers and law breakers get real mad about all the sex they’re not having, and it’s been an especially busy one, and not just for marriage equality! Here’s the recap of the other news in sex: Aaron Jackson, who runs a charity organization called “Planting Peace,” bought the house across the street from […]
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Interview With the Lawyer Who Argued Roe v. Wade
Forty years ago today, lawyer Sarah Weddington got the verdict she wanted in the landmark abortion right’s case Roe v. Wade. This morning, I spoke with her in downtown Portland as she prepared to greet a crowd of 1,000 people at a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette. Despite Roe v. Wade’s protections that abortion […]
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On the 40th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, We’re All “Pro-Life”
Yesterday around 1,000 people gathered in Pioneer Square for a Right to Life rally “memorializing” 40 years since the Roe v. Wade decision. Among the crowd of people were several Portlanders holding yellow signs describing some sexual methods and resources that are proven to reduce unwanted pregnancies: This was some mischievous culture jamming on the […]
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Americans on Abortion: “Who Cares? Keep it Legal.”
Next week is the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision on abortion rights that, it turns out, a majority of Americans under 30 don’t know anything about. In fact, a new poll from the Pew Center on attitudes toward abortion shows that fewer Americans think abortion is a “critical” political […]
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States Have Jailed Hundreds of Women to Protect Fetuses
A new study details an unknown and sordid history: Hundreds of cases of states jailing pregnant women on the grounds that they’re endangering a fetus. The debate over personhood bills in several states (including Oregon) recently led researchers at the National Advocates for Pregnant Women and Fordham University to wonder whether cases exist where authorities […]