reproductive rights

Fabulous way to bring in the new administration

While I identify as a sea creature ally more than a Femme Shark, the Femme Sharks are, nonetheless, one of my very very favorite organizations in the world. Created as a way to redefine and reclaim what 'femme' can mean especially as it pertains to and centers women of color, the Femme Sharks are... Read more »

9021OMG, Feminism?

It's sad to remember how high my hopes were for CW's 90210 last summer. I love Fox's original series, Beverly Hills 90210 (though bad dialogue and one-dimensional characters make for a rocky relationship) and I love Rob Thomas (of Veronica Mars), who was supposed to be writing this thing and... Read more »

Action update on the birth-control-as-abortion thang

NARAL's letter-writing link is here (goes to Congress). Planned Parenthood's is here (goes to the White House). And, courtesy of commenter softpieces on yesterday's post, Department of Health and Human Services contact info: Secretary Mike Leavitt's office: 202-690-7000 Secretary Mike Leavitt's... Read more »

Our government wants to define some forms of birth control as abortion

Someone on my favorite feminist- and media-related listserv just pointed me to this article, by the ever-knowledgable Cristina Page, about a new Health and Human Services Department proposal that would define the pill, the patch, the shot, the IUD, the ring, and Plan B as abortion rather than... Read more »

A couple of things you ought to know about

Before I leave the B-Word office to spend the weekend working in the air-conditioned, shades-drawn splendor of my own home, I wanted to hip you folks to two very cool projects that are looking for your input and support. The first comes courtesy of Stacy Bias, a Portlander who many of you may have... Read more »

More WAMmy goodness

Lisa already gave a good rundown of what makes WAM so fab. This was only my second WAM, and I was blown away by how much it's grown since I last attended. As compelling as the lectures and panel sessions may be, for me WAM is all about the networking, the mutual-admiration-society atmosphere, and... Read more »

The A-word in popular media: A plea for help

I feel sheepish asking for reader participation when my own contributions to this neglected blog have been so pathetic. I do hereby swear to post every day for the next week if you all help me out here, okay? I'm looking for references to abortion or unplanned pregnancy on tv shows or in films over... Read more »

Abortion: the "shmashmortion" of 2008?

In a tiny bit of synergy, I read this excellent piece by Katha Pollitt only an hour after sitting at my ob-gyn's office next to a pregnant teen gabbing on a hot-pink cellphone. In other news, all the abortion discussion that was nowhere to be found in 2007's trifecta of unplanned-pregnancy films... Read more »

Student Counsel: Talking Sense with <em>The Education of Shelby Knox</em>’s Creators and Star

Everything’s bigger in Texas, or so the saying goes, and that may be truest in the realm of sex-education controversy. Texas, which has one of the nation’s highest rates of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, has also been at the forefront of abstinence-only education in... Read more »

Full Frontal Offense: Taking Abortion Rights to the Tees

There's a new front in the battle for abortion rights—the literal front, that is, of a t-shirt designed by writer and feminist activist Jennifer Baumgardner that proclaims "I had an abortion." The shirt, initially for sale on Planned Parenthood's national website and now available on Clamor... Read more »

Pages

Films and TV Portray Abortion as More Dangerous Than It Is

Films and television shows tend to present a skewed portrayal of abortion—when fictional movies and TV shows include a plotline about abortion... Read more »

In a Bizarre 1976 Comic Book, Spider-Man Fought the Villain of Misleading Sex Education

Last week, I came across a very strange comic book: in 1976, Planned Parenthood teamed up with Marvel to publish a one-off comic in which... Read more »

The Dramatic History of American Sex-Ed Films

In 1948, in a seventh grade classroom in Eugene, Oregon, a teacher dimmed the lights and flipped on 16mm projector. A film called Human... Read more »

Douchebag Decree: Anti-Choice Hidden Camera Edition

Tool-in-pimp's-clothing James O'Keefe's laughable costume and douchebag seduction methods have mostly discredited his conservative... Read more »