Women's eNews

May 22

guardiancomment:

Now, I know that air travel is really just a portal to foreign climes: a privilege for people who can afford to go on holidays abroad, an efficient means of transport for those whose work enables them to travel, and maybe even, for some, a one-way ticket to a new and better life. I know this, everyone on the plane knows this, so why is the notion that air travel is the sexiest thing since records began still pushed on us by endless tedious advertising campaigns? Wouldn’t Richard Branson do better to put down the women he insists on picking up for photo opportunities and spend his money on food that doesn’t taste like a foot, instead? ‘Sorry, Virgin - sex and air travel don’t mix

Now, I know that air travel is really just a portal to foreign climes: a privilege for people who can afford to go on holidays abroad, an efficient means of transport for those whose work enables them to travel, and maybe even, for some, a one-way ticket to a new and better life. I know this, everyone on the plane knows this, so why is the notion that air travel is the sexiest thing since records began still pushed on us by endless tedious advertising campaigns? Wouldn’t Richard Branson do better to put down the women he insists on picking up for photo opportunities and spend his money on food that doesn’t taste like a foot, instead? ‘Sorry, Virgin - sex and air travel don’t mix

(via guardian)

May 7

life:

On this day in LIFE — May 7, 1971: Saucy feminist that even men like.

Oh my… Did we really say that?

Feminist fail Life Magazine.

May 3

With as few as 13% of its English-speaking editors/contributors being female, Wikipedia is reeling under the latest charges of sexism. Some of the site’s repair and recovery on this issue could fall to 32-year-old Sarah Stierch, a Wikipedia editor, “open culture” enthusiast and former deejay from Oakland, Calif., who is emerging as the go-to person for gender-related issues.

Apr 29

“Rap culture has exploited women so much for so long,”

Tyson Amir, in Some Hip Hop Guys See Nothing Lyrical About Rape.

Jan 8

Hmmmm. Is that a shot of guns at the NRA, Newsweek? I don’t think so.

newsweek:

Guns at the NRA.

Nov 20

The way women roll on thanksgiving.

Sep 26

If some of this year’s female 2012 Olympics Winners are reaping unusual financial payouts, female athletes in general have a long way to go before they catch up to the top earners.

Jul 31

“

One study found that in the Vancouver Olympics, men received some 23 hours of primetime footage while women received under 13 – most of that from figure skating. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics, while women made up 48 percent of the U.S. team and earned 48 percent of the nation’s medals, male athletes received more television coverage, especially in individual events. Significantly, “nearly three-quarters of the women’s coverage was devoted to gymnastics, swimming, diving and beach volleyball” – all sports in which women wear bathing suits (or the equivalent). …

There was much derision from western countries when, after the IOC forced a few traditionally Muslim countries to allow female athlete to compete (or else not be permitted to compete at all), an Arabic hashtag which translated to “prostitutes of the Olympics” trended on Twitter in reference to the female athletes from Saudi Arabia. The opinion that a woman’s virtue is compromised if she participates in competitive sports led to this backlash against these women and had many in the U.S. declaring how sexist those countries are. Yet, the facts show that it is in the U.S. where women are not fully accepted as athletes unless they can be “sold” as sex objects in order to boost ratings.

As I watch these Games with my 7-year-old daughter, I find myself wising for a better world. She keeps asking me when she can see the women weight-lifters, archers, and shot-putters and I have to explain to her that it is unlikely that those events will make it on TV. I want her to feel confident in her body and take joy in its strength, but cringe when even the Olympics, the supposed pinnacle of pure sport, instead send her the message that her body’s primary purpose is to be admired for its alluring qualities. She deserves more than that. These athletes deserve more than that.

” Julie Clawson, “Women and the Olympic Gaze” (via emm-in-sem)

Jun 26

Black Culture: Sexism is Driving Me Mad. Literally.

I am a naturally confident and outgoing person but sexism is making me feel depressed, withdrawn and unable to cope with social situations. Sexism is attacking me on two main fronts; firstly through physical, verbal and emotional abuse and secondly by silencing my attempts to challenge and…

Apr 26

motherjones:

“A crowd of about 100 was packed into the conference room, overflowing into the aisles. Van Horn stood stiffly in the center of the room, clipboard in hand, boyishly hip in a grey blazer, expensive-looking jeans, and eyeglasses with flashy white stems. He began with a story about chasing down a job at Digg, the once popular bookmarking site, shortly after he graduated from the University of Arizona. He said he’d won over Digg’s elusive cofounders by sending them ‘bikini shots’ from a ‘nudie calendar’ he’d put together with photographs of fellow students posing in their swimsuits.”

Does Silicon Valley have a “brogrammer” problem?