opinion
Religions fear the crumbling of 'male authority:' Rodriguez
Salon Nov 26, 08 5:23 PM CST
(Newser)
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Churches led the charge against Proposition 8 and gay marriage because of their insecurities over the breakdown of heterosexual families and the consequent rise of independent women, says gay author and devout Catholic Richard Rodriguez. Gays are scapegoats because they—like feminists—threaten "an alternative to the traditional male-structured society."
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Company vows to defend a 'girl's' right to take off her clothes
Der Spiegel Nov 14, 08 4:15 AM CST
(Newser)
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Feminist groups have slammed as sexist a pin-up calendar of stripped-down Ryanair flight attendants the budget airline has published to raise money for charity, reports Der Speigel . The calendar features employees in barely-there bikinis getting up close and personal with airplane parts. The Institute for Women in Spain, where the calendar was shot, is considering legal action. "It's significant only women are used in a sector in which there is a considerable percentage of men," said a spokeswoman.
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Analysis
Did Clinton, Palin candidacies move feminism forward?
Washington Post Nov 2, 08 10:48 AM CST
(Newser)
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If Barack Obama wins the presidency, we’ll have broken a major barrier—but not the glass ceiling, writes Anne Kornblut in the Washington Post . Hillary Clinton claimed millions of votes and Sarah Palin energized a lackluster conservative base overnight, but as their candidacies descended into chaos, Kornblut asks "whether the first woman's path to the White House was eased this year—or whether Clinton and Palin simply unearthed the land mines without defusing any."
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OPINION
From Couric to Brown to Maddow, women have kicked butt in '08
Salon Oct 30, 08 12:01 PM CDT
(Newser)
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This has been a banner election cycle for women, thanks to the Clinton and Palin candidacies and the heavy play given to "traditional 'women’s issues'" like health care. Maybe that’s why glass shards are falling from the ceiling around TV newsrooms, writes Rebecca Traister in Salon. “Anchor chairs were crawling with women,” Traister writes, with three in particular—Katie Couric, Campbell Brown and Rachel Maddow—emerging as stars.
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OPINION
First lady quietly used her clout for every lady
Washington Post Oct 29, 08 8:49 AM CDT
(Newser)
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You don’t hear much about Laura Bush, probably because her “demure librarian-teacher persona has minimized her appeal,” but women around the world owe a lot to the first lady, writes Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post . Bush has campaigned for breast cancer awareness in the Middle East, championed the women of genocide-torn Rwanda, and campaigned for women’s literacy, convinced, in Parker’s words, that “women, not men will save the world.”
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OPINION
VP candidate could be setting feminism back a generation
Baltimore Sun Oct 13, 08 5:01 PM CDT
(Newser)
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John McCain must not understand affirmative action. “You don’t run out and hire the first woman you find on the sidewalk and call it a day,” writes Susan Reimer in the Baltimore Sun —you take the time to find someone qualified. But it’s painfully clear McCain didn’t do that when he picked Palin, and now women of all political persuasions are cringing as she stumbles.
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Intellectuals welcome back erotica
Guardian (UK) Oct 12, 08 11:15 AM CDT
(Newser)
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A group of French intellectuals is staging Paris’ first pornographic film festival in an attempt to integrate hardcore erotica into mainstream cinema, the Guardian reports. Many argue the "feminism-friendly" videos are revolutionary, despite names like Strap-on Motel and Post-Apocalyptic Cowgirls . "For women it can be a sort of empowerment,” insisted a self-described “pro-sex feminist” festival organizer.
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OPINION
New York Times Oct 4, 08 11:03 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Sarah Palin is a “genuine heir” to feminism’s tenet that women can compete with men at any level: She “clawed her way to the top” in Alaska using all the same cutthroat tactics men do, writes Gail Collins in the New York Times . In the debate, she proved she can mimic another tactic of the boys: She won cheers not for her knowledge, but for her ability to cover up her lack of it on issues relevant to the presidency.
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'Feminist' dodges policy issues, sticks to conservative personal beliefs
Baltimore Sun Oct 1, 08 2:41 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Katie Couric pressed Sarah Palin on controversial issues in an interview last night and got more personal than policy answers, Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik writes. When asked if it should be illegal for a teenage victim of rape or incest to get an abortion, the candidate said several times that she is pro-life and "would counsel the person to choose life"—but added finally that she didn't think anyone should go to jail for having the procedure.
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OPINION
Palin deserves our scorn, and that's it
Salon Sep 30, 08 1:03 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The media seems to be lining up to feel sorry for poor Sarah Palin, forced to endure these deer-in-headlights interviews. “I guess I’m one cold dame,” Rebecca Traister writes in Salon , because “when you stage a train wreck of this magnitude…I don’t feel bad for you.” To her, Palin isn’t some wilting victim, she’s a governor who doesn’t care enough about her country “to cram effectively for the test.”
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OPINION
Candidate has shown she can't cut it, so play the family card and go home
National Review Sep 26, 08 6:14 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Her “cringe reflex exhausted,” Kathleen Parker calls for Sarah Palin to drop out of the presidential campaign in a National Review column. “Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League,” writes Parker, only weeks ago a glowing Palin backer.
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NOW gives Dem its first nod since Ferraro
Associated Press Sep 17, 08 7:49 AM CDT
(AP)
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Six women's rights groups endorsed Barack Obama for president yesterday, asserting the historic selection of Sarah Palin does not make up for John McCain's lack of support on issues important to women. One of those groups was the National Organization for Women, which has not endorsed a presidential candidate since Walter Mondale ran with Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.
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OPINION
Candidate's doppelganger succeeds where male comedians' barbs get discounted
Globe and Mail Sep 15, 08 12:51 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Sarah Palin has made John McCain into a punchline, and there’s been no shortage of late-night comedians pointing that out. Unfortunately, they’ve almost all been male. Thank goodness, then, for Tina Fey, Simon Houpt writes in the Globe and Mail . It took Fey, a dead ringer for Palin, to “tackle the jaw dropping jujitsu” of the Republican Party’s feminist turn.
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