| AlterNet

Orgasmic Birth: The Natural Reality Behind the Hype

Lee Stranahan, Huffington Post. January 7, 2009.
The 'normal' way that women in the United States give birth -- laying prone in a room full of strangers -- is not the natural way.

From the blogs

Pay Equity: Raise Your Voice for Equal Pay for Equal Work

by Christy Hardin Smith, Firedoglake

Democratic leadership in the House have vowed to push forward with the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Shocking: "Keep Your Legs Crossed, Sluts" Sex-Ed Strategy Fails

by Jill Filipovic, Feministe

The U.S. government has spent more than $1.5 billion on abstinence programs. What a terrible waste.

North Carolina May Pay Reparations for Eugenics Program That Lasted Until 1975

by AlterNet Staff, AlterNet

A state House panel recommended the state give $20,000 to victims of the eugenics program

Target Women: A Few Takeaway Lessons from 2008

by Staff

Put down that sandwich! Dance like no one is watching! And stop pretending you know where Paraguay is!

Reported Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Way Up

by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville

These numbers reflect only reported domestic violence and sexual assaults, which continue to be the most underreported crimes.

Horrific: 12-Year Old Girl Beaten By Police for 'Resisting Arrest'

by Jill Filipovic, Feministe

The girl was innocent and did not even fit the description of the alleged criminal the police were looking for.

Minority Voters Helped Defeat Parental Notification Law

by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet

The Reproductive Justice Alliance, a coalition of reproductive rights groups, mobilized communities of color to defeat California's Prop. 4.

A Rundown of Bush's Terrible Last Minute Regulations

by Cara, Feministe

These are a giant f*** you to the American people.

What Women Think: A Look at What Young Women Want from the Obama Administration

by Jill Tubman, Jack & Jill Politics

Gen Y gets it and wants an active administration including a First Lady who's a real leader to create change we can see in our everyday lives.

Impossible Beauty Standards: Jessica Alba's Airbrushed Campari Ads

by Melissa McEwan, Shakesville

If Alba can't measure up to commercial beauty standards, what does that mean for the rest of us?

Bristol Palin Says to Teens: Don't Get Pregnant

Jodi Jacobson, RH Reality Check. January 6, 2009.
Bristol Palin may be way ahead of her mom when it comes to one of the country's most controversial issues.

Big Booty Beauty and the New Sexual Aesthetic

Myra Mendible, American Sexuality Magazine. January 6, 2009.
Booty. Rump. Bubble butt. Whatever the term, big backsides -- and people's reactions to them -- tell us a lot about American culture.

Woman Asks for Rights, Gets Acid Thrown on Face

Apostolis Fotiadis, IPS News. January 5, 2009.
After standing up to workplace injustice, two men poured sulphuric acid on Decheva Elena Kuneva, badly disfiguring her.

Should the First Lady Get a Paycheck?

Sheila Gibbons, Women's eNews. January 5, 2009.
The media have pegged Michelle Obama as mom and moral arbiter. But the Ivy League-educated lawyer's background raises bigger questions.

Health Care Reform: Good for Patients, Good for Workers, Good for Women

Amanda Marcotte, RH Reality Check. January 5, 2009.
Health care reform would give us the opportunity to create jobs that pay us back tenfold.

How to Restore America's Position as a Leader on Reproductive Rights

Nancy Northup, AlterNet. January 1, 2009.
The Obama administration must work toward a nation and world in which all women can live as equal members of society.

Guess Which Corporate Suits Did the Most to Wreck the Economy? Men.

Marie Cocco, Washington Post Writers Group. December 30, 2008.
America doesn't have enough women business executives for them to be visible, let alone destroy the economy.

The Fantasy of Acceptable 'Non-Consent': Why the Female Sexual Submissive Scares Us (and Why She Shouldn't)

Stacey May Fowles, Seal Press. December 29, 2008.
There is a guilt and shame among women who have fantasies of their own violation and express a desire to be demeaned.

Sex and Money: Are Women Regulators Different?

Dean Baker, TruthOut.org. December 27, 2008.
It is hard not to notice that two of the regulators who stand out for doing the right thing in this incredible financial mess are women.

How D.C. Pharmacies are Failing Patients

Amanda Hess, RH Reality Check. December 26, 2008.
Most professionals need an acceptable excuse to miss work. Pharmacists can refuse to do their jobs for any reason.

Why Do People Cling to the Myth of the Nuclear Family?

Mark Steel, Independent UK. December 24, 2008.
A glance through history suggests there's nothing natural about the "traditional" family.

Mass Rape in the Congo: A Crime Against Society

Ann Jones, The Nation. December 23, 2008.
Mass rapes in the Congo are destroying civic life, as hundreds of thousands of rape victims are cast out from their families and communities.

Women Bringing New Strength to Unions

Dick Meister, AlterNet. December 23, 2008.
The continuing increase in the number of women in unions could signal a rebirth of labor.

The Real Rick Warren

Amie Newman, RH Reality Check. December 22, 2008.
Rick Warren, the anti-choice pastor to speak at Obama's inauguration, is not a man who symbolizes common ground.

Obama: Bring the U.S. into the 21st Century on Gender Equality

Marjorie Cohn, AlterNet. December 22, 2008.
America remains the only democracy that refuses to ratify the most significant treaty guaranteeing gender equality.

Marie Tessier, The Women's Media Center. December 20, 2008.
Millions of dollars in new security systems do less to combat violence than the simple recognition of sexual assault as an inherently violent crime.

Virginity for Sale: The Dark World of Forced Teen Prostitution

Kamala Sarup, Lys Anzia, Women News Network. December 17, 2008.
Nepalese girls are disappearing deep into the brothel system of India.

Study: U.S. Media Keep People Uneducated About Health Issues

Sarah Seltzer, RH Reality Check. December 17, 2008.
Less than 4 percent of news is health-related. And shoddy reporting on sexual health may be doing more harm than good.

Is Caroline Kennedy Qualified?

Michael Carmichael, Huffington Post. December 17, 2008.
Caroline Kennedy's life and achievements have been studiously secluded, but make no mistake -- her qualifications are solid.

FDA Advisers Recommend New Female Condom

Molly M. Ginty, Women's eNews. December 16, 2008.
The new female condom reduces the risk of sexually transmitted infection by 97 percent and is safe for people who have allergies to latex.

Beauty Secret: Your Make-Up Can Kill You

Jacqueline Houton, Bitch Magazine. December 16, 2008.
When it comes to cosmetics, women's health is getting the kiss-off. 

Human Traffickers' Assets to Be Seized

Tito Drago, IPS News. December 16, 2008.
Spanish plan includes the seizure of assets owned by pimps, managers or owners of any facilities where sexual exploitation activities are detected.

HIV: Still Not Just a "Gay Thing"

Amanda Marcotte, RH Reality Check. December 14, 2008.
What does it take to kill a right-wing myth? Garlic, sunshine, wooden stakes, silver bullets?

Bondage, Cum Shots, Violence -- Sexist Ad Trends That Refuse to Die

Alex Leo, Huffington Post. December 12, 2008.
The advertising world continues to use stereotypes and violence to prey on our most vile desires.

Help Stop Violence Against Sex Workers

Annie Sprinkle, On The Issues Magazine. December 11, 2008.
We must push to get sex workers the same police protection other citizens get without recrimination.

Pakistan's Newest Cabinet Members Support Premeditated Murder of Women

Zofeen Ebrahim, IPS News. December 11, 2008.
Women in Pakistan's parliament have been surprisingly silent about the anti-woman appointments.

Plastic Surgery Is Going the Way of the Ugg Boot

Margaret M. Gullette, Women's eNews. December 11, 2008.
Women are saying "no" to being nipped and tucked. And the recession may have little to do with it.

Women Behind Bars Are Deprived of Their Basic Rights

Silja JA Talvi, Santa Fe Reporter. December 10, 2008.
For incarcerated women, there is little justice to be found.

Obama Can Improve the Lives of Millions of Girls and Women Worldwide

Adrienne Germain, Huffington Post. December 10, 2008.
There will be no global peace or security until we secure every woman's right to a just and healthy life.

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Raising the voices of vulnerable families by advocating reform of child welfare, criminal justice, and substance abuse policies that impact the lives of women and girls.

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Family planning services are critical to reducing the need for abortion and providing much-needed health care for low-income communities. Nearly 90 percent of the voting public favors family planning, yet the government routinely underfunds it. Find out how the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association is fighting to keep those services available, and learn how you can help.

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The control and regulation of bodies, gender and sexuality is reproductive oppression. Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice organizes to increase the well-being of our families and communities through collective action. Learn more at reproductivejustice.org.