Category: Full Frontal Feminism

Restricting teen abortion in Texas…

~ Boohunney ~ 2 Comments

Think Progress:

Minors in Texas are required to obtain parental consent before getting an abortion. It is possible, however, for a small number of young women — less than 300 per year — to bypass this requirement through the court system. Under Texas law, judges can allow minors to obtain an abortion under limited circumstances, including situations where notifying a parent could “lead to sexual, physical, or emotional abuse.” The judicial bypass is difficult to obtain because it was written by conservatives who oppose abortion rights.

The Texas Senate spent Memorial Day further restricting abortion access for these teenage girls.

The bill in question, HB 3994, removes the specific provision that allows for judicial bypass when “notifying their parents could lead to physical, sexual or emotional abuse.” The sponsor of the bill, Charles Perry, says abuse issues could be brought up under another section of the bypass statute that allows for a judge to grant an abortion without parental consent if it’s in minor’s “best interest.” The change does appear to provide judges with additional leeway to deny an abortion even if seeking parental notification would result or likely result in abuse.

But, of course, this is to help minor women …

Republican sponsor Charles Perry deflected a dozen amendments from Democrats that would have loosened the restrictions. Perry said the significant changes to the so-called judicial bypass process are meant to clarify judicial issues and protect young women.

“This is, No. 1, for the minor’s benefit,” he said.

Opponents say the bill stifles the process established in 1999 that allows about 300 pregnant teenagers in Texas to terminate their pregnancy in extreme situations every year. It also unfairly harms young women when they most need help, opponents say.

“Is one of your goals to reduce abortions?” Democratic Sen. Kirk Watson asked Perry.

No, the Lubbock Republican replied.

But immediately after the vote, anti-abortion group Texas Right to Life posted on Twitter, “Another #ProLife victory in the State Senate.”

I know this has become cliche as of late, but, “I can’t believe I still have to protest this shit.”

I thought it was just me

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Years ago, I got knocked down, punched and kicked in the ribs in a mosh pit at an X show. Apparently this is how some people treat women who dare to go to live shows:

Most women who frequently attend live shows will tell you that they have been harassed, groped or assaulted as they listen to their favorite bands. A standing-room-only show, when you’re wedged into a massive crowd fueled by beer and testosterone, is particularly scary. There seems to be a spectrum of violence that women experience at live shows, ranging from misogynist verbal harassment to sexual assault. Sometimes, it means being called a “fat bitch” by a guy who wants to cut in front of you in line at the bar. Other times it involves being forcefully shoved across a raging mosh pit by someone three times your size, or being touched inappropriately as you try to crowd-surf. These may seem like harmless little interactions, something that should just be expected in a rowdy crowd. But every time one of these acts of violence occurs, in their varying degrees of severity, it has the same effect: making women feel scared or vulnerable as they enjoy the bands that they love.

In the past few years, there have been a torrent of stories in the news in which women are abused, assaulted or raped at live shows. Earlier this year, video surfaced of Afroman decking a woman who jumped up on his stage to dance. Last year, Tim McGraw slapped a fan who grabbed his leg across the face. Even though the actions of both of these women were completely unjustified, the artists responded with violence. In the experience of many female fans, the men whom they share space with at shows can cross that line, too.

The author goes on to say how it’s assumed that women at these stories are “just groupies.” I was never a groupie; I had lots of musician friends but it simply wouldn’t occur to me to sleep with any of them. It just wasn’t my thing, I was there for the music.

Now that I read this, I realized I stopped going to these kind of shows after this happened. Maybe it’s just safer to go to singer-songwriter shows.

Oh, what the hell

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Hillary Rodham Clinton

Let me come right out and say it. You see that 8-point gap between Democratic women and Democratic men in Clinton support? Those are the same Democratic men who were so sure Barack Obama would be the perfect progressive president. So excuse me if I question your judgment:

Gender. Even before Clinton’s announcement, there was a gender gap – among Democrats – in views of Clinton. Fully 61% of white Democratic women say there is a good chance they would vote for Clinton, compared with 43% of white Democratic men. To be sure, white Democratic men haven’t ruled out voting for Clinton – only about one-in-ten white Democrats, men and women, say there is no chance they would vote for her. But at this stage, more white Democratic women strongly support her.

The possible history-making aspect of Clinton’s candidacy also registers more strongly with Democratic women than with men. In a recent Pew Research Center survey, 69% of Democratic women, but just 46% of Democratic men, said they hope the U.S. elects a female president in their lifetime. Republican women and men – perhaps already contemplating a possible Clinton campaign – were far less likely than Democrats to say they were hoping for a woman president. Most Republican men (80%) and women (76%) said it did not matter to them if a female president is elected in their lifetime.

I don’t know Hillary Clinton, but I know people who do know her, and have known her for a long time. All of them say she’s much more liberal than Bill. So cool your jets, and wait to see what she’s going to do before you have a fit.

The shitstorm begins

~ susie ~ 3 Comments

55046199

Batten down the hatches:

A source with knowledge of Hillary Clinton’s plans has confirmed that she will officially announce her 2016 presidential bid on Saturday or Sunday. This will be imminently followed by campaign travel.

A spokesperson for Clinton’s campaign team did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Clinton has long been expected to enter the 2016 race. Polls show her well ahead of all her likely Democratic and Republican rivals.

Discuss

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

IRELAND-US-DIPLOMACY-NATO-OSCE

Gee, I wonder why so many people are working so hard to make Hillary Clinton seem unlikeable:

Research commissioned by the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, which seeks to advance the electoral prospects of female candidates, has found that a double bind still exists. While male politicians can attract voters’ support by appearing strong and decisive, even when they are not perceived as being particularly likeable, women still have to prove to the world they are both qualified for office and likeable.

“Voters are perfectly willing to vote for a male executive they think is qualified but do not like. However, they will not vote for a woman they find unlikeable even if she is qualified,” the researchers concluded.

This is very frustrating for women activists, because male progressives insist this “just isn’t true” — right after they list all the personal attributes they dislike so much about her.

Our betters in the upper classes talk about ‘spoogeneck’

~ susie ~ 5 Comments

Dana Perino, Tucker Carlson and Anna Kooiman

What is it about these rich white-bread overaged frat boys like Tucker Carlson and his kin? Remember, women shouldn’t be tolerated at all unless they’re fuckable!

WASHINGTON — Daily Caller founder Tucker Carlson’s brother Buckley Carlson referred to New York City mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokesperson as a “self-righteous bitch” in an email to his brother obtained by BuzzFeed News.

The email appears to have been accidentally sent to de Blasio’s spokesperson, Amy Spitalnick, as well as to Tucker Carlson. In the email, Buckley Carlson, who occasionally writes for the Daily Caller, makes several offensive comments about Spitalnick after she asked for a correction on a piece about the mayor:

Great response. Whiny little self-righteous bitch. “Appalling?”
And with such an ironic name, too… Spitalnick? Ironic because you just know she has extreme dick-fright; no chance has this girl ever had a pearl necklace. Spoogeneck? I don’t think so. More like LabiaFace.

Spitalnick had reached out to Daily Caller writer Peter Fricke to ask for a correction on a story about de Blasio that claimed the mayor had said that the president’s $80 billion transportation proposal was not enough. After a back and forth between Spitalnick, Fricke and editor Christopher Bedford, Bedford told Spitalnick that if she “annoyed” him “with another whiny email before then, I’m muting this thread, thanks,” prompting Spitalnick to contact Tucker Carlson directly. He responded to Spitalnick:

Dear Amy,

Thanks for your email. You believe our story was inaccurate and have demanded a correction. Totally fair. We are going over the transcript now.

What Bedford complained about was your tone, which, I have to agree, was whiny and annoying, and I say that in the spirit of helpful correction rather than as a criticism. Outside of New York City, adults generally write polite, cheerful emails to one another, even when asking for corrections. Something to keep in mind the next time you communicate with people who don’t live on your island.

Best,

Tucker Carlson

The email sent from Buckley Carlson to his brother and to Spitalnick appears to have been a response to this.

Here’s a little palate cleanser:

‘Liberal’ Hollywood

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

Actress-Jennifer-Lawrence

You know, I’m not surprised:

When hacker collective Guardians of Peace broke into Sony’s servers on November 24, hundreds of thousands of the entertainment network’s private emails became public. Reporters discovered emotional conversations between executives, plans for upcoming movies, and now, evidence of the gender pay gap in Hollywood.

In an email dated December 5, 2013, a Columbia Pictures president wrote to Sony executive Amy Pascal about how much each actor would get paid for American Hustle, The Daily Beast reports. In it, he refers to “points,” which translate to money each person will receive based on the movie’s box office performance.

While director David O. Russell, Bradley Cooper, Christian Bale, and Jeremy Renner received 9 points for American Hustle, Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams got 7. The email mentions that Jennifer was initially slated for 5.

The Daily Beast calls Lawrence “far and away the biggest star of the picture” because American Hustle was green lit after The Hunger Games, yet the executives don’t recognize that in their financial calculations. Pascal’s response to the points was “there is truth here.”

This disparity is apparent among Sony staffers too. When The Daily Beast analyzed the pay of the two co-presidents of production at Columbia Pictures, they found that the male president Michael De Luca made nearly $1 million more than his female counterpart Hannah Minghella.