The banning of bisphenol A (BPA) in one single state is not a whole lot to celebrate. The optimist in me wants to say, “Yay! If California can do it, the rest of us can, too!” Unfortunately, I am feeling much more pragmatic today, and given the fact that California has routinely passed laws that support the environment, health, children’s issues, and plenty of other things I care about over the past couple of decades (at least) that my state still has yet to even give a damn about, I’m not going to hold my breath.

And the chemical is still being allowed to be manufactured. The ban, recently passed by the California House of Representatives, is part of the Toxic-Free Babies and Toddlers Act—which, as you might guess, means that the chemical is only being banned from materials meant for people ages three and under.

Read more >

When I was a kid, I had this incredibly morbid book about spontaneous human combustion.  It was written in as lurid a fashion as possible, had a collection of glossy photos in a central inset, and put forth the most preposterous theories with great enthusiasm.  I'm pretty sure I bought it out of the nickel box at someone's garage sale.  

(Sometimes I wonder what my parents were thinking, letting an eight year old girl read a book about spontaneous human combustion.  Maybe they didn't notice, or maybe they were just happy that I read books at all.  Certainly I doubt they realized that I was both compelled to read it, and suffering from nightmares where I woke up with half my body burnt and reduced to ash.)


Read more >

Edith VogelhutRoman Polanski Serial Rapist?! A beast?!

Freed by the Swiss, where justice goes not to the just, but can be brought by the rich, Roman Polanski struts among his cinema and art friends, to them child rape doesn't seem to matter. Now a new tale: In 1974, Edith Vogelhut, then a twenty one year old, says Polanski drugged her (gave her MDMA, Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, commonly known as Ecstasy), manhandled her, handcuffed her and then raped her, sodomized her repeatedly. (anal sex). This happened in the same house, where three years later, he drugged and raped a 13 year old girl.

Read more >

"Implied consent" is a term that comes up a lot in discussions of sexual misconduct and female bodies.  For example, most recently a woman was judged to have implied consent for having her top pulled off by a man wielding a camera.  How did she imply this consent?  By being in a bar where signs were posted that a camera crew was filming.  

And if you watch the video, she implied consent by refusing to take her top off, saying "no," and turning away.

That's the thing about "implied consent."  It's ridiculous, and it's only ever trotted out to excuse the actions of someone who has misbehaved.  The thing about "implied consent" is that it is not consent.  Consent is when someone says "Yes you may do X."  Implied consent is when "Well I did X and then she complained that I hadn't asked her, but I could totally tell that she wanted it, so her short skirt implied consent."


Read more >

In 2005 a woman goes to a bar, planning to drink and party.  Turns out the "Girls Gone Wild" video team is there.  Signs are posted.  However, she refuses to sign the consent form.  If there is a more clear way to signal "I do not consent" than refusing to sign a consent form, I can't think of it.

As she's dancing, the video camera is moving through the crowd.  As she turns away from the camera, a hand reaches out from behind it and pulls off her shirt. 

She says "No no no no," pulls it back up, and turns away.  Again - that's a pretty clear sign of not giving consent.  Saying "no" and putting your top back on.  

But somehow she ends up on the Girls Gone Wild tape anyway.  And when she sues?  The jury finds in favor of Girls Gone Wild.


Read more >

Apparently a lot of people do!  But why?  The hysteria over the state of her hystera is perplexing to those of us who have little interest in the reproductive decisions of complete strangers.  The rumor mill has been churning overtime in Aniston's case, who has been reported to be pregnant by various random sources and tabloids for months now.

The first thing that's problematic about the constant Aniston pregnancy rumors is that most of them rely on visible confirmation.  In other words, the fabled "baby bump."  In an actress as greyhound thin as Jennifer Aniston, a large meal could end up looking like a baby bump, given the right sheer top and a fortuitous gust of wind.

Since when has it become acceptable to stare at someone's slightly-less-than-concave belly and proclaim her pregnant?  For pity's sake, people.  Get a grip!  And stop assuming that a half pound weight gain indicates pregnancy!


Read more >

Tomorrow, July 24, is the day everyone gets to sigh with collective relief because they don’t have to come up with new jokes to entertain people with. Okay, maybe those of us who aren’t comedians don’t really lose sleep over such things, but there is a joy in recycling old jokes, isn’t there?

Read more >

“Are you not entertained?” She roars to the crowd. She is fierce, mighty, unstoppable. She will bring death—and Rome will love her for it.

I won’t profess to be a fan of gladiators, fighting, or violent, death-inducing sports of any kind; I certainly am not. But knowing that the strong, muscular body of a female gladiator has been found is somehow cool to me.

The woman, said to be “massive and muscular,” was discovered buried in Herefordshire, Britain, in a coffin made of wood, iron, and brass. This burial case is considered to be an elaborate one, reserved for someone important or who was honored. Researchers thought immediately that she was a man, since she was so big and strong—until they examined her head and pelvis, which prove that she was likely female.

Read more >

In the Western world, we take it for granted on a daily basis that we can control the number of children we have—or whether or not we can have them at all. We do have some huge setbacks in terms of equality, ridiculous laws regarding ultrasounds, notification, and waiting periods when it comes to abortion (not to mention that nearly 90% of U.S. counties don’t have access to an abortion clinic), and we could all definitely use a more reliable, safe method of birth control rather than the options we already have—but when compared to many other nations, like so many other things we are privileged with, we can largely make our own reproductive decisions and manage our uteruses.

Read more >

Every time I turn around, I hear Whoopi Goldberg say something that seems like it’s remarkably anti-woman. This is a woman I’ve always looked up to. I’ve always thought she was a comic genius, with the most innovative and awesome name ever. I heard her speak at the March for Women’s Lives in Washington, DC in 2004 and thought she was very inspiring and charismatic in person. She seemed to be very much in favor of women’s rights. So why is she going around defending rapists and batterers?

Read more >