News briefs from the Women’s Media Center

Schwarzenegger, Strauss-Kahn and The Media’s Groping Problem
5/18/11
RH Reality Check: A friendly reminder that groping is, in fact, a real crime defined by a lack of consent, which makes it substantially more similar to rape than it is to ill-advised yet consensual flirting, petting, or sex.

Political Wives’ ‘Tipper Point’ Is Way Too Late
5/19/11
Women’s eNews: Maria Shriver asked for privacy this week in the matter of her breakup with Schwarzenegger over his “love child.” Sandra Kobrin says sorry, but when a woman stays married to a powerful womanizer, the personal turns deeply public and political.

The IMF: Violating Women since 1945
5/19/11
Foreign Policy in Focus: It appears that the personal disregard and disrespect for women demonstrated by the man at the highest levels of leadership within the IMF is quite consistent with the gender bias inherent in the IMF’s institutional policies and practice.

NATIONAL

When Bad News is Good News—Notes of a Feminist News Junkie
5/23/11
WMC: WMC Cofounder Robin Morgan on surrealism and sexual predators.

Why Is Media Justice Such a Hard Fight? See: Meredith Atwell Baker
5/19/11
Colorlines: Organizers have had to climb a steep hill in trying to protect equal access to media platforms for communities of color in recent years.

Hotel Maids Say Sexual Harassment is Part of the Job
5/23/11
IPS: A spotlight has been turned on the treatment of female cleaning staff, many of whom are immigrants who keep silent for fear of losing their jobs or being deported.

Georgia Law Turns Focus to Sex-Trafficked Girls
5/23/11
Women’s eNews: The problem of child sex-trafficking is widely associated with foreign countries such as Thailand and India. Advocates hope new sex-trafficking laws like the one passed in Georgia will focus concern on U.S. girls.

Katie Couric’s Last ‘CBS Evening News’
5/19/11
Huffington Post: Katie Couric ended her nearly five-year tenure as the anchor of the “CBS Evening News” on Thursday.

Does the World Still Need a Sassy Girl?
5/16/11
Salon: Jane Pratt revolutionized women’s mags in the ’90s. Can xoJane win back her one-time fans — and their daughters?

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg: Why Women Should Be in Charge
5/19/11
Care2: The Facebook COO gave the 2011 Commencement speech at Barnard.

Yes, Mothers of Disabled Children Can Work Full-Time Says EEOC Suit
5/20/11
Care2: The Timken Company of Canton, Ohio, must pay $120,000 and “provide other relief” to settle a gender and discrimination suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Twelve Social Change Visionaries Are Honored by the Ford Foundation
5/3/11
Ford Foundation: $100,000 awards were made to 12 social innovators who, through their extraordinary vision and courageous work, are improving the lives of millions of people.

Women at IMF Find Themselves Vulnerable
5/19/11
New York Times: A 2008 internal review concluded that ““the absence of public ethics scandals seems to be more a consequence of luck than good planning and action.”

Global Connect! Google New York Supported Gender Justice Program for Women of the Diaspora
5/11
Women’s eNews: Women’s eNews and Global Press Institute are launching a one day gender justice and technology training event on Thursday, June 16 with the support of GoogleServe, the volunteer arm of Google, to empower women from the global diaspora living in New York.

The Big O
5/16/11
Adweek:In pursuit of women, media and marketers try to sell the path to orgasm as being as easy and foolproof as a man and his hand.

INTERNATIONAL

Sexual Diversity in a Sexist City
5/19/11
IPS: Known as the cradle of the revolution and of the conga, but also as one of the most machista places in Cuba, the city of Santiago was the scene of two days of activities demanding respect and freedom for different sexual orientations and gender identities.

Spring Not New to Arab Women
5/18/11
IPS: Women have been taking leading roles in the Arab uprisings of Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya,Morocco and Bahrain – shattering many decades old Western myths that Arab women are powerless and enslaved.

Calls for British Justice Secretary’s resignation over “serious rape” comments
5/19/11
Feministing: British Justice Secretary Ken Clarke proposed that would make it possible for convicted rapists to cut their sentences by up to 50% if they entered an early guilty plea – currently, the figure is 33%

German Company Rewards Staffers with Prostitutes
5/20/11
BBC: One of the biggest insurance companies in the world held a party for salesmen where they were rewarded with the services of prostitutes.

HEALTH

Unplanned Pregnancies Cost Taxpayers $11 Billion
5/20/11
Ms.: Studies released by the Guttmacher Institute and the Brookings Institution show that unintended pregnancies in the U.S. cost taxpayers roughly $11 billion per year.

The Breast Milk Black Market
5/17/11
Wired: In an era when the benefits of breast milk are better understood and more scientifically certain than ever, demand for it has created a niche industry.

ENTERTAINMENT

Is Beyonce the Face of Contemporary Feminism?
5/20/11
Clutch Magazine: 20-something-year-old women are ready to showcase the multidimensionality of womanhood: we can be intelligent, independent, powerful, family-oriented, and sexy without having an identity crisis.

Hollywood’s Diversity Problem Predictably Blamed On The Recession
5/19/11
Jezebel: The latest Writers’ Guild report indicates that in many instances, women and minority TV and film writers lost ground in comparison to white males.

The Rules for Depicting Abortion in Hollywood
5/19/11
Feministing: In pop culture, most representations adhere to a set of ten rules – commandments, if you will.  For example, “If your character has an abortion, make sure she is impregnated by a really bad guy.”

SPORTS

Sports Hijab Lets Islamic Women Throw Some Punches
5/12/11
AFP: Iranian-born Canadian designer Elham Seyed Javad came up with an solution to allow young girls and women to take part in physical activities while also adhering to strict Islamic rules.

Cheerleading May Finally Be Recognized as a Sport
5/23/11
Jezebel: For years the debate has raged over whether cheerleading is a sexist activity that exists so girls can shake more than pom poms while wearing skimpy uniforms, or a rigorous sport consisting of difficult gymnastic maneuvers and stunts.