AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL HONORS JOAN BAEZ FOR A LIFETIME OF HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY

Amnesty International turns 50 this year, and closely linked to Amnesty’s legacy of championing human rights is that of folk legend Joan Baez. Baez was an active supporter of Amnesty from the start, stuffing envelopes at their first home office in San Francisco– not coincidentally, where this year’s Annual General Meeting is being held. This Friday, as part of their anniversary AGM, Joan Baez will be honored for a lifetime of human rights solidarity and advocacy. Her receiving the award also marks an exciting beginning, as it will establish the Amnesty International Joan Baez Award for Outstanding, Inspirational Service in the Global Fight for Human Rights. The award will be given to artists – working in music, film, fine arts or other media – who similarly contribute to the advancement of human rights. Baez will be presented with the first award in recognition of her historic, ground-breaking and courageous human rights work with Amnesty International and beyond, and the [Read More]

published March 15, 2011 at 2:04pm CDT

THE COMMODIFICATION OF FEMALE EMPOWERMENT

Have daughters supplanted sons as the repository of hope in tough economic times? New York Times contributor Peggy Orenstein has noticed a trend across a whole range of sectors over the last several months from big-box stores to high-end fashion to wireless-phone services to politics: all have discovered the sales potential in female pride. It’s well established that three women now receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees for every two men, but in 2009, for the first time, they earned more doctorates as well. Meanwhile, three-quarters of the jobs lost in the current recession were held by men and#40;who were more likely to be in hard-hit industries and let's face it were probably taking home more money than their female counterpartsand#41;. Women have not only become and#40;again for the first timeand#41; the majority of the work force, but they also hold the lioness’s share of managerial jobs and are the primary breadwinners in more than a quarter of dual-income families. Meryl Str [Read More]

published September 27, 2010 at 10:53am CDT

LADY SALAMANDERS REP US AT HOMELESS WORLD CUP IN BRAZIL

Eight women from homeless shelters across the country make up the Lady Salamanders, a street soccer soccer currently in Rio, Brazil for the 8th Annual Homeless World Cup competition which wraps Sunday Sept 26th. Philanthropist and businesswoman Sheila Johnson named the team the Lady Salamanders because salamanders, capable of surviving in fire and water, embody resilience, a quality Ms. Johnson herself and especially these women overcoming homelessness embody. The U.S. women’s team joins Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, India, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay and Uganda in the Women’s Homeless World Cup. Zambia is the current Women’s Homeless World Cup champion, lifting the trophy at the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup. The Lady Salamanders is a program of Street Soccer USA , a national not for profit organization whose motto is “Ending Homelessness and Poverty is a Team Sport.” Street Soccer USA delivers sports based curriculum to teams in shelte [Read More]

published September 25, 2010 at 2:46pm CDT

PETA GRAPHICALLY PROPAGATES VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Originally found on Buzzfeed Everyone knows PETA hates women, using them as pawns to get money and pretend they care about treating "animals" ethically. Women aren't worthy of the same respect and ethical treatment however, and that is why they have no problem using a bloodied, splattered, woman in costume on the floor of a random Lowes store.  LaPrincipessa | Twitter | Email  [Read More]

published August 15, 2010 at 5:28pm CDT

MARGARET CHO DROPS A BOMB

and#40;AP Photo/Chris Pizzelloand#41; Here’s a doozy.  Leave it to Jessica Wakeman via the frisky to get some juicy news.  This time in a conversation she had with Margaret Cho, Margaret started talking about women comedians and how straight women are less successful in the comedy business than lesbians and women with fluid gender identity and#40;like her.and#41; Here’s what she said: I think the comedy community is not supportive to women in comedy…It’s interesting; a lot of women who are successful in comedy are lesbians. Or they have a fluid kind of gender identity, like I do. But you can’t really be a successful female comic if you give a s**t what guys think at all. So a lot of heterosexual women end up dropping out because they just care too much about what guys think. I think that’s why there’s always lesbians who take over because they don’t care. It’s just an element to their personalities that helps them get by. That’s the closet explanation I can see. The wo [Read More]

published June 17, 2010 at 3:48pm CDT

SKIRTING THE ISSUES: ERASE GRAY AREAS SURROUNDING RAPE CASES

What do you think of when you think of rape? Walking down a dark city street alone late at night, a strange man assaulting a young girl? A drug slipped in a cocktail and a girl waking up a few hours later unsure of why her clothes have been pulled off? What about when you get drunk with a friend, one thing leads to another, and before you can make up your mind, he’s penetrating you? The first two instances might seem more cut and dry than the last, but actually, they’re all rape. Lately, however, the latter situation has come be to called “gray rape” — not quite rape, but not exactly consensual sex either. The concept of gray rape is a hot issue among experts in sexual assault issues. For many campus coordinators and anti-violence groups, rape is rape: If someone did not make it clear that he or she wanted to have sex, it’s rape, no matter what the other circumstances are. But a feature in September’s Cosmopolitan magazine brought up the idea that unwanted sex may not [Read More]

published May 14, 2010 at 12:31pm CDT

HELP PASS IVAWA AND HELP TO END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

From the time we are old enough to face bullies, have cooties and be pushed down for being a girl -we are told to stand up for ourselves. I’m sure little boys are instructed to “be tough” as well, but as little girls, it’s always stressed to not follow the crowd, stand up for what we believe, and to be who we are against all odds. And if someone happens to come around, either a 10-year-old boy with freckles who wants to push us around, or our boyfriend who raises a hand to us when we’re sixteen, we know it is our right and our duty to stand up for ourselves and against violence. However, not every little girl in every country is taught to value herself and to stand up against brutality. These children and women need the help of others to find the right tools and education to live safely and freely. Together, we can make a difference and help not only ourselves, but women across the globe to have equal rights and security in their homes and countries. The International V [Read More]

published May 12, 2010 at 12:29pm CDT

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE WEEK IN MEMORY OF YEARDLEY LOVE

Yeardley Love’s life was filled with promise. At 22 years old and just weeks away from graduation at the University of Virgina, she seemed to have everything going for her– a bright future with goals of becoming a lawyer, having her own family one day, and always staying close to her mom, sister and plethora of friends. Described by those who knew her as an angel who was lovely inside and out, Yeardley thought she was just beginning. We all did. As a community, we are still shocked and deeply saddened at her tragic death. ChickSpeak exists to support and inspire young women and was created to highlight relevant topics so that we could learn from the wisdom of each other. Yeardley lived her life with the desire to be loving, just and wise. By all accounts, her actions and attitudes followed suit. She was also the victim of domestic violence, but those closest to her assumed that her problems with George Huguely would end after the semester finished and the two parted ways. Sadly, t [Read More]

published May 10, 2010 at 2:43pm CDT

REESE STANDS UP FOR WOMEN

Reese Witherspoon was in DC yesterday talking about the need to stop violence against women.  She represents Avon which came to town to give a $500,000 grant to the State Department’s Fund for Global leadership. One of her quotes: I think when you have strong powerful women standing up and speaking out about these issues, not to mention how many women represent us in the Senate and the House of Representatives, you’re going to start to see a major change in these areas,” stated the actress. Here’s an interview she did with ET talking about the importance and the responsibility she has in doing this work.  She is in circus training getting ready to start her next film based on the best selling novel Water for Elephants, with Robert Pattinson and Christoph Waltz. [Read More]

published March 11, 2010 at 9:39am CST

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK: HELP PASS IVAWA AND END VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

From the time we are old enough to face bullies, have cooties and be pushed down for being a girl -we are told to stand up for ourselves. I’m sure little boys are instructed to “be tough” as well, but as little girls, it’s always stressed to not follow the crowd, stand up for what we believe, and to be who we are against all odds. And if someone happens to come around, either a 10-year-old boy with freckles who wants to push us around, or our boyfriend who raises a hand to us when we’re sixteen, we know it is our right and our duty to stand up for ourselves and against violence. However, not every little girl in every country is taught to value herself and to stand up against brutality. These children and women need the help of others to find the right tools and education to live safely and freely. Together, we can make a difference and help not only ourselves, but women across the globe to have equal rights and security in their homes and countries. The International V [Read More]

published February 17, 2010 at 7:56pm CST