Feminist Monday, January 9th

Good morning, y'all. Ready for a dose of Feminist Rage and Female Empowerment? Then, let's do that thing.

This week's call for action: from Jenn Hoffman, "Note: Since some of the hearings start THIS Tuesday, don't delay in making calls. Leaving a message is okay. These appointments do not represent who we are as a nation." For all the details, including a call script click here. Remember we've already had a big, big impact on the situation. This is great! It's working! However, Congress and Trump are merely waiting for us to stop paying attention. They know that this kind of work is difficult and they're counting on Amercians to flake after a while. Prove them wrong. We do have the stamina and courage to fight this shit off before it becomes impossible. We fucking got this. Keep up the great work, y'all! And have another tool for keeping track of what is going on in Congress.

​Today's videos:

And I've started watching Madam Secretary, which I highly recommend. It's like House of Cards where the primary characters are good (but flawed and complex) people. Hey, I like political stories about nests of evil spiders as much as the next person. However, I can only watch so much before I get depressed and long for a fucking can of Raid Insect Spray. You know what? Good characters can be complex too. Secretary Elizabeth McCord is the fucking McGyver of political leaders, and I adore her. Seriously, she's tough, ethical, and willing to take a hit to her pride/image in order to negotiate peace. It's fun to watch her work. Téa Leoni is in-fucking-credible. The show makes me yearn for more women in government positions. Yay, Netflix and yay CBS! I'd have been watching all along except I don't watch network TV much these days.

And now...links.

Literary/Entertainment: I have to say...I love this first link. Manny Gutierrez Is the First Man to Star in a Maybelline Campaign, and It’s a Huge Deal. I'm all for men wearing makeup. When straight CIS men can wear it (and other female gendered clothing) without recrimination of any kind, that's the moment when I'll believe we've made significant progress toward gender equality. So, fucking bring it. Writers of Color Continue to Wrestle With Lovecraft’s Racist Legacy. From Vogue: Roxane Gay on Writing Difficult Women and Her Outlook on 2017. And from Wired: Hidden Figures Should Be a Diversity Wake-Up Call for Film​. From T. Frohock: Women Write Romance, Men Write Manly Things.

​General: Filed under WTF, people? THIS VIOLATES THE FUCKING HIPPOCRATIC OATH- yes, even the modern version. (see "I will not play God.") Judge rules doctors can refuse trans patients and women who have had abortions. And here's Teen Vogue's report on the same subject: A Judge Ruled Doctors Can Refuse to See Patients Who Are Transgender or Had an Abortion. Medicine is a life and death matter. It isn't merely quality of life. O'Connor is suggesting that doctors decide who lives and dies based upon their religious beliefs. If they are as religious as they claim they are, then they are, in fact, judging who lives and dies like God would. Also, does it not occur to anyone else that the judge is assuming that only Christians would take this stance? What if the doctor in question was a part of a religion that had entirely different beliefs? Can doctors now claim that faith-based treatments--a stance that has repeatedly resulted in (and rightly so) religious parents being prosecuted for neglect--are perfectly fine? This "Freedom of Religion" stance--and it's anything but because it's demanding that everyone comply to the same exact beliefs or die--is dangerous bullshit. Period. Next in the (mostly) good news department, Courageous House Progressives Raise ‘Justice and Fairness’ Objections to Certifying Trump. Yes, they got pushed down, but they made a stance. So, that's for all those saying that Dems are doing nothng at all. They need our support. We must encourage them to continue. Their ranks will swell, if and only if Americans continue to push for it. And Here’s what you can do to help stop hate crimes. Another TeenVogue article (you'll be seeing more and more of these as they've got a kickass editor over there.) Planned Parenthood Volunteers Blocked From Delivering 87,000 Petitions to Paul Ryan. Next, an article from Glamour--because it's apparent that Women's Magazines are finally snapping to the fact that women want to know more about politics. (And if you object, then I never want to see you quoting a political article from Maxim.) New Report Reveals Chilling Fact About Mass Shootings in 2016. From the article: "According to the Gun Violence Archive, more than 383 mass-shooting incidents (an occurrence that the organization defines as when four or more people are killed or injured) and nearly 15,000 gun deaths occurred over the course of 2016 alone. But among mass shootings in which four or more people, not including the gunman, were killed, there were many that seemed to fall under the radar—instances of gun violence that, as the Huffington Post reports, were perpetrated by domestic abusers and overwhelmingly affected women and children." Seven Ways Women Won In 2016 (Even Though Hillary Didn’t)