Not every playwright wants their work to start a movement. That’s where Eve Ensler differs. When she wrote The Vagina Monologues in 1996, vagina wasn’t a word that was used during television interviews. The play has since spawned not only innumerable performances, it has launched the global action of V-Day, built the City of Joy—a center for women in the Democratic [...]
Tag Archives: features
43 Million American Women Shouldn’t Be “At Risk”
There are 62 million women of childbearing age in the United States, 43 million of whom are “at risk” for unintended pregnancy. This costs us a minimum of $12 billion dollars a year, and that doesn’t include long-term costs. “At risk” implies an uncontrollable danger. An unavoidable event that happens to a person by accident or as the [...]
How Many Bodies Do We Have To Count?
Like millions I am filled with profound sadness and will have to talk to children about others just like them who should be alive and are not. We will all now know Sandy Hook Elementary School for the most tragic reasons. Tragic because these children are dead and their families shattered forever. Tragic because a [...]
Dog Abuser liked less than Woman Abuser
As an unabashed Pittsburgh Steelers fan living deep in enemy territory going on a decade now, I’m used to getting insufferable emails, Facebook posts, and tweets from friends who are unfortunately, New England Patriots fans. I still love my misguided friends despite this complete lapse in judgement. When I opened my email last week from one [...]
Tell Congress to Protect Tax Cuts for 98% of Women and Families
The YWCA USA is thanking those Senators and Representatives who have supported extending tax cuts for the middle class. Join us and thank your Congressman or Congresswoman – send a letter, tag them in a Facebook holiday card, or send them a Tweet. When I was attending graduate school, I interned at the YWCA Madison (Wis.), which served homeless and [...]
Suing the Old Boys’ Club of Big Law
No one would be surprised to learn that a person who happened to be a lawyer broke the law. Acting in their personal capacities, lawyers commit the same variety of crimes that other citizens do, ranging from fraud to rape to murder. But when lawyers manage their own businesses, their own law firms, they should [...]
Going Over the Fiscal Cliff: Women and Kids First
Congress is likely to remain in session until Christmas Eve — wrangling over the looming sequester and expiration of the Bush tax cuts. The country doesn’t have enough money, or doesn’t spend it right, or the rich have too much of it, or the middle class doesn’t have enough, or the poor get too much [...]
The Gift of Safety and Security
The YWCA USA is thanking those Senators and Representatives who have supported extending tax cuts for the middle class. Join us and thank your Congressman or Congresswoman – send a letter, tag them in a Facebook holiday card, or send them a Tweet. This holiday season, I’m wishing for Congress to pass a bi-partisan Violence [...]
Segregated Voting: An Outdated Chilean Political Practice
Last year, the Chilean National Congress modernized the electoral system, automatically registering all qualified residents to vote and making voting itself voluntary. Previously, registering to vote was optional, but once you registered, voting was obligatory, with fines of up to $224 for registered voters who didn’t show up at the polls. The threat of fines [...]
DCAF Winter Holiday Party: ‘Tis the Season for Peace, Joy, and Choice
DC Abortion Fund (DCAF) is an all-volunteer nonprofit that makes grants to women in DC, Maryland, and Virginia who cannot afford the full cost of an abortion. DCAF affirms women as decision-makers. We hope to make “choice” a reality because we believe that a woman’s right to healthcare should not depend on her wallet. Are [...]