News @ The Frisky

Today's Lady News: On Being Over 50 And Pregnant

2011-09-26T22:40:35+00:00

New York magazine has a controversial piece about whether it's unethical — morally, biologically, etc. — to be 50+ and pregnant, which is now possible thanks to science. Rather than wrap my head around that conundrum, I'm going to marvel at what it must be like for this kid to have a big brother who's 35 years older. [New York]
The first African woman to win a Nobel Prize has died at age 71. Wangari Maathai, an environmentalist and feminist, paid women to plant trees to fight erosion and create firewood. [New York Times]
Amber Rose says people hate on her all the time because she's a woman. There's probably a lot of truth to that. [Clutch Magazine]
Celebs who want you to know they are not feminists. [The Gloss]

Black Men Targeted By Anti-Abortion Billboard

2011-09-26T21:20:25+00:00

Not content to just shame black women for having abortions, an anti-abortion group is now targeting black men with their controversial billboards. "Fatherhood starts in the womb," reads a new billboard in California paid for by Issues 4 Life and The Radiance Foundation (the same group behind billboards in other states that compared abortion to slavery and other offensiveness). It depicts a black man kissing his partner's pregnant belly — which, judging by the size of it, is about nine months along. "The abortion industry has created a culture of abandonment. Responsibility has become someone else's concern, and death the solution to 'unplanned' pregnancies — the natural result of sexual behavior," anti-abortion activist Ryan Bomberger, told LifeNews.com. "There's nothing natural about an industry that generates over $200 million, annually, by killing a child left defenseless by the absence of a father."

App Helps French Mothers Figure Out If Sons Are "Le Gay"

2011-09-26T17:40:11+00:00

Apparently even French mothers have trouble answering the question "gay or European?" A new smartphone app offers French mothers a questionnaire to help figure out if their sons like sticking their French bread in a warm, buttery croissant ... or not. The $2.69 app asks 20 questions which inquire whether their bébé mimics gay stereotypes like enjoying show tunes, dressing well, and eschewing sports. Somewhat more controversially, some questions assume it's the parents' "fault" a child is gay, like asking if he had an absent father or the mother was authoritarian growing up. If the questionnaire assesses mama's crisply dressed, show-tune loving frog is gay, it tells her to "accept it." But if he's just a little, uh, European, the questionnaire reads, "You have nothing to worry about, your son is not gay. So you have a very good chance of being a grandmother with all the joys that brings." How sensitive. [RFI.fr via The Awl]

Women Can Vote And Run For Office, King Of Saudi Arabia Declares

2011-09-26T16:20:23+00:00

Saudi Arabian women may now vote and run for office, King Abdullah declared on Sunday, ending a portion of the restriction on women's rights in the region. Women in Saudi Arabia are still required to have a male chaperone (usually a male relative) to do most things and are still forbidden from driving. Therefore, the extent to which women actually can exercise their right to vote or to run for office may be limited. However, the king has indicated with this decree that the kingdom may be inching towards change. According to The New York Times, he told the country in an address, "We refuse to marginalize the role of women in Saudi society." He added that women will be appointed to a government council that advises the monarchy on policy.

To Pee Or Not To Pee ... In The Shower

2011-09-24T19:00:54+00:00

The results are in from College Humor's 2011 Sex Survey. Of particular interest are the results on the ever-controversial topic of peeing in the shower. According to the 50,000 people surveyed, it's cool to take a whiz in the shower if it's your own shower, you don't have to clean it yourself, and you masturbate to anime porn. Shower pee-ers are clearly a very, uh, niche demographic. In other related results, the survey found that those anime porn fans are 10 percent more likely to wipe standing up. Also, people who wipe standing up are most likely to describe themselves as ugly. Draw your own conclusions. [College Humor]

Lefties, Righties Split On Food As Well

2011-09-24T18:30:16+00:00

If you like deep-dish pizza, you're a lot likelier than fans of thin crust to have conservative politics, according to Hunch, a taste-tracking website that cross-referenced millions of responses to discover that the differences between left and right don't end at the dinner table. Among its findings:

Liberals are slightly more likely to prefer their vegetables fresh instead of cooked, and more likely to eat fruit at least once a week.
Conservatives tend to believe there's little nutritional difference between organic and processed foods.

Garfield The Kitten Hides From Dog In Flower Pot

2011-09-24T14:00:44+00:00

It's been apocalyptically raining and rather miserable in New York this week. So, I think we can all agree that what's needed right now is an adorable orange kitten interlude. This particular kitten is named Garfield, and he's hiding in plain sight from a large dog that's chasing him around the yard. Feel free to refer to Garfield as much as is needed this weekend. [Buzzfeed]

Meet Harper, The Pitbull Puppy That Cheated Death 3 Times!

2011-09-23T22:00:28+00:00

Speaking of things that make me cry: PUPPIES! Specifically this 11-week-old pitbull pup named Harper who escaped death, well, three times by my count. Harper was born with debilitating "swimmer puppy disorder," in which they cannot walk and survival is unlikely. First, she was abandoned in a trash bag where she would have died if she hadn't been found and brought to a shelter—to be euthanized. A shelter worker named Erica Daniel brought her home one night, telling "The Today Show" she was planning on "letting her sleep in bed with us, and having her humanely euthanized in the morning." But it was not to be! After Harper managed to stand on her own four paws, Daniel was inspired to keep the pup and take care of her in hopes that she would someday be able to walk and thrive. And look at Harper now! I am a blubbering mess right now. Check out the "Today" segment after the jump. I will virtually share my Kleenex.

The Breast Milk Diet

2011-09-23T20:40:04+00:00

As part of an ongoing blog experiment, Curtis challenged himself to eat or drink nothing but his wife Katie's excess breast milk for as many days as possible and write about his findings. And why is their fridge (pictured above) stocked with a lifetime supply of baby nectar, you ask? Well, Katie likes to pump, save, and donate to milk banks after she births a child. There have been three to be precise. Wait, there are milk banks? Anyhow, her donation was rejected. And now, because she is too personally attached to the milk to throw it away, Curtis has a lot to drink. His experiment must not have gone so well because his blog, Don't Have A Cow, Man, has already been removed. Too bad. I was really looking forward to reading it. [Buzzfeed]

Today's Lady News: Reader Submission Edition!

2011-09-22T22:40:30+00:00

Sadly, Miss Jessica is still the ill communication so Today's Lady News will be a reader submission edition again! Submit your own links to news articles and blog posts about women, girls, trans-identified people, gender roles, feminism or sexism in the comments. Just write a sentence or two summary explaining what the link is about and give everyone a heads up if it has language or imagery that's NSFW. Speedy recovery, Jessica!