Yesterday the New York Times featured an article in its Sunday magazine about breast cancer awareness initiatives, and what the real effects these initiatives have had on the lives of women. It’s on the longer side, but one that’s framed around the personal narrative of the author – a breast cancer survivor herself – and well worth a read:

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Scientists at Duke University’s Center for Metamaterials and Integrated Plasmonics are close to perfecting an “invisibility cloak,” a breakthrough they have been working on since 2006. While I appreciate their efforts, I want to give them a tip: If you want to make a person invisible, just put them in the shoes of an over-fifty woman and abracadabra, watch them disappear.

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Lean In. It seems like everyone is talking, blogging or arguing about it. Sheryl Sandberg’s well-written, chatty, and informative book purports to give useful advice for women of all age brackets, “from those who are just starting out to those who are taking a break and may want to jump back in.” However, Sandberg seems to miss the mark for a certain segment of the female population: my demographic, the 50- to 60-ish mom who either gave up her career to stay home with her kids or reduced her workload during their formative years, and is now looking to re-enter the workforce or ramp up her job.

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Nancy Pelosi is the first woman in history to serve as Speaker of the House, aka the next person in the Presidential line of succession after the Vice President. She was Speaker from 2007 until 2011, and is now the Minority Leader.

Before she was Speaker, a role in which she was crucial to the passage of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”), she was also the first woman in history to serve as Minority Whip. She also served on the House intelligence and appropriations committees. She’s been in electoral politics longer than I’ve been on the planet, and she has five kids. She’s pro-choice, has a 0% rating from the NRA, and doesn’t take any shit from anyone. She’s a 72-year-old badass. Oh, and she loves chocolate milkshakes.

We spoke earlier this week, a few hours before President Obama signed the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act into law.

This woman barely needs an introduction, which is why this one is so short, so now, without further ado, the Feministing Five, with Nancy Pelosi.

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On a recent speaking engagement at the University of Richmond, one anxious senior asked me, “I want to be a professional feminist—do I have to work at a women’s nonprofit? How do you bring your feminism with you into the ‘real world,’ especially if you end up in a work culture where they just don’t get it?”

I fear that college students are led to believe that, in order to be dedicated feminists, they have to work for nonprofit organizations specifically devoted to girls and women’s issues or go the academic route. If young women, or young men for that matter, want to go in this direction, more power to them. But there is a lot of valor in braving the kinds of organizations that don’t yet “get it” in this student’s parlance, and agitating for change from within. Audre Lorde warned against the perils of dwelling in “the master’s house,” and yet, there are such rich opportunities there—especially for young people with the energy for some serious remodeling.

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The bill makes no medical sense, whatsoever, and is a clear attempt to discourage women from taking RU 486, by adding two unnecessary trips to an abortion clinic and two unnecessary uncomfortable procedures to it. Dr. Anne Davis, the consulting medical director for Physicians for Reproductive Health, explained,

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We rarely think of women as combatants, though. Yet 40 percent of child soldiers in global conflicts are girls, and highly valued for their military prowess. And according to several studies, these girls grow into women who find that combat provides them equal footing in society in a way that civilian life does not. From the Guardian:

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The two late victims, Reeva Steenkamp and Anene Booysen, represent two very different parts of South African society: Steenkamp was a white model and law school graduate famously attached to a beloved Olympic athlete; 17-year-old Booysen was black, and few had heard her name while she was still alive.

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“When you’re a quarterback at Alabama, you see that lovely lady there? She does go to Auburn, I’ll admit that, but she’s also Miss Alabama, and that’s A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend. Wow, I’m telling ya, you quarterbacks, you get all the good looking women. What a beautiful woman! Whoa! So if you’re a youngster in Alabama, start getting the football out and throw it around the backyard with pops.”

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Clutch Magazine reported that Rhonda A. Lee, a meteorologist at an ABC affiliate in Shreveport, La., was referenced in this post by a viewer on Facebook:

“the black lady that does the news is a very nice lady.the only thing is she needs to wear a wig or grow some more hair. im not sure if she is a cancer patient. but still its not something myself that i think looks good on tv. what about letting someone a male have waist long hair do the news.what about that (cq).”

Rhonda responded:

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If you haven’t followed this case, one of the few sexual abuse cases in the ultra-orthodox community to be exposed to secular justice, here is a brief timeline. (Allison Yarrow has a thorough run-down of the case at The Daily Beast.)

2007: The accuser, a 12-year-old at the time, begins questioning authority at United Talmudical Academy, her ultra-religious school. Her parents are forced to send her to counseling for her “heretic” behavior.

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This Reuters article does something pretty annoying in my view.  It tries to piecemeal a triangle between Paula Broadwell, Jill Kelley and Holly Petraeus, struggling to cobble a narrative arc ultimately leading us down the path to absolve David Petraeus as if Guido Anselmi in Felini’s 8 1/2.

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America, I believe we can build on the progress we’ve made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class. I believe we can keep the promise of our founders, the idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love. It doesn’t matter whether you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian or Native American or young or old or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it here in America if you’re willing to try.

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The latest in the long list of Republican rape apologists to speak about rape and abortion is John Koster, the Republican nominee for Washington’s 1st district. When asked about his opposition to abortion in the cases of rape and incest, Koster first noted that incest is extremely rare because forcing only a couple of 12 year olds to bare their father’s baby is no big deal and everyone should just calm down about it already.

Koster then when on to call rape a “thing” more than once:

“But the rape thing...you know I know a woman who was raped and kept her child but gave it up for adoption, she doesn’t regret it. In fact, she’s a big pro-life proponent…But on the rape thing, it’s like, how does putting more violence onto a woman’s body and taking the life of an innocent child that’s the consequence of this crime, how does that make it better? You know what I mean?”

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The clinic will be run by Marie Stopes International, and it will offer a range of other reproductive health services (which is a bummer because “abortion mill” is so much easier to say than “abortion-and-other-reproductive-health-services mill”).

Bernadette Smith, of an organization called Precious Life, is absolutely outraged. “I am absolutely outraged. An organisation which is making profits from the death of unborn children is not welcome in Northern Ireland.” Smith called for more crisis pregnancy centres, which she claims has helped bring down the rate of abortion and the rate of women travelling to England to obtain terminations.

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If you’re a follower of online feminism, you’re most likely familiar with the conversation around the article. It dominated conversations both online and off for weeks, sparking debate and dialogue about a number of issues including work-life balance, maternity and paternity leave, privilege in feminism, and the direction of our movement for equality. If you need a refresher, you can read a roundup of responses to the article here.

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