But there's a catch. Less than a month ago, the Obama administration was court-ordered to lift the age requirement entirely, by a federal judge calling them out for politicizing the process. There's no scientific or public health basis for any age limit -- the idea is that the morning-after pill be sold just as condoms are -- and requiring documentary proof of age presents a hurdle particularly for younger women and the undocumented. Also for no clear reason, Plan B will only be sold in places that have a pharmacy, as opposed to any convenience store, despite the fact that pharmacy employees will no longer be involved except with girls under 15.

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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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As American (woman) novelist Amanda Filipacchi explained in the New York Times on Wednesday, the process has so far affected women writers whose last names begin with A or B, but others have been moved as well:

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A study from Germany finds that men do a much better job of interpreting one vital set of signals — the emotions conveyed by the eyes — when they’re communicating with another man, compared to another woman.

“The finding that men are superior in recognizing emotions/mental states of other men, as compared to women, might be surprising,” a research team led by psychiatrist Boris Schiffer reports in the journal PLOS ONE. They add, however, that it makes considerable sense in evolutionary terms.

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"This has been a weird week," says Poehler. "I love you, Boston."

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Except we’re not — at least, not naturally. All of that body image baggage is internalized by growing up in a society that enforces rigid beauty standards, and since the target demographic for this ad is clearly women over 35 with access to library cards (which is to say, women who have had some time to figure this reality out), it is baffling that Dove can continue to garner raves for its pandering, soft-focus fake empowerment ads.

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What could possibly be missing from those factual tales of successful retreat in VT, Germany, and the bowels of Amsterdam? Why children and vagina's of course. While the tales relate the actions of a solitary male the outcome cannot relate to similar situations where children and women and mothers are the potential victims.

Hansen's use of synecdoche outraged his Democratic and Republican colleagues, prompting Democratic state Rep. Rick Watrous to respond:

"Children and vagina's"??!! Are you really using "vaginas" as a crude catch-all for women? Really? Please think before you send out such offensive language on the legislative listserve.

NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire weighed in, too:

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In a piece called "I refuse to be a grown-up," the "Prozac Nation" author explains how she manages to look so young at age 45 (no marriages, no kids, nightly applications of Retin-A) and how her many habits (speaking her mind, not speaking her mind, drinking red wine, not drinking white wine) separate her from her 40-something peers.

The essay took off, and reactions generally fell into one of two camps: Team "Leave Elizabeth Alone" believes that hers is no greater a sin of navel-gazing than those committed by other animal, vegetable and mineral. The second group feels that Wurtzel is very, very annoying and would like her to stop writing these kinds of essays.

A roundup.

For the defense:

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For the prosecution:

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As reported by Claire Gordon at AOL News:

While the rules are no longer in effect, Elkjer's lawsuit says, they created a segregated culture that persists -- a culture that denies female attorneys the same opportunities for business and for raises as their male colleagues, and hurts their ability to work. This violates the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, her suit states, which prohibits employers from making decisions that harm the "terms, conditions, or privileges" of employees on the basis of gender.

"If their concern was harassment or something, you wouldn't do that to African American employees," says [attorney Amy] Gibson. "'We're afraid someone will accuse us of racial harassment, so white employees can't be alone with African American employees.' That's crazy..."

Elkjer had raised her grievances with the firm for more than six months, according to her lawsuit, but faced hostility from the powers-that-be. She says that much of culture that she's describing comes from "the example set by one or more of the firm's managing equity partners." The lawsuit wasn't specific about the exact wording or rationale of the policy, or the years that it was in effect. Gibson says that she's concerned about violating the firm's confidentiality policy, which was brought to her attention -- in a manner she found "threatening" -- not long before she filed suit.

In a statement, Scheef & Stone said there is "no evidence" to support Eljker's allegations, and that the firm is "fully prepared to defend this case."

"In fact, objective evidence and our business records will clearly show that Ms. Elkjer disagrees with legitimate business decisions," the statement said, "based on objective non-discriminatory criteria by the firm's management that have nothing to do with gender and apply to all attorneys in the firm."

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And a compromise may be on its way, as Jane Eisner at Forward reports:

If implemented, the proposal, a product of months of deliberation, would mark a dramatic acknowledgement by the state of Israel that prayer at the Wall — regarded as Judaism’s holiest site and a modern-day symbol of national sovereignty — should include non-Orthodox practice in which men and women pray together. But it is uncertain whether the proposal will satisfy Women of the Wall, who for years have tried to hold full prayer services in the women’s only section and may see this compromise as a betrayal of their mission...

Under the proposal, sources said, the area now known as Robinson’s Arch on the southern end of the Wall will be greatly expanded to create a prayer space roughly equivalent to the existing men’s and women’s sections. Egalitarian prayer is currently permitted at the Arch, which is an archaeological site, but that prayer is only available at limited times and with an entrance fee. The expectation is that the enlarged space would be free and open around the clock, as the Kotel is now, but that could not be confirmed.

The plan also calls for the plaza surrounding the Wall to expand, so that visitors approaching the site in the Old City could clearly chose between praying at the egalitarian section, or the existing sections reserved only for men and for women. Still under discussion is governance of the new prayer area, but several sources said that they thought it would be run by something other than the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, the organization that currently controls the Kotel.

Women of the Wall head Anat Hoffman has signed off on the proposal while expressing her reservations about its "separate but equal" premise, but the measure still requires approval from the Netanyahu government, "where it may face resistance from Orthodox groups unwilling to share authority over the holy site," Eisner notes.

h/t Adam Chandler at Tablet Magazine

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For decades, Thatcher's gender provided some public relations cover for her most noxious politics. That was true even today in the White House's statement on her death, which included the following treacly sentence: "As a grocer’s daughter who rose to become Britain’s first female prime minister, she stands as an example to our daughters that there is no glass ceiling that can’t be shattered."

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The survey interviewed 1,500 likely voters about two fictional candidates, "Dan Jones" and "Jane Smith." The interview subjects were split into groups, some of which received materials on both candidates that did not mention any of their physical attributes while others received materials that either included neutral, negative and positive appraisals of Smith's appearance:

Neutral description: Smith dressed in a brown blouse, black skirt, and modest pumps with a short heel…

Positive description: In person, Smith is fit and attractive and looks even younger than her age. At the press conference, smartly turned out in a ruffled jacket, pencil skirt, and fashionable high heels….

Negative description: Smith unfortunately sported a heavy layer of foundation and powder that had settled into her forehead lines, creating an unflattering look for an otherwise pretty woman, along with her famous fake, tacky nails.

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So why does the word "feminist" scare them so? Don't they know that, per Salon's Mary Elizabeth Williams: "If you believe in the strength of women ... you’re soaking in feminism"?

A list of other high-profile, force-of-nature women who may "run the world," but won't cop to the F-bomb.

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White House press secretary Jay Carney said today that Obama called Harris and apologized for the comment and the distraction that it caused, saying he "did not want in any way to diminish the attorney general's professional accomplishments and her capabilities."

"He fully recognizes the challenges women continue to face in the workplace and that they should not be judged based on appearance," Carney said.

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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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It is not "difficult to call a woman good-looking in public," not in a world where women's looks are considered public property, to be commented on, uninvited, whether it's on the street, in a job interview, or in the press. Many people find it quite easy to do, many of them men, and many people who should know better, like Barack Obama.

This is hardly the first time Obama has been smarmily sexist under the guise of paying a compliment. In the same New York magazine story on Christine Quinn in which Mayor Michael Bloomberg was notoriously quoted saying, "Look at the ass on her," Obama got a pass for a more politely phrased brand of creepiness. According to the piece, Obama said to a Republican legislator, 32-year-old Nicole Malliotakis, that she didn't look a day over 23. Quinn promptly joked that Malliotakis should become a Democrat, and the president chimed in, “Come on, honey! I said you’re pretty! I said you look 23!”

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The feminist bragging rights of Christine Quinn, the only female candidate in the New York race -- the front-runner, potentially the first female and the first lesbian mayor of the biggest city in America -- were being questioned. Using her power as speaker of the City Council, Quinn was blocking a sure-fire vote mandating paid sick days.

She faced a clear choice. While the bill was opposed by her key ally, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, lack of sick days disproportionately affects low-wage female workers, who also tend to have more care-giving responsibilities -- and the coalition including the Working Families Party and union leaders made sure everyone knew it. Just as Quinn needed the support of people like Gloria Steinem and other high-profile feminists for her campaign, they were holding firm in demanding a vote on paid sick leave as a women's issue. And it all came at a time when people who might vote on feminist bona fides were arguing over a central question raised by Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In": whether more female leaders would improve the lot of all women.

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But you will find very few corresponding stories about heterosexual men's struggle with childlessness. And that is weird, according to researchers at Keele University. Because, as one study found, they are kind of baby crazy, too.

Researcher Robin Hadley carried out a survey of 81 women and 27 men who did not have children, and asked them if they wanted them. He found that men were almost as likely as women to want children -- 59 percent to 63 percent -- but actually more likely than women to feel depressed, angry and jealous if they didn't have them.

Of the men who wanted children, 50 percent experienced isolation because they did not have them, compared with 27 percent of women; 38 percent experienced depression, compared with 27 percent of women; and 56 percent experienced jealousy of those with children, compared with 47 percent of women.

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As reported by the Associated Press:

The Al-Yawm daily on Monday cited an unnamed official from the powerful religious police as saying women can ride bikes in parks and recreational areas but they have to be accompanied by a male relative and dressed in the full Islamic head-to-toe abaya.

Saudi Arabia follows an ultraconservative interpretation of Islam and bans women from driving. Women are also banned from riding motorcycles or bicycles in public places. The newspaper didn't say what triggered the lifting of the ban.

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Sources inside the LDS Church say that a woman will for the first time in the history of Mormonism offer an invocation or benediction at the Church’s worldwide General Conference, this April 6–7, veteran religion journalist Peggy Fletcher Stack of the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

The announcement comes after Mormon feminists and their allies mounted a “Let Women Pray” letter-writing campaign this winter. (LDS officials say that the Conference program was set “many weeks ago.”)

Women’s advocates within the LDS Church like LDS WAVE have long pointed to the continuing restriction on women praying in the Church’s global meetings as one of many examples of day-to-day gender inequalities in the practice of Mormonism—most of them having absolutely no foundation in current Church teachings.

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