It was a good election night. Abigail Spanberger was elected Governor in Virginia, with Ghazala Hashmi as Lt. Governor. Hashmi will be the first Muslim woman to hold statewide office in the United Stattes. Mikie Sherrill was elected Governor of New Jersey. In Detroit, Mary Sheffield was elected Mayor with 77% of the vote.
Election results were also good for protecting abortion access.
The previous week, Ireland elected Catherine Connolly, a left-leaning independent, as President. I can remember when the idea of abortion rights was unthinkable in heavily Catholic Ireland. Now they’re more liberal about it than much of the USA.
And with Zohran Mamdani’s victory in NYC, I hope (but don’t really expect) that Democratic leadership takes a hard look at their shameful pandering for Andrew Cuomo, a known harasser. Likewise the media; Joe Klein dropped this gem from his substack:
As always, this diary is a group effort. Thanks to Meteor Blades, elenacarlena, and the WOW crew for links and discussion.
Violence and Harassment:
From DW (Deutsche Welle): Fear on the streets — how male violence shapes women’s lives.
Even Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum isn’t safe from being groped by a drunk creep.
In Sudan, war is being waged on women and children.
Reproductive Rights:
More women sought permanent contraception after the Dobbs decision.
The latest right-wing nonsense is blaming autism on mothers taking Tylenol during pregnancy. There’s no actual evidence of any connection, but Texas is now suing Tylenol’s parent company, Johnson & Johnson.
The NY Times: Link to the archive so no paywall: The ‘Worst Test in Medicine’ is Driving America’s High C-Section Rate: Round-the-clock fetal monitoring leads to unnecessary C-sections. But it’s used in nearly every birth because of business and legal concerns
Workplace Issues:
Ross Douthat published a column in the NY Times with the incredible title “Did Women Ruin the Workplace?” The NYT quickly backpedaled and changed the title to “Did Liberal Feminism Ruin the Workplace?” Not gonna reward it with clicks, but here’s the response from women at Vanity Fair. A snippet:
Systemic change always brings forward voices who question whether that change is necessary or moving society—or, in this case, workplaces—in the right direction. Those with power are afraid to lose it, and look to shift blame on to those who are encroaching on their space—earned or not—and blame those folks for any friction that arrives in the process.
Health:
There are more than 100 autoimmune diseases, and they mostly strike women. Here's what to know. (Sorry, video autoplays at link.)
The war on women boomerangs to hurt men: TFG’s anti-trans agenda is interfering with men getting treatment for breast cancer.
Uncategorizable:
Iranian women are winning the battle against mandatory veiling.
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