Women Candidates versus Women’s Rights (Rachel Maddow)
The Poverty Nation Washington Built
Colorlines: “While the overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3 percent—one in seven—more than a quarter of both African Americans and Latinos lived in poverty last year. The data for poor children is the most arresting. Nearly 36 percent of black kids and 33 percent of Latino kids were poor in 2009, as were 38.5 percent of all families headed by single moms. Stop and try to digest this data: More than a third of all black and Latino kids are growing up destitute. With numbers like that, how can we talk meaningfully about a future of any kind, let alone a better one?”
French Senate Passes Full Islamic Veils Ban
Huffington Post: “Many Muslims believe the legislation is one more blow to France’s No. 2 religion, and risks raising the level of Islamophobia in a country where mosques, like synagogues, are sporadic targets of hate.”
The American Prospect: “Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin argued in Politico recently that Obama actually ended one culture war—the one over gay rights and abortion—and stepped into another. Now, they write, the fight is over ‘the role of government and the very meaning of America.’ But really, this is nothing new. For women, people of color, LGBT people, poor people—those of us whose very lives were on the line in what Smith and Martin define as the “old” culture war—it has always been about who is a ‘real American.'”
Elle Magazine Tries To Show Us Gabourey Sidibe’s “Lighter Side”
Racialicious: “The good news: after getting sidelined for that infamous Vanity Fair cover, Oscar nominee Gabourey Sidibe is on one of the four covers of Elle this month. The bad news: Looks like the magazine pulled a Beyonce on her.”
Colorlines weighs in: “10 of Gabourey Sidibe’s Cutest Looks (Take Note Elle Magazine)”
What Does a “Prehomosexual” Look Like?
Sociological Images: “The idea that an image of a girl in jeans, holding sports equipment, is considered an obviously relevant photo to use in a story suggesting that in fact the old stereotypes are true and gender non-conformity can tell us if a kid is going to be gay, thus reinforcing the stereotype that playing sports is an accurate sign of future sexual orientation, just depresses me beyond reason.”
Re/Visionist 