Update Feb. 8, 6 p.m.:

It turns out that the Return of Kings meet-ups weren't actually ever advertised by the group to be pro-rape, according to an article posted by ROK member Rob Berne yesterday. From the horse's mouth:

Media reports resulted in a shut down of the meet ups planned among our followers...The Establishment intentionally took one article written by Roosh in which he proposed a thought experiment to increase the safety of women by 'legalizing rape on private property.' The elites took a gamble that taking that article out of context and exaggerating it to the fullest extent would create a firestorm—notice that few of the slanderous articles actually linked to the piece in
question, where any reasonable person could see that it was not written earnestly.

The media twisted the followers of ROK and Roosh into 'rape supporters' simply because of one article that was obvious satire. Jonathan Swift once wrote that poor children should be eaten by the wealthy. Back in the 18th century, no one was stupid enough to take Swift’s essay seriously.

So, Return of Kings's didn't intend to host a series of meetings advocating rape. My bad. The article written by Valizadeh—the one that apparently made everyone think the ROK meetings were pro-rape—was labeled as a "satirical thought experiment" in a note at the top of the page. According to Snopes, this thought was added after he initially received backlash for the article in Feb. 2015.

Based off ReturnOfKings.com's content and the fact that the meet-ups were aimed at heterosexual male readers, I  think it's pretty safe to say the meetings would have attracted a group of men who support rape culture and pro-rape attitudes.

Pro-choice supporters, feminists and generally good people everywhere are rejoicing a little extra today. Why? Because a UN committee declared abortion a human right. 

According to Mic.com, a woman from Peru called "K.L." filed a complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee after the Peruvian government wouldn't allow her to get a "medically indicated" abortion back in 2001, even though she was only 17 years old, and even though her fetus would never develop a brain and die due to anencephaly, an extremely rare and fatal birth defect.


It's a valid argument that K.L. should have been able to get an abortion solely for this reason. Actually, according to HuffPost, she really should have been—Peruvian law permits medically indicated abortions when the mother's life is at risk. 

Medically-powered reasonings aside, K.L. should have been granted the right to an abortion for the sake of her own emotions. Can you imagine nurturing something for months and months, knowing the entire time it will die—not maybe, not if. K.L. went into a deeply depressive state after her baby passed away at only four days old. Is that really a surprise? 

Withholding the reproductive rights of K.L. was inhumane, unethical. She probably would have faced emotional strife even if the government did allow her to go through with an abortion. Forcing a woman to give birth to a soul that's practically already dead isn't right, ever. 

With the UN's new proclamation, though, the future looks bright—maybe women won't need to fight claw and nail to make their own reproductive decisions. Abortion is a human right. Deal with it. 

Last Friday, Jan. 29, Coldplay released a new music video for their song, "Hymn for the Weekend." In more important news, said video features Beyoncé. Beyhive members everywhere rejoice.



As a long-time Beyoncé fan myself, I too rejoiced. I was elated to learn Bey would make her first video appearance since "Feeling Myself" with Nicki Minaj. But when I realized a sari, henna tattoos and traditional Indian jewelry made up her "Hymn" look, my excitement quickly dwindled. Vanity Fair described her costuming that of "a Bollywood princess," but I couldn't help but wonder: 

Could Beyoncé, a self-proclaimed feminist and social justice advocate, be appropriating Indian culture? 

I'm not one to say yes or no, obviously—I'm a white girl from Scottsdale. I know it's not my place to speak for other cultures. But Indian and non-Indian people alike have voiced their opinions regarding Beyoncé's getup on Twitter.

A powerful online campaign is collecting examples of blatant objectification of women and reminding us all what "sex sells" advertising is really saying. 

The campaign, championed by the hashtag #WomenNotObjects, was started in an attempt to fight sexism in advertising by woman-led, New York, advertising agency Badger and Winters.

Their viral campaign video features real women holding offensive ads. Each woman describes what the ad's not-so-subtle innuendo is implying about the pictured models.

The agency's website says, "In 2016, Badger and Winters made a commitment to never objectify women in our work."

The campaign video, created by Madonna Badger and her business partner Jim Winters, features popular ads from Tom Ford, Balmain, Burger King, Carl’s Jr. and others. The video has accumulated more than 1.2 million views so far.

Take a look and join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Facebook.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Whistling at a woman while she walks down the street to the local grocery store is not a compliment.

Screaming things at us in the nature of, "nice legs," "nice tits," "smile!" Or, in Spanish, "mamacita," "dame un beso" (give me a kiss)—not compliments. And, please, please, please, do not look at us from atop your awful, gas-wasting trucks with eyes that say, "If we were in a room alone, I'd have my way with you, whether you consent or not."

Now, if I'm approached by someone and that someone says, "you look really nice today," or, "I love your dress"—that's a compliment. Thank you so much. Smile.

I usually respond to the "mamacita" or "nice legs" with the middle finger. But these young women from Mexico City gave me a way better idea—let's combat sexual harassment on the streets with a toy gun filled with confetti and loud punk music. 

February is going to pretty great in terms of late night television. Yes, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver will be back mid month and that's wonderful—but I'm more excited about what is popping up on TBS. Samantha Bee, who left the Daily Show last year after more than a decade, is getting her own show: Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. 

I recommend you watch all of the previews for the new show, or at the very least go revisit some of her Daily Show highlights.  New York Magazine published a long interview with Bee, beautifully titled "Smirking in the Boy's Room." An excerpt:

To succeed at producing a weekly show that slices headline news to the quick, she must be two things that women are not always embraced for being — very funny and a little angry — and she must be those things while exuding a quality almost never afforded women: authority.It’s quite a bit easier to sound like a hero in a deeper register and like a scold in a higher one, even if you are saying the same kind of words and doing the same kind of job as Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert or John Oliver.

But Bee is perhaps uniquely equipped to give this kind of role a test drive. She’s a news junkie, an unapologetic feminist; she is direct and sincere and also bitingly funny; in her corner office is a large painting of a bare-chested Vladimir Putin riding a bear, a prop taken from The Detour, a half-hour comedy she co-created with her husband, Jason Jones, planned for later this year. The absurdly silly image seems to reflect some of Bee’s comedic DGAF drive to make her point. When Vanity Fair last year published a photo of all-male late-night hosts, she infamously retweeted the image doctored to include her as a tattooed centaur with laser eyes.

As Bee says, we're kinda done with sausage. 

President Barack Obama is very much against taxing tampons and pads as luxury items, and urges women living in the 40+ states where these products have a sales tax to organize and demand an end to the so-called "tampon tax."

Obama spoke with YouTube personality Ingrid Nielsen, known in the web as MissGlamorazzi, where, according to the online publication Mic, Nielsen brought up how much money women have to spend on pads and tampons.

Nilsen asked Obama, "Recently, I was shocked to learn that pads, tampons and other menstrual products are taxed as luxury goods in 40 states. And I don't know anyone who has a period that thinks it's a luxury."

Obama responded, "I think that's fair to say. [First lady] Michelle [Obama] would agree with you on that." 

Nielsen said she wondered how the tax even came to be, to which Obama answered: "I have no idea why states would tax these as luxury items. I suspect it's because men were making the laws when those taxes were passed."

Obama urged women in states with tampon taxes to organize to change the laws, explaining that because they were not federal, he did not have jurisdiction. He proposed that activists target governors and state legislatures. 

The YWCA in Tucson launched Project Period this past December, as part of the beginning stages of its efforts advocating for tampons and pads to become more affordable, especially for women living in poverty, and homeless women. By the spring, the organization hopes to collaborate with state legislators to eventually introduce a bill that would make tampons and pads exempt from any taxation. 

Each year our sister paper Inside Tucson Business sets out to celebrate Tucson's Women of Influence. A big part of that is looking to the future. While nominations for the WOI awards are now closed, ITB is still taking applications for the "Future Leaders Award." 

The Future Leaders Award is a $1,000 scholarship that will be awarded to two female high school seniors—young women who see themselves becoming influential women.

Publisher Steve Pope has this to say about the award:

In today's fast moving and internationally competitive environment, no community can keep up unless all the talent the community has to offer is put into play. The challenges are just too great to face with one arm tied behind our back. Making sure we nurture the talent of our youth of all genders and races is a fundamental requirement for Tucson to thrive as we all want and need. This scholarship is a recognition of that simple truth. 

The details are outlined here, and the deadline is Feb. 19. Good luck, ladies! You are going to be great.

The people over at Inside Tucson Business, our long-time sister paper, do something pretty important ever year: They honor Tucson's "Women of Influence."

Now, Tucson women are endlessly inspiring, but ITB is looking to honor women in 18 different award categories. The honorees are decided by reader nominations, and winners are selected by an independent panel of judges. So, get a look at the categories, do some brainstorming and take the time to include thoughtful notes about the people you're nominating. 

Tucson is filled with incredible women. Help ITB honor someone you know makes a difference in the Old Pueblo—You've got until Dec. 18. 

Tru Love CDN Trailer from Tru Love The Film on Vimeo.

It's time for the 22nd annual Lesbian Looks Film Series kicks off tomorrow night at the Loft! The first film in the series  this year is "Tru Love," which has won a ton of awards and looks pretty good to me.

From the Loft:

Tru Love (Kate Johnston and Shauna MacDonald, 2013, Canada)
Loft Cinema
Thursday Feb 19, 7 p.m. 

A touching story of mourning and cross-generational desire set in Canada’s frigid winter. Toronto’s gray, snow-capped skyscrapers form a fitting backdrop for Tru and Alice, who kindle a close connection in their search for relief from desolate periods they have each been weathering in solitude. Alice’s mature elegance shines through to Tru, a 30-something commitment-phobe who has fled from romantic entanglements ever since running away from homophobic parents as a teenager. Alice has accumulated her own share of burdens over the course of her life; she became a widow just months earlier, and finds in Tru—played by co-director and co-writer Shauna McDonald—a partner for exploring romantic desires she repressed throughout her long marriage.

Winner of 14 International Film Festival Awards, and named one of 2013’s Top Ten Films by Huffington Post, UK.

“Delightful. A sparkling gem of a film.” Curve Magazine

The series will continue March 24 with "Out in the Night," April 2 with "The Home Stretch" and April 9 with "Of Girls and Horses."