Women making America

The PBS program, “Makers: Women who make American,” shows tonight both on TV and through webcasting:

 

MAKERS is a landmark digital and broadcast initiative from AOL and PBS showcasing compelling stories from women of today and tomorrow. A 3-hour documentary “MAKERS: Women Who Make America.”will premiere on February 26, 2013 8pm ET.
Visit the Makers: Women Who Make America website

Judging by the preview below, there’s lots to like and to dislike about the program. Among other things, it features US women of the last 50-70 years who largely are very visible in the media. And some of the faces are clearly remade according to what one would think are sexist demands. It does also have a good number of black women, it seemed to me, and some I knew were media people, but I wash’t as familiar with black faces as white.Not a good thing, I’d say, which is one reason why the central division APA had a lot of sessions on concerns that included blacks.

So be prepared to find some of it irritating, but also full of recollections of events that impact us still today.

FEAST, Roundtable on Race, extend deadlines

Philosophers who were struggling with their timelines to send material in for the CFP to either FEAST or the California Roundtable on Philosophy and Race, good news: FEAST extended their deadline to March 7, and  CRPR extended their deadline to March 1.

CEU policy: gender equity at events

At FP, we are always happy to hear when someone takes steps to reflect on whether an academic event is attentive to gender equity.  So we would have marveled at the goodness of Central European University’s splendid policy statement [pdf] on gender equity at academic events and summer schools in any case.  But we get downright tickled when we get to the eighth point in the document, and see the statement, “Event organizers are encouraged to consult appropriate sources for advice on how to achieve gender balance at academic events,” followed by a link to our site, then a link to a Q&A about the Commitment signed by multiple scholars last year.  Neat!

What’s so bad about pink anyway?

Find out over at Fit, Feminist, and (Almost) Fifty.

More forced ultrasound measures

This time in Indiana, with double the ultrasounds. 

“The bill, approved by the state Senate Health and Provider Services Committee on Wednesday, would require clinics to conduct trans-vaginal ultrasounds on women both before and after dispensing the abortion-inducing drug known as RU-486.”

Oh, and the “argument” against medically unnecessary trans-vaginal ultrasounds being too invasive? Sue Swayze, the legislative director of Indiana Right to Life, had this to say:

“I got pregnant vaginally.  Something else could come in my vagina for a medical test that wouldn’t be that intrusive to me.  So I find that argument a little ridiculous.”

I take it the natural reductio to this argument is obvious.