Friday Femme Fatale: Death, Love & Taxes

Friday. Phew. The past week went by fast, but with a three day weekend to look forward to, this Friday smells even sweeter than most. Here are the most intriguing, compelling and must-read pieces in the media this week related to women and equality.

First, Nancy Goldstein shares a personal story on NPR this week titled, With The 'Gay Tax,' Love Doesn't Come Cheap:

The media's primary focus on the morality debate around same-sex marriage means that most of the public, gay or straight, knows little about the very real economic costs of inequality. It doesn't matter that Joan and I married in Massachusetts five years ago this week, or that our home state recognizes our marriage. It makes no difference that she works for a progressive company with an active LGBT employees group. Companies pay for their employees' health insurance with pretax money through a federal program, and same-sex marriage isn't federally recognized.

We are reminded again of how we must reach out to those in poverty in this Washington Post piece, Poor? Pay Up. The piece highlights the difficulties of many, including Jeanette Reed, who is retired and lives on a fixed income, and sold her blood when she needed money:

"I had no other source to get money," she says. "I went to the blood bank. And they gave me $30. "I needed the money. I didn't have the money and no source of getting money. No gas. No food. I have to go to a center that gives out boxes of food once a month. They give you cereal or vouchers for $10. They give you canned tuna and macaroni and cheese. Crackers and soup. They give you commodities like day-old bread."

It's stories like these that remind me how we must ensure that there is help for single mothers, who are the largest demographic in the United States living below the poverty line.

Additionally, this Memorial Day, make a pledge to the Courage Campaign and Tell the President to end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy and not to fire Lt. Dan Choi.

Politics Magazine announces it's Rising Stars of 2009 and features eight ambitious females;  Manhattan Young Democrats launch New Yorkers For Equality this week asking for support for a bill which will Marriage Equality to New York.

The American Constitution Society for Law and Public Policy, a group seen by many as the left wing's answer to the Federalist Society, named a new female executive director this week - Caroline Fredrickson. In addition, the ACS published an important piece ton Why Gene Patents Are Unlawful:

Last week the ACLU and the Public Patent Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. government's practice of granting patents on human genes - specifically, the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are associated with breast and ovarian cancer. In the last 20 or so years the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued patents on thousands of human genes - the segments of DNA that we all have in our cells - giving private corporations, individuals, and universities the exclusive rights to those genetic sequences and their usage.

The patents on the BRCA genes are particularly broad and offensive. The PTO has granted Myriad Genetics, a private biotechnology company based in Utah, patents on both the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genetic sequences, on any mutations along those genes, on any methods for locating mutations on the genes, without further specification on the type of methods, and on correlations between genetic mutations and susceptibility to breast and ovarian cancer.

Also,  Alternet publishes the controversial and emotional piece, "My Son Is a Murderer" about the "gut-wrenching realities facing military moms." The New York Times reports on a A New Trend in Motherhood

A report released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the percentage of children born to unmarried women is rising sharply. In 2007, nearly 40 percent of births in the U.S. were to unmarried women, up from 34 percent in 2002.

More women in their 20s and 30s are opting to have children outside of marriage. Teenage birthrates, however, are declining, making up only 23 percent of nonmarital births in 2007, down from 50 percent in 1970.

Madama Ambi shares an interview I did with her a few months ago about my personal feminist awakening; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers a stunning commencement speech at Barnard; and a new study by Fidelity examines women and philanthropy:

"Our research indicates that, in many ways, women are shaping the future of philanthropy," Sarah C. Libbey, president of the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, said in a statement. "Women have always had a hand in their household's charitable outreach. But that role is evolving as women increasingly create their own wealth and become the beneficiaries of wealth transfers because they live longer. As a result, women are stepping up to take on more philanthropic leadership roles. Women are using a broad circle of influencers in their charitable giving and they are passionate about instilling the value of philanthropy in the next generation. We, and other nonprofit organizations, should pay attention to this very influential group of donors."

The Financial Times reports on gender and social network behavior in the piece, Men are from Facebook, women are from Twitter?; Bitch Magazine writes about how Lebanese Feminists Balk at Offensive Election Ad, describing the situation as follows:

On June 7th parliamentary elections will be held in Lebanon that will shape the country for the next four years. Too bad one party decided to piss off women with demeaning and overly sexified print and television ads that tells women to "look pretty and vote." The Feminist Collective calls Tayaar's bluff; they point out that the ad is being used to entice men rather than women; question the absence of women from the Lebanese parliament, Tayyar's own candidate lists, and the party's political platform; and tell them how their money would be better spent in ways that actually promote progressive changes that advance women's rights. Oh, and while they were at it, they created their own parody of the offensive ad. Smart is sexy, y'all.

Finally, there is a great event coming up in Washington, DC to support Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner in her bid for the open Senate seat:

Wednesday, June 3rd
6:30-8:30pm

At the fabulous ballroom at

1402 12th St., NW
Between 12th and O

Co-Host ~ Write/Raise $1,000
Friend ~ $500
Guest ~ $250

For questions, or to RSVP, please contact

Even if you can't make it, be sure to donate to Brunner's ActBlue page. A win by Brunner in Ohio would mean a lot to the feminist movement and could be a great signal for the next female who tries to run for President.