by Jill Finkelstein

Link Roundup: Sexism & The Morning-After Pill

Welcome to this week’s installment of Lilith’s Link Roundup. Each week we post Jewish and feminist highlights from around the web. If there’s anything you want to be sure we know about, email us or leave a message in the comments section below.

In a surprising move which left many women–and women’s reproductive rights organizations–outraged, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius overruled the Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation to make the “morning-after pill” available to anyone, including young teens, without a prescription. Sebelius defended her decision against removing the age restriction, citing that because Teva Pharmaceuticals had not included 11-year-old girls in its study, it had failed to “conclusively establish that Plan B One-Step should be made available over the counter for all girls of reproductive age.” [NY Times]

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton came under fire after criticizing Israel’s treatment of women. During a Washington, D.C. forum on Saturday, Clinton noted that Israel’s gender bus segregation and the Orthodox boycott of women’s voices were reminiscent of Rosa Parks and Iran. Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz struck back, calling Clinton’s comments “completely exaggerated.” [Ha’aretz]

On Tuesday, an FBI advisory board voted unanimously to broaden the definition of “rape.” The new definition is currently awaiting final approval from FBI Director Robert Mueller. [NY Daily News]

Following last year’s revelations about gender discrimination against professionals working in Jewish communal service agencies, a new study found that the situation has become worse over the past year. The report, which surveyed 76 national Jewish organizations, revealed that in 2010 “female CEOs earn[ed] slightly more than 62 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts” compared to 67 cents in 2009. In addition, the study reported that women run only 9 of the 76 organizations, compared to 11 organizations two years ago. [The Forward]

On Tuesday, Israel’s Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz were caught on tape making jokes about female soldiers during a tour. Gantz threatened the news reporters, telling them that if they aired the story, it would be their last piece. He has since apologized. [Haaretz] & [Ynet]

Writer Soraya Chemaly shared five ways to help children understand sexism in the media. [Huffington Post]

On Wednesday, a small claims court ordered Israel’s largest bus company, Egged, to pay over $1000 after forcing a woman to sit in the back of the bus. [JTA]

Hundreds of people came together in Jerusalem on Wednesday to rally against the Ultra-Orthodox exclusion of women. The protest, which featured a concert with female performers, was organized by the Be Free Israel movement. [Ynet]

Author Naomi Wolf explained why Second-wave feminists are “wrong” to worry about their daughters’ obsession with princess culture, stating, “If you look closely, the princess archetype is not about passivity and decorativeness: It is about power and the recognition of the true self.” [NY Times]

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