Must-Read Links: Rihanna’s “BBHHM” Backlash, the Runaways Rape, + More

Silence Around Who Is Burning Black Churches Speaks Volumes

At the Root, DAME contrib Kirsten West Savali asks why no one is talking about the rampant church burnings. Her answer is one White America doesn’t want to hear.

Why Abortion Is Losing While Gay Marriage Is Winning

At Talking Points Memo, DAME contrib and clinic escort Lauren Rankin explains that the extinction of abortion rights as social acceptance of marriage equality has grown, has everything to do with the way we talk, or more accurately, don’t talk about it.

When Drugs Are Used to Coerce Sex, It’s Rape. Even If You’re Bill Cosby

It shouldn’t have to be said, but Megan Carpentier makes the inarguable point at the Guardian, that Quaaludes do not equal consent, no matter how much you want to believe that the person who used them isn’t a rapist.

The Lost Girls

This in-depth and devastating account of the Runaways, by Jason Cherkis, of the abuse the band members, especially Jackie Fuchs, endured at the hands of their manager Kim Fowley is shocking, and raises questions about the responsibilites of those who bear witness to it—witnesses like Joan Jett.

Rihanna’s Video Puts a Black Woman in Control—No Wonder There’s a Backlash  

At the Guardian, DAME contrib Rebecca Carroll dissects the appalled reactions to Rhianna’s violent new “BBHHM” video, and shines a light on what’s really behind the cries of anti-feminism.

If Male Actors Were Described the Way Female Actors Are

“Steve Buscemi, his trademark eyes hidden behind oversize dark designer glasses, purses his lips and gently caresses his black coffee (no sugar) with his breath.” Buzzfeed’s Jenna Guillaume and Jessica Misener are geniuses.

‘A New Day in South Carolina’ as House Votes to Remove Confederate Flag

The symbol of white supremacy will no longer be allowed to fly on the state capitol’s grounds. The passing of a bill that was long overdue. 

I Changed My Name When I Got Married and Instantly Regretted It

With all the attention, and criticism, paid to “maiden” names recently, this first person account at Buzzfeed from Esther Silverman (née Werdiger) about what the weighty decision meant to her, is especially poignant and thought-provoking.

Is Hillary Clinton’s Feminism Out of Style?

From Katha Pollitt to a founding editor of Ms. to a college student and activist, a range of women debate this question on the opinion pages of the New York Times.

Dear People Who Live in Fancy Tiny Houses

“Do you have a tiny river that runs behind your tiny house? I bet you do. I bet your whole Goddamn property is whimsical.” Lauren Modery’s letter to people who live in fancy tiny houses over at Medium is even better than Portlandia’s take on the subject.

Orange Is the New Black Is the Only TV Show that Understands Rape

New York’s Jada Yuan delves into the murky and wrenching waters of television’s depiction of female rape, definitively articulating why Game of Thrones gets it so wrong, in the wake of OITNB’s on-point portrayal, that never wavers from its female point of view.