The LadyBits Download V.1.3
Third time’s a charm! Thanks for reading, sharing, and spreading the word about LadyBits via our first two releases of The Download. In the latest version, we’re sharing our favorite articles produced in-house by our team of awesome LadyBits writers and editors, as well as other great gems from around the web. Further down, there are also fun activities to get you out of the house and away from your computer, because that Instagram feed isn’t going to fill itself. But first, let’s dive into some reading.
The Week in LadyBits Content:
Turning our attention to the working world, Ellen Leanse, one of the first women in Silicon Valley, shares a few wisdoms she’s picked up since starting at Apple in the early ‘80s with Alone in the Valley.
Stay in Santa Clara for a minute for The male-only version of the Female Founders Conference, where Tommy Nicholas gives a particularly great low-down.
Similarly, Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii - the first Asian-American woman elected to the United States Senate, the first female senator to represent her state, and the first Buddhist in the Senate (impressive, right?) - tells Adrienne LaFrance What It’s Like To Be The Only Asian-American Woman in the U.S. Senate.
You’ll think politics is for chumps when you learn about the intricacies of hive dynamics. Check out Alex Ossola’s Q&A with expert beekeeper Andrew Cote about What It’s Like to Be a Real Queen Bee.
We’re chock full of interesting jobs today so let’s keep that oddball rolling with Erin Biba’s profile of Kayla Iacovino, Volcanologist. That alone is super cool, but your head will really pop (erupt?) when you hear that Iacovino’s currently studying North Korea’s volcanic activity.
To give us an inkling of what it’s like to be The Only Girl in the Skate Park, Gabrielle Motola writes: "I found myself simultaneously inside two totally separate worlds, both of which I understood comfortably even though they did not understand each other quite as easily."
And in other sports-ish news, Sarah Jacoby explains falling in love with pro wrestling because good and evil theatrically duke it out “like a vaudeville soap opera with choke slams.” She proudly declares: Professional Wrestling May Not Be “Real” But My Feelings For It Totally Are.
Obvi, we’re so much more than a publication about our literal lady bits, but Rose Eveleth’s surprising answers to some common menstrual questions in this Refinery 29 piece are something we’d all like to know.
Anne Jefferson baffles at old news that keep finding their way back to the forefront and at new high-profile outlets spouting discriminatory views. Head over to Megaphones and Broken Records for a compilation of some recent sexism in science media.
In another somber turn, Lauren Appelwick compiles stories of harassment for When Things Get Physical in order to give a voice to victims who thought they they had none.
And Elly Vila Dominicis goes all the back to childhood to write I'm a Girl and I Want the Boy Toy about her experience with the McDonald’s drive through. Seriously though, boys totally had the better happy meal toy!
Links From Around the Webz:
Hey white people: Here’s a good case study on how not to react if a person of color happens to be in your yoga/pilates/spinning/stripaerobics class.
On turning 30: “Age is a weapon society uses against women. Each year that you gain comfort in your own flesh, your flesh is seen as worth less.” Preach, Molly.
Let’s be besties: We definitely want an invite to Ann Friedman’s next lady gathering.
Stuff to Get You Out of the House:
Tuesday, Feb. 11
Women Who Bite, NYC, $8
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, explore the myths, fables, and visual representations of the “ferocious, toothed woman” throughout history. Topics include: chastity belts, male castration anxiety, vengeful goddesses, the femme fatale, Amazon warriors, and “vagina dentata.”
Friday, Feb. 14
Privately Published: A Descent Into Early 20th Century Mail Order Erotica, NYC, $12.
Join writer Colin Dickey for a peek into the world of early 20th century mail-order erotica. In dressing their offerings with a scientific veneer to evade post office censors, smut peddlers made work that’s too smutty to be of any real scientific or sociological value, yet too riddled with academic nonsense to be properly erotic. naturally, there will be examples.
Saturday, Feb. 15
An Erotic Guide to Paris at Night, Circa 1936, NYC, $8
Head to the Morbid Anatomy Museum to hear about the standard and atypical paths of international sex tourists in the heyday of Paris’ most unfettered years. For his highly illustrated lecture, author Mel Gordon will use rare filmic exposes not presented since the 1930s. Think luxury brothels, gay and lesbian cabarets, nudist supper clubs, lavish music hall productions, and love cult initiations.
This edition of the LadyBits Download was generated thanks to efforts by Delia Paunescu, Alexandra Dao, Alexandra Ossola, Rose Eveleth, and Arikia Millikan.
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