Time for our weekly round-up of links and an open thread – feel free to add links to stuff we missed!
As ever, linking equals interest not necessarily endorsement.
Required reading: The House on Mango Street – Bitch Magazine
“I personally prefer the classic term ‘strumpet'” – Feministe
Young, black and unemployed: the tragedy of the 44% – Diane Abbott at CiF
The feminisation of poverty and the myth of the ‘welfare queen’ – Open Democracy
An open letter to David Cameron on the Welfare Reform Bill – Lisa Egan at Huffington Post
Annie Lennox: ‘The world has become more sexualised’ – The Guardian
On International Women’s Day, what should we be fighting for? – The Guardian
The Help, then and now – Bad Reputation
If you like banter, you are an idiot – The Telegraph
The sugar daddy recession – Salon
Native American appropriation: respecting the struggle of Native American liberation – Marxist Queen
Women protesting around the world – in pictures – The Guardian
FIFA takes first step towards lifting hijab ban for Muslim women soccer players – Feministing
DFID Podcast: Listen to Nobel Peace prize winner Leymah Gbowee on women in peacebuilding
Defending the tweeting sisterhood – Hannah Mudge
Are Sun readers ready to “Beat the Cheats” armed with the facts? – Krishna Talsania at CiF
Turkmenistan: On International Women’s Day, it’s all about him – EurasiaNet
As feminists, united we fall apart – divided we may yet succeed – Zoe Williams at CiF
Calm down, dears? Why it’s a bad time to be a British woman – Polly Toynbee at CiF
‘Too fat’ model wins case against agency who dropped her – The Guardian
Our black women icons – Black Feminists
The government’s violence against women strategy ignores women seeking asylum – Left Foot Forward
International Women’s Day 2012 tweets flood the Twitterverse – Mashable
Disabled women: the invisible majority – Sisters of Frida
German tabloid Bild takes nude women off front page – BBC
The feminisation of madness is crazy – Guardian
London’s graffiti knitters – The Telegraph
Egypt: A year after ‘virginity tests’, women victims of army violence still seek justice – Amnesty
Italy’s women still wait for change under Mario Monti – BBC
2,4,6,8 – Solidarity is great – Tough Tea
Does social media really empower local communities? – The Guardian
Only six books: Excerpt From Jeanette Winterson’s new memoir – The Daily Beast
Where women went wrong in Egypt – The Daily Beast
French implant boss jailed after missing bail payments – The Independent
Acquittal of Egyptian military doctor fails women victims of ‘virginity tests’ – Amnesty International
Pickup artist – XKCD
Afghan women’s activist Razia Jan points the way for girls – The National
Unreported rapes: the silent shame – The Independent
15-year-old girl accused of murder after a miscarriage – AlterNet
You are not a failure – PhD in parenting
Afghanistan opens first women-only Internet café – Young Women for Change
Abortion website hacker caught – The Guardian
Female Ohio Democrat introduces bill to regulate the reproductive health of men – Addicting Info
It takes women to end global poverty – Women’s eNews
Girl Scouts are full of stars, mine is Miss Hazel – Women’s eNews
And finally, a musical number to see us to bed:
Photo of International Women’s Day protest by rawEarth, and photo of Million Women Rise 2012 march by Tamara Craiu, shared on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
