NWLC’s Weekly Roundup: October 8-14

The end of another week is upon us. It’s been testing at times, that’s for sure, but I promise that within this roundup are some encouraging stories mixed in with the not-so-happy ones. After the jump, more on National Coming Out Day, reflections on Anita Hill, the continued post-H.R. 358 onslaught, changing times in the UK, everyone’s favorite football-playing Homecoming Queen, and some awesome friendship in Congress.

This past Tuesday was National Coming Out Day, a day for those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or an ally to speak out for the LGBT community We were  thrilled when Alison Nathan was confirmed by the Senate this week to serve as a federal judge in New York. She will become the third openly gay judge in the Southern District of New York, joining Paul Oetken, who was confirmed earlier this year, and Deborah Batts, who was confirmed in 1994. One of the stories from the day that’s also been making the rounds concerns the Harvard wrestling team: these young men all sported rainbow flag pins on Tuesday after a friend of the team spoke with some team members about supporting National Coming Out Day.

And, don’t forget to speak out on behalf of LGBT students by asking your senator to support the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA), which would outlaw discrimination in public K-12 schools based on sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

Over on The Nation, Jessica Valenti reflects on the 20 years that have passed and what has and hasn’t changed since Anita Hill testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, speaking out against Clarence Thomas’ nomination to the Supreme Court over his alleged sexual harassment. Anita appeared on PBS’ NewsHour this week as well, looking back on the past 20 years with journalist Gwen Ifill.

I know this has been a rough week for women and reproductive rights, what with the shamefully anti-woman H.R. 358 passing the House last night. If you’re angry about your representative’s vote for this bill or pleased with them for their vote against it, please take a second to let them know.

Now, I’m sorry I’m about to continue the bad news on the reproductive rights front, but this is so outrageous I can’t pass it up. So here goes: anti-choice workers at the state level are trying to introduce fetal heartbeat bills in every state in America. Oh, and there’s more – I’d call this next part the icing on the cake, but I like icing and cake and don’t want to drag either down by comparing them to Michele Bachmann’s “Heartbeat Informed Consent Act,” which would require “abortion providers make the unborn child’s heartbeat visible through ultrasound, describe the cardiac activity, and make the baby’s heartbeat audible, if the child is old enough for it to be detectable.” Please excuse me for a minute while I go rage about these things.

Ahem.
Anyway, shall we close on a few positive notes? I hear that our friends from across the pond are in the process of changing the law in the UK so that first-born daughters can be crowned as monarch ahead of a younger son. In a letter about this initiative, Prime Minister David Cameron said, “we espouse gender equality in all other aspects of life, and it is an anomaly that in the rules relating to the highest public office we continue to enshrine male superiority."

Speaking of queens, I’ve got an update for you on Brianna Amat, the winning field goal-kicking Homecoming Queen, who was dubbed the “Kicking Queen” by her peers. (Did I mention she’s also student body treasurer and has a 4.0 GPA?) The New York Times ran a follow-up piece on her over the weekend, highlighting how Title IX has been changing the spectrum for women for nearly 40 years in athletics and beyond. It talks about how Title IX helped Brianna feel like she’s “accepted as a full member of the high school football team,” and it also addresses what she means for future female athletes.

Finally, here’s an article from Good Housekeeping that I came across on Twitter earlier about the close friendships between some female members of Congress. I absolutely love hearing stories like these, including this bit about a conversation between Senators Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, and Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, who also happens to be one of my own senators:

The women of the Senate have a quarterly bipartisan dinner, and during a recent one, Kirsten says, "[Maine Republican] Susan Collins leaned over to me and said, 'You know, Kirsten, if you and I were doing the budget, it would be already done.'" That quip "was a joke and the truth," explains Susan, who was only the 15th woman in history to be elected to the Senate in her own right and who brings a pivotal nonpartisan perspective. "The women in Congress span the ideological spectrum, just as the men do, and we obviously don't agree on every issue by any means," Collins says. "But I do believe women tend to be more pragmatic. We tend to want to sit down and discuss one another's views, negotiate, and come up with a solution. And I think we're less concerned about who gets credit for that solution."

Ladies, I’m going to interject a piece of advice here before I wrap up: if you’ve ever thought about running for office, just do it. Don’t second-guess yourself.

And with that, I’m going to close this roundup. Have anything new or interesting to share? Please feel free to post a link in the comments.