From our Fabulously Feminist Friends at Feministing.com

Dim Star in Dallas

The National Hockey League has decided today that using your position as a professional athlete to prove your "masculinity" by verbally trashing a woman will not be tolerated .

Dallas Stars player, Sean Avery was suspended today indeinfitely for seeking out a camera in order to deal with his own insecurities. Calling an opponent's current girlfriend his "sloppy seconds" in an interview caused outrage today in Calgary, AB Canada as well as strongly worded statements from the hockey community. Nothing like trying to prove your "manliness" by putting down your ex-girlfriend in public for no apparent reason.

I do like that the NHL didn't hesitate to suspend Avery, and how the team owner, Tom Hicks seconded the decision, stating, "I completely support the league's decision to suspend Sean Avery. Had the league not have suspended him, the Dallas Stars would have. This organization will not tolerate such behavior, especially from a member of our hockey team. We hold our team to a higher standard and will continue to do so."

Sad that 'higher standard' = decency, but the swiftness of the decison is appreciated.
Now if only there could be something done to discourage this kind of behaviour before it happens...and if only MTV would avoid giving this dude more glorifying airtime for lame behaviour...


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Walgreens harasses woman buying Plan B

Consumerist brings us a story out of Oxford, MS, where a woman buying Plan B - which is sold over-the-counter to women over 18 years old - was harassed by the pharmacy staff when she tried to purchase the contraceptive.

She said the pharmacy worker started asking for proof of insurance in order to get the pill. My girlfriend refused and asked to speak to someone in charge. The pharmacist then came, and my girlfriend told him she simply wanted Plan B and that her ID should be good enough. The pharmacist then went about getting the pill, but they also seem to have a policy, a lá abortion clinics, of forcing a waiting period of an hour and giving adoption literature to the person requesting the contraceptive. Now, Plan B is just an additional spermicide, not an abortion pill, but that's another can of worms. In the end, my girlfriend demanded the Plan B immediately, and she got it, but not without a fair amount of interference on Walgreens' part. They also insisted on writing down her driver's license number. (Editor's Note: Plan B is not a spermicide, but that's besides the point.)

Proof of insurance? Adoption literature?! And writing down her driver's license number...it's all just too much. Something tells me this woman isn't the only one to be given a hard time about buying this legal contraceptive - and I'm betting not all women who went there knew that they didn't have to put up with this bullshit.

You can contact the Oxford Walgreens at (662) 513-0894 if you want to tell them what's what.

I'd also encourage folks to call the corporate offices and tell them that store number 7757 is harassing women trying to buy Plan B. You can also call them at (877) 250-5823 and ask about their company policy regarding birth control and how they make sure that their pharmacists aren't denying women medication.

Don't let them get away with this.