A few weeks ago, it occurred to me that reproductive rights were not the number one issue for all women voters in the country. In fact, it seemed to not even be the number one issue for women of childbearing age or women who care about women of childbearing age. As someone obsessed with my right to self-autonomy, I wondered what was up. A quick investigation into the matter led me to conclude that many women didn't prioritize reproductive rights as an issue because they falsely assumed that both candidates supported the full spectrum of reproductive rights.

Saturday's New York Times print edition prominently featured an op-ed by Lindsey O'Rourke titled, "Behind the Woman Behind the Bomb." It caught my eye for two reasons. First, the graphic was huge (6.5 inches high and 6 inches wide, which is a lot of space to take up on the op-ed page) and an interesting portrayal of what I construed to be a dangerous vamp.

My friend Alex Elliot and I are soliciting stories for an anthology of stories about what happened when you first began menstruating. Stories can be funny, poignant, hair-raising, or whatever best captures what it was like when you first got your period, bought pads by yourself at the drug store, or tried putting in a tampon. Guidelines, deadlines, and other lines can be found at Congratulations, You're A Woman Now!.

On Saturday, July 19, eleven bloggers gathered for the Feminism & Gender Room of Your Own at the BlogHer conference. Using every second of our 40 minute time slot, we introduced ourselves and the topics that are most on our minds these days. Since time was short and issues were complicated, intricate, and thoughtful, we did not have enough time to have more than a surface discussion about each one, but I thought it worth sharing our ideas to perhaps get some online conversation going. Here's what was on our minds:

Back in January 2007, Denise wrote a post on BlogHer about her teen daughter's positive experience getting a Gardasil vaccination. The very first comment, made by Donna, noted that after her 15 year old daughter received the shot, she has had headaches and double vision. Donna wondered if anyone else had a similar experience.