Online Now

The Humor Issue Letter from the Editor: Here is a variation on the "If you were stranded on a desert island ...?" question. Let's assume, for the purposes of this exercise, that aside from or in addition to a person whom you might bring, you'd also be able to grab a few books and DVDs or videos. What would they be?     Women's Humor by Nina Burleigh with Ellen Snortland Janeane Garofalo sees no difference between male and female humor. “Funny transcends gender,” she says. Comedian Kate Clinton sees a definite difference. “I am an essentialist ... Women’s humor is more circular, narrative, not the punch line, more kind of interestingly connecting the dots.” Discuss >> Dances With Wolves by Catherine Orenstein Feminists in particular have long recognized that fairy tales socialize boys and especially girls, presenting them with lessons that must be absorbed to reach adulthood. But what exactly are those lessons? Discuss >> Between A Woman And Her Doctor by Martha Mendoza On Nov. 6, 2003, President Bush signed what he called a “partial birth abortion ban,” prohibiting doctors from committing an “overt act” designed to kill a partially delivered fetus. One of the unintended consequences of this new law is that it put people in my position, with a fetus that is already dead, in a technical limbo. Discuss >> Touching History by Ms. Readers Over the past year, Ms. has published readers' stories about the fabulous, inspiring women they've met. Here are three of the most recently published remembrances -- Nina Simone, Alice Paul, Margarita Sames -- with many more to come. Discuss >> Documenting Women by Amy Taubin For over three decades, women filmmakers have thrived in the documentary field as they still do not in Hollywood or the indie world. Plus: Sheila Nevins, president of HBO Documentary and Family, talks with Ms. Discuss >> Viagra Or An Rx for Sex? What Women Really Want in Bed by Sheenah Hankin Let’s be frank: Women are not sexually “dysfunctional.” Let’s be clear: Many, many women are sexually dissatisfied. So, what turns us off? Discuss >> Unequal Under the Law   by Jessica Neuwirth Around the world, real discrimination against women persists — much of it in blatant, tolerated, legal form. Read about cases from Nepal to the United States. Plus, the "family oriented" political climate of Italy; a North Korean refugee's journey; and Peruvian Congresswoman Cecilia Tait spikes and serves. Discuss >> Just Verdicts by Marissa N. Batt Next time you search for an excuse to avoid jury duty, remember it wasn't that long ago that the 12 seats used to be filled only by men. So do what Oprah did: bring Anna Karenina and take a seat. Discuss >> Summer Must Read List Whether you're headed to the beach or spending the next few weeks cooling off in front of a fan, here are almost a dozen books sure to keep you entertained. Which ones would you suggest? Discuss >> Our August Amazons by Michele Kort When the Olympic Games became a modern event in 1896, founder Pierre de Coubertin declared that women competing in “men’s” sports “would be impractical, uninteresting, unaesthetic and improper.” This summer in Athens, women athletes will come the closest they’ve ever been to parity with men. Discuss >> Convincing the World by Michele Kort If Anita DeFrantz hadn’t become the most powerful woman in amateur sports, she might have settled for being secretary of state. Ms. talks with the 51-year-old member of the International Olympic Committee about women's sports. Discuss >> Taking Back the Whip by Jessica Seigel Let’s say you’re swinging an 8-foot bullwhip — the kind that can reverse a stampede with a thunderous boom, yank the gun from the hand of your nemesis or vault you to freedom from a chandelier — and you unleash your first “crack!” You can feel pretty mighty in just a snap. I sure did. Discuss >> Food, Farming ... Feminism? by Elaine Lipson Putting food and feminism in the same sentence can make one wary. Wasn’t that part of the whole liberation plan — to make women less responsible for food? And what’s gender got to do with food choices and food production methods? Discuss >> Backtalk by Donna Brazile In this electoral season, it’s time for women to “stir the pots” and to utilize the power of their vote to help change the face of American politics. One Funny Woman by Elaine Lafferty Wanda Sykes is crazy, controlled, smart, brave and devoted to the proposition that whatever happens in this world, we gotta laugh at absurdity. "I hate what's going on in this country," says Sykes. "But it's good for comedy." What's So Funny? by Gina Barreca Women are funny. We are certainly funnier than men. Which is why you always hear laughter coming from the women’s room — we’re having a riot in there.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letters Keeping Score
National	Global
Women Leaders March for Women's Lives Political Conventions Mortgages for Moms Indecent Laws Asian Pacific Women Dispatches Calendar	Unequal Laws Blaming Italian Women Peru's Volleyball Politican North Korean Refugee Tale Dispatches Networking Corner
FEATURES
Cover Story One Funny Woman | ELAINE LAFFERTY What's So Funny? | GINA BARRECA Women's Humor is Different | NINA BURLEIGH WITH ELLEN SNORTLAND More Features Food, Farming...Feminism? | Elaine Lipson Our August Amazon | Michele Kort Interview with Anita DeFrantz | Michele Kort Documenting Women | Amy Taubin HBO's Sheila Nevins | Amy Taubin Taking Back the Whip | Jessica Seigel Dancing with Wolves | Catherine Ornstein
DEPARTMENTS
Law Just Verdicts? | MARISSA N. BATT Why women should embrace jury service Health Viagra or an Rx for sex? | SHEENAN HANKIN Women are dissatisfied, not dysfunctional Essay Between a Woman and Her Doctor | MARTHA MENDOZA An unforgettable story about abortion Excerpt Mandalas | ROSHNI RUSTOMJI A remembrance of the unending wars the author has watched and lived through Fiction By-and-By | AMY BLOOM How I Left Onondaga Country and Found Peace and Contemtment on 72nd Street | JANE CIABATTARI	Poetry How Everything Adores Being Alive | MARY OLIVER Big Baby | JOY KATZ Touching History Encounters with Women of Renown | NINA SIMONE, MARGARITA SAMES & ALICE PAUL Book Reviews Alica Gambrell on The Fire This Time; Branda Wineapple on Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin; Jane Ciabattari on The News from Paraguay; Tina McElroy Ansa on Shifting Through Neutral; Sarah Gonzales on A Seahorse Year No Comment Backtalk DONNA BRAZILE