We get a TON of emails here at CC HQ to help with this project and talk about that campaign and promote some big weekend sale. While we mostly ignore them (especially the emails we received asking us to promote anti-wrinkle cream to college students), there is always  one that grabs our attention and inspires us to get involved. So with no further ado, let’s talk about a project that will hopefully make a difference in the lives of women.

Dreaming Tree Films teamed up with Mary Kay this year, “to create Mary Kay Inspiring Stories to empower & inspire women (ages 18-34) nationwide to take a stand against domestic violence, the #1 cause of injury to women. Today through June 30 Mary Kay Inspiring Stories is hosting a nationwide online search for women who want to apply for their chance to be flown to Hollywood, in August, where they’ll team up with female celebrities to make movies with a mission. The celebrities involved will be announced shortly, however all share a commitment to educating and preventing domestic abuse. Those women selected will have days to bring their documentary & the inspiring stories of women who’ve faced domestic violence to life. No experience is needed to apply or be selected (women will learn the ins and outs of moviemaking in Hollywood). After production wraps the films will premiere in late September, on the cusp of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Following the premiere and throughout the month of October, millions across America will have the chance to view, vote and support the documentaries online. A $20,000 shelter grant will be given out in the name of the film crew behind the documentary that receives most of America’s vote. “

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[The following post is courtesy of our homegirls over at YourTango. They’ve been through it all and know just about everything about love, so we thought we’d bring their expertise to you. Enjoy!]

Rihanna may think that she’s back to making sweet music together with her battering boyfriend, but she is sadly mistaken if she thinks he will never hit her again.

Men who batter rarely do it once, even if they are rich and famous. So if you’re in a relationship with a guy who has pushed, hit or slapped you once, take it as a warning sign. You can expect him to do it again and again.

Here’s everything you need to know about batterers, from domestic violence experts Diann Ackard, a PhD psychologist on the board of Break the Cycle, an organization specializing in the treatment of domestic abuse, and Candice Hopkins, director of Love is Respect, the National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline. Read More »

Say, have you heard of Camille Paglia? If not, good news: it turns out that you are not old. You’ve also, apparently, managed to avoid the massive headaches that she’s been inflicting on thinking people for the better part of the last two decades. Now, for the bad news: she’s back, and she’s aiming to annoy the world once more.

Here’s the deal: Camille Paglia was the Ann Coulter of the ‘90s. She wrote a book, Sexual Personae, which dealt “shockingly” with issues of sex and gender, in that it basically re-iterated the talking points of idiot wife-beaters across the nation. (Here’s a sample quote: “If civilization had been left in female hands, we would still be living in grass huts.”) This book turned her into a popular media personality, and spawned countless essays and TV appearances; she was the go-to girl when conservatives needed to call upon some random crazy to bash women.

The peak of her career, of course, came when she took it upon herself to defend rapists, by saying that women who got drunk or wore skimpy clothes in the presence of men deserved to be sexually assaulted, because men simply could not be expected to contain their awesome sexual power. In her words, “woman’s flirtatious arts of self-concealment mean man’s approach must take the form of rape.” Read More »