Comedian Lizz Winstead has recorded a new YouTube video for UltraViolet in recognition of the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, which occurs on January 22. As Winstead notes in the video, "Forty years later, far to o many of us still don't have the access to the healthcare we deserve. Did you know, in 2013 four states have only one surgical abortion clinic?" Clearly the fight is not over. Happy anniversary, Roe. Now let's keep working.

Lactivists have taken to social media and the streets to protect the right to breastfeeding in public in Australia. Two demonstrations have taken place following the ejection of Liana Webster, a mother breastfeeding at a public pool on 12 January 2013. As the local media reported, "Mothers with hungry children in tow converged on the Bribie Island Aquatic and Leisure Centre yesterday for the peaceful protest."

by Megan Reback

Despite important gains for women in 2012, sexism persists in our society, and women face ongoing challenges in the year -- and years -- ahead. Here at VITAMIN W, we asked women thought leaders in various fields the following questions: where are women going in 2013, and what do you hope for women in the fields of comedy, politics and journalism? Their answers after the jump.

The latest Draw Me Why YouTube video focuses on women in science, and specifically why we need more of them to enter the field. "Did you know crash test dummies are based on a man's body, and that car safety belts have not been made for pregnant women?" the video's narrator begins. It goes on: "Did you know that calculations of radiation dosage are based on the absorption model of the middle aged man?" Well, did you? Watch the whole thing after the jump.

by Gloria Feldt

With a virtual thud, the Catalyst 2012 Census of Fortune 500 companies hit my e-mailbox:

On August 11, 2012 two members of the Big Red High School football team in Steubenville, Ohio – USA were arrested and charged with the rape and kidnapping of an out of town 16 year old girl. At the time of this gang rape, the girl was intoxicated and unconscious. Despite all this, it looked as though a town rife with corruption, cronyism, illegal gambling and fixated upon their star high school football team were prepared to orchestrate a major cover-up.

by Kari Lerum and Shari Dworkin

Each year, the Pew Research Center produces great research about American society. Below are some findings on women from 2012. Most striking, both men and women seem to have put a similar value on being good parents, having a marriage, and career -- in that order. We're not so different after all. However, women do seem to be putting more value on education and career than before. Careers dim in importance as women age, as they did 15 years ago. (A result of hitting the glass ceiling too many times?)

New research shows that when parents use racial socialization—talking to their children or engaging in activities that promote feelings of racial

It would be truly wonderful to live in the world inhabited solely by proponents of porn. In this apparently post-capitalist world, where sexual freedoms abound, there is no need to worry about violence against women. In this world, pornography is simply the representation of a rainbow of sexual desires

 by Soraya Chemaly

A new series of charts from Mother Jones illustrates the gender divide in newspaper obituary sections. "Big papers' lists of significant deaths in 2012 overwhelmingly feature men," MoJo reports. "So is the issue that notable women aren't dying—or that newspapers aren't reporting it?" The charts (two after the jump, the rest here) show that there are a lot of factors going on, and most of them point to longstanding sexism.