In this week’s Wednesday 5: women’s fashion magazines and the serious, substantive woman; 23 women show us their ‘favorite position’; women’s reports from war zones makes the front page of “The New York Times”; women are the new face of independent film; and dolls that steal the spotlight from Barbie.

1.

Fashion Magazines Matter to Serious Women

Taylor Marsh is calling out a July Politico article by Sarah Kendzior that criticized women’s fashion magazines because they “demean powerful women—even when they’re trying to celebrate them” and “reduce female political leaders to their supposed fashion and lifestyle choices.” In her blog post, Marsh disagrees, arguing that it has been a long-held stigma that serious women of substance would be minimized for their interest in being fashionable.

What women wear and why we choose the clothes we do is part of how we do our work. Our make-up, the fabric on our skin, the leather we fit around our feet, all of it affects how we feel when we do our work or engage an audience that looks at our image first before we even make a sound.

It’s astounding to me that in the second decade of the 21st century we’re having articles written by leading Washington media outlets demeaning the notion of fashion magazines that have been around a lot longer.

Marsh also provides interesting fruit for thought: Jill Abramson gave her first serious interview about her firing to Cosmopolitan—a women’s fashion magazine.

2.

23 Women Show Us Their Favorite Position

 We love this. Television star Lauren Conrad was recently asked what her “favorite position” was on a live radio program. Her ace comeback: CEO! In response to that infamous question, the organization Mic.com has turned it on its head and initiated a new campaign about women in the workplace. Elizabeth Plank writes:

While the job descriptions vary, these women are united in their desire to send a powerful message to all those who would belittle them. American workers deserve better, America’s female workers most of all. It’s high time all employees were judged on their ability to kick butt, not their gender.

See the full list of favorite positions here.

3.

 A Remarkable New York Times Front Page

Look carefully at the bylines covering Gaza and Ukraine on the front page of the July 18, 2014, edition of the The New York Times. Women reported from war zones and outnumbered male writers above the fold. Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren and Beirut bureau chief Anne Barnard covered the Israeli invasion of Gaza, and science correspondent Sabrina Tavernise reported on the Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 crash from Ukraine. It’s an incredible accomplishment, given the latest data  from the  Women’s Media Center study that showed that men dominate, with 63 percent of bylines. The Times had the largest gender gap, with 69 percent of bylines attributed to men.

4.

The New Faces of Independent Film: Women

Speaking of women in media, here’s another cause for celebration: Women directors and screenwriters make up half of Filmmaker Magazine’s 2014 list of the New Faces of Independent Film. Spanning narrative helmers and documentarians, studio collaborators and experimental artists, the 13 women named on the list are a diverse lot. (Indiewire)

5.

No to Barbie, Yes to Marie Curie

In this week’s dose of inspiration, we share with you the  Miss Possible, a line of dolls, created by two University of Illinois alumnae, that show girls an entirely different message about their abilities and dreams. Elizabeth Ballou writes in Bustle.com:

Supriya Hobbs and Janna Eaves wanted to make something that would change the ways that young girls thought about themselves in relation to fields like chemistry, aviation, and programming. Their answer? Manufacturing dolls spotlighting women throughout history who have been ground-breakers and leaders.

The first doll is Marie Curie, the Nobel Prize-winning chemist and physicist and later will come Bessie Coleman, the first female, African-American pilot, and Ada Lovelace, the first computer program.