Abortion Clinics Online
I received an e-mail the other day from Hope-Net, subject line: "Ladies hurting from the past." I'd just finished reading about so-called "Crisis Pregnancy Centers" in The Abortion Resource Handbook, and decided to visit Hope-Net's Web site. It's disturbing to say the least, from misleading descriptions of abortion methods to stories of women depressed and suicidal 20 years after having an abortion. If you're looking for a safe place to get an abortion, beware of offers like "crisis pregnancy counseling." Abortion Clinics Online is a nationwide directory of abortion clinics, and includes advice on recognizing and avoiding anti-abortion counseling centers. (reviewed 7/14/97) Note: I received a lot of angry mail as a result of this review. I published some of these letters in the Editor's Room.

About-Face
About-Face is the San Francisco group formerly known as the Stop Starvation Imagery Campaign. They've now expanded their mission, and work to combat any negative and distorted images of women — women as junkies, women as sluts, bruised women (see the cover of this month's Harper's Bazaar). You can see the offenders right here on the site, as well as a few ads to be praised for their portrayal of women. A great eye-opener, plus a few hints on what you can do to help. I don't agree with all of their judgements (I love Versace ads, and I appreciate Guess ads for choosing curvy women over waifs). But their commentary on the DKNY ad is genius. (reviewed 5/15/97)

Advancing Women
Advancing Women is a thorough, serious site, packed with intelligent essays and lively conferencing. Go there for great tips on finance, the workplace, the Web, education...it caters to all ages and expertise. Find a job or balance a family and work; learn how to use e-mail or get tips on java; get the scoop on O.J.'s ex or meet the women making waves in the tech world. Advancing Women's Global News is my favorite feature. (reviewed 12/6/96)

Amazing Parker Quintuplets
A journal and photo album in five parts (of course). I'll let the girls speak for themselves. Or maybe it's a whole Web site of recipes, links, and media diet recommendations disguised as a schizo journal. Whatever, it'll make you laugh, and the design is nice too. (reviewed 3/27/97)

Amazon City
The Amazon woman stands "poised at the edge of the revolution," and if you believe the graphic, she's poised in heels and big hair. But Amazon City's a pretty serious site. It began as a Web design company for women-owned businesses, and it just kept growing. It's now a meeting place for women-owned businesses and non-profits — non-profits get free Web space and businesses pay a little. But anyone can use the networking boards to meet other working women, find a job, or get advice on starting a company. The City doesn't try to hide the fact that it's got a mall, but just like a real city, you can tell the shops from the cafes from the kooks on the corner. (reviewed 11/22/96)

Barton's Den of Iniquity
Barton is a woman ("I enjoy using a male-sounding name in a strange crowd, because I get to hear some pretty raw conversation about guys trying to perform oral sex on themselves."). She'd rather bitch about other people than talk about herself, and she does the former best when she's talking about gynecologists. Her Gynecological Adventures are a step-by-step guide to knowing when you're in the wrong gyno office (ice cold speculum = bad). The stories will make you cringe and cross your legs, but they're a good reminder of what to expect and what you deserve when you get there. They're a good laugh too — and who ever thought that lying on your back with you legs in plastic stirrups would be that? (reviewed 1/10/97)

bianca's Smut Shack
Now, I'm no chatter, but if I were to chat, it'd be here. Not for the faint of heart — Bianca tells it like it is. Her Parlor Chat room is subtitled "duct tape, dirt and discourse," so if no one there wants to chat about gardening, you can't really blame Bianca. Try Altar Chat (specially designed for women) for something a little more...girly. (reviewed 2/7/97)

Black Girl International
This is a guide to sites by and for African-American women, from politics to health, from Web rings to sororities, from business to art. It's updated all the time, and tends to focus on specific articles within sites. Seeing as no search engine covers more than a third of the Web these days, personal Web guides like this are probably your best bet! (reviewed 4/8/98)

Brillo
Brillo Magazine is "for today's cranky feminist" — at least they admit that up front. But cranky doesn't mean boring or uptight. (Check out the dancing tampon on the homepage, or this month's tampon tip: Leave a tampon on the dashboard of your car to deter auto theft.) Yes, there is a tampon theme, but it's got nothing to do with Tampax (check out www.troom.com for their good-natured attempt). Brillo suggests sexual uses for technology (and you thought your Atari joystick went out with the dinosaurs), but it also asks some hard questions about the Web (what are we paving over when we lay the information super highway?). Brillo's not luddite, it's just abrasive. (reviewed 1/10/97)

Bubbe's Back Porch
Bubbe is a Jewish grandmother, and she wants to hear stories about your grandmother. A digital story bee, she likes to call it, as she weaves these stories together on her site. And if you're in San Francisco, you can visit the live story bee, too, held in honor of Jewish Web Week. (reviewed 2/25/98)

Bust
Meet the women behind it, then check out the Web site. Michelle Karp and Debbie Stoller said they founded Bust because the only publication that still spoke to them was Sassy, and it was a little embarrassing to be reading Sassy in their twenties. Bust bites the Cosmo girl in the ass, but that doesn't mean Bust doesn't talk about sex. It's just that Bust doesn't recommend losing weight and wearing lipstick in order to enjoy sex more. (reviewed 12/13/96)

Catt's Claws
Catt's Claws is a "frequently appearing feminist newsletter," in the words of its creator, Irene Stuber. She's a retired Florida journalist (pushing 70) and has she got a tongue! Wow. You can get the letter by e-mail or on the site — recent issues have covered Ellen's coming out episode (and who might prevent you from seeing it) and the California woman who lost her forearms to a rapist. (Irene urged her readers to contribute to the fund to buy a new set of prosthesis for this woman.) If I'm allowed to say this about a woman more than 40 years my senior, Irene Stuber's got balls. A fitting tribute to Carrie Chapman Catt, to whom we owe women's enfranchisement. (reviewed 4/17/97)

Diary of a Garterbelt Feminist
This is an essay in Word's Desire section, by Linda Rosenfeld — if the title puts you off, at least check it out for the design. Each page forces you to unscroll a piece of clothing to reveal an essay where one might expect a crotch. It's the story of a woman "appropriating the signifiers of [her] objectification," and ending up with nothing more than a dirty wink and a few phone numbers. But it's uplifting, really. Kind of like the Wonderbra. (reviewed 3/20/97)

Disgruntled Housewife
This is more Bettie Page than Martha Stewart, although you will find a few recipes (filed under "meals men like"). It's an odd collection of musings on pregnancy (Nikol calls it "a bizarre spawning prone state"); plots that work if you work for the man; and a list of boys who've been bad (could be Bruce Willis, could be Nikol's landlord). For insight into this site, read the front-page column "Welcome to My Neurosis." (reviewed 1/17/97)

EstroNet
OK, so I'm biased on this one. EstroNet is the Estrogen Powered Web Network, and the current members are Bust, gURL, HUES, Maxi, Minx, Wench, and... the Women's Zone. But if you read these reviews regularly, you'll know that the other six are my favorite sites by and for women out there. It's pretty good company to be in. We're all over the country — some of us are part of huge Web sites and some of us do it out of our own pockets, but we wanted to make a place on the Web where other women could find us all together — a gateway to smart, savvy, female-friendly sites. Because mainstream media does not dictate what is meaningful to us. We do. Join the EstroNet mailing list and get your dose of hormone therapy! (reviewed 10/17/97 by Emma)

Femina A search engine just for women — organized like Yahoo as opposed to Alta Vista: you can search by keyword, but the browsable categories are the real strength. (reviewed 12/20/96)

Feminist.com
Feminist.com encompasses the entire feminist movement, from Third Wave to Washington Feminist Faxnet to Girls Incorporated. It's straightforward, informative and doesn't have a hell of a lot to do with skateboarding. But it's a great reference source if you're looking for women-friendly businesses, or if you want to know what's going down in Congress that will affect you as a woman. And don't be afraid of the URL — there's a lot to enjoy even if you think the F word has four letters. (reviewed 11/15/96)

Foxy
Foxy is for skateboardin' girls, or anyone who think girls who skateboard are cool. Or anyone who just likes the clothes that skateboardin' girls wear and wants a "girls kick ass" bumper sticker on their car. But it's not all about baby tees. You'll find interviews with girls who kick ass (Janeane Garafalo and Ani DiFranco) and advice on prudent use of credit: "Credit cards are a lot like sex...if you go too overboard, you end up paying for many years to come." Amen to that sister. (reviewed 11/15/96)

GameGirlz
Reviews, news, and views on the gaming industry, "by girlz and for girlz," and profiles of women in the industry. Also, home to the infamous Psycho Men Slayers (PMS) gaming clan. (reviewed 2/4/98)

Girlfriends
Girlfriends is a Web site for lesbians, and when I read that the publisher of Girlfriends is the mother of 33-year-old editor-in-chief Heather Findlay, I had to check it out. Now there's one hip (but straight) mama! Girlfriends is pretty conservative, as far as lesbian publications go (boys, don't expect any lesbian pinups) — but it's far from boring. Don't miss "Ask Dr. Dyke" and the sex toy reviews. It's tongue-in-cheek, too: Girlfriends indulges in a little Might-esque outing (i.e. wishful thinking or butch clothing is evidence enough!). Findlay claims she hasn't gotten sued. Yet. (reviewed 12/27/97)

Girls on Film
Chicks, flicks, and politicks — it's more "girls on media." Read about movies, politics, art, and life from four girls who talk like they've known you forever. (reviewed 11/8/96)

Go, Girl!
Go, Girl! has a mission: to get all girls and women involved in sports, even if your tired bones are aching, and changing channels on your TV is an exertion. Go, Girl! doesn't yell at you like those awful peppy aerobics instructors on TV, but neither will it let you think that couch butt-squeezes are a good week's workout. Sometimes Go, Girl! seems to enjoy being the Dr. Laura of health sites. The current feature advises on how to turn New Year's resolutions (I'll go to the gym at 6 am every morning and run home from work) into a realistic fitness regime. (reviewed 12/27/97)

Guerrilla Girls
Speaking of women artists, check out the Guerrilla Girls' home on the Web. Think Robin Hood in drag, they're anonymous do-gooders trying to get equal treatment for women artists and be funny at the same time. (reviewed 2/14/97)

gURL
gURL is, well, gURL. Rebecca is a gURL and she designed this page, and I like her site. It's playful (zits get equal play with sex) and it's very pink, but don't let that turn you off. (reviewed 11/8/96)

Heartless Bitches International
HBI is not man-hating, but it's certainly not about "Rules" girls. (You know, "Time-Tested Secrets to Capturing the Heart of Mr. Right.") It's about revolting against Michael Bolton and boys who think the same boring thing for an hour is stamina. "Bitch" means Being In Total Control, Honey. "Deal With It" columns are on anything from getting over Gen-X grunge-wear to office talk, and Honorary Heartless Bitches include Scarlett O'Hara and Eleanor Roosevelt. And for all you "Rules" girls, the Heartless Bitches Men's Auxiliary is coming to a Web site near you. "Because we LIKE women who are in control of their lives!" (reviewed 11/22/96)

HUES Online
HUES (Hear Us Emerging Sisters) was started five years ago by three women at the University of Michigan who were tired of being told to get skinny and beautiful. So they started a zine... and now they publish HUES for 120,000 readers. Plus they've got a Web site, so if — like me — the funkiest magazine your local bookshop stocks is Vanity Fair, you no longer have to be deprived of HUES. Navel piercing, Web page building, and why Vogue doesn't know shit about who can and can't wear a bikini. (reviewed 6/12/97)

Maxi
Maxi is the brand new Web site from the women who brought you Bitchmag. Sadly, the online version of Bitch died, but what came out of it is a great Web site — this premiere issue/week is devoted to underappreciated girlfriends. Other topics addressed include emergency contraception, girly films, and — god love them for this — shoe fetishism. Candie's shoes, in particular (you know, the ones worn in the ads by Jenny McCarthy on the toilet). There's a conferencing system of sorts, too. Very low-tech, but hopefully the conversation will be good enough that you won't even notice. (reviewed 5/1/97)

Maxine
Maxine ("for churlish girls and rakish women") is the online home of the Chicago-based zine. The themed issues run the gamut, from ambition (definitely read "Can You Stuff a Wild Tool Belt?") to travel (are you ready for "Gynocology on the Go"?). The writing is intelligent and aware — Maxine is for girls who want more than a summary of the sex appeal of feminism's varying brands. (reviewed 3/4/98)

Minx
I found this site accidentally — I was actually wondering if the British magazine Minx had a Web site (it doesn't, as far as I know) and ended up at this URL. And then all of a sudden it was an hour later and I'd just finished reading Big Sex at the Commack Motor Inn. Who the hell reads that much online? Somewhere in there I crossed the fuzzy line that divides surfing for work from surfing for pleasure. And I kept going! And then I noticed Minx's mission statement: "Guilt-free pleasure." So I kept on reading and I didn't even feel bad. I love this site because it is unashamedly into products (you know, the products that make you look and feel nice). But it's not fluffy — issue two is about the work place: Minx suggests a few hefty stones that should at least put a crack in the glass ceiling, and shows you what real women wear to work. (Hint: It's not spike heels.) (reviewed 9/11/97 by Emma)

National Museum of Women in the Arts
I admit that I didn't know there was a National Museum of Women in the Arts, but now there is a Web site, I do. The museum's mission is to spread the word about women artists past and present, so now they can spread the word a little further. The site's worthwhile even if you can't make it to DC (the museum's location) — check out the bios and artwork of women artists from Lavina Fontana to Helen Frankenthaler. (reviewed 2/14/97)

National Women's History Project
This organization, founded in 1980, initiated National Women's History Month. (They used to celebrate Women's History Week — the week of March 8, International Women's Day. Then in 1987, they petitioned Congress to expand the national celebration to an entire month.) This site is packed with information about women in history, and includes ideas on how to bring attention to women's history. You might want to take the women's history quiz to find out how much (or little) you know, before you start accusing anyone else of not paying attention. The Guerrilla Girls once asked, "If February is Black History Month and March is Women's History Month, what happens the rest of the year?" The Guerrilla Girls answered their own question with one word: discrimination. The National Women's History Project gives a whole Web site full of answers. This is what women have been doing, from April to February, for hundreds of years: "History looks different when the contributions of women are included." (reviewed 3/6/97)

Net Chick Clubhouse
This is Carla Sinclair's site (author of the book Net Chick, too), and it's worth a visit just to ask the Magic 8 Bra a question (quick, before the trademark police hunt her down). I was told, "The cups are angry. You must believe in them if you want a straight answer." I'm not going to tell you what I asked. But I really did feel like I believed. (reviewed 1/17/97)

New Moon
New Moon is a great example of someone who's trying to make puberty a better place. Started by a mother with twin daughters entering adolescence, New Moon is "for girls and their dreams." It covers subjects such as sport in school, horses, pen pals, and, in the current issue, a 13-year-old wheelchair racer. It's not just written by adults who think they know it all because they've been there (because although puberty will always be hell, it's a different hell than it was twenty years ago). Young girls sit on the editorial board and write for New Moon. New Moon tells girls what they deserve and how to get it. (reviewed 1/3/97)

Olen Interactive Pregnancy Calendar
Enter your date of conception (or due date) and this calendar will tell you just what's going on with your baby, what you should be eating, books you might want to read, and reassuring tips such as "the chance of miscarriage gets much lower after this week." That's right after the first trimester, when "mommy's belly should begin popping out." If it's any consolation, mommy's breasts will have popped out months before. (reviewed 2/20/97)

PMS
That's Post Modern Sluts — the online home of the zine by the same name. The Slut Manifesto explains it all — "slut" in order to reclaim this word for women, and "post modern" because a post modern slut is a slut on her own terms, with "definition to her looseness." Make your own rules and make your sex safe and if you're not sure, just do it yourself. Like Sever's motorcycle cop fetish that would never really work out because all the cops she knows have mustaches. You can be a slut in your head, if you want to. Don't miss "Kicking Ass: A Young Slut's Primer," for the next time some sleazy guy pulls over and tells you what he'd like to do to you. (reviewed 8/14/97)

Postfeminist Playground
So, last week it was Post Modern Sluts, this week it's postfeminist... as in, "Thanks for feminism and all that, but we've got more important things to think about." You might not agree, but if you can get over that, what's inside is intelligent, funny, and yes, sometimes even postfeminist. And other times just girly. Susannah Breslin and Lily James are the girls in charge, and I like them because they just set Ms. straight on a few things — like that the Internet is not chock-block full of scary monster men who like little girls. This month's issue gives you reasons to cook, places to get naked, and an ardent defense of the prom baby killer. (reviewed 8/20/97)

Shescape
Shescape has been organizing lesbian parties since 1981, and now they have a gorgeous Web site that says so (14.4 connectors beware). Go here for details on upcoming events (or sign up to be e-mailed the schedule), get your lesbian horoscope, and meet the comedienne of the month. (reviewed 1/31/97)

Sissy
Sissy is the last ever issue of old-school Sassy before it got taken over — the issue that never made it into print. There's RuPaul on zits and stomach hair, Veruca Salt on makeup, and Blossom's Mayim Bialik on how to do a mitzvah. And if you want the dirt on the demise of the bought-up evil Sassy, check out ex-Sassy editor Rita Hao's account of the whole sordid affair. (reviewed 4/3/97)

Smarty-Pants
As its name might suggest, Smarty-Pants had a slightly bookish beginning, but recent additions to this site address the decidedly non-bookish issues of home birthing and tampons. Editor Emma Gardner interviews a midwife who is passionate about giving the birthing process back to the mother (she believes womb envy is to blame for men's technological involvement in birth). The essay on the safety of tampons chronicles the Internet revolution — the thousands of women who got fed up of waiting for the FDA and used the medium to spread warnings about bleached tampons. Smarty Pants is intelligent and earnest, and — unlike many online offerings for women — less one woman's rant than a collection of thoughtful essays by women who don't have all that much in common. Except that they're all Smarty-Pants, of course. (reviewed 9/3/97 by Emma)

SpiceGirls.com
Alright, so their music is popsicle pink and they vote Conservative, but they're so sincere about Girl Power! And don't you just love the fact that each Spice Girl has her own personality? White limey girls probably can't rap, but they're charmingly refreshing after so much gloomy BritPop. This is their home on the Web (unofficial, of course). And right here, for the bargain price of 25 pounds a year, you can get your own e-mail address at the SpiceGirls.com domain name. Who do you Wannabe? (reviewed 2/27/97)

Webgrrls
Aliza Sherman is the original (and only, according to her) Cybergrrl and she founded the first chapter of Webgrrls. Go to this site to find your nearest chapter and become a Webgrrl — you'll be joining a worldwide network of grrls who don't buy the whole "math is hard" thing. Aliza ventured onto the Web when it was full of geek boys, and she brought an army of hip, techno-cool girls with her. If you're a woman on the Web, you owe her a lot. (reviewed 11/29/96)

Wench
Unabashedly feminist but playful enough to call itself "Wench," this site strikes a nice balance between Ms Magazine's ardent activism and the lighthearted "you go girl"-ness of much of what you will find on the Web for women. Recent articles have examined the Spice Girls' do me feminism, why Maxim For Men (and its female editor) suck, and how come no one ever noticed that Bazooka Joe is a sexist pig. (reviewed 10/2/97 by Emma)

Women Online News
Women Online News began as a networking and announcements list for women in the San Francisco Bay Area. Now it does the same thing for women all over the world. You'll also find news about women of the Web, and issues of interest to women online. This isn't the kind of site where the editor treats you like a best friend, but it's a great place to get news, hear about conferences and meet the women who are making waves on the Web. (reviewed 1/3/97)

Women's Wire
An intelligent site that has no problem embracing sex, career, money and fashion. It's not grrly, but it's no Cosmo either: don't miss their daily women in the news. (reviewed 11/8/96)

Words of the Tyrtle
The Words of the Tyrtle is the work of Sage Lunsford. It's an online journal of sorts, though she (happily) lacks the pride in neurosis that so many online diarists flaunt. She's been posting almost-daily updates to her diary, "Coffee Shakes," since June '95, which puts her right up there with Justin Clouse. Well, one up on Justin, because Tyrtle includes a parody of his journal ("Justine's Ode to Justine"). There are sage words too, and sad stories of things past, and wacky advice from Auntie Lois ("advice you did not ask for from a woman you will not like"). All by Sage Lunsford, of course. And one more thing: For such an old-timer, she's pretty friendly to new-comers. (Check out the guide to her journal, which explains "rotted monsters" and "Lucy dress" to virgin Tyrtlers.) (reviewed 1/24/97) Note: Sadly, Sage has taken down her site for now. It seems hate mail and lack of inspiration drove her offline to write. For the full story, visit Tripod member sdubinsky's Tyrtle Page — this page is also a gathering point for the Mumblers, the community that developed around Sage's journal. If Sage returns to the Web, I'll note the new URL here — if you find her somewhere, let me know.

WWWomen
WWWomen is a search engine just for women. The links are all pink, just in case the URL didn't give this away. Search on topics from "lesbian visibility" to "women's sports" and "women go shopping." (reviewed 12/20/96)