Thanks to the release of the new xxx domain extension, we non-porn people are being forced to pay to have our trademarked business names protected from being used by the porn industry.

That’s right – they get their own xxx extension and WE have to PAY to keep them from using it against us.

Extortion, anyone?

It was supposed to cost me $299 to “block” my domain.  Do you know what that really means?  It just means that when people click on GirlsCantwhat.xxx – they can get redirected to this site you’re reading right now.

How confusing will that be? That doesn’t “block” anything.

If people want to view or make porn – that’s their business. But forcing US to pay to protect ourselves from them abusing OUR business names is beyond ridiculous. Most people call that EXTORTION!

And why did the Porn Industry get FIRST PICK?

Oh yeah – and if this isn’t bad enough… the porn people got FIRST PICK of the domain names.  So even though I have a trademark, they can still snatch up my business name and force me to take legal action to get it back. More money wasted.

Ooops… it’s really going to cost you more than that…

If you read the fine print in this whole mess, you would see that some trademarks were allowed to block their names early, but not all trademark owners. My trademark didn’t qualify, so I didn’t even get an opportunity to block my domain. Instead, I’m one of the “lucky” ones who actually get to OWN THE XXX DOMAIN for $99/year.  Are they kidding me? $99/year for something I don’t even want?

I contacted my lawyer.

Be aware… most small businesses also fall into the supplemental category and could therefore be screwed out of protecting their names.  Seriously?  Who is running this show?

But who is really affected by this?

In case you’re wondering… no, this xxx domain thing isn’t a threat to everyone.

But it is a HUGE threat to me.  

The name of this site - Girls Can’t WHAT? – is a porn search magnet. I won’t list all of the disgusting search terms that infiltrate my keyword statistics on a daily basis. When your site name can be misconstrued, AND you have “girls” in the title, AND every post on your site mentions girls or women AND you cover topics like cheerleaders and Hooters – your domain gets listed in the search engines a lot when people are searching for porn. This post probably isn’t going to help in that department either.

In reality, this site is all about empowering women. Oh, the irony.

And you know what really concerns me? People search for my site by name. My brand name is recognized. What would happen if a xxx domain took my brand and then some innocent little girl searches Google for “Girls Can’t WHAT?” and one day that xxx domain somehow creeps into the top search results and she unknowingly clicks on that link, not realizing the xxx means to stay away? It WILL happen. Mark my words. It will be the next big Yahoo news story your friends are sharing on Facebook.

I’m furious.

And that’s probably an understatement. That $299 or $99/year could be put to better use. Girls Can’t WHAT? is not some huge corporation with deep pockets. We give a good chunk of the monthly profits to help other women with their businesses.  That $299 would have robbed us out of helping 12 women this month. That means 12 women would have gone without the financial assistance they need to get out of poverty, improve their business or feed their kids. I refuse to bow to the porn industry.

I don’t know exactly who gets to keep the $299 or the $99/year – I’m still trying to get to the bottom of that. I think the Hosting Companies are profiting somewhat, but the “registration fee” has to be going somewhere else. Anyone know the answer? Please comment below.

The Loophole… aka – Porn Wins Anyway

Oh and get this… if a porn site wanted to register girls-cant-what.xxx or any variation of my trademarked name, they can do so.  Because in order to block any different spellings or hyphenated versions, I have to buy each one separately for – you guessed it – another $99/year.  Anyone else see a problem here?

Beware of squatters…

I’m betting there are gonna be a lot of surprised people out there who wake up and find out someone has snatched up their business name with a xxx extension.  And the “squatters” (people who buy domain names with the intent to sell them) will be registering the xxx names like crazy starting today. If you find your business is now a xxx site, it could cost you thousands of dollars in legal fees to get it back.

That is, if you want it.

Something is seriously wrong.

I’m all for having the xxx extension because it provides a clear intent of the site and makes it easier to avoid accidentally seeing stuff you don’t want to see. I see the need for it and I approve (of the extension differentiation – not the porn – so don’t try to twist that around).

But why are we non-porn people footing the bill for this? My business name is trademarked. I shouldn’t have to pay to keep someone from using it. That defeats the purpose of having a trademark! I purchased a trademark to protect myself and now I’m being told I have to pay more money to further protect something I already own?

And why wasn’t I notified of this earlier? I guarantee this will be unwelcome news to a lot of people. Even worse for ones who wake up and find out someone else beat them to it.

So what will I do?

I am REFUSING to pay $99/year for a xxx domain I don’t want any part of owning. I would much rather invest that money into helping other women get out of poverty. That’s where my money is going. I am not going to be blackmailed by the porn industry!  

How about you?

Got something to say about this?  I’d love to hear it.  Post your thoughts below…

Edit: Ladies – the more I think about this, the more I think we need to do something and do it fast.  Share this post with as many women’s organizations as you possibly can. Tell your friends and anyone whose name and or business might be a target.

This is serious.  And I have a feeling it’s going to take everything we women have to change this.

I am still putting together a plan of action. Awareness is the first step so please post this to Twitter, Facebook, Digg and everywhere else. I guarantee you most people do not know about this “xxx land rush” and time is critical!

As many of you are aware, the Women’s Professional Soccer league (WPS) is under threat of not being sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) for 2012. The WPS has been given a deadline of December 5th to have secured a 6th team for the 2012 season. While this deadline could be extended again to allow for more time, the reality is that after the incredible summer of women’s soccer we all experienced, the WPS is still on the brink of folding, like its predecessor the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA) was forced to do after three seasons.Believe it or not, all major professional men’s sports leagues have been carried to fruition (some are still being carried by the way) by investors willing to fork over millions and even billions of dollars year after year, decade after decade, to see the league survive. Without going into the historic details of the NFL, NBA, MLB and MLS, let us just tell you that if they had given up after a handful of years, they wouldn’t exist today. And yet, when a very young women’s league is struggling, a common response is that, “it’s because no one cares about women’s sports and no one ever will.”We believe that if you build it, they will come. Billie Jean King has said on more than one occasion that women’s sports need female (or male!) millionaires and billionaires to support them, just like men’s sports have been supported by diehard investors who just want to be a part of the game in some way. WNBA President Laurel Richie remarked at this September’s espnW Summit that she lived in New York for 9 years and never got one letter asking her to invest in the New York Liberty. She said, “I want to make sure that doesn’t happen anymore.”This is not a call for a charitable donation. This is a call for investment in women’s soccer and the athletes that play the game. The market has been proven to exist – case in point, the response to this summer’s Women’s World Cup, the subsequent spike in WPS game attendance, and the ongoing spike in attendance at US Women’s National Team friendlies.We are calling specifically on Ellen DeGeneres and Rachel Maddow to invest in a WPS team. Whether they both do it, one of them does it, or they buy a team together (it could happen!) – however it happens, this would not only be a fantastic investment for them but also a huge boost in the mainstream publicity of the league and of women’s soccer. Why DeGeneres and Maddow? They both showed their support of the USWNT after the World Cup this summer, inviting players onto their show and talking about the tournament on air. And in general, they are supportive of others and have fought long battles to get to the top themselves.

Here’s what you can do:

1. Record a video of yourself telling Ellen DeGeneres and/or Rachel Maddow why they should #SaveWPS. The video should be NO LONGER than 15 seconds.
2. Upload the video to YouTube, making sure to include #SaveWPS in the title of the video.
3. Tell us where your video is by posting in the comments below, tweeting at us on Twitter (@womentalksports) or post on our Facebook wall. We want to know who helped #SaveWPS.
4. Use Social Media to tell everyone to watch your video, making sure to use #SaveWPS when you mention it on Twitter.
5. Tell Ellen and Maddow - on Twitter: (@TheEllenShow and @Maddow) and on Facebook: Ellen, Maddow.
6. Tell everyone else to do what you did. Email your friends, post on Facebook, Tweet (be sure to use the #SaveWPS hashtag), shout it down the hallways, write #SaveWPS on your forehead, write it on your car windows with a bar of soap…you get the drift.
7. Tell More People. Send them to this page.

Our goal is to reach 500 #SaveWPS videos. Let’s be loud enough that we can’t be ignored. And don’t worry about your hair, it looks fine. Just make the video!

Happy Monday,

Women Talk Sports

In actuality, I’m pretty exhausted after literally spending weeks putting all of these items together. I really feel for Santa’s elves this time of year. It gets very busy behind the scenes at Girls Can’t WHAT? trying to prepare for the holidays and there’s only on elf at this Pole. And I don’t look all that great in the candy-striped tights.

There’s a LOT of new stuff so let me introduce what we’ve got in store for you this season. There are 12 new items in all.  I was going to break this up like the 12 days of Christmas, but I can’t wait 12 days to spill the beans. Besides, the deals that will be coming down the pipe are so good, you’ll want to be prepared.

So First Things First…Get Prepared with the new WISHLIST Tool!

There is one new feature you will find supremely helpful in the shop this year – Wishlists!  You can now add any product to a personalized wishlist. This includes any of the stock items and anything you create yourself using the customization tools. Just click on the “Add to Wishlist” button on the product page (right under the price) and save your list.

You will then be ready to purchase your personalized item when the right deal comes along.  And believe me, they will come. The last two sales were incredible and there will be a whole lot more coming.  Stay tuned to the newsletter, or follow us on Twitter and Facebook for up to date news on the sales.

Doodle Speakers for your Favorite Music Player

These are really sweet! Doodle by OrigAudio™ is a light and durable hard-plastic speaker with a vibrantly printed fabric face cover and kickstand for easy propping. Powered by USB cable (included) to power via your computer or 2 AAA batteries (not included), the Doodle speaker has a 3.5 mm. headphone jack that is compatible with any standard music device. This fun little speaker makes it easy to take your music and your style anywhere!

Shop Doodle speakers now!

Personalized 5.5″ x 6″ Note Pads (40 Pages)

Jotting notes is more fun with your own custom notepad! Printed in sharp and full color, these notepads look great with any color image, text, or design. Featuring 40 easy tear-away pages of FSC certified paper, custom notebooks are perfect for the home or office.

Create a custom Notepad now!

Notebooks (80 Pages)

Organize your day with a custom notebook! Made with your images and text on the front cover, this notebook is a great way to show off your personal style and keep track of all important notes and appointments all at once.

Create a custom Notebook now!

Coasters

Decorate your home with custom drink coasters! Simple, yet substantial, these coasters will look great in any room in your house.

Made to keep your tables scratch-free, our custom sandstone coasters have a cork backing, so you can use them on any surface.

Shop Coasters Now!

Necklaces

Keep your passion close to your heart with this beautiful sterling silver-plated necklace. Sterling silver-plated chain is 18″ with 3″ extender and lobster claw clasp.

Necklace arrives in a special black felt bag. Finished with UV resistant, waterproof, glossy coating.

Shop Necklaces Now!

Ceramic Tiles

Display your favorite Girls Can’t WHAT? character on this vibrant ceramic tile. Use as a trivet or to decorate your home.

Great for holiday, wedding, and office gifts!

Diameter: 4.25 inches
Depth: .19 inches
Weight: 3.75 ounces

Shop Ceramic Tiles Now!

Gift Boxes 

Display your passion on a vibrant tile inlaid into the lid of this beautiful jewelry box. Made of lacquered wood, the jewelry box comes in Golden Oak, Ebony Black, Emerald Green, and Red Mahogany. Soft felt protects your jewelry and collectibles.

Box Diameter: 5.5 inches
Box Height: 2.3 inches
Box & Tile Weight: 14.125 ounces
Tile Diameter: 4.25 inches

Shop Gift Boxes Now!

Cases

New cases for iPad, iPad2, iPhone3, iPhone4, Blackberry and Android. Customize any case by adding text or selecting any color for the case background.

These cases are hard shell for solid protection of your favorite electronic device.

Shop Cases Now!

Gel Mousepads

Shop Gel Mousepads Now!

Rectangular Magnets

Flex your style with custom flexible magnets from Zazzle! Perfect for refrigerators or any magnetic surface, these vinyl laminated magnets look great with your images, text, or designs vibrantly printed in full color. Stain and water resistant, our high-quality magnets are designed to stick around for a lifetime.

Size: 3″ x 4″
Vibrant, full-color printing
Flexible vinyl lamination contours to curved surfaces
Water and stain resistant

Shop Magnets Now!

Puzzles

Turn Girls Can’t WHAT? designs into a great game with customizable puzzles! Made of sturdy cardboard and mounted on chipboard, these puzzles are printed in vivid and full color. For hours of puzzle enjoyment, give a custom puzzle as a gift today!

Size: 8″ x 10″ (110 pieces)
8″ x 10″ includes storage tin with image printed on lid
Sturdy cardboard stock, mounted on chipboard
Easy wipe-clean surface

Shop Puzzles Now!

Plates

Perfect for celebrating a special occasion or creating a one-of-a-kind dining set, our non-toxic and dishwasher-safe plates show off your passion in vibrant full-color printing. Adorn your home with a custom plate today!

Size: 10″ diameter
Vibrant, full-color printing
Drop and break resistant
Easy-to-clean and dishwasher safe
Not microwave safe

Shop Plates Now!

Want to know when it’s on sale?

Subscribe to our newsletter below to get the scoop on all the holiday deals!

Girls Can’t WHAT? salutes their efforts and we’re excited to be a part of that growth!

Say what? What did we do?

Each month Girls Can’t WHAT? invests 20% of our earnings into micro-loans through KIVA.org to help other women reach their dreams. The loans are used to purchase needed supplies to enhance their businesses and generate a larger profit. The women we help are using their extra earnings to improve family life and help their children to receive better education. Check out our portfolio to see who we’ve been able to empower.

This month we were able to help …

Caroline, Kenya

Caroline is aged 27 and has been in farming for seven years in her home area of Nkubu, Central Kenya.She is married with one child aged five and produces maize, potatoes, beans and wheat for her local market.

Caroline has requested a loan of 40,000 KES from Juhudi Kilimo to buy a water tank for irrigation purposes as well as to supply water for her dairy farm. She says their production for produce like beans is frequently hampered by inconsistent rainfalls and the irrigation system would help in alleviating the problem. She says the income will help her educate her child in future and improve the living standards of her entire family.

Caroline sees high costs of inputs like pesticides as the main challenges.

Barno, Tajikistan

Barno is married and is a loving mother of four children. She is a smart and hardworking woman. She has been involved in fattening up livestock and growing agricultural crops for over 16 years.

Barno primarily grows wheat, onions and corn. She wants to expand her business in order to make a desired profit. Barno wants to obtain this loan for the purchase of cattle and onion seeds.

Georgette, Philippines

Georgette is married with 6 children. She is a very hard-working entrepreneur. Georgette is 52 years old and has 5 children who are in school.
Georgette has a room rental business in the Philippines. Georgette requested a PHP 28,000 loan amount through NWTF to buy materials for the upkeep of the rental rooms.

Georgette has been in this business for 5 years. In the future, Georgette would like to build and expand her business to support the financial stability of her family.

Want to make a difference in the world?

Find out more about how microlending works and join the Girls Can’t WHAT? lending team to get started. It’s easy!

But in many places around the world, girls are still unable to make choices for themselves or do what they want to do. The following video tells the story of a Yemenese girl who walked into a courthouse by herself at the age of 10 and asked for a divorce.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is a good reminder of why Girls Can’t WHAT? exists and a somewhat frightening example of why we still have so far to go in achieving equality and respect for our gender.

For more information on this topic, visit the National Geographic Live! channel on YouTube and see their series titled “Too Young to Wed”.

Special thanks to Cynthia Gorney for her work in raising awareness of these issues.

I’ve read a lot of comments offered in the name of feminism lately that promote an attitude of  ”We did it!  We’ve arrived! So quit whining already”.

Now, I will be the first one to point out that yes, we are still moving forward. But in terms of having “arrived” at equality - ummmm, no. So it’s always encouraging when we read stories like this one…

14 year old Lexi Peters of Buffalo, NY plays hockey in real life.  She also likes to play the video game version of it called NHL by EA Sports.  She was, however, frustrated that each new version of the game continued to only offer male characters to choose from.

Rather than sit around fuming over it, Lexi took action. She wrote a letter to EA Sports, one of the biggest video game companies in the world.

CEO Peter Moore read that letter and acknowledged Lexi’s complaint. Having the power to make such a change, Peter met with the game designers and for the first time ever, NHL 12 will feature female characters.

And the really cool part?  The default female avatar was designed to look like Lexi.

So guess what? It still pays to complain or whine or whatever you want to call it in order to move closer to “arriving” at gender equality. I call it “making progress”.

Mega kudos to Lexi for speaking up and taking action, and high-fives to EA Sports for listening and bringing female characters to NHL.

And by the way, EA Sports has female characters in several of their other games. Hockey may not be the final frontier here. If you’re a gamer and find your favorite video game is missing female avatars, follow Lexi’s lead and write a letter.  Maybe you’ll find yourself playing yourself on the screen.

Sisters Brittany and Brienna Delgado began their wrestling training a little early this year when they chased down a suspected hit-and-run driver Saturday and used wrestling moves to hold him until police arrived.

“We do several moves where you stop your opponents,” said Brittany Delgado. “My sister and I are very proficient wrestlers and also played football in high school, so we know about tackling.”

Brittany Delgado, 21, is going to be a senior and starter for the women’s wrestling team at Oklahoma City University. Brienna Delgado, 19, is an incoming freshman and will also start for the team.

Read the full story…

I bet the suspect doesn’t believe that girls can’t. Way to go ladies!

Shortly after the release of my band’s new album, I was interviewed by See Jane Drum – a web site for female drummers.

They let me plug the Girls Can’t WHAT? site and there’s a little backstory there about how I got started playing drums as well as how Girls Can’t WHAT? was born. Check it out!

And if you’re a drummer, subscribe and be a Facebook fan! SeeJaneDrum.com is a great resource for chicks with sticks.

If you’re new to Girls Can’t WHAT? – check out my recent announcement about reaching one of my biggest dreams.

Women’s Ski Jumping has been a growing sport over the last several years and thanks to Girls Can’t WHAT? fans and women around the world who signed the petition, female skiers are finally able to compete for Olympic Gold.

Women’s Ski Jumping USA president Deedee Corradini stated “We are elated and relieved. Sochi, Russia can proudly proclaim that it will be hosting the first gender-equal Winter Games in Olympic history.”

Mark this in the women’s history books as a day of victory!

Like this ski jumping design?  You can find it in the Girls Can’t WHAT? shop:

Sort by: date created | popularity    Showing 1 - 20 of 312 products.  1 2 3 4 5 6 > >>

Women's Ski Jumping T-shirt

Dark Women's Ski Jumping T Shirt

Womens Ski Jumping Tee Shirts

Women's Ski Jumping Skate Deck

Women's Ski Jumping Bumper Stickers

Dark Women's Ski Jumping Iphone 4 Case

Women's Ski Jumping Postcard

Womens Ski Jumping T Shirt

Women's Ski Jumping Pullover Sweatshirt

Womens Ski Jumping Bumper Sticker

Dark Women's Ski Jumping Sweatshirt

Women's Ski Jumping Posters

Dark Women's Ski Jumping Christmas Ornament

Light Women's Ski Jumping Christmas Tree Ornament

Women's Ski Jumping Vinyl Binder

Womens Ski Jumping Canvas Bags

Women's Ski Jumping Shirt

Dark Women's Ski Jumping Bumper Sticker

Women's Ski Jumping Coffee Mugs

Women's Ski Jumping Stamps

Sort by: date created | popularity    Showing 1 - 20 of 312 products.  1 2 3 4 5 6 > >>

• The Absolute Easiest Way To Track Goals
• Rachel Became Football Captain
• Mackenzie Joined the Football Game
• Girls Inc. Presents: You’re Amazing
• Ice’es Was Told the Coach Wouldn’t Assign a Girl Captain
• Someone Told Taylor Girls Don’t Learn As Quick

Three years ago…

• Mentoring Opportunity for Female Musicians
• Meet Quad Racer Angela “Cookie” Smith

Four years ago…

• Are You A Feminist?
• Happy Birthday Kelli
• Why Can’t Boys Have Bras?
• Are You Right or Left Brained?
• Girls Can’t Play Football
• I Want Second Place

Five years ago…

• Nicole Malachowski (Quotes)
• Malachowski, Nicole (Pilot)
• The Smart Girl’s Guide to Sports / Liz Hartman Musiker (Book)
• New Moon: The Magazine For Girls and Their Dreams
• Discovery Girls Magazine
• A Smart Girl’s Guide To Sticky Situations / Bonnie Timmons (Book)
• Girls / Helen Musick, Dan Jessup, Crystal Kirgiss (Book)
• But Then, She’s Betty Carter (Movie)
• A Knock Out (Movie)
• Girl Wrestler (Movie)