The XX Factor

We’re Talking About: First Dudes, Divorce, and Syrian Soap Operas

-With nearly 300 women filing to run for Congress this year, many husbands may struggle to adjust to the muted role of political spouse. [ Daily Beast ]

-Couples who have daughters are more likely to get divorced than those who have male children, but researchers still don’t know why. [ Salon ]

-Incumbent Lisa Murkowski may not bow out of the Alaska Senate race after all. Politico reports that she recently met with Alaska Libertarian Party nominee David Haase to discuss replacing him as the party’s candidate in the upcoming election. [ Politico ]

-A Syrian soap opera stirred up controversy by dramatizing one woman’s decision to remove her veil. [ Jerusalem Post ]

-Rebel militias and government troops continue to use rape as a weapon in the ironically named Democratic Republic of Congo. In the last two months alone, the U.N. estimates that 500 women were raped in the eastern region of the country. [ New York Times ]

Photograph of Lisa Murkowski by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.