To be king of the ballot on 6 November, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama must sway more than half the population –that is to say: women.

But as with every previous election cycles, men have dominated the media narrative, even when it comes to women's issues. A study by 4th Estate showed that 81% of people quoted about abortion in election news stories between November 2011 and May 2012 were male.

So this week, an assortment of famous females have utilized their attention-attracting careers to try to tilt the balance of a campaign climate so heavily dominated by men.

Tina Fey had her say on the issue Wednesday in a speech at the center for reproductive rights where she expressed her frustration at the legacy of men redefining rape. She specifically called out Missouri Republican representative Todd Akin who said in August that the female body is constructed to minimize the chance of getting pregnant from rape.

"Todd Akin claims that women can't really get pregnant from a legitimate rape because the body secretes hormones. Now I can't even finish this sentence without getting dumber; it's making me dumber when I say it – but it's something about the body not being able to get pregnant when it's under physical stress. Mr Akin, I think you are confusing the phrase 'legitimate rape' with the phrase 'competitive gymnastics'."

Conservatives have pretty much abandoned Akin, so her comments passed by without much controversy. That could not be said for Lena Dunham's video endorsement of Obama which was released Friday.

The video makes joking references to young women losing their virginity while talking about their "first time" voting.

Conservative commentators quickly construed the video as a Democratic offense in the "war on women", for "mocking virgins" and "exploiting women".

In a tweet that has since been taken down, a Minnesota Republican official said that the video shows Obama is being advised by Satan.

Dunham was part of another filmed dispatch from the pro-Obama camp earlier this week when she and several other hip indie ladies teamed-up with Lesley Gore to sing You Don't Own Me as an anti-Romney video.

"I recorded You Don't Own Me in 1964. It's hard for me to believe, but we're still fighting for the same things we were then," Gore said at the end of the video. "Yes, ladies, we've got to come together, get out there and vote and protect our bodies. They're ours. Please vote."

The video's appeal is pretty concentrated to the hipster crowd and was therefore able to avoid severe conservative criticism. Dissent could be found in the comments however, courtesy an alleged female commenter named Janet Lyons.

Lyons said [sic]: "I believe videos like this are actually old fashion and condescending to women. We are not the oppressed and we should not sing battle cries acting as if we are! Bad message to young girls. Honestly I think it's Ridiculous!!!"

Maybe Lyons is right. And maybe these women are all just ovulating.