A Georgia lawmaker proposes a new classification of miscarriage as murder.
See the short article here.
I don't understand this sudden violent wave of abortion legislation. Don't we have other more important things to worry about (war, economy, health care, global warming anyone??) than insisting on stripping women of their rights?
Friday, February 25, 2011
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Given our wonderful last class, I want to share this with you all. I absolutely adore this poem, introduced to me by my mom who knows the author. She is amazing and this writing is reminiscent of Cunt by Inga Muscio. I highly recommend and respect both authors and hope this can feed the empowerment we left with last class.
Love Rudi
Tampons
by Ellen Bass
My periods have changed. It is years
since I have swallowed ping and gray darvons, round
chalky midols from the bottle with the smiling girl.
Now I plan a quiet space,
protect myself those first few days when my uterus lets
go and I am an open anemone. I know
when my flow will come. I watch my mucous pace
changes like a dancer, follow the fall
and rise of my body heat. All this
and yet I never questioned them, those slim white handies.
It took me years to learn to use them
starting with Pursettes and a jar of vaseline.
I didn't even know where the hole was.
I didn't even know enough
to try to find one. I pushed until
only a little stuck out and hoped
that was far enough.
I tried every month through high school.
And now that I can change it in a moving car --
like Audrey Hepburn changing dresses in the taxi
in the last scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's --
I've got to give them up.
Tampons, I read, are
bleached, are
chemically treated to
compress better,
contain asbestos.
Good old asbestos. Once we learned not to shake it --
Johnson & Johnson's -- on our babies or diaphragms,
we thought we had it licked.
So what do we do? They're universal.
Even macrobiotics and lesbian separatists are hooked on them.
Go back to sanitary napkins?
Junior high, double napkins
on the heavy days, walking home damp underpants
chafing thighs. It's been a full twelve years
since I have worn one, since Spain when Marjorie pierced
my ears
and I unloaded half a suitcase of the big gauze pads in the
hotel trash.
Someone in my workshop suggested Tassaways, little
cups that catch the flow.
They've stopped making them,
we're told. Women found they could reuse them
and the company couldn't make enough
money that way. Besides,
the suction pulled the cervix out of shape.
Then diaphragms
It presses on me, one woman says.
So swollen these days. Too tender.
Menstrual extraction, a young woman says.
I heard about that. Ten minutes
and it's done.
But I do not trust putting tubes into my uterus each month.
We're told everything is safe
in the beginning.
Mosses.
the Indians used mosses.
I live in Aptos. We grow
succulents and pine.
I will buy mosses
when they sell them at the co-op.
Okay. It's like the whole birth control schmeer.
There just isn't a good way. Women bleed.
We bleed.
The blood flows out of us. We will bleed.
Blood paintings on our thighs; patterns
like river beds, blood on the chairs in
insurance offices, blood on Greyhound buses
and 747s, blood blots, flower forms
on the blue skirts of the stewardesses.
Blood on restaurant floors, supermarket aisles,
the steps of government buildings. Sidewalks will have blood trails,
like Gretel's bread crumbs. We can always find our way.
We will ease into rhythm together, it happens
when women live closely -- African tribes, college sororities --
our blood flowing on the same days. The first day
of our heaviest flow we will gather in Palmer, Massachusetts,
on the steps of Tampax, Inc. We'll have a bleed-in.
We'll smear blood on our faces. Max Factor
will join OB in bankruptcy. The perfume industry
will collapse, who needs
whale sperm, turtle oil, when we have free blood?
For a little while cleaning products will boom,
409, Lysol, Windex. But
the executives will give up. The cleaning woman is leaving a
red wet rivulet, as she scrubs down the previous stains.
It's no use. The men would have to
do it themselves, and that will never come up
for a vote at the Board. Women's clothing manufacturers, fancy
furniture, plush carpet, all will phase out. It's just not
practical. We will live the old ways.
Simple floors, dirt or concrete, can be hosed down
or straw can be cycled through the compost.
Simple clothes, none in summer. No more swimming pools.
Dogs will fall in love with us.
Swim in the river. Yes, swim in the river.
We'll feed the fish with our blood. Our blood
will neutralize the chemicals and dissolve the old car parts.
Our blood will detoxify the phosphates and the
PCBs. Our blood will feed the depleted soils.
Our blood will water the dry, tired surface of the earth.
We will bleed. We will bleed. We will
bleed until we bathe her in our blood and she turns
slippery new like a baby birthing.
Love Rudi
Tampons
by Ellen Bass
My periods have changed. It is years
since I have swallowed ping and gray darvons, round
chalky midols from the bottle with the smiling girl.
Now I plan a quiet space,
protect myself those first few days when my uterus lets
go and I am an open anemone. I know
when my flow will come. I watch my mucous pace
changes like a dancer, follow the fall
and rise of my body heat. All this
and yet I never questioned them, those slim white handies.
It took me years to learn to use them
starting with Pursettes and a jar of vaseline.
I didn't even know where the hole was.
I didn't even know enough
to try to find one. I pushed until
only a little stuck out and hoped
that was far enough.
I tried every month through high school.
And now that I can change it in a moving car --
like Audrey Hepburn changing dresses in the taxi
in the last scene of Breakfast at Tiffany's --
I've got to give them up.
Tampons, I read, are
bleached, are
chemically treated to
compress better,
contain asbestos.
Good old asbestos. Once we learned not to shake it --
Johnson & Johnson's -- on our babies or diaphragms,
we thought we had it licked.
So what do we do? They're universal.
Even macrobiotics and lesbian separatists are hooked on them.
Go back to sanitary napkins?
Junior high, double napkins
on the heavy days, walking home damp underpants
chafing thighs. It's been a full twelve years
since I have worn one, since Spain when Marjorie pierced
my ears
and I unloaded half a suitcase of the big gauze pads in the
hotel trash.
Someone in my workshop suggested Tassaways, little
cups that catch the flow.
They've stopped making them,
we're told. Women found they could reuse them
and the company couldn't make enough
money that way. Besides,
the suction pulled the cervix out of shape.
Then diaphragms
It presses on me, one woman says.
So swollen these days. Too tender.
Menstrual extraction, a young woman says.
I heard about that. Ten minutes
and it's done.
But I do not trust putting tubes into my uterus each month.
We're told everything is safe
in the beginning.
Mosses.
the Indians used mosses.
I live in Aptos. We grow
succulents and pine.
I will buy mosses
when they sell them at the co-op.
Okay. It's like the whole birth control schmeer.
There just isn't a good way. Women bleed.
We bleed.
The blood flows out of us. We will bleed.
Blood paintings on our thighs; patterns
like river beds, blood on the chairs in
insurance offices, blood on Greyhound buses
and 747s, blood blots, flower forms
on the blue skirts of the stewardesses.
Blood on restaurant floors, supermarket aisles,
the steps of government buildings. Sidewalks will have blood trails,
like Gretel's bread crumbs. We can always find our way.
We will ease into rhythm together, it happens
when women live closely -- African tribes, college sororities --
our blood flowing on the same days. The first day
of our heaviest flow we will gather in Palmer, Massachusetts,
on the steps of Tampax, Inc. We'll have a bleed-in.
We'll smear blood on our faces. Max Factor
will join OB in bankruptcy. The perfume industry
will collapse, who needs
whale sperm, turtle oil, when we have free blood?
For a little while cleaning products will boom,
409, Lysol, Windex. But
the executives will give up. The cleaning woman is leaving a
red wet rivulet, as she scrubs down the previous stains.
It's no use. The men would have to
do it themselves, and that will never come up
for a vote at the Board. Women's clothing manufacturers, fancy
furniture, plush carpet, all will phase out. It's just not
practical. We will live the old ways.
Simple floors, dirt or concrete, can be hosed down
or straw can be cycled through the compost.
Simple clothes, none in summer. No more swimming pools.
Dogs will fall in love with us.
Swim in the river. Yes, swim in the river.
We'll feed the fish with our blood. Our blood
will neutralize the chemicals and dissolve the old car parts.
Our blood will detoxify the phosphates and the
PCBs. Our blood will feed the depleted soils.
Our blood will water the dry, tired surface of the earth.
We will bleed. We will bleed. We will
bleed until we bathe her in our blood and she turns
slippery new like a baby birthing.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
issues effecting women in Egypt
Hello all,
i wanted to share with you these two links regarding the attacks in Egypt... As i am sure most of you have heard about Laura Logan. The first post is about the dangers to women reporters overseas and the second link is about the Laura Logan case and what a reporter said about her attack and the consequences he is faced with.
For the follow up on Laura Logan please click here
For the discussion on the dangers to women reporters please click here
This Weekend!
We've all been invited to this amazing oppourtunity, so check this out if your interested!
Empowering Women of Color Conference 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Eileen Myles on the New York Times Book Review Stats
Author Eileen Myles responds to the disparity between male and female authors reviewed by the New York Times Book Review in 2010:
READ ME I AM SO GREAT
(the last few two paragraphs are my fav)
READ ME I AM SO GREAT
(the last few two paragraphs are my fav)
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Lesbians in the media
Found this a great example of the intersection of gender roles and sexuality and how the media plays a part in our societal expectations.
http://www.alternet.org/story/149667/on_tv,_the_lesbians_are_all_right..._as_long_as_they%27re_pregnant/?page=1
http://www.alternet.org/story/149667/on_tv,_the_lesbians_are_all_right..._as_long_as_they%27re_pregnant/?page=1
"Zahara Jolie-Pitt Ask Your Mama To Buy A Comb "
http://www.womanist-musings.com/2009/10/zahara-jolie-pitt-ask-your-mama-to-buy.html
Interesting post found in "Womanist Musings" on October 13, 2009. The writer stresses the importance of cultural competence (or lack thereof) in cross-racial parenting and adoption. This is a sticky subject because, on one hand, I believe that every child who would otherwise be filtered through the fostercare system *deserves* a loving family, regardless of race, ethnicity, or, ahem, sexual orientation of the parents. On the other hand, I completely acknowledge that for a child of color to be raised by white parents, there will be a disconnect in culture and life experiences. This writer references her mother as the person who would tend to her hair every week, something that was clearly a memorable part of her childhood. In this blog, Angelina (rather than Brad) is the main culprit for not treating Zahara's hair as it should be treated. Interesting.
Interesting post found in "Womanist Musings" on October 13, 2009. The writer stresses the importance of cultural competence (or lack thereof) in cross-racial parenting and adoption. This is a sticky subject because, on one hand, I believe that every child who would otherwise be filtered through the fostercare system *deserves* a loving family, regardless of race, ethnicity, or, ahem, sexual orientation of the parents. On the other hand, I completely acknowledge that for a child of color to be raised by white parents, there will be a disconnect in culture and life experiences. This writer references her mother as the person who would tend to her hair every week, something that was clearly a memorable part of her childhood. In this blog, Angelina (rather than Brad) is the main culprit for not treating Zahara's hair as it should be treated. Interesting.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Offbeat Mama
In addition to Jezebel and Feministing, I frequent the blog Offbeat Mama. I really consider motherhood to be a part of my identity, even though I am years, if not a decade away from having kids. This is because I know that I will find a way to have children, whether they are of my own biology or not. Anyway, because this is already strongly held in my identity, why wouldn't a blog for feminist mothers be extremely interesting to me?
Here's the post I enjoyed most this week about deaf parenting. Enjoy!
http://offbeatmama.com/2011/02/deaf-parent
Here's the post I enjoyed most this week about deaf parenting. Enjoy!
http://offbeatmama.com/2011/02/deaf-parent
Friday, February 11, 2011
Canceling Title X - More Abortion Issues
There has been a lot of talk about abortion lately, from changing the definition of it to the health resources that provide it. How is it that we have this progressive president and yet we are still fighting overseas and bickering at home about a woman's rights to her own body instead of fixing all the other broken parts of our society and economy. Here is another piece by "Maya" on Feministing:
Yesterday the House Appropriations Committee released a draft list of 70 proposed spending cuts to be included in an upcoming Continuing Resolution bill.
That $327M for family planning? That would be the entire Title X program–which gives clinics, such as Planned Parenthood, federal funds to provide basic health care like contraception, STD treatment, and cancer screenings. Funds that are explicitly prohibited from going towards abortion care. Funds that help prevent many unintended pregnancies each year. Funds that save the taxpayers $4 down the road for every $1 spent. Funds that provide much-need primary and preventive to millions of women and men in a health care system riddled with gaps.
Of course, while slashing family planning funds with one hand, anti-choice members of the House are continuing their all-out assault on abortion access with the other. And if there was still any doubt that they don’t actually give a shit about babies once they’re actually born, well, think again.
Making it harder for women to avoid unintended pregnancies? Check. Making it harder for women to end pregnancies when they need to? Check. Making it harder for women to raise children when they choose to? Check. Gosh, it’s almost as if they’re just playing political football–at the expense of women’s lives, their families’ well-being, and the greater societal good. And they simply do not care.
I think Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said all there is to say: “The House leadership’s proposal to eliminate the Title X program is bad policy, bad politics, and flat out immoral.”
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Reproductive Rights
A story about the new members of the House of Representatives and their recent focus on anti-abortion legislation. I have been a supporter of reproductive rights for a long time now. I believe it is the individuals responsibility to deal with the morality of the act and not the role of government to impose legislation based on religious doctrine, the basis for arguments regarding abortion made by social conservatives.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jqLH1kjtsImkIq2kGxahONQ9XWvg?docId=CNG.b52a4404d74c4dd16459e5190c7894de.3f1
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Mannequins Wear a Message for Iraq’s Women
Jumping off the conversation we had today about body images i felt this article gives a stark international contrast wherein women's bodies being shown is seen as something demonic...read..enjoy (or perhaps that is not the correct sentiment)... and ponder...
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Our Community Agreements!
- Confidentiality
- Don't argue with feelings
- Using "I" statements
- One diva, one mic
- Positive affirmations (snaps, prayer hands)
- Limit use of disclaimers
- Constructive advice/Positive reinforcement
- Eye contact
- Active listening
- Silent phones
- Respect
- Ouch/Oops
- Assume good intentions
- Check body language and facial expressions
- Don't yuck other people's yums
- Acknowledge diverse biases and backgrounds
- No put-downs (self and others)
- Ride the silence
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