Appetite For Equal Rights

Childbirth pain "a rite of passage"

2009-07-15T19:28:00.004-04:00

"Women 'should go through pain' in childbirth, says male midwife" is the title of an article that I came across (hat tip to Choice Words) that made me increasingly angry the further I got into it. A male midwife, Dr. Denis Walsh, believes that the pain involved in childbirth is a "rite of passage."

First and foremost, methinks males who will never experience childbirth pain shouldn't pass judgment on the women who do undergo childbirth and choose to have an epidural.

Moving on, it's one thing if Dr. Walsh's argument is that it is healthier and less risky to give birth naturally, but his main argument seems to be, "Pain in labor is a purposeful, useful thing, which has quite a number of benefits, such as preparing a mother for the responsibility of nurturing a newborn baby."

Essentially, Dr. Walsh believes that the pain will "toughen up" new mothers to the point where taking care of a baby is a cinch!

To me, it seems as if this is one midwife who is looking down upon certain women who choose how they wish to birth their child. Each woman's childbirth experience is unique, and every woman has a right to choose the circumstances under which to give birth that will make her most comfortable, mentally and/or physically. To quote Hannah from Choice Words, "If I had a midwife who said that to me, male or female, they would immediately be given a one-way ticket to NOT being my midwife." Indeed.

Anyone side with Dr. Walsh? I'd be interested to hear your opinions, and I do love me some debate.

Dumb Things Said by Republicans: The Greatest Hits Album

2009-07-15T16:41:00.004-04:00

This is just too funny to not read: "The 10 Dumbest Things Republicans Have Said About the Sotomayor Hearings" from AlterNet. My personal favorite is Pat Buchanan's claim that Obama's list of the "final four" possible Supreme Court nominees being all women proved that Obama is openly practicing affirmative action... because all these women couldn't possibly have been considered by the president for the position because of their qualifications. Stay classy, Pat.

Luckily, Sotomayor is kicking ass in the confirmation hearings.

Important political news

2009-07-14T22:45:00.003-04:00

The confirmation hearings for Supreme Court justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor have begun. The first day of the hearings were interrupted three times by anti-choice protesters, including "Jane Roe" of Roe v. Wade, all of whom had to be escorted out. Irritating, to say the least. Watch Judge Sotomayor's opening statement:

AND: Yesterday, President Obama announced his appointment of Regina Benjamin, MD to the position of surgeon general. A family doctor from Alabama, Benjamin has lost family members to a variety of diseases, which causes Obama to believe that she has a particularly deep understanding of the health issues that face the U.S. population. So far, I'm extremely pleased that Obama seems so committed to filling important political positions with people who have been notoriously underrepresented.

New feminist blog for teenagers

2009-07-13T16:10:00.003-04:00

As Feministing also points out, there's a brand spankin' new feminist blog in action, called FBomb. It's geared towards teenage feminists, which I think is wonderful because supporting and encouraging young feminists is a great way to keep the feminist movement alive and kickin'. According to them:

The FBomb.org is a blog/community created for teenage girls who care about their rights as women and want to be heard. Young feminists who are just a little bit pissed off and very outspoken are more than welcome here.

I wish I had FBomb when I was a teenager because I sure as hell wasn't learning about feminism in high school. It wasn't until college that I started receiving an education about women's studies that went beyond the suffrage movement. Be sure to subscribe to the FBomb feed and spread the word!

A child with a secret gender

2009-07-12T12:07:00.012-04:00

How do we, as feminists, raise our children to be free from gender constraints? Well, according to the New York Times, one Swedish couple knows how. Currently, only a handful of close relatives know the gender of their two year-old child, and that's it. The child's gender is kept a secret from anyone else, and the child is simply called "Pop."

"We want Pop to grow up more freely and avoid being forced into a specific gender mould from the outset," Pop's mother told the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet last spring. "It's cruel to bring a child into the world with a blue or pink stamp on their forehead."

Pop wears dresses, and also "male" styled pants, and Pop's hairstyle changes often, from traditionally feminine to traditionally masculine (and, one would imagine, to some untraditional styles now and then.)

I agree that the manner in which conformity and stereotypes are thrust onto children at the youngest of ages is disturbing. However, will this do more harm than good? Is it wrong to thrust our feminist agendas onto our children? Will this lead to resentment and confusion on the child's part? It's difficult to answer these questions, so if anyone can offer their opinion, I'm all ears. I think it's wonderful that they're trying to break out of a gendered society, but it's important to ask these questions before doing so.

Having a genderless child, however, is a great way to challenge the rigid manner in which a gendered society is run. Which bathroom will Pop use? Which line will Pop join when teachers split the class up into a boys' line and a girls' line in the hallway? Undoubtedly, Pop's activist parents will confront those who are responsible for these sexist set-ups, perhaps leading to people changing their own behaviors and challenging stereotypes, but is it ethical to use a child as an instrument to break the patriarchy?

A complex situation, to say the least. Still, I admire the courage and the strong values of Pop's parents. It's not easy to be in the small minority of those who challenge gender roles.

Steps towards reproductive justice

2009-07-11T15:34:00.005-04:00

Two positive pieces of information, folks.

One, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed an amendment to the foreign aid appropriations bill yesterday that would permanently ban the Global Gag Rule. The Global Gag Rule bans federal money from funding any reproductive services abroad that "promote" abortion. Currently, it's been a tug-of-war amongst the past few presidents - good ol' Ronald Reagan instated it, Clinton revoked it, Bush Junior re-instated it, and Obama just overturned it again. It's utterly pointless, and it keeps abortion services and education from reaching the women who need these services the most. Let's hope and pray that it passes through Congress.

Two, Ireland is currently undergoing its own Roe v. Wade. Three women are challenging Ireland's abortion ban in ABC v. Ireland, which currently prohibits abortion in almost every circumstance except when a woman's life is in danger. I feel powerless to help in any way possible because I'm all the way in the U.S. Anyone have any suggestions on how to support abortion rights in Ireland from the outside?

It's certainly an exciting time to be a pro-choice activist.

New movie follows all-lesbian basketball team

2009-07-10T11:01:00.004-04:00

As Amelie at The New Gay points out, there's a new independent movie coming soon to theaters, called Lady Trojans, that highlights the ups and downs of an all-girl high school basketball team during the 1990s. The sports team happens to fit the stereotype of "lesbians love sports," because all the team members are lesbians, and incidentally, they all sleep with each other.

From the trailer, it seems like the documentary is portraying the romances in a very real, tender, and non-pornographic manner, which is great. Still though, does this film feed too much into the stereotype that if you get a bunch of lesbians together, they're going to have one giant orgy? I wonder if the film addresses other issues, such as the discrimination the team members face from non-team members, what other students say about them, and most importantly, why lesbians are drawn to sports teams. Amelie of The New Gay makes a great point in saying:

But as queer women, we need signifiers, and we need a safe space. And while not every athletic team is a safe space, many, many are.

I think it would be interesting if the movie were to tackle that issue, rather than focus solely on the lesbian drama. I love that a movie has been made highlighting real lesbian women, but the jury's still out on whether it's a positive portrayal or not. Other thoughts?

Google bans ads for abortion providers in certain countries

2009-07-10T10:44:00.003-04:00

Google AdWords has developed a new policy regarding advertisements for abortion services. In case you're unsure, AdWords allows people and companies to advertise next to relevant search results, like this:

Their new policy disallows ads for abortion providers in more than a dozen countries, including Brazil, France, Mexico, Poland, and Taiwan. Their choice of countries perplexes me. Certain ones that were banned from seeing such ads have conservative abortion laws, but others, like France, have liberal abortion laws. So why this particular group of countries? Anyone have any ideas?

Regardless, it's time to let Google know that we won't stand for this. It's crucial that all women have easy access to the reproductive services they need. Direct complaints to press@google.com. The International Women's Health Coalition has a sample letter if you're stumped.

How to be beautiful just the way you are

2009-07-09T14:38:00.005-04:00

Currently, the top headlines on the covers of several major women's magazines are as follows:

Bikini-Ready Beauty Secrets

10 Easy Ways to Make Your Boobs Look Amazing

21 Days to Brighter Skin

Get a Great Butt

Beauty Tips From the Stars

Pear Shaped Figure Fixers

All these magazines have something in common: they're all trying to tell us that we're not acceptable the way we are and we must change immediately in order for anyone to love us.

The good news? There's an art project underway that's out to change that in one of the most direct ways possible. It's called "Beautiful Just the Way You Are," and it seeks to, instead of subjecting young girls to headlines such as those above, turn magazine racks into this:

Visit the project's website, print out your own "Beautiful Just the Way You Are" posters, and get busy. It might not get rid of these harmful "beauty" magazines completely, but it will certainly send a message to women and girls everywhere.

Playing Catch-up

2009-07-09T13:39:00.003-04:00

I'm back from vacay! It was everything I needed and more. But now it's back to the real world, which means facing rainy New York and being a full-time feminist activist. Here's what I missed:

In India, New Delhi's highest court has officially decriminalized homosexuality, which was made illegal in 1861! This is a landmark case if ever there was one.

File this under: "where the fuck was all the media coverage?!" Cynthia McKinney, who was the Green party candidate in the 2008 presidential race, was held hostage in Israel after attempting to deliver aid and supplies to the Palestinians. But all the news stations are still talking about Michael Jackson. Thank goodness for blogging.

The House Appropriations Committee rejected an amendment to the federal appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2010 that would have continued a ban on using local funds to help low-income women in Washington, DC access abortion services.

Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit against the federal government, challenging the legality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

Kai Eide, the United Nations Special Envoy to Afghanistan, urged Afghan leaders to fight violence against women at a meeting in Kabul where he announced a new UN report on the subject, entitled "Silence is Violence." The report urges that women's rights are not a luxury, but a necessity.

Sarah Palin has resigned as governor of Alaska. While that may be a positive thing in the sense that it means one less conservative anti-choice politician in power, it also draws attention to the disturbingly low amount of women governors there are today.

Christian activist Randall Terry has launched a horribly disturbing anti-choice campaign to defeat Sonia Sotomayor.

A "women's-only" pharmacy in Vancouver is attempting to exclude trans women.

Last month, NOW on PBS aired "Abortion Providers Under Seige," which examines violence and harassment directed towards abortion providers. You can watch the program online.

Whew. Anything else?

A note about the upcoming week

2009-07-01T01:50:00.000-04:00

So this is the part of the summer where I take the vacation I can't afford. Hooray! I'm off to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware (which incidentally is a MAGNET for gay men and lesbians) for the next week to lay on the beach, drink margaritas, and celebrate my birthday on the 6th. The cabin we're staying in has WiFi, but I might not have a whole lot of time to post. Sorry friends :( I'll do the best I can.

Pentagon discusses easing "don't ask, don't tell"

2009-06-30T19:14:00.006-04:00

Discussions are taking place in the Pentagon over how to "loosen" the restrictions imposed by the disastrous "don't ask, don't tell" policy, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Gates added: "What I discovered when I got into it was it's a very restrictive law. It doesn't leave much to the imagination, or a lot of flexibility."

The defense secretary said one possible modification might be consider the circumstances under which a service member is "outed" in determining whether or not he or she must leave the military.

Wow. Can a person really get kicked out of the military if another person outs them? Goodness. Well, here's my suggestion: how about we just get rid of this outdated and discriminatory policy?

Seriously. It's high time we get on our representatives' assess about repealing "don't ask, don't tell." Contact your reps and the White House. It seems foolish and futile to contact the president, but enough demand to repeal this policy might just be the push he needs to do something about it.

Good stuffs from the blogosphere

2009-06-29T21:26:00.003-04:00

I've been reading so many great posts in my favorite feminist blogs recently. I wanted to share them with you all so you could get your tuchuses over to these links and enjoy them like I did.

Renee of Womanist Musings wrote an eye-opening piece about the discrimination she faces as a woman with diabilities.

File this under: better late than never. Venice has just gotten its first female gondolier, writes Courtney of Feministing. (Special thanks to Tiffany for the story suggestion).

Michael at The New Gay discusses "going green" and criticizes the gay community for doing anything but.

Has anyone watched "16 and Pregnant" on MTV? Chen at Choice Words commends MTV's noble attempts to provide sex education, but criticizes the lack of shows and discussions that highlight a young pregnant woman who chooses abortion or adoption.

Bryan of Gay Rights Watch rightfully calls out Senator John Ensign for opposing same-sex marriage with the "marriage is sacred" bullshit... and then proceeding to cheat on his wife.

As much as I admittedly love the Transformers movie, Laura at Adventures of a Young Feminist points out what irrevocably annoys me about this movie: the fact that Megan Fox's character exists solely as a sex symbol.

Gwen at Sociological Images wrote an important post on sexism in women's sports by calling out the fact that only "attractive" tennis players are put on the Center Court.

Comment with what you've been writing about in your own blogs!

Proof that online activism r0x!

2009-06-29T14:52:00.003-04:00

Many of you might have heard about the storm of controversy surrounding the highly offensive "Tranny Alert" website. Essentially, the site would encourage people to submit pictures of what they perceived to be transgendered people and the photos would then be posted, thereby outing those who are trans and insulting those who aren't. It blatantly dehumanized trans people and put them on display like circus freaks.

But thankfully, due to the amazing online activism that took place, led by angry and offended feminists and GLBTQ-rights activists, the site has been taken down.

HELL. YEAH.

You've made me proud, activists. Keep it up.

Giving voices to children of same-sex parents

2009-06-28T14:13:00.007-04:00

There's an article on CNN about children of same-sex couples - the "gayby boom" generation (not too sure how fond I am of the term) - and it really shows how important these daughters and sons are in the fight for gay rights. It also shows that children of same-sex couples are often very loved and grow up to be well-adjusted and not confused about their sexuality, contrary to what anti-gay rights activists might want you to think.

Jesse Levey is a Republican activist who says he believes in family values, small government and his lesbian mothers' right to marry.

Levey is part of the "gayby boom" generation. The 29-year-old management consultant is the son of a lesbian couple who chose to have a child through artificial insemination. He's their only child.

Critics of same-sex marriage say people such as Levey will grow up shunned and sexually confused. Yet he says he's a "well-adjusted heterosexual" whose upbringing proves that love, not gender, makes a family.

"You can imagine what my parents thought when I was 13 and listening to Rush Limbaugh everyday," Levey says. "But my family had strong family values. I was raised in a loving, caring household that let me be a free thinker."

The modern gay rights movement began 40 years ago June 28 during the Stonewall Riots in New York City. While much of the controversy surrounding gay rights today has centered on same-sex marriage, a battle is brewing over another family issue: Is it bad for children to be raised by gay or lesbian parents.

Read the rest of the article here, and comment with your reactions!

Paying pregnant women to "choose life"

2009-06-27T17:21:00.003-04:00

In a new Bloggingheads video on the Times website, two (AHEM) men, one from BeliefNet and one from Slate, discuss ways to reduce the abortion rate. First and foremost, do you all find it as annoying as I do when men who will probably never experience pregnancy sit down and talk about an issue such as abortion? Just wondering. Because it really makes my skin crawl.

But anyway. The representative from BeliefNet suggests that in order to encourage women to not terminate their pregnancies and instead carry the baby to term, we should pay them. I see a few things wrong with this (to say the least).

1. It reminds me of some creepy dystopian novel.

2. How on earth could the government or pro-life organizations afford to pay thousands of dollars to the endless amount of pregnant women in the United States?

3. The man from BeliefNet suggested that pro-life organizations raise money to give to pregnant women, but why not just set up foundations to give free items, such as diapers and toys, to financially unstable mothers, instead of conjuring up this creepy image of "cash for babies"? This whole "let me pay you $3,000 in exchange for you keeping your baby" sounds like it borders on bribery.

4. I can't imagine that any form of compensation could remove the pain of carrying a pregnancy to term, giving birth to a living baby, and having to give it up for adoption.

5. How about we take the more practical and less creepy route in reducing the abortion rate and just simply instate sex education programs in schools? Surely government money would be better well-spent teaching young people to protect themselves than to bribe pregnant women to "choose life."

Thoughts?

Feminist Book Club: "The Unit"

2009-06-26T22:21:00.010-04:00

I was sent a wonderful and thought-provoking woman-centric book, which I read in about a week, and now I want to suggest it to all of you. The Unit, by Ninni Holmqvist, is a chilling futuristic picture of what could really take place in any country (though the book comes from Sweden) at any time in the future.

The Unit is the story of a world in which infertile and single women and men have little worth. At age 50 for women, and 60 for men, those who are childless, without a partner, and/or without a job title that's deemed "important enough" are whisked away to what emulates a retirement community, but perhaps one that you would see in a dream. Everyone gets their own apartment and full access to restaurants, a gym complete with swimming pool, a library, a theatre, an art gallery, a hospital, shops where everything is free, and a garden where it's perpetually sunny. Oh. But they're required to undergo any and all medical and/or psychological testing that is thrust upon them, and they must donate their organs, one by one, to those who are younger and more valuable to society, until they make their "final donation." Those who live in the Unit (the Second Reserve Bank for Biological Material) are called "dispensable" - the word itself is chilling enough.

The story centers around a woman named Dorrit Weger. Dorrit proved to be somewhat of a confusing character to me. She was raised by a feminist mother, yet she grew up to be a woman who enjoys being dominated in the bedroom, and has fantasies of cooking in the kitchen while her masculine partner chops wood outside. In the Unit, she falls in love with a man, but their partnering cannot remove them from the Unit - once you're in, you're in.

Despite Dorrit's strangely antifeminist behavior, the story has many feminist themes. For one thing, lesbian relationships happen on more than one occasion, and they are discussed very nonchalantly, as if women dating other women is no big deal (which it shouldn't be). Also, the majority of the main characters are women, and once characters experience loss of their male partners, the group of women become tighter than ever, relying on the powerful bond of female friendship to get through it all. Dorrit also continuously feels compelled to comfort the new arrivals and she often takes them under her wing, proving that you don't have to have children to take on a motherly role.

Mostly, this novel is about choices women have to make (do I want a career, a family, or independence?) and about those choices being restricted. Women in this novel cannot choose to continue their careers past the age of 50 unless they hold certain job titles, nor can they choose total independence, because without a partner and/or a child, they must be confined to the Unit, where their bodies become property of the government for the little time they have left.

In the end, Dorrit has an extremely important choice to make, and I debated with myself endlessly over whether or not she made the right one. Has anyone read this? If so, what did you think? For anyone who hasn't had the pleasure, if you happen to pick it up (and I highly recommend you do) shoot me an e-mail after you read it so that we can chat :)

Buy "The Unit" on Amazon.com

Rhode Island considers changing name due to slavery legacy

2009-06-26T12:53:00.004-04:00

Most people don't seem to know this, but Rhode Island's official name is actually "State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations." Now, a bill has been introduced to drop the "Providence Plantations" bit out of respect for those who have been enslaved in the past.

A push to drop "Providence Plantations" from that name advanced farther than ever on Thursday when House lawmakers voted 70-3 to let residents decide whether their home should simply be called the "State of Rhode Island." It's an encouraging sign for those who believe the formal name conjures up images of slavery, while opponents argue it's an unnecessary rewriting of history that ignores Rhode Island's tradition of religious liberty and tolerance.

Personally, I have no problem with changing the state's name and I can't really understand why opponents do. What does everyone else think? Good idea? Bad idea?

Target Women: Charm School

2009-06-26T12:50:00.000-04:00

You'll LOL.

Stephen Colbert: "gay demon is on the loose"

2009-06-26T12:42:00.002-04:00

Stephen Colbert's hilarious commentary on the recent video of the gay exorcism makes me feel a little better about the whole thing.

Turn your BlackBerry into a vibrator! Get a vaginal infection!

2009-06-25T15:23:00.006-04:00

I'm all for masturbation and I would totally hand out vibrators to every woman I know if I could afford it, but the "THIS IS A TERRIBLE IDEA" alarms went off in my head when I read about a new application for your BlackBerry that will essentially turn it into a vibrator.

*smacks forehead*

The application, made by Toy With Me, is called BlackBerry Vibe 101 and it controls the vibration functions on the device by setting them to low, medium or high, as well as in the different modes of constant, wave, or tickle.

As both Choice Words and BlackBerry Cool point out, this is just NOT hygienic. Most people don't keep their phones in sterile cases - if you're like me, your phone goes everywhere. Vibrators and sex toys can be cleaned, but as Sesali of Choice Words mentions, attempting to properly clean one's BlackBerry for safe sexual use will inevitably lead to water damage.

My advice? Please buy a vibrator instead. And keep it clean. Also, take a minute to contact Toy With Me and urge them to remove this application or educate those who download it on proper sexual health.

A quick note about comments

2009-06-25T13:08:00.004-04:00

I know you're all out there. Google Analytics says so. I'm not just a crazy lady who enjoys talking to herself - I know that I have readers! So where are you all?! I've noticed lately that there has been a serious lack of comments, and I think... I hope that the content I write about is interesting and thought-provoking. And I know that all of you are intelligent and have really important things to say... so say them! If you're a lurker, now is the time to come out of the shadows. Commenting doesn't require registration of any kind, and I'm dying to hear more opinions and input about the topics I write about. Come on, all you smart articulate people, put in your two cents :]

Just when you thought BK's ads couldn't get any more offensive...

2009-06-24T21:39:00.006-04:00

This Burger King advertisement is certainly making its rounds on feminist blogs, and I just couldn't avoid posting it here out of sheer horror and disgust.

I would love to meet the person (ahem, man) who thought it was a brilliant idea to sell sandwiches by portraying one face-raping (excuse the term) a sex doll-esque open-mouthed passive woman. This ad seriously makes me want to puke.

Do me a favor, readers. Buy some "THIS INSULTS WOMEN" stickers from Sticker Sisters (they're cheap!) and place them on this ad whenever you come across it (flipping through magazines at the grocery store, wherever) and any other horrifyingly sexist advertisement, because I am truly sick of this bullshit*. You can also contact the folks at Burger King - let's give them an even bigger backlash than we did in response to the horrendous "square butts" commercial.

And most importantly: girlcott. Let's girlcott the shit* out of BK.

*I said "shit" twice, I must really be pissed.

New dating show for plus-sized women

2009-06-24T20:12:00.005-04:00

The preview I saw on TV for this show began with, "The average woman is a size 14/16. The average reality show star is a size 2. How is that reality?" To which I shouted "AMEN!" What does everyone think about this new dating show on Fox? Is it a positive thing for bigger women? Putting aside any negative feelings about dating shows in general, of course.

Video of 'gay exorcism' circulates net

2009-06-24T19:14:00.003-04:00

This is really disturbing, so beware.

As shocking and upsetting as this video is, I think it's extremely important to circulate it around the net. Of course, the church who was so keen on scaring the ever loving daylights out of this poor young man in the video made the cowardly move of quickly deleting its YouTube account. Funny how they don't want people to see this. All the more reason to send it to everyone you know. People need to understand the disgusting behavior that goes on in places such as these.

Learn more about "ex-gay reparative therapy." Also, if you're looking for a gay-friendly house of worship, check out this all-inclusive list of links to GLBTQ-friendly religious organizations that can point you in the right direction. Make sure you don't end up in a horrible place like this.