Feminist Moms

NOW-NYC Recommendations

2008-03-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon some great feminist resources and recommendations, thanks to a visitor to this website. Check out the wealth of resources on the NOW NYC website:

Feminist Friendly Rap Songs (great music resource!)

Film Recommendations

Events

Current Campaigns

Site in Transition

2008-03-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

This website will be back up and running and regularly updated. I am currently in the process of switching from the old blogger format to the new one, which will make it easier to view this blog whether you are using Firefox or not.

Look for more links, posts and pictures coming soon!

2008 Primary and Caucus Calendar

2007-11-20T09:32:00.000-08:00

State Presidential Primary and Caucus Dates (By way of Project Vote Smart) Updated 10/25/2007
State	Democrat	Republican
Alabama	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Alaska	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Arizona	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Arkansas	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
California	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Colorado	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Connecticut	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Delaware	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
District of Columbia	02/12/2008	02/12/2008
Florida	01/29/2008	01/29/2008
Georgia	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Hawaii	02/19/2008
Idaho	02/05/2008	05/27/2008
Illinois	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Indiana	05/06/2008	05/06/2008
Iowa	01/14/2008	01/03/2008
Kansas	02/09/2008	02/05/2008
Kentucky	05/20/2008	05/20/2008
Louisiana	02/09/2008	02/09/2008
Maine	02/10/2008	02/01/2008
Maryland	02/12/2008	02/12/2008
Massachusetts	03/04/2008	03/04/2008
Michigan	01/15/2008	01/15/2008
Minnesota	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Mississippi	03/11/2008	03/11/2008
Missouri	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Montana	02/05/2008	06/03/2008
Nebraska	05/13/2008	05/13/2008
Nevada	01/19/2008	01/19/2008
New Hampshire	TBD	TBD
New Jersey	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
New Mexico	02/05/2008	06/03/2008
New York	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
North Carolina	05/06/2008	05/06/2008
North Dakota	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Ohio	03/04/2008	03/04/2008
Oklahoma	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Oregon	05/20/2008	05/20/2008
Pennsylvania	04/22/2008	04/22/2008
Rhode Island	03/04/2008	03/04/2008
South Carolina	01/29/2008	01/26/2008
South Dakota	06/03/2008	06/03/2008
Tennessee	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Texas	03/04/2008	03/04/2008
Utah	02/05/2008	02/05/2008
Vermont	03/04/2008	03/04/2008
Virginia	02/12/2008	02/12/2008
Washington	02/19/2008	02/19/2008
West Virginia	05/13/2008	05/13/2008
Wisconsin	02/19/2008	02/19/2008
Wyoming	03/08/2008	01/05/2008
Sources: http://www.nass.org

Larkin Street Needs Your Help!

2007-11-15T13:18:00.000-08:00

Looking for a worthy cause to donate money and/or items to? Larkin Street is a great organization in San Francisco that helps homeless youth. They are of course in need of money, but are also looking for many different types of donations as well.

Items can be mailed or dropped off at:

1138 Sutter Street, between Polk and Larkin in San Francisco

They are in need of the following to distribute to needy teens:

Gifts:
-MP3 players
-Backpacks
-Umbrellas
-Muni tokens, BART passes
-Journals
-Small appliances

Household items:
-Alarm clocks
-Bedding
-Towels
-Pots and pans
-Dishes

Personal Care Items:
-Toothbrushes/toothpaste
-Deoderant
-Lip balm
-Shampoo/conditioner
-Lotion
-Hair dryers
-Brushes/combs

Clothing:
-Especially plus size
-Jackets
-Coats
-Sweatshirts, especially with hoods
-Shoes, sneakers
-Jeans/pants
-Knit caps, gloves, scarves
-Socks/underwear

Gift cards are also greatly appreciated!

If you're in New York, check out this great conference

2007-11-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

Conference announcement via NAMC: National Association of Mother's Center's

NAMC Presents at Freedom On Our Terms Conference

Linda Lisi Juergens, Executive Director of the National Association of Mothers' Centers and founding member of the MOTHERS Coordinating Council will bespeaking at the Freedom On Our Terms Conference taking place November 10th-11th in New York City.

This conference celebrates the 30th anniversary of the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston that was the first and only time the federal government authorized and financed a national gathering "to promote equal rights, equal opportunities and equal responsibilities for women."

The Bella Abzug Leadership Institute, along with 60 other women's organizations are offering this conference to reignite the fight for equality. Linda will be presenting on a panel entitled "Redefining Family: The Evolving Role of Women and the Expanding Role of Government" on Saturday, Nov. 10^th, from 5:00 -6:15pm (Hunter College, New York City; Hunter West Classroom 609). Jennifer Chrisler, Executive Director of the Family Equality Council, will chair the workshop. Other panelists include: Susan Wefald, Vice President for Programs, Ms. Foundation for Women; Benita Miller, Founder and Executive Director of The Brooklyn Young Mother's Collective; and Susan Horowitz from the Community Planning Department of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Other speakers include Liz Abzug, Founder & President of the Bella Abzug Leadership Institute, Carol Jenkins, President of the Women's Media Center, Gloria Steinm, Rosie O'Donnell, NOW President, Kim Gandy and many others.

Please join us. Come out to meet NAMC board members and MOTHERS Coordinating Council members who will be in attendance. To register for this event, visit www.abzuginstitute.org or call 212-650-3071. Registration is $50.

Recycle Old CD'S

2007-10-29T14:11:00.001-07:00

Here is a great website to check out if you have a lot of old cd's and don't want to toss them out. Visit the CD Recycling Center of America for info on recycling your old cd's.

Old cd's can be mailed to:

The Compact Disc Recycling Center of America

68H Stiles Road

Salem, NH 03079

New Favorite Song: Society by Eddie Vedder

2007-10-29T13:39:00.001-07:00

Although I have yet to see the movie Into the Wild, I have really been enjoying the soundtrack by Eddie Vedder. I am a huge Pearl Jam fan and was thrilled to hear about this side project of his. If you've read the book Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, as I have, listening to the cd is amazingly like listening to an audio version of the book. The songs so perfectly capture what we think Chris McCandless was thinking and his reasons for making the choices he did in dropping out of society.

My favorite song by far on the album is called Society, and it has the most beautiful lyrics, written by Jerry Hannan. They include the following, courtesy of Digihitch:

Society, you're a crazy breed.
I hope you're not lonely, without me.

When you want more than you have, you think you need...
and when you think more then you want, your thoughts begin to bleed.
I think I need to find a bigger place...
cause when you have more than you think, you need more space.

There's those thinkin' more or less, less is more,
but if less is more, how you keepin' score?
It means for every point you make, your level drops.
Kinda like you're startin' from the top...
and you can't do that.

I love what this song has to say about anti-consumerism, and how when you end up with more material goods than you need you need more space to think.

Ways to Help Victims of California Wildfires

2007-10-26T17:56:00.000-07:00

The L.A. Times offers a great list of how to help the victims of the horrible Southern California wildfires. Check it out here.

Feminist Mom Looking for an Illustrator

2007-10-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of creating a series of books for girls 8-12 years old and am looking for an illustrator to partner with. Ideally, I would like a true collaborator and my ideal candidate would be:

-Serious about their art
-Creative, and able to take an idea in process and illustrate it in their own way
-Committed to feminism
-Serious about creating a character geared towards girls and want her to be a positive role model for them
-Self motivated and be able to work on a strict schedule
-A parent

If you or anyone else you know is interested, please email me at: feministmother@gmail.com

Goodwill Opens Hip New Resale Shop

2007-10-25T11:29:00.001-07:00

Like most people, I am trying to make daily efforts to be more environmentally friendly. A few weeks ago, I discovered a great website, Green Daily, and every day I read great ideas about how to reduce the goods I use.

Today they have an interesting link up, especially for those of us in the San Francisco Bay Area. Goodwill is opening up a new line of hip resale shops, called William Good. The first store opens up on November 15th, on Fillmore Street in San Francisco. I personally can't wait!

Via: Green Daily

View this Blog with Firefox

2007-10-25T07:19:00.001-07:00

A few people have commented to me that when they're viewing this blog, the posts appear at the bottom. For some reason, this has happened for a long time when the blog is viewed in Internet Explorer, and I haven't been able to fix it.

For best results, please view this blow using Mozilla Firefox, which is the best web browser. You can download the latest version here.

News Updates for Hillary Clinton

2007-10-24T16:03:00.001-07:00

Feminist Moms Recommends: Classic Feminist Books

2007-10-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale

Brownmiller, Susan. In Our Time

Coontz, Stephanie. The Way We Never Were

De Beauvoir, Simone. The Second Sex

Dworkin, Andrea. Pornography: Men Possessing Women

Enloe, Cynthia. Bananas, Beaches & Bases

Findlen, Barbara. Listen Up

Firestone, Shulamith. The Dialectic of Sex

Friedan, Betty. The Feminist Mystique

hooks, bell. From Margin to Center

Lorde, Audre. Sister/Outsider:Essays & Speeches

Morgan, Robin. Sisterhood is Powerful

Morgan, Robin. Sisterhood is Global

Milk: Mothers Imbued with Lactational Karma Webring

2007-10-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

Anyone who is currently, or has ever, breastfed their baby is welcome to link to this pro-breastfeeding site, Milk: Mothers Imbued with Lactational Karma. You can put a link on your website with a number of beautiful images to promote breastfeeding and show your support for breastfeeding mothers.

Why I endorse Hillary Clinton

2007-10-23T12:59:00.001-07:00

There has been much written about progressives choices in the 2008 Democratic primary, and I would like to add my two cents. I will be voting for Hillary Clinton in the California primary on February 5th. I am thrilled our state moved up our primary to this early date, because it allows voters such as myself to vote for candidates before the field is dramatically narrowed. Although she is far from perfect, much like the rest of us, I have been in admiration of Hillary Clinton for many years now and here are the reasons why I will be voting for her:

1) Most importantly, for the first time there is a viable female pro-choice candidate who has a very good chance at winning not only the nomination, but the general election as well. I relish the chance to be able to tell my grandchildren, who no doubt will be in shock it took so long for a woman to become President, that I voted for her.

2) The only other candidate I would even think about voting for is Barak Obama. While he is a great addition to a party that has been lagging in idealist, exciting candidates, he is far too inexperienced. His claim that he was against the war in Iraq from the beginning does not impress me, even though I am an anti-war voter. It is easy to say you are against the war when you are not in a position to respond to constitutents about your vote. Although Hillary did not do the right thing in giving President Bush the authorization to use force in Iraq, it was a much tougher decision for her as a sitting Senator and I understand that. Obama was not in the Senate at the time, therefore his opinion at the time does not have the same meaning. He has only served a few years as a Senator and has yet to do anything impressive while in office, so he has not paid his dues for the presidency. That being said, I think he would be an excellent Vice President and I hope Hillary picks him if she wins the nomination, although I seriously doubt that would ever happen.

To learn more about Hillary Clinton, visit her website: www.hillaryclinton.com

Call for Papers on Carework

2007-10-16T08:09:00.001-07:00

Call for Papers

Caregiving and Carework: Theory and Practice

Deadline: November 1, 2007

The editorial board is seeking submissions for Vol. 10.1 of the Journal of the Association for Research on Mothering (ARM) to be published in Spring/Summer 2008. The journal will explore the topic of Caregiving and Carework from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. Topics can include (but are not limited to):

*Caregiving as work *Care and Social Power *Care and Economics: Valuing paid and unpaid carework *Carework: Research objectives and findings *Carework and Social Policy:Analysis, activism and advocacy *Caring for Children:Social norms, cultural ideals, feminist discourse, scientific inquiry and expert advice *Framing Carework: Defining the process and practice of care *Mothering and the Politics of Care: Family values, feminism & ethics of care *The Globalization of Care *The Right to Care *Legal questions and solutions *The Work of the Body: Experiences of intimacy and embodiment in caregiving *Writing about care and carework – popular and dissenting discourses *Sharing Care: Progress and resistance to fully-shared parenting for gay, lesbian and heterosexual couples

We welcome submissions from scholars, students, activists, artists, caregivers, careworkers, mothers and others who work or research in this area. We also welcome creative reflections such as poetry, short stories, and artwork on the subject.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES: Articles should be 15 pages (3750 words). All should be in APA style, WordPerfect or Word and IBM compatible.
Please see our style guide: http://www.yorku.ca/arm/styleguide.html for complete details.

SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY November 1, 2007

** TO SUBMIT WORK ONE MUST BE A MEMBER OF ARM **

Please direct your submissions to:
Association for Research on Mothering
726 Atkinson, York University
4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
Phone: 416-736-2100 X60366
Email: arm@yorku.ca

Writing Contest for Women

2007-10-10T19:16:00.001-07:00

The Novelette.com is offering a very interesting writing contest for women. Their call for entries is below...

Professionals, freelancers, bloggers and aspiring writers are invited to submit a 500- to 750-word memoir, essay or story around the theme of becoming a parent -- no matter how it happened. Interpret this any way you want. Submissions will be judged in two categories -- by popular online vote and by our editorial panel of professional writers. Winners in each category will receive a $25 gift certificate to Barnes & Noble -- $50 certificate if one submission wins BOTH!

AND . . . a virtual blue ribbon award from thenovelette.com to post on your website and/or include as part of your email signature.

Check it out @ thenovelette.com/contest.

New International Breasteeding Symbol

2007-10-08T14:20:00.001-07:00

Mothering Magazine ran a very interesting contest to find a new international symbol to represent breastfeeding. The goal was to find a universal symbol that was easy to recognize. The winning design is pictured below. While it is a very straightforward and clever picture, what I most like about it is that it was designed by Matt Daigle, stay at home dad and part time designer. He designed this picture in honor of his wife and child. He also generously turned over the rights to the design. Read his interview here.

Mamapalooza at Art & Soul in Oakland This Weekend

2007-08-30T11:15:00.001-07:00

If you are in the Bay Area this Labor Day weekend, be sure to check out the popular concert series, Mamapalooza, in Oakland at the Art & Soul Music series. This travelling concert series consists of moms who like to play rock music and has been growing in popularity over the last few years.

On Saturday at 12:45, check out Joan Blades, co-founder of Moms Rising on the Mamapalooza stage at Art and Soul. This celebrated Bay Area activist will surely have some words of wisdom for us feminist moms.

Remember, the Bay Bridge is closed this weekend so be sure to leave early if driving across the bay, or better yet, take BART!

Book Review: Mamarama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids & Rock 'n' Roll

2007-04-30T16:12:00.000-07:00

Although I have read many, many books about my favorite topics of feminism, parenting, and music, I have rarely read a book that combines these three topics. Mamarama, like Alternadad, another wonderful book about parenting, is an easy to read and enthralling book on modern parenting. Written by Evelyn McDonnell, the pop culture critic for the Miami Herald, this book is a must ready for any feminist parent interested in popular culture and parenting.

McDonnell has a familiar style of writing and a candid nature that many can relate to. She spent many years avoid pregnancy in the pursuit of other interests, such as travel, love and job opportunities. She chronicles the pre-baby years of her life in hilarious fashion, making her book impossible to put down. So many of us could relate to her visions of what motherhood would be like before she had children when she writes,

...I assumed I would be a mother, but I barely imagined it. Or rather, children were background characters in my various life fantasies of romance, adventure, and glory. They would be there, quietly doing their homework in their rooms, while I banged out books on my typewriter. I could see them in the snapshots we'd send home from Victoria Falls, or we'd buy baguettes together in Paris, then hold hands as we walked back to our garret (169)

This is exactly what I thought having children would be like! Her struggles getting her child to sleep, nursing and challenges through the preschool years are both interesting and insightful to parents of young children. There are so many other passages I and other parents could relate to. If you haven't read this book, make sure to pick it up. You will not be disappointed.

Want to Run for President?

2007-02-27T17:22:00.000-08:00

A forthcoming book project entitled, She's Out There! The First Daughter to Become President of the United States, is seeking contributors ages 7 to35 who whose professional goal is to run for President of the United States.

A national essay contest is being held and the winners will have their essays included in the book. To enter the contest, send the following material by March 30th 2007 to:

Fresh Perspectives
65 North Moore Street #3a
New York, NY 10013

or email: madampresidentus@yahoo.com

Be sure to include the following...

An essay of any length about who you are and why you aspire to run for President
Be sure to include your age in your essay
A recent photo

Fruit Cake, Visits to the Dentist More Popular Than President Bush

2007-02-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

For a bit of comic relief, head over to radaronline.com where they have a hilarious post about things people normally dislike that have higher approval ratings than President Bush. Among my favorites...

Fruit Cake

Visiting the Dentist

Kevin Federline

Book Review: Pink Ribbons, Inc.

2007-02-02T14:51:00.000-08:00

Samantha King, a professor at King's University in Ontario, has written an incredibly interesting and innovative book, Pink Ribbons, Inc. Breast Cancer and the Politics of Philanthropy. King has done what few others have before her-challenge the campaign to feminize and romanticize breast cancer. In her book, she chronicles the rise of the Susan G. Komen foundation and how its founder, Nancy Brinker has mastered the use of marketing for non-profit causes, often to the detriment of the cause itself.

The problem, King argues, lies in the way these large cancer organizations, such as the Komen Foundation and the American Cancer Society, spend so much time and money on marketing, rather than actually looking into what is causing breast cancer. She notes that if you look at Komen's marketing materials, they put so much emphasis on treatment and detection, rather than prevention. In fact, their tagline always refers to finding a cure, rather then finding what causes cancer to develop in the first place. King points out that because the Komen Foundation gets funding from pharmaceutical companies and other large corporations that can actually contribute to the spread of breast cancer, such as BMW, they do not focus on preventing this disease.

Her book will make you think twice about sporting a pink ribbon. Instead, if you're looking to get involved with a breast cancer non-profit that actually works to prevent breast cancer, check out the fantastic Breast Cancer Action, located in San Francisco. They have created the "Think Before you Pink" campaign to take the focus off pink material goods and back on this devestating disease. Visit their campaign here and here and be sure to read this important book!

Empowering Women of Color Conference at Berkeley: Call for Participants

2007-01-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

OUR BODIES, OUR SOULS: SISTAHOOD, HEALTH & HEALING
22nd Annual Empowering Women of Color Conference
*on-line registration available*

CALL FOR WORKSHOPS & VENDORS

This Year’s theme: “Our Bodies, Our Souls: Sistahood,
Health and Healing” seeks to explore the themes of
health and wellness as they pertain to women of color
and our communities.  Healthy minds, bodies and spirits
enable women to come together as change makers to health
and build a world in which their work is sustained.

Conference events will include a health fair scheduled to
take place on UC Berkeley campus, Friday March 2nd.

The main conference event will take place on Saturday
March 3rd and will include a panel of acclaimed Bay Area
activists and leaders in community health and women’s issues,
vendors, cultural performances, workshops on a variety of
health and spirituality-related topics.  The keynote speaker
will be Mililani Trask, a renowned leader of the Hawaiian
sovereignty movement and an internationally acclaimed
political speaker and attorney.

Conference events will be held in the Martin Luther King,
Jr. (MLK) Student Union Building- March 2 and 3rd, on the
University of California, Berkeley campus.  MLK is located
on the northwest corner of the intersection of Telegraph
Ave. and Bancroft Ave. For more information, see
UC Berkeley'scampus map or directions to Campus.
Wheelchair accessible.Registration for the
conference will take place on-site March 3rd.

For additional information,

visit http://ewocc.berkeley.edu

Brought to you by the Graduate Women’s Project at the
University of California, Berkeley of the
Graduate Assembly.