feminist blogs

This makes me sick.

In the Mexican state of Guanajuato, which holds the strictest abortion policy and the highest teen pregnancy rate in the country, and also refuses to teach comprehensive sex education, six women have been sentenced to 25 to 30 years prison time for the crime of violating Guanajuato's abortion laws. From womensrights.change.org:

Ms. Magazine reports that the six women were tried and sentence for homicide under laws criminalizing abortion. Activists working with the women reports that all six defendants were poor and had little education. Two were impregnated by rape, and all were abandoned by the sperm-providers. One had a spontaneous abortion, a.k.a. a miscarriage.

To have a woman charged with homicide and thrown in jail for making a decision about her own body is appalling to me... it sounds like something out of some horrifying dystopian novel. Too bad it's reality.

My Fellow Americans,

I'm always torn on the Fourth of July, between feeling grateful that I live where I live, and not in a country where FGM and stoning and acid attacks are the norm, and feeling utterly ashamed by the horrific past the good ol' U.S.A. has of exploiting, slaughtering, an enslaving its people.

I suppose it's OK to feel both ways on this day. It is also OK to eat 5 burgers and wash them down with a beer each, which I plan to do.

But amidst the brouhaha of fireworks and BBQ, I encourage everyone to do a little internet exploration and learn something new about our past. No doubt it will be a depressing delve into history, but it's important to know about the injustices the U.S. has inflicted upon its citizens... because unfortunately those injustices are being repeated today. A good place to start is with Frederick Douglass' "Fourth of July" speech, delivered in 1852 to a crowd of white men, including the president. In his speech, Douglass asked why he was invited to speak, when clearly the country they were celebrating still saw him as less than human.

Fellow citizens; above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, today, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. If I do forget, if I do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, “may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!” To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world. My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is AMERICAN SLAVERY. I shall see, this day, and its popular characteristics, from the slave's point of view. Standing, there, identified with the American bondman, making his wrongs mine, I do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July!

Sums up my sentiments quite well. Other things to do today: read the "Declaration of Sentiments," put together in 1848 at the herstoric Seneca Falls Convention. Also learn about the women that played key roles in the American Revolution, conveniently left out of history textbooks.

Also, take a look at some reflective pieces written by contemplative Americans who are using today to ask some important questions. "Has the American Dream Become Our Nightmare?" on AlterNet is a good place to start.

But let's not get too down today. After all the depressing stuff, find a reason to smile, whether it's what I said earlier about being grateful that we live here considering some of the alternatives, knowing that amidst all the injustices in this country, we can truly make a difference, or this Michael Ian Black/Michael Showalter 4th of July video:



Enjoy today, and eat many hot dogs (or soy dogs).

Today, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the Stop Deceptive Advertising in Women's Services Act (SDAWS), which would crack down on crisis pregnancy centers, or fake clinics that claim to offer women all their options, but fail to provide abortion services or referrals of any kind. From their press release:

"Although I may disagree with their views, many crisis pregnancy centers are forthright and respectful. Unfortunately, some take a more underhanded approach to lure in women seeking abortions by using tactics that should be illegal," Representative Maloney said. "An unintended pregnancy is an especially difficult time to encounter deception, and deceptive practices should be outlawed. Women shouldn’t have to face the added stress of deciphering whether or not the clinic they choose offers legitimate medical services."

Senator Menendez said, "This legislation would simply help ensure truth in advertising related to reproductive health services. Women's reproductive health choices are very personal decisions, and they should never be influenced by deception or pressure."

Essentially, the Act directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to establish rules declaring it illegal for an establishment to advertise as a provider of abortion services if they do not provide such services. I wonder if it would crack down on other deceptive tactics CPCs use, such as deliberately placing themselves across the street from a real family planning clinic, so that women might accidentally wander into an anti-choice establishment instead. Probably not.

Read the full text of the act here (PDF).

In light of the sheer stupidity demonstrated within the comments during the Prop 8 trial, Jason Kuznicki wrote an interesting opinion piece, analyzing the arguments of same-sex marriage opponents:

For the opposition, possibly the strongest is the claim that children need a mother and a father, and that marriage is the institution that ties heterosexual sex to childbirth and parenting.

Clearly, that's one thing that marriage does, but it can't be the only purpose of the institution. If it were, we wouldn't let 80-year-olds get married, and if you've had a hysterectomy, then forget it. To complicate matters, gays and lesbians also raise children, and an institution that ties them to their kids, and that empowers them to raise their children responsibly, seems like a reasonable addition to the law.

He later concludes:

All of this brings up a strange inconsistency to the opponents of same-sex marriage. Their ends -- every child gets a mom and a dad -- are strangely mismatched to their means -- prohibit same-sex marriage. It's sort of like banning bad moustaches to stop pornography. Perhaps there's some vague association, but that's about it.

Same-sex marriage isn't nearly the root of the problem, and we all know it. If it's really so important that every child gets a mom and a dad, then there is an obvious policy solution: prohibit divorce after childbirth. Of course, divorced parents are numerous and politically powerful, and it's always easier to scapegoat a minority.

Why, oh why, can't the same-sex-marriage-will-ruin-society crazies understand such simple and undeniable logic?

Your "UGH" moment of the week: Sarah Palin on the cover of Newsweek in all her angelic, feminist, conservative glory.


I said it before, I'll say it again: I refuse to accept Sarah Palin as the face of feminism.

Calling Sarah Palin a feminist is like calling Perez Hilton a queer rights activist. You can't claim to advocate for queer rights when you make blog posts with titles such as "WHEN TRANNIES ATTACK!" just like you can't claim to want the best for women when you oppose their right to reproductive control and are perfectly comfortable with reducing lesbians to second-class status.

How dare she publicly adopt the "feminist" label and distort to some warped, twisted anti-equality anti-woman bullshit, all while acting like she's some kind of savior for women.

I'm all for building inclusive social movements, but I'm not about to roll out the welcome mat for those who are blatantly detrimental to our goals.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gave a statement on the Senate floor last week, honoring former Dr. George Tiller. The one-year anniversary of his murder was just this past Monday. Here is the statement:

A community in Kansas still shakes one year after the brazen murder of one of its own. This weekend will mark the first anniversary of Dr. George Tiller’s death. He was gunned down in front of his Wichita church the day before last Memorial Day.

Dr. Tiller was killed at point-blank range, at his place of worship, in the middle of a Sunday morning, while his wife sang in the church choir just yards away.

He was murdered by an unrepentant assassin who took a life in the name of protecting life. It was an indefensible crime and an incomprehensible excuse.

Just as despicable as Dr. Tiller’s death was the fact that his murder wasn’t an isolated incident. It wasn’t even the first time someone tried to kill him. His clinic was bombed in 1985. He was shot twice in 1993. And over the next 16 years, seven clinic workers would be killed before Dr. Tiller would become the eighth. More than 6,000 other acts of violence have been launched at clinics and their workers – bombings, arsons, assaults and other attacks.

The last doctor killed before Dr. Tiller was a husband and father from Buffalo named Barnett Slepian. He was an OB/GYN who also helped poor women access safe, legal abortions. Because of that, he was murdered in his home. I didn’t know Dr. Selpian, but I knew his niece. She came from Reno, Nevada, and she once worked in my office.

The tragedy of Dr. Tiller’s death, and of Dr. Slepian’s death – and of every atrocity like it – is independent of the issue of abortion. It’s not about the legality of abortion or funding of abortion. These are emotional debates, and ones on which people of good faith can disagree.

What so shook that Kansas town was rather an act of terrorism. What reverberated out to our borders and coasts from the center of our country was the violation of our founding principle: that we are a nation of laws, not of men.

Everyone in America has the right to disagree with its laws. Everyone has the right to dispute and protest its laws. But no American has the right to disobey them.

Not all of us would choose Dr. Tiller’s profession. Not all of us would seek his services or agree with his philosophy. But it is the responsibility of every American to respect another’s right to practice his profession legally.

Those who believe in the sanctity of life cannot be selective. We must value every life – not just those with which we agree.

So, Sarah Palin recently spoke at the Susan B. Anthony List breakfast - for those of you who don't know, Susan B. Anthony List is "a political action committee helping pro-life women gain election to Congress." I watched some of the video of her speech but I couldn't get too far into it because my body wouldn't stop cringing whenever Sarah Palin mentioned the "new conservative feminist movement."



...Wait, what?

Isn't that an oxymoron? I respect people's individual political opinions, and I'm certainly not one to render feminism an exclusive movement, but I will until the day I die assert that a person cannot claim to want the best for women when they do not trust women to make the right choices for their own bodies.

I have met people who admit that they would never get an abortion themselves, nor are they particularly 100% comfortable with the idea of abortion, but they understand the importance of this right remaining intact because they know it is what is best for the emotional and physical well-being of women. To me, that is a true feminist: someone who, despite any personal hang-ups they might have about a particular issue, will always support the position that protects our needs and rights.

Sarah Palin is not that type of feminist. She isn't a feminist.

Here's what Taylor Marsh, of HuffingtonPost.com, had to say:

You simply can't be a feminist if you don't support a woman's individual rights. Announcing a "new conservative feminist movement" without acknowledging the individual freedoms of women won't cut it. This feministic facade that actually takes aim at women's rights should be seen for what it is.

Anything less than supporting women's full individual rights simply renders you a pretender, a fake, a feminist fraud.

I sincerely hope this "conservative feminist movement" doesn't gain momentum. I might have to *headdesk* repeatedly.

Obama has made his choice for Justice Stevens' nominated replacement on the Supreme Court: Elena Kagan.


And I ate my words when I predicted that Obama might not nominate a woman, out of apprehension for the crap he's going to get.

So who is Elena Kagan? She is a young 50 years-old, and has impressive credentials, though some say she lacks experience. Unfortunately, not a whole lot is known yet on her stance on feminist issues. Apparently, when she was a White House adviser in 1997, she urged then-President Bill Clinton to support a ban on late-term abortions. My prediction is that she holds a somewhat moderate stance on abortion, but given the chance would uphold Roe v. Wade. Reproductive rights organizations are optimistic, and anti-choicers hate her, so that's a good sign! Heh heh.

I also read that as dean of Harvard Law School, she mandated that military recruiters should be banned from campus because she disagreed with the discriminatory "don't ask, don't tell" policy. An awesome move on her part, but undoubtedly a part of her past that will come back to haunt her when Republicans try to shoot her down.

Still, it's likely she will win confirmation, since Democrats have a control of 59 votes in the Senate.

With all the offensive lower-than-low crap slung by Republicans and right-wingers on a daily basis, this really shouldn't surprise me. But their ability to exhibit sheer stupidity and disrespect still amazes me. Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) was the target of a sexist attack when a Republican multimillionaire, Tom Ganley, who wants to take her place in Congress, funded a mailer sent out by the Republican party that said:

"Let's take Betty Sutton out of the House and send her back to the kitchen."

I still have a hard time grasping that people still actually think like this. Women have come so far thanks to feminism, but attacks like this are a blatant attempt to shove us ten steps backwards. Well, I'm standing right here. My feet are planted and I am not moving.

Sign the petition to push Tom Ganley to denounce this comment, and for Medina County Republican Party Chairman Bill Heck, who continues to defend this sexist attack, to step down.

"...I want somebody who is going to be interpreting our Constitution in a way that takes into account individual rights, and that includes women's rights... And that's going to be something that's very important to me, because I think part of what our core constitutional values promote is the notion that individuals are protected in their privacy and their bodily integrity. And women are not exempt from that."

Hmm. He's expected to choose Justice Stevens' replacement within the next couple weeks, and I'm really excited/nervous to see who he picks.