Real Women Have Curves?

No-

Real women come in all shapes and sizes.

We touched upon this issue in the "Eating and Exercise" discussion during the Women's Health Workshop series. The following comes from Community Feministing:

Aren't I A Real Woman?

Women Speak Out

CNN's Campbell Brown on the McCain Campaign's sexist treatment of its VP nominee:


And a woman who never gets the attention she deserves in the male-dominated field of comedy, Wanda Sykes:

The New Eugenics

Not to be all Negative Nancy on the women's health front but I just found out about an absolutely appalling plan being proposed by a Louisiana State Rep. He is exploring the idea of creating an incentive program that would give $1000 to poor women who agree to have their tubes tied. As if that isn't offensive enough, the plan would also include tax incentives for college-educated, high-income people willing to have more children.

Read about it here and here.

This reminds me a lot of the Project C.R.A.C.K. controversy.

So You Want to Get Married, Do You?

I personally don't see myself ever getting married, but if I did, I would definitely read this statement as part of the ceremony- not only because I believe in it, but also in honor of Lucy Stone.


The following was signed by Lucy Stone and Henry Blackwell prior to their May 1, 1855 marriage. The Rev. Thomas Wentworth Higginson, who performed the marriage, not only read the statement at the ceremony, but also distributed it to other ministers as a model that he urged other couples to follow.

While acknowledging our mutual affection by publicly assuming the relationship of husband and wife, yet in justice to ourselves and a great principle, we deem it a duty to declare that this act on our part implies no sanction of, nor promise of voluntary obedience to such of the present laws of marriage, as refuse to recognize the wife as an independent, rational being, while they confer upon the husband an injurious and unnatural superiority, investing him with legal powers which no honorable man would exercise, and which no man should possess. We protest especially against the laws which give to the husband:

1. The custody of the wife's person.

2. The exclusive control and guardianship of their children.

3. The sole ownership of her personal, and use of her real estate, unless previously settled upon her, or placed in the hands of trustees, as in the case of minors, lunatics, and idiots.

4. The absolute right to the product of her industry.

5. Also against laws which give to the widower so much larger and more permanent interest in the property of his deceased wife, than they give to the widow in that of the deceased husband.

6. Finally, against the whole system by which "the legal existence of the wife is suspended during marriage," so that in most States, she neither has a legal part in the choice of her residence, nor can she make a will, nor sue or be sued in her own name, nor inherit property.

We believe that personal independence and equal human rights can never be forfeited, except for crime; that marriage should be an equal and permanent partnership, and so recognized by law; that until it is so recognized, married partners should provide against the radical injustice of present laws, by every means in their power...

HPV Required for Immigrant Women

The debate over mandatory vaccination for the controversial HPV vaccine has taken an interesting twist. As it turns out, the US Department of Homeland Security is requiring girls and young women who immigrate to the US to get the Gardasil jab, TheStreet.com reports.

Read the whole article here. This is clearly a problem. Aside from the alleged health risk associated with the vaccine (and the gold coating the insides of Merck's pockets), this clearly stands as yet another concerning barrier to immigration.

What's that word....???

Lunch Time Film Series at Temple Law

I know everyone is working/busy but if you happen to be unemployed or have a long lunch break, the National Lawyer's Guild Reproductive Rights Committee will be hosting a viewing of "Rosita". Q & A with the director will follow (she happens to work at Temple!). It will be held at noon on September 30th. I'd be happy to provide more explicit information to anyone who is interested.

ROSITA, an hour-long documentary by award-winning filmmakers Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater, traces a young girl's journey from innocent victim to unwitting victor. When a nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl becomes pregnant as a result of a rape, her parents — illiterate campesinos working in Costa Rica — seek a legal "therapeutic" abortion to save their only child's life. Their quest pits them against the governments of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the medical establishment, and the Catholic Church. When their story gains international media attention the repercussions ripple across Latin America and Europe.

If people can't make it and are interested in viewing the film I would be happy to host a screening and discussion some time in the future.

Also, for those who were asking, here is my favorite zucchini bread recipe!

3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 yogurt (soy or regular)
2 cups sugar (white will dissolve better)
2 cups grated zucchini (I use closer to 2 1/2 or 3)
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups unbleached flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 325. Lightly butter and flour two loaf pans.
In a bowl, beat eggs. Mix in oil, yogurt and sugar. Mix in zucchini and vanilla. Combine the rest of the ingredients before stirring into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 60 minutes.
Share with friends, or if you don't like to share this bread freezes well.

If you want to make it vegan, egg replacer will work! But make sure you double up (6 "eggs") and mix while the water is still warm.

Garden Cycles Bike Tour: New Faces from the Farm

In the summer/fall of last year, The Women's Garden Cycles Bike Tour (our dear friends Lara Sheets, Kat Shiffler, and Liz Tylander) traversed the Northeastern coast on their bicycles from DC to Montreal on a quest to meet and document the new farmers in the US.

They visited community gardens, farmers markets, youth organizations, school gardens, urban farms, and many other organizations (complete list here), where they encountered hundreds of motivated educators, farmers, and community members who together are the architects of a new agricultural movement in the United States.

This past weekend, some WSC members were present as they premiered their documentary, Faces from the New Farm, in the beautiful meadows of the Blue Ridge Environmental Center in Loudoun Co., Virginia. It was a tremendously inspiring experience, full of delicious, homemade, local foods, excellent musical performances, a bit of homebrew, a trampoline, and even a bicycle powered generator. Here is a picture of me putting up my tent (thanks Abby).

A big thank you and good luck to the Women's Garden Cycles group as they promote and show their film. Hopefully we will have a chance to see it in the Philadelphia area soon!

Check out the trailer:

also:

“Pedaling the Local Food Movement” by Adrian Higgins, Home Section Washington Post

“The Incredible Cycling Garden Women” by Ed Bruske, The Slow Cook: The Urban Insurgent’s guide to real food for life…

“Young Gardening Revolutionaries Premiere Their Movie” by Susan Harris, Garden Rant: Uprooting the Garden World

88.1FM BSR Providence, Bike Talk! 9/26/07 - listen here.
“A Taste of New Jersey” by Amy Brummer, The Garden Plate

Women ought to have representatives, instead of being arbitrarily governed without any direct share allowed them in the deliberations of government.
-Mary Wollstonecraft

At our meeting on Monday, Sept. 21st we will discuss Women in politics. This is a colossal topic to tackle, so Roz and I tried to come up with some general themes to shape the discussion. Our main objective, while researching, was not finding a general overview of Women's political action, but more to determine what specific changes allowed women to gain their footing in the the political scene and to advance to the point we're at now (quite an exciting point to be at, I do say).

We decided upon several articles to prepare for the discussion.... as always, read the articles that interest you and if you get the chance, skim the ones that are less compelling.

To begin with, a general Women's Suffrage timeline:
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/suffrage/index.html

Skim over the Declaration of Sentiments:
http://www.thelizlibrary.org/suffrage/declare.htm


A recent article from Newsweek "From Seneca Falls to...Sarah Palin?":
http://www.newsweek.com/id/158893

The Nation article "Obama and the Sisters":
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080901/harris-lacewell

And two Quick articles to make you think about Women's fashion in politics:

http://www.marquise.de/en/1900/howto/reform.shtml

Nytimesarticle


If you have the time...

An article to skim from Harpers, circa 1955... we thought a lot about the access that women had to political power if their husbands were politicians.
http://www.harpers.org/archive/1955/06/0000257

Often overlooked, and one of our own: a short biography on Hannah Callowhill Penn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannah_Callowhill_Penn

Meeting begins at 8:30 PM
Hope to see you there!
(see e-mail for directions to Sarah's apartment)

Michelle Obama Blogs

Michelle Obama wrote a blog on PAY EQUALITY FOR WOMEN!

Fighting For Equal Pay

Opinions are like... special snowflakes

NPR's Talk of the Nation yesterday explored the varied reactions of women voters to Governor Palin's addition to the McCain ticket. If you didn't catch it, listen HERE.

Guests:

Katherine Mangu-Ward, associate editor of Reason magazine

C. Nicole Mason, executive director of the Women Of Color Policy Network

Beth Tweddle, a self-identified Republican, works in sales, mother of three

Apparently Obama Supports Infanticide

From Politico:

A new anti-abortion, anti-Obama ad revisits the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.

The Illinois press, and Eric Zorn in particular, have the clearest summaries of this complicated topic, which make fairly clear that Obama's vote was cast against what was seen locally as a stealth attempt at a broader ban on abortion.

we are family

Vicki facilitated our discussion on Monday, which focused on the massively general topic of "Marriage & Family." If you haven't had a chance to read the articles she selected, please have a look:

Is it the beginning of the end for marriage?

Marry Him!

When Mom and Dad Share It All

Gay Couples Find Marriage Is A Mixed Bag

So...Are You Two Together?

Everyone that attended was single with no kids. We spent quite a bit of time talking about actual weddings, then were left wondering what exactly happens AFTER the big party. While many of us believed it wouldn't feel very different than living with a partner, others expressed fears of feeling trapped. This is a point where we all wished we had some married ladies at the discussion! The concept of a non-romantic kind of partnership seemed like somewhat of a relief in the conversation for many, although commitment issues came into play here too. We also discussed the benefits of communal living.

The discussion then moved on to parenting, equality, and social expectations. Balancing work and children was certainly the hot topic. Many believed they would want to stay at home as much as possible early on in the child's development. Others felt they would want to work out an equal schedule with their partners, while a few others felt a sense of importance in providing the main source of income. Speaking of income, whoa, that one's a doozy as well! How much money will we need? Is one person staying at home with the kids more important than a second source of income? Will we be privileged enough to have that choice? How do men feel?

NEXT UP: ELECTION TALK

Monday, September 22 @ Sarah's

Topic: History of Women in Politics

Salon delivers.

Sarah Palin, Feminist.

And who is calling her that? The authority on all things good-for-women, Pennsylvanian's own Rick Santorum.

"Sarah Palin is the Clarence Thomas for feminists. The civil rights community, the African-American community obviously should have rallied behind Clarence Thomas an his achievement, but they hammered him because he was a conservative. And the civil rights establishment was first and foremost liberal and then for the liberal rights of -- as liberals saw it, what blacks should have in this country. And the same thing with the feminist community."

As we all know, Rick Santorum is not alone in this sentiment. Today in Salon another Pennsylvanian, Camille Paglia, wrote about her views on the flavor of feminism she thinks Palin represents:

"Conservative though she may be, I felt that Palin represented an explosion of a brand new style of muscular American feminism. At her startling debut on that day, she was combining male and female qualities in ways that I have never seen before. And she was somehow able to seem simultaneously reassuringly traditional and gung-ho futurist. In terms of redefining the persona for female authority and leadership, Palin has made the biggest step forward in feminism since Madonna channeled the dominatrix persona of high-glam Marlene Dietrich and rammed pro-sex, pro-beauty feminism down the throats of the prissy, victim-mongering, philistine feminist establishment."

Pro-sex? As long as it's in the context of marriage.

Paglia goes on to question how Palin's take on women's health and other liberally branded social issues would play out, should she take office. She wrongly equates Palin's overtly Christian/Dictated By God stance with the media uproar over Obama's relationship with Rev. Wright. Paglia seems to think it's all an over-reaction.

I don't know if people are reacting enough. Polls show that this very tactic, the branding of Sarah Palin as a trail-blazer for young-girls and Obama as a name-calling (see "pig with lipstick" controvery) anti-feminist, is working. I hope the glitter and shine attached to Palin's nomination wears off sooner, rather than later.

born of earnest struggle

Philadelphia - Tomorrow at the Rotunda
Andrew's Video Vault 2008
Free - 8pm
4014 Walnut St.
September 11, 2008 – Let Us Keep Abortion Safe and a Woman's Right to Choose Legal

Rain Without Thunder

(1993 / 93 minutes / 1.33:1) Cautionary direct address docudrama of a future where abortion is illegal. Stars Carolyn McCormick and Betty Buckley.

The Handmaid's Tale

(1990 / 109 minutes / 1.66:1) Natasha Richardson, Robert Duvall, Faye Dunaway and Aidan Quinn star in Volker Schlondorff's film of Harold Pinter's adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel set in a future where reproductive rights lay in the hands of a Christian theocracy.

Thanks Margaret!

I must admit I have not seen these and don't know much about them, but we're going tomorrow so perhaps I'll update later.

Kilkenny's E-mail on Sarah Palin

photo of Anne Kilkenny

This is a very publicized email from Anne Kilkenny, resident of Wasilla Alaska, concerning Sarah Palin. I found it pretty insightful.
So, if you didn't already, this email provides a lot more reasons to hate Sarah Palin and fear the power she may gain with as a Vice President.

the knot

As a follow-up to our discussion on marriage last night, here's an article about a couple that did it a little differently, allowing Washington Post reporters to plan their nuptial ceremony. The ACLU was also involved.

The Anti Wedding

Palin's a M.I.L.F?

from feministing

Things that make you go...hmmmm

This is an interesting opinion article from Gloria Steinem on the nomination of Republican VP candidate, Sarah Palin.

"Palin: wrong woman, wrong message."

Everyone should read this book....

I just finished reading America's Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines, by Gail Collins. Not since Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States have I felt so deeply moved and satisfied by historical writing. Collins' book traces the history of women in this country, beginning with Eleanor Dare in 1587, one of the first European women to sail across the Atlantic.

She writes of the early hardships and housework of the colonial women, the Salem Witch Trials, infant textile workers, horrific medical experiments performed on slave women, opium addiction, corsets, the abolitionists, birth control, female soldiers, Hollywood, rape, bicycles, menstruation, etc, etc, etc... Collins touches on most aspects of the daily life of women, but also maintains a broad and coherent perspective.

Collins references magazines and journals commonly read by women of the day to help the reader understand the existing social and cultural pressures. The female authors of these publications usually promoted submissiveness, marriage, and the classic ideals that we still to read about in many women's magazines today.

The movement of women from the domestic sphere to the workplace is one of the more fascinating strands in the book. The acceptance of working women comes only when absolute necessity warrants it (although the women who lost their jobs after WWII were fired regardless of the needs of their families). Often, through nationalism and propaganda, the government determined and probably still determines, what the role of women should be.

The struggles and triumphs presented are moving: often tragic, but often empowering. Through Collins' amazing work, we can see that we have a multitude of rights, privileges, conveniences, and freedoms that the early colonists could not begin to imagine.

Yet we also have not achieved true freedom. I hope that in another 400 years a historian again writes of the progress of American women. Maybe our 21st century brains would be blown away!

Vox Populi Event

Thursday's show at Vox Populi was a great success!
Here are some pictures of the night.
sorry for the fuzziness and the dark. I'm not so good at photos, ok?!

Kassie Richardson

Rapidice

Lindsey Martin's Invasion

Faded Gory

The Suicide Machines

participants!