Links for Sexy Feminists: Feminist Beauty, Pro-Life Feminists, More on Abortion…

June 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Abortion complexities: The New York Times published this fantastic piece on a group of women who were denied abortions. … Meanwhile, two groups have popped up declaring themselves feminist pro-life organizations. We can get behind their message of providing better counseling, financial resources and community support for pregnant women, but can advocating for the lack of a choice ever be a feminist act?

Beauty obsession can be feminist: We’ll be the first to champion the feminist potential in loving lipgloss. But the beauty industry can still be a volatile environment for a feminist. Refinery29′s Annie Tomlin wrote this essay about how she uses her feminism as an advantage to her career as a beauty editor.

Only child judgment: Journalist Lauren Sandler’s new book, “One and Only” explores the social stigma of only children. She was one, she’s raising one, and still she’s faced with searing critique whenever she tells perfect strangers that she’s not having another child. This is an element of the parenting bullying that’s just as offensive as lecturing a mother on the right way to breastfeed. Sandler addresses the assumption that only children are spoiled and selfish in a recent NYT essay.

The trouble with diamonds: The ethical quandaries of blood diamonds notwithstanding, Business Insider examines how the marriage industrial complex hurts men–and supports patriarchy. … Consumption of goods in general can very likely be linked back to someone’s suffering. Check out HuffPost’s piece on World Day Against Child Labor and find out what you can do to stop these horrifying practices.


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Links for Sexy Feminists: Ethiopian Child Brides, Self Acceptance, and more

May 31, 2013 By 1 Comment

Reproductive Health Watch: Don’t let the recent holiday weekend and heat wave distract you from noticing this picture of eight men discussing women’s reproductive health.

I Need Feminism: So here’s a great piece on the necessity of feminism in current society. And the feminist blogosphere finally got Facebook to rethink its blind eye to pages supporting gender violence.

Brooklyn is Funny: And so is Katie Goodman in Park Slope Episode 1

Women in STEM: National Geographic rounded up six exceptional female scientists you may not have heard of–let’s help them get the posthumous recognition they deserve.

Fatshion: A new clothing line, currently being designed by a Cornell student, is designed to embrace the curves of larger women. Hooray!

On Self Acceptance: Amanda Chatel wants us to accept that she’s dissatisfied with her physical appearance, and her essay raises interesting thoughts for anyone who doesn’t look a certain way.

Women are People: A great piece on how to appreciate an attractive woman without objectifying her. We’re pretty sure these female artists who painted “pin-ups” would agree.

Women in the World: The International Women’s Forum is being held this year in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The UN criticized Iran for suppressing its female citizens’ right to run for political office. And this article spotlights an international aid organization that improves the lives of Ethiopian child brides.


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Links for Sexy Feminists: Roe v. Wade at 40, Clothes Make the Woman, Fetishes, and more

January 23, 2013 By Leave a Comment

My Body My Choice: Roe v. Wade turns forty this week, and co-creator of The Daily Show Lizz Winstead teams up with Ultraviolet in a catchy video about the creeping erosion of our right to safe, legal abortion. Guttmacher Institute offers five detailed, elegant infographics about the decision’s continued importance, while This Is Personal offers a visual Q&A about what its erosion means to you.

Reacting to Roe: The Washington Post covers a new study which says most Americans support Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, Supreme Court journalist Jeffrey Toobin offers a favorable polemic as the leadoff Comment in the New Yorker’s Talk of the Town.

I Can’t Even… : Cutting up your vagina to look like Barbie.

Clothes Make the Woman: A sociology professor tells us what’s so awesome about this viral image.

Feminist Fetish: Our friend in feminism, Jessica Wakeman, wrote a great exploration of what “kinks” and “fetishes” are, and why they’re too often used incorrectly.


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Latest Anti-Choice Loophole Puts Virginia Women At Risk

September 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

On Friday, the Virginia State Board of Health reversed an earlier decision to exempt existing abortion clinics from a 2011 bill which enforces the same building requirements on these clinics as on hospitals. The 15-member board voted 13-2 in favor of reversing a “grandfather clause” approved in a 7-4 vote in June which would have exempted existing clinics from new and costly renovations in order to comply with the bill. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli had refused to certify the June approved exemption, and had warned board members regarding their legal liabilities if the exemption remained. As a result of the decision reversal, existing abortion clinics will be responsible for physical plant requirements such as hands-free faucets and corridor dimensions. Such regulations could put some clinics in danger of closing their doors, according to operators.

While the Attorney General’s engagement with the State Board of Health in the decision process clearly merits attention, the decision reversal should also serve as an opportunity to consider whether it is necessary for abortion clinics to meet new building requirements designed for hospitals. [Read more...]


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Women’s Health Update: What You Need To Know Before You Vote

August 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This campaign season has seen a flurry of women’s health issues come to the forefront of political debates, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming to keep track of which women’s health issues are being discussed, where proceedings stand, and what the major implications of decisions are. Here’s a quick guide to what matters most when it comes to bureaucrats governing your lady parts.

ABORTION RIGHTS
Michigan passes abortion “superbill” in the House. In early June, the Michigan State House of Representatives passed a bill (HB 5711, 5712, and 5713) which puts severe restrictions on abortion clinics and services. One of the most notable provisions of the bill mandates abortion clinics performing six or more abortions per month to become licensed surgical centers, even if they only perform non-surgical abortions. The bill awaits a Senate vote (likely in September) and discussion on further provisions, such as criminalizing abortions, even in the case of rape or incest, after 20 weeks. Notably, two female Michigan legislators were banned from speaking on the House floor after Rep. Lisa Brown used the term “vagina” while discussing the bill.

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Could ‘Women’s Issues’ Be a Thing of the Past?

June 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Once again, we have The War on Women to thank. No, really, we’re serious: Now that ladies’ rights have emerged as a wedge issue in the upcoming presidential election, there seems to be a new movement toward actually finally acknowledging that women’s issues are everyone’s issues. It seems too good to be true, but we’re cautiously optimistic. President Obama’s recent push for equal pay (we cannot believe this has not been achieved yet!) focused on its benefits to “families,” not just to women. It should be a “duh” moment, but apparently it requires explanation in our skewed world. See, if the woman in the house makes more, everyone wins! More money = more money, no matter the gender of the person making it. High math, we know, but, look! Even as girls, we understand it.

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In Defense of Single Mothers

February 21, 2012 By 2 Comments

Single mothers have always been picked on. Not only are they doing the hardest job in the world on their own, critics call these women morally bankrupt, their “choice” a disgrace to family values and they often times find a way to link single parents to rising rates of poverty and crime.

But now we know that women have more earning power than ever (though we still have a long way to go)—more than men in some professions, and that many are postponing motherhood so that they can invest in themselves, establish a career, and offer a stable life for themselves and their children. And haven’t we finally killed that antiquated mindset that marriage is the ultimate end game for all women?

Apparently, no. A new study by the Pew Research Center shows that  most of the nation thinks single-parent households are detrimental to society.

Detrimental to society? Really? War is detrimental to society. The constant assault on women’s reproductive freedoms is detrimental to society. “The Bachelor” is detrimental to society. Loving, capable parents—one or two, gay or straight, multicultural or homogeneous—are about the best damn things our society has. We need to start supporting them in real, effective ways. Not pointing a finger of shame at them is a start. Offering affordable child care, not discriminating against working mothers, and offering them flexible job training and after-school programs for their kids are just a few others.

Studies like this always piss me off. The focus group is a tiny sliver of society (2,961 people in this case) but media attention makes these opinions speak for all of us (they don’t). And they’re hardly objective. This poll cites data that shows children who grow up in single-parent households have a greater likelihood to commit a crime or not go to college. Conduct the study a different way and you’ll see the reasons behind these trends are more directly linked to the lack of social welfare programs needed in certain low-wage, high-crime areas, the lack of adequate women’s health care and birth control, and the overall victimization and neglect of our most needy members of society.

Women become single parents for so many reasons. It’s the perfect family for some, a necessity for others. So let us cheer on the women who consciously, responsibly and excitedly choose to have children on their own—how lucky is that kid to be so wanted and loved? And let us support the women who find themselves with an unexpected pregnancy they choose to keep, and those who end a relationship for the betterment of themselves and their child. These women have a challenging road ahead and deserve the supportive Village that’s so often quoted as being necessary to raise a child, not the critical one that seems to turn its back if the baby doesn’t come from a happily married couple.

 


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Abortion Laws Around the World

October 29, 2011 By 2 Comments

Check out this map by the Center for Reproductive Rights. It maps abortion laws around the world and details the specific parameters each country has for allowing women the right to govern their health. There are some obvious facts — most of the Middle East outlaws it entirely even in cases where the procedure would save a woman’s life — and some surprises, such as the fact that women in Japan must obtain a spouse’s consent to have an abortion and in Ireland it’s only legal if a woman’s life is at risk. All in all it proves there is still a lot of work to be done in this fight for fairness and freedom.

 


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On Pap Smears At Walgreens (And Other Republican Blunders)

April 19, 2011 By 4 Comments

NOW OFFERING PAP SMEARS IN AISLE 6

Hm. Brian Kilmeade and Steve Doocy of “Fox & Friends” specifically said on TV that Planned Parenthood was unnecessary because you could get pap smears, breast exams, and other non-abortion related services at Walgreens. But when I moseyed on over there and asked how I would go about getting my ladyparts examined, the cashier looked at me like I was crazy! But I didn’t want to resort to going to Planned Parenthood — oh no. Glenn Beck said that only hookers go there!

Really though, this is far and away the most absurd and infuriating part about the ongoing war on Planned Parenthood: the blatant misinformation that Republicans have been spreading (whether deliberately or ignorantly) in order to demean the importance of Planned Parenthood and the services they provide. Do those Fox guys even know what a pap smear is? It’s difficult to gauge which is worse — giving idiots a time-slot on a major channel so that they can do nothing but spout mindless, unproductive drivel (especially when the channel knows what a huge influence said drivel has on much of the country), or being a United States senator and just deciding to cite arbitrary, made up statistics in a speech — statistics that are not even remotely close to being near the ballpark of accurate. Yes, we mean you, Senator Jon Kyl — did you really think you could get away with claiming that “well over 90% of what Planned Parenthood does” is abortion, when abortion actually only constitues 3% of their services? Oh, excuse me. That “was not intended to be a factual statement.” Do we need to have a disclaimer every time Jon Kyl intends to lie on the Senate floor?

Sure, this kind of unapologetic ignorance is pure gold for the comedy world, but now and again we have to remind ourselves that this is real life. This is what the Republican party (not all Republicans, but most) has come to: trying to sabotage women’s rights in a sleazy attempt to secure office once again, and resorting to lying in order to get people on their side. Just because it’s well-known now that many right-wingers, whether on television or on Capitol Hill, don’t concern themselves much with fact-checking doesn’t make it acceptable — especially when, with every lie, so much is at stake for millions of women.

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5 Steps to a More Feminist Lifestyle…

March 28, 2011 By 20 Comments

… And You’re Probably Already Taking Them

Most of our readers have a clear feminist identity already—snaps to you and your participation in the movement! But not every feminist is born that way. It took me till my early thirties to understand my own brand of feminism and what it means to my every day life. Each woman’s journey to that understanding is different. And the path isn’t necessarily paved with protest marches, feminist theory books or daily blogging on the subject, as much as we love those.

The Sexy Feminist (that’s me and Jennifer Armstrong) is writing a book on new feminism (“The Feminist Bombshell” is slated for early 2012) to help demystify it for the modern woman. One of our goals is to show women how feminist they already are. Here are five life decisions with serious feminist implications you may not have considered, but may have already made:

Going Vegetarian: Altering your diet even a little bit—be it eschewing just red meat, buying only organic/cage-free poultry and dairy or going full vegan—is a major decision that affects more than your colon. It’s easy to toss off “for health reasons” as the answer to the prying questions about your brand of vegetarianism, but there’s a deeper answer—a recent study argues a strong feminist case that’s fascinating. Here are a few more:

  • You know cow farts are more than just stinky. In fact, the methane gas from cows is one of the primary sources of global warming and it’s our mass consumption of them that’s led to a bovine overpopulation and a depleting ozone layer.
  • You love chicken, but care where it comes from. Most chickens are farmed in some of the most inhumane conditions imaginable—starved of light and fresh air, forced to live in their own feces and contained in brutally tight quarters.
  • You buy organic as much as possible. This supports farms that care about the environment, your health and (more likely than mass chains) fair working conditions for its employees.
  • Reading up on the companies/farms you support can help guarantee a conscious decision with every bite.

Shopping Consciously: Where you buy your designer denim and underwear matters.

  • You’re either hooked on American Apparel T-shirts no matter what or you know why it’s a feminist decision not to shop there. Two words: sexual harassment. Okay, seven more: promoting over sexualized, virginal women as the ideal.
  • When you heard that H&M throws away its overstock rather than donating or recycling it, you got sorta grossed out and went to Forever 21 for your cheap trends instead.
  • You buy brands such as Joe’s Jeans and Stella McCartney because they’re made fabulously, but they’re also made with consciousness.
  • You know that buying vintage, used or upcycling your own clothes does more for the world than save you a few bucks—though that’s nice too.

Idolizing the Right Women: Feminist icons are made not born. Sure, you should love Gloria Steinem, Jane Fonda and Jessica Valenti, but you can follow fierce feminists in the pages of US Weekly too.

  • Consider why you’re a Beyoncé devotee. Is it only the beats or her sheer determination to kill it in anything she tries?
  • Why are you Team Christina instead of Team Britney? Could it be because Christina is a working mother, philanthropist and outspoken sex-positive feminist (you can call it “girl power,” but it means the same thing). Personal note: Here’s hoping Britney has her own feminist awakening one of these days soon …
  • Is “30 Rock” your favorite TV show for Alec Baldwin (we wouldn’t blame you) or Tina Fey—no matter your answer, you’re rooting for one of the most feminist TV shows ever. Here are 10 more.
  • Do you watch ABC or CBS evening news because that’s just what channel you were last on or because Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer are doing the job previously exclusively held by men?

Consuming News from Trusted Sources: You Tweet, Facebook and text like the rest of us, but when it comes to finding out what’s going on in the world, you look to the (sadly, few) reputable, journalistic outlets for your information.

  • Fox News pisses you off; MSNBC kinda does too.
  • A black-and-white, physical newspaper comes to your home; you read it.
  • Gawker is merely voyeuristic entertainment, not information source.
  • You seek out blogs and voices that challenge the status quo (thanks for that!).

Using Birth Control: No matter your reasons or method, taking charge of your own reproductive system—and its health—is one of the rights feminism was founded upon.

  • You always carry condoms for those “oops, I forgot, babe” moments guys can sometimes have.
  • You see your gynecologist at least once a year, perform self breast exams and read up on the latest breakthroughs in women’s health.
  • You support sex education in schools.
  • You’re one of the 100 million women on the pill and you say a little prayer for it every day.
  • You’re a mom because you wanted to be one.

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