2012 Blog for Choice Day

I know I'm supposed to be talking about 2012 elections today, but today I am in Mexico on the first full day of the Nobel Women's Initiative's delegation. And yes, I wrote this before I left...But I must reflect on my thoughts about being in Mexico on Roe v. Wade Day.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, the number of unsafe abortions around the world are on the rise. Abortions are unsafe when performed by unskilled people and/or under unsanitary conditions. Here in the USA, I am sure we still have back alley abortions. But I think we consider them last resort or hope they are mostly a relic of the past, stories we hear about during abortion speak-outs. A few years ago, I was the emcee at a speak-out and heard Dr. Quentin Young talk about the days before Roe at Cook County Hospital. I'll never forget the look on his face as he described how many women came in bleeding, desperate for assistance.

But as you read this, I'm in a city, Mexico City, where abortion is legal. Just outside the city limits, "thirteen* of Mexico’s 31 states have ...amended their constitutions to protect the fetus from the moment of conception, which may set the stage for greater restrictions in these states’ abortion laws." "According to one analysis, the factors that made this reform possible were the presence of a liberal political party governing at the state level, favorable public opinion and pressure from nongovernmental women’s organizations that promote reproductive rights"[PDF citation] OK, so many I will touch on voting in pro-choice people.

Soon I'll be in Guatemala. There we find, as of 2003, 49% of unsafe abortions are performed by traditional providers. "In Guatemala, poor rural women are three times as likely as nonpoor urban women to have an abortion induced by a traditional birth attendant (60% vs. 18%), and they are far less likely than nonpoor urban women to obtain the services of a doctor (4% vs. 55%). " [PDF citation]

And in Honduras, abortion is prohibited altogether or has no explicit legal exception to save the life of a woman.

Don't fret, I'm not trying to make those of us in the USA feel bad for fighting for our lives. I'm just trying to bring an international perceptive to today's conversation. I will wrap this up by reminding us that the USA does impact women around the world. Our freedom is linked with theirs, theirs with ours. We can't truly celebrate victory in this country until our sisters around the world are also celebrating.

So get out there and register as many pro-choice folks as you can! And get them to the polls in November. 

And to see what we're up to in Mexico, head over to the Nobel Women's Initiative's delegation blog. See you back here in February!

Andele Feministas!

I'm off to Mexico tomorrow!

I'll return home on January 31st. Until then, you can find me at the Nobel Women's Initiative's delegation blog, Twitter feed, Facebook page and perhaps even their Flickr site.

I am a torn feminista. I am so excited that I'm sick to my stomach about meeting the wonderful women I'll be traveling with, the courageous women we will meet and seeing the beautiful countries we will visit. I am weighed down with the burden that I know this trip will leave me with. This is a fact-finding mission. Meaning we will be doing a lot of listening to women who have lived through some very violent things. It is our job to listen to them, carry their stories and help amplify them for the world to hear. I am packing extra tissues, not for my every-runny-allergy-nose, but for the tears I know I will cry.

But I am equally sad to be leaving my family for 10 days, or as I keep trying to rationalize, 8, since Day 1 I wake up at home and Day 10 I fall asleep at home. The kid is heartbroken. My husband is too, but also worried as hell. I know some of you are as well. Thanks for your concern, but I plan to be home before you even have time to miss me. The sickness I feel when I think of the kid & my husband is seriously going to make me puke. Hopefully that's the only thing that makes me want to puke during the next ten days.

Check back in February when I hope to post reflections about the trip.

Until then,

Peace, Love & Feminism!

According to Honda, your life ends with marriage & the baby carriage

Have you seen Honda's new ad campaign?

It's called "The Leap List" and I guess the reason I didn't get a pitch about it is that I'm an old married mother. Far past the apparent target audience for "The Leap List."

It's a rip off from the old idea of having a bucket list, but instead of making a list of things to do before you die, it's asking pepole to make a list of awesome things to do before making a big leap in life. Two leaps that Honda thinks you should make lists about? Babies and marriage. Take a look:





So what do we learn here? That men will be restricted from doing awesome things because a baby weighs him down and women can't make movies after they get married.

Oh, that Honda cars aren't for us old married parent types. I'll certainly keep that in mind when it's time *knockonwooditisyearsfromnow* for my husband and I to buy a new car.

Because heaven knows that a Honda can't take the boredom that goes along with fathers and married women.

CFP: Stay at Home Mothers: An International Perspective

CALL FOR PAPERS Demeter Press is seeking submissions for an edited collection Stay at Home Mothers: An International Perspective Editors: Elizabeth Reid Boyd and Gayle Letherby  DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS: June 1, 2012!

Stay at home mothers and the 'mommy wars' are a continuing phenomenon worldwide. This book will be the first international edited collection exploring debates and issues surrounding mothers returning to/staying at home from a variety of countries and perspectives. Stay-at home mothering remains a significant social and gender trend. Over the last decades, there have been many books exploring questions, issues and policies surrounding working mothers. This volume explores the flip side to enable a new discussion: Why are mothers still staying at home? Which mothers? In which countries? Under what conditions? What kind of rhetoric is invoked - personal choice or political push? Which national policies benefit them? Which don't? What debates - and emotions - do they provoke? Chapters can be written from a national perspective and can include both empirical data on mothers staying at home, including statistical trends, as well as conceptual discussion and analysis. This will enable comparison; it will also provide scope for contrasting views. The book will not be for or against stay at home mothers, though it will include debates around the topic, and, indeed, is likely to provoke them. Topics can also include (but are not limited to):      Debates about the 'worthiness' of different mothers staying at home such as government funded teen mothers versus wealthy, older 'yummy mummies'; the 'mommy wars' between working moms and stay at home moms; maternal versus paid child care; the persistence of mothering at home and what it means; the take up of maternal (and paternal) leave; maternity payments and childcare policy; state enabling of mothers staying at home; the 'new Victorians'/the domestic goddess and the increasing idealisation of mothers at home; the leisured mother at home assisted by a (foreign worker) maid; stay at home mothers and the media; the history of mothers staying at home; generational change and visions for the future. Different viewpoints, from academics to lobby groups, are welcomed.

Submission Guidelines Abstracts: 250 words. Please include a 50-word biography (with citizenship information.) Deadline for abstracts is June 1, 2012 Please send submissions and inquiries directly to: Elizabeth Reid Boyd e.boyd@ecu.edu.au Accepted papers of 4000-5000 words (15-20 pages) will be due between April to June 2013, and should conform to American Anthropological Association style. Disclosure: I am getting a complementary membership to MIRCI and subscription to the journal in return for posting these updates. It is, however, something I would have agreed to do for free because I think their work is so wonderful.

GIVEAWAY: Witches, Wizards, Spells and Elves: The Magic of Shakespeare

Witches, Wizards, Spells and Elves:
The Magic of Shakespeare

 by Bruce Adolphe
featuring performers from The Chicago Chamber Musicians and CST

in Chicago Shakespeare’s Courtyard Theater
January 21 and 22, 2012 at 10:00 and 11:30 a.m.

Viva la Feminista is happy to offer one lucky reader  four (4) tickets to next weekend's Witches, Wizards, Spells and Elves: The Magic of Shakespeare.

Theatrical magic and musical masters blend to draw young audiences into the performing arts in an hour-long family concert. Chicago Shakespeare actors and The Chicago Chamber Musicians bring together theater and classical music to create an interactive concert, giving children the opportunity to discover, up-close, the excitement of live performance. At 11:00 a.m. on both days, performers are available for autographs and pictures in the lobby, while young musicians demonstrate and answer questions about the featured instruments.

Approximate Running Time: 1 hour

Recommended for children ages 5 and up.

I'm making this easy...Just leave a comment with your email address. I'll pick a random winner after Sunday, January 15th at 5 pm. 

Make this your luckiest Friday the 13th!

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UPDATED: Sunday, January 15th

The lucky winner is commenter #2! Which is my friend Catherine. Click on the above graphic to see that random.org selected #2.

Disclaimer: This giveaway is courtesy of the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. I got nada for this giveaway.