Viva la Feminista

The downside to blogging for Planned Parenthood? Having to read the anti's blogs and press releases. When they asked me if I was familiar with some of the characters on that side, I said yes, but I stay out of that end of the pool. Oh, well. Ignorance isn't always bliss.

That's what I am, but you know that. And starting today, I'm over at the Aurora Planned Parenthood blog . Stop by and support the clinic. This is not just a fight in Aurora. This is a national fight that happened to land in Aurora. And while you're over there, grab yourself a banner for your blog! X-posted at Chicago Moms Blog Technorati tags: abortion , pro-choice , Planned Parenthood , feminism

From the defunct Babes and Books blog where a bunch of friends challenged each other to read twenty books in one summer: This was yet again, another good book that doubled as a memoir. I think we need to create a new genre of non-fiction/memoir for books like this. Courtney E. Martin uses her own experiences and observations as the base for discussing body image & eating disorders in our country today. She also weaves in a discussion on today’s feminist movement & sexuality. One thing that I noticed is that Martin & Siegel credit and cite the Woodhull Institute for not only supporting their writing, but also as an example of how feminism should work. You know, good supportive intergenerational mentoring, good supportive writers, and all the happy happy joy joy stuff we all dream about. Hmmm…and I know that my mouth often gets me in trouble, but I have to wonder how wonderful this institute really is and how fabu these women (mentors not Martin & Siegel...

Reposted from my old blog Flashcards and drills are not a part of our parenting style. As two fairly intelligent people, we assume that our daughter will inherit our smarts. As she grew from baby into her 4-year-old self, it is clear that she's whip smart. No flashcards please! As a child who has always loved books and being read to, we don't want drills to damper that spirit. Bob Books fulfill both those two requirements AND teach her how to read. These cute and super short books introduce children to letter sounds with ease and repetition. We've only gotten thru the first 4 books (12 total) but the kid loves them. After about 4 go throughs she could read on her own. Admittedly she merely memorized the story, but with careful prompts and encouragement she did learn the words. Less than a dozen times thru & I can honestly say she is reading. She's a pretty silly child who can't sit still, but the books held her for the 5 minutes it takes to re...

Is that what we really want our daughters to be this Halloween? I have to admit that Halloween is my favorite holiday. What I don't like is that it too has been pornified in recent years and the pornification keeps trickling down to younger and younger kids. Take this costume for example #1: Major Flirt . You daughter can be sassy, cute, and of course, sexy all at the same time! And please, don't try to tell me that this is the same as a cheerleader costume. The label is FLIRT! Flirts have sexual power. But look through the costume aisle at your local store and you'll see that the costumes are sexed up even for girls. AND also notice the gender line that is clearly drawn. I was in Target last week browsing with my daughter and noticed it oh so well. In the boys aisle you can be a doctor, police officer, and of course your general super heroes and monsters. Girls? Super heroes, check. Monsters, check. Princesses, check. Racist stereotypes*, check. Doctor? Police officer? Con...

Someone must have hit the tortillas since her Glamour magazine shoot. Congrats on another Emmy America! I still love you!! Technorati tags: America Ferrera , Glamour , body image , feminism , Emmy Awards

From the defunct Babes and Books blog where a bunch of friends challenged each other to read twenty books in one summer: I’m sitting in my favorite chair writing this while [my daughter] is in her favorite chair, wearing her robe, and playing on her laptop. The idea that one day I may have to pray that she wakes up and regains full use of her body is unthinkable. But that is just what Joan Didion has to do. That she has to do it before and after her husband drops dead at dinner is quite preposterous. I mean, come on…what else can happen? But it’s all true and Didion walks us thru her mind and heart with little fanfare. I liked this book for its honesty. Losing someone so close to you is hard and in the world we live in, people don’t want to hear the hard icky truth.  The English social anthropologist Geoffrey Gorer, in his 1965 Death, Grief, and Mourning , had described this rejection of public mourning as a result of the increasing pressure of a new “et...

Come Celebrate Chicago Abortion Fund ’s Continuous Growth This Past Year ANNUAL FALL EVENT 1. Meet new board of directors and staff 2. Hear about our exciting new project “My Voice, My Choice” 3. Enjoy guest entertainers including; Comedian Jessica Halem, Poets for Choice: AquaMoon Beats, C.C. Carter and e. nina. j 4. Mingle with friends 5. Make Choice Possible Wednesday September 26, 6-8 pm DUE TO SECURITY MEASURERS, YOU MUST RSVP BY 9/21/07 PROGRAM WILL BEGIN PROMPTLY AT 6:45PM. SEE INSERT FOR TRAVEL AND PARKING INFORMATION The Park Shore Condominiums 195 N. Harbor Drive 312.663.0336 or info@chicagoabortionfund.com make choice possible Technorati tags: abortion , Chicago Abortion Fund , chicago , feminism

Have you seen the latest cover to Glamour magazine ? It has the fantabulous America Ferrera on the cover. Well, at least half of her. Thanks to Shakes for pointing out the difference in America's recent appearance at the Teen Choice Awards (right) to her magazine cover (left). I first fell in love with America when I saw her in "Real Women Have Curves." And I love her as Ugly Betty. Each week she shows us that beauty is what is inside, in her heart. A friend sent an email to Glamour and they claim that they didn't airbrush the photo and if we look at the photos INSIDE the magazine, we'll see something different. Thankfully, there is one on their website and I looked. I'm not convinced. Exhibit A: Their photo inside looks far more natural. Her naturally tan skin skill glows, but not like the cover. Her arms are still thin, but not quite like the cover. Her waist is a bit hidden and her hips are no where to be seen in the other photo. Exhibit B: The Teen Choi...

I was a marine biologist. At least that's what I'd like to think. I spent my sophomore thru senior years of college in the basement of the Field Museum filming fish as they swam. I went to Bermuda for field work, published a paper, presented at a few conferences. Then I failed to get into grad school (long gory story best told over booze). It was a lot of fun and I miss it..a lot. But I'm living a good life and doing some awesome work. I love reading news about my former mentor and all the kick ass stuff him & his buddies still do. Today Discovery News reports that moray eels have TWO sets of jaws to eat with . The x-ray photo alone is kick ass. And of course, that makes Rita Mehta a kick ass scientist. See!! I tell ya, science is awesome. So make sure you have your kids study it. Technorati tags: marine biology , eel , science

On Friday Kimberley Strassel , a columnist for the Wall Street Journal , pondered why the GOP isn't out wooing women voters the way she thinks they should be wooing us. Democrats understand that they need women to offset what tends to be a permanent advantage for Republicans among male voters. Al Gore's 54% women's vote got him a crack at the Supreme Court. John Kerry's 51% women's vote only got him back to the Senate. A smart Republican candidate would be doing Twister moves to deny Democrats those votes. Yet what's extraordinary is that no GOP contender has yet recognized the huge opportunity to redefine "women's" politics for the 21st century. That's a double failing given that the GOP could win modern women by doing little more than tailoring their beliefs in freer markets to the problems women struggle most with today. Her two big issues that should be easy wins for the GOP in courting women is the unfair tax structure (one that Linda Hirs...

Last week the Silicon Valley Moms Blog, sister blog to Chicago Moms Blog, got a lot of press due to one post where Rebecca called out Elizabeth Edwards for pulling the kids out of school to live on the campaign bus. Elizabeth Edwards ended up commenting back on the post (!) and the post got linked all over the blogosphere. Then came Good Morning America's snippet on the throw down. Rebecca turned down GMA's invitation to appear on the show and did state on the SVMB that she post was snarky, but tongue-in-cheek. Now on the CMB, Kim has posted an open invitation to Senator Obama and the Mrs. to meet with the CMB bloggers. I was discussing the idea of meeting with Michelle Obama with some fellow bloggers and some thought that the idea of meeting with the spouse was kinda an insult. I advocate that the First Lady/Man holds a lot of power that is unspoken. Hillary really brought this to light with her health care plans and Laura made the biggest impact by using her mantle to ge...

From the defunct Babes and Books blog where a bunch of friends challenged each other to read twenty books in one summer: Ana Castillo is one of the funniest writers I have ever read. The ironic thing is that she writes some of the most heart-wrenching stories ever. This is my second Castillo novel this summer. I didn’t plan it out that way, it just happened. The novel tells the tale of a polio-stricken woman who dances Flamenco, falls in love with two men, and then has to deal with life when polio makes it almost impossible for her to dance anymore. Oh and it’s set in Chicago. Carmen also has to deal with being the only daughter in her pretty typical working-class Mexican family. Castillo’s ability to describe the truth in life is spot on: You put on your cross-trainers assembled in a foreign land by women and children at slave-wages so you try not think of what you paid for them, and begin to talk the streets of your city at sunset. We couldn’t so much as stand on th...