Viva la Feminista

This month the Chicago Abortion Fund is the proud and honored Organization of the Month at Women & Children First . What does this mean? You print out the coupon to the left, bring it into the store, buy yourself a gift for surviving the holidays, and CAF gets 10% of your purchase. BAM! Easy schmeezy way to support reproductive justice in Chicago. If you're going to order books online, please put Chicago Abortion Fund in the memo part of the order form. Now don't forget your coupon because you can't get these in the store. Althou, I think I'll have some on hand for the upcoming program with Dr. Susan Wicklund! Time: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 7:30 PM Location: Women & Children First Title of Event: Dr. Susan Wicklund - This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor This Common Secret chronicles Dr. Susan Wicklund...

First forgive the lame post...I'm home sick with some sinus thing. ack. But I wanted to let my dear readers know that I've been promoted from guest blogger to regular house blogger at the WIMN blog, WIMN's Voices . My first post is all about the identity politics war and touches on the generational war that is brewing in the feminist community over Obama & Clinton. So hop on over there and read a real post.

State Package for Hillary Clinton You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. This is not the first time you have seen Hillary Clinton seemingly at her wits' end, but she has always risen, always risen, don't forget she has always risen, much to the dismay of her adversaries and the delight of her friends. Hillary Clinton will not give up on you and all she asks of you is that you do not give up on her. There is a world of difference between being a woman and being an old female. If you're born a girl, grow up, and live long enough, you can become an old female. But to become a woman is a serious matter. A woman takes responsibility for the time she takes up and the space she occupies. Hillary Clinton is a woman. She has been there and done that and has still risen. She is in this race for the long haul. She intends to make a difference in our country. Hillary Clinton intends to help...

The feminist blogosphere is on fire with reaction to the press release from NYS-NOW: Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal. Senator Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard. Women have forgiven Kennedy, stuck up for him, stood by him, hushed the fact that he was late in his support of Title IX, the ERA, the Family Leave and Medical Act to name a few. Women have buried their anger that his support for the compromises in No Child Left Behind and the Medicare bogus drug benefit brought us the passage of these flawed bills. We have thanked him for his ardent support of many civil rights bills, BUT women are always waiting in the wings. And of course, CNN picked it up . Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy is under heavy fire from a state chapter of the National Organization for Women for his decision to back Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton. In a sharply critical statement, the New York state chapte...

I've been pretty pissed off the past few days over Bill Clinton's Jesse Jackson remarks and all the other racist remarks that are coming out of the Clinton camp, but not from HRC herself. I know that the media is being super sexist & misogynistic when it comes to HRC. So I kept trying to recall if Obama's supporters have said anything about HRC that would be sexist. First, his comment at the debate about her being likeable enough? That doesn't set off my sexist alarm. My jerk alarm yes, but not the sexist alarm. JJ Jr's questioning if HRC cried over Katrina? Again, more assholery, but not quite sexist. Bordering. So…do we say that Obama has been leading a sexist-free campaign? OR do we consider that Obama doesn't have to do anything because the media is doing it all for him? Hmmm…. Why would Obama or any of his supporters need to stoop to that level when Matthews & the rest of the MSM are doing a fine job at the sexism game? It's a question that can...

I'm still getting use to our new Dell. I can't believe that in the almost 4 months we've had this machine that today was the first time I selected "New Document." And what did MS Word 2007 ask me? If I wanted to open a new blank document or a new blog post. A new blog post? WHA?? So of course, I had to test it out. I says that it works on Typepad too. So let's see how this posts and if you can see all the document info like what I call our account.

Ann at La Bloga received a Priestcake Calendar ! “I got something for you Ann, I won it at a Yankee gift exchange and I just know you’re the only one who’ll appreciate it” my friend Tom told me earlier this month. “My brother got it at the Vatican.” He set it down in front of me, a 2008 calendar featuring black and white photographs of thirteen handsome young priests, one for each month and the best looking for the cover. And it is “con cenni storico artistici sul Vaticano.” With historic notes about the Vatican! Yeah! As I flipped through the pages, each month boasting another dark-haired, dark-eyed young man in vestmental garb, my jaw was on my chest. “It’s a priestcake calendar!” I exclaimed. “This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen!” Tom’s smile couldn’t have been wider: he had found the calendar the perfect home. As I left his office—did I mention he’s our college president?—I decided I just had to know more about the calendar’s history. I guess if they can't let women becom...

We're just over one week away from super duper Tuesday...that's when we vote in Illinois. But that's not the reason I'm feeling pressure. It's coming from my husband. He's in Hillary's camp. Yup, after a year of complaining that he didn't want to read Bush, Clinton, Bush, Clinton in our history books, he decided (as I told him!) that Clinton's politics matched his best out of the bunch. But wait, it's not just that he decided to vote for Clinton, but he's gotten himself on one of those leadership boards where you really work to get out the vote and of course, the money. We're a funny couple. There are elections where I'm out knocking on doors, calling people, and writing checks. Then the next election he might find a candidate and do the same. Yet we have yet to really get behind one candidate as a couple. That's what he wants to happen now. And I mean NOW! I have, admittedly, been leaning towards Hillary. But I honestly can't...

Way back in August I blogged about a lawsuit between Geena Davis and Dads & Daughters about the ownership of See Jane. Well they have settled the lawsuit and on my birthday! woot! Here is a snippet of the press release: OSCAR®-winning actress and producer Geena Davis and the charitable organization Dads & Daughters (DADs) today formally announced the transition of the SEE JANE™ program from the Minnesota-based DADs to a new life as an independent, Los Angeles-based nonprofit. In order to have more direct influence in Hollywood, See Jane will now be part of Community Partners, the Los Angeles incubator for growing nonprofit organizations and social entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for building communities. Ms. Davis and DADs have previously been engaged in litigation over See Jane. However, Ms. Davis has recently withdrawn that litigation and retracted all claims against DADs as well as its President Joe Kelly and former Executive Director Nancy Gruver. Davis said, “I am ...

And that my dear readers comes from the headline for a most wonderful column in today's Sun-Times. Connie Schultz states: Not long after I started writing this column in the fall of 2002, I lost a friend over abortion. We had discussed countless issues, professional and personal, over the years. We often did not agree, but that just fed a spirited banter. Then I wrote a few columns that made clear my support for women's reproductive freedom, including the right to abortion. First, he sent me an e-mail expressing his "disappointment." Then he sent another insisting that whenever I wrote about abortion, I sounded "angry," a trait he never had associated with me. I assured him that he was mistaking conviction for rage, and maybe we should agree to disagree. That's when he started forwarding circulated e-mails that included "testimonials" from women who said they deeply regretted their abortions and had emotional scars that wou...

Yesterday I took a big chance and posted on the Chicago Moms Blog about the Roe anniversary . I say big chance not because I think our readers are all anti's, but just because I felt my post was about moms who have abortions. Somehow I felt it might hit a few bad chords. Of course, I only got positive feedback: Speaking as someone who currently has a single child (born when I was 35), and had an abortion (at 18), all I can say is that I, personally, found the abortion emotionally difficult, but I suspect nothing like as difficult as knowing a mixed-race (and thus hard to adopt) child of mine was out there in the world somewhere, blood of my blood, sibling to my daughter, growing up under who knows what kind of care. Reading birthmother blogs has made me aware of how incredibly traumatic it can be to give a child up for adoption, how much regret some women feel. Until you make that choice, you don't know how it will affect you. ~ Mary Anne Mohanraj There seems to be less and les...

In case you didn't pick up yesterday's Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Abortion Fund was on the front page! Roe vs. Wade made abortion legal; Chicago Abortion Fund helps poor pay for services 35 years after Roe, group uses old spirit to get service for all In Cook County, Stroger Hospital performs first-trimester abortions on a sliding-fee scale, but many women say they can't get through the red tape to obtain a timely appointment. "Abortion is legal," said Gaylon Alcaraz, director of the Chicago Abortion Fund, "but low-income women still can't access it." So, like the women of an earlier generation who ran underground networks to connect women with illegal abortion services, people like Ortiz and Alcaraz are doing what they can to help out. Their fund provides vouchers that are accepted by local abortion providers. The woman whose daughter was in trouble got a $320 voucher to help pay for a second-trimester abortion that cost $770. "We issued nin...

Is it any different a day at Viva La Feminista? Nope. Just as the other 365 days of this year, we'll talk about freedom, justice, and abortion. But in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Roe decision, I finally saw "Juno" and in time to celebrate Ellen Page's Oscar nod and the picture's nomination for movie of the year . A lot has been blogged about, op-ed'd about, and talked about this movie and whether or not is is pro-choice, anti-choice, or a very flawed fairy tale. Now that I finally saw the most talked about movie this season, I can weight in. I think most of you are wrong. Spoilers ahead! Yes, Juno chose to carry her pregnancy to term. This does not mean that she (or Diablo) made some pro-life statement. She was a scared kid in a clinic alone and the only information she seemed to listen to was a fellow classmate's note about finger nails. Which show up around 16 weeks not the 10-12 weeks Juno was at the time of her abortion appointment. I think ...

This is why assuming that the women's movement or feminism in general is a monolith. In response to on-going criticism by the right wing that feminists don't care about international women issues, Nation columnist Katha Pollitt wrote an open letter to the media & naysayers. I know what pushed her because I feel it too. Despite being an active member of NOW, I would never say that NOW speaks for all women and never for all feminists. I've met some really awesome feminists who say that NOW is too conservative for them. Again, I see their point. Yet, I stay working on some issues with them. For others, I go to other orgs as I feel that they just do a better job or need an infusion of feminism into their work. As a Latina, I am concerned about the zillion things wrong in this country that matter to me and fellow Latinas, the insanity that happens in Mexico and our motherlands, as well as with other women in far more oppressed nations than the USA. Thus to hear or read anyon...

I'm cuddled on the couch watching the Packers - Giants, helping the daughter learn how to spell colors, and trying to catch up with email & blogs. Here are some quick stories for your reading pleasure: The NOW Foundation is launching an oral history project. I implore you, if you are a feminist who wouldn't be stopped at a convention with, "Hey, aren't you [fill in your name]?" but you have obviously done some kick ass feminist things, please submit your story. Super stars take too much of the limelight. So get your name or your friend's name in there. Cause we all know that sometimes our friends need a kick in the butt to accept the recognition they deserve. And believe me, I know that fact far too well. NOW Executive Vice-President Olga Vives "visited the Etowah County Detention Center in Gadsden, Alabama, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is holding about 140 women on illegal immigration charges. Most come from Latin America, altho...

Wednesday I got a call from a student who had a huge favor to ask - Would I sit on a panel about new leadership and talk about leadership from a Latina perspective? She was super cute in that she went on for a few seconds about how much I rocked. Aw, shucks...I like the sound of my voice, I don't need flattery. ;-) So 45 minutes later (it wasn't her fault she called so late) I was at the panel. One question really stood out for me. The moderator asked if today's youth was ready for leadership. The panel was made up of 2 Gen Xers and 5-6 Millennials. Guess who slammed the Millennials and current high school students for being slackers? The Millennials. Which is why I laughed my ass off when I read the headline in the NYTimes about Millennials not being as narcissistic as the general population (aka MSM) portrays them. Courtney at Feministing did a great job defending her generation: Is it really us, people, or might it just be a little bit about you? Are older folks projecti...

Laila Halaby at Beacon Broadside has a kick ass post about how to ask people about their cultural/ethnic backgrounds & practices. Read it. Pass it on. And maybe slip it onto the desk of that person who always asks you dumb questions about being [fill in the blank]. JFTR - I'm going to use this list too. We're all others. Here's my favorite one: Rule Two: Ask yourself a few questions: Do I want the answer to this question or am I looking for an opportunity to share my own agenda? Would I be prepared to offer equally candid information about my own cultural, ethnic, and religious practices? How would I feel if this person asked me the same question, except instead of Arab or Muslim, it was about Black or Caucasian or Latino or Baptist or Hindu or Jew or Asian? Technorati tags: race , culture , ethnicity

Lurking not so deep within the debate over who should be the Democrat's candidate is the theory of turns. As someone who has dipped her toe into politics, this notion of turns is very much a fact. One of the first things that I was taught (outside the classroom) about politics is that "the party picks you, you don't decide to run." I think the first time I heard that I decided that running for office wasn't for me. Trying to run for office is hard enough, fighting to be at the front of the line isn't worth it to me. There has been a lot written that it is clearly Clinton's turn to run for President, hell to be President, and thus Obama should (have) wait(ed). The logic to that theory is one of complete bullshit. This 'turn' theory relies on the idea that no other super star or ass-kisser will rise up in the ranks. That the chosen leader won't nurture someone else to take your place. That you'll even be in the same place to take the opportun...

We all knew that after Antonio Mora's demotion last June that he wouldn't be in Chicago long. CBS 2 brought him in to beef up the ratings for their hapless 10 PM newscast. After not being able to break through and beat NBC or ABC, Mora took the fall. Now he's headed south to Miami . The headline for this interview is that his demotion was a setback for Latinos and that it was. I was pretty happy to see that CBS had figured out a way to bring Mora to town. We even switched over from ABC to watch him the first few weeks. But eventually we went back to the newscast that we've both watched since we were kids. And that's the weird thing...We grew up watching the Channel 7 news and thus we still watch it. Even bringing an awesome Latino to town to read us a list of who got shot, who died, who blew up who couldn't bring us to make a major switch. After his demotion I did miss the idea that a fellow Latino was reading the news at 10 o'clock. Just knowing that he was...

The recent bickering by the Obama & Clinton camps over race was so petty that it bordered on turning people off their historic campaigns. I'm happy that they have called a truce on the MLK Jr. and LBJ thing. BUT I do hope that this does not mean they won't discuss race and gender issues on the campaign trail. Issues where we all know that they most likely agree, yet might have different ways to resolve issues of the feminization of poverty, the lack of black men in college, and immigration reform. I have a love-dislike relationship with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, but I do believe he got it right yesterday : That's why the current press focus on the sniping between the campaigns is a dangerous distraction. Candidates are tired; the campaign is close. Advisors argue for going negative; surrogates take cheap shots. Little things get magnified out of proportion, and start rubbing the raw wounds of race and gender. The problem with this stuff is that it can easily get out of ha...

Test time: The deadline to submit one's application to magnet and gifted programs for Fall 2008 for the Chicago Public Schools was December 21, 2007 The CPS school directory showed up at our daycare yesterday What is wrong with the picture above? When I saw them as we headed into pick-up, I turned to my husband and said, "I am so blogging this!" Technorati tags: CPS

I've had this burning question in the back of my mind. Why hasn't Hillary Clinton submitted a completed questionnaire to RHReality Check ? Obama and Edwards did. But instead she sent a statement. Is there any doubt about her stance on reproductive rights? For me, no. When I tally up all the pros and cons on each candidate, Clinton wins my vote on reproductive rights. And no, it's not because Obama voted present on a few bills in Illinois. It's more in line with the same reason I see a woman as my OB/GYN. I trust women with my girly parts. So why, why, Hill, didn't you submit your questionnaire? Edited to add: Ask and you shall receive ! Thanks Hill. I also want to add that you should not take the subject line as my way of saying that race & gender are not issues that our nation needs to deal with. What I find dumb is that we were having a national debate on whether or not LBJ deserved any credit for the civil rights movement, if even mentioning LBJ meant that D...

I don't have anything new to add to the conversation except to ask you to please read and listen to these pieces: Rebecca Walker responds with " The Fence " Young women are not stupid. The idea that young women are too naive to realize the pervasiveness of sexism is an old Second Wave trope used to dismiss and discredit an entire generation, many of whom now support Obama because he doesn't insult them. As a result, there are a few women lining up behind the "feminist" placard, but many more running in the other direction. Democracy Now! with Gloria Steinem & Melissa Harris-Lacewell (you can listen or read the transcript) Yeah, I absolutely agree that electing another president whose path to the White House is basically through either parental or familial connection is an absolute travesty for our democracy. Our democracy should not read—I don’t want my daughter, who’s six now, to go off to high school and read, you know, a story that says Bush, Clinton...

I was pretty struck by today's news that the Smurfs are 50 years old. Of course, as the 80s kid I am, they've only existed since 1980ish when they came to America. As a girl, I of course identified with Smurfette as the only female. So when I saw a headline saying that there will be a movie and more female Smurfettes, I was all "woohoo!" Until I read the origins of Smurfette : Blond-haired Smurfette, originally created by evil sorcerer Gargamel to foster jealous rivalry in the community, has been the single love interest for almost every other Smurf for years. WTF?!? Off to Good Search! (I GS for WIMN , you should too.) to find the skinny. It was worse than I thought! Who created Smurfette and why? One day, while feeling extremely frustrated and spiteful, Gargamel decided on a new plan to exact revenge on the Smurfs, "a ruthless curse that will make them beg for mercy". Gargamel decided to send them a female Smurf - a Smurfette! How did Papa Smurf get invo...

That's right my dear readers! I have my first piece up at Work It, Mom! WIM, is a newish online community for working moms. It's not just full-timers like me, but even working at home moms. *gasp* You didn't know that SAHM's work for pay too? I don't fault ya, the way the media talks, you'd think that all SAHMs are off at yoga, sipping mochas, and smiling as they wash dishes & set the dinner table. It also looks like I'll be writing for them on a regular basis. At first every other month. I don't want to take on too much at the moment, especially since I have a few other things a brewing. If you're a mom or not, why not check in with me at WIM ? Technorati tags: Work It, Mom! , writing , feminist

January 11, 2008 marks the six-year anniversary of the first arrival of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. For nearly six years, Guantánamo Bay has tarnished America's image and diminished our ideals. It is a symbol of torture, abuse, and injustice. Its closure is long overdue. During those six years men & boys ranging from 13 - 98 have been held at Gitmo. Teenagers and men so old I bet they can't walk without assistance. It's really hard to participate in this action because when I think that the country I live in & love is holding people without trial because someone said they were dangerous just makes my stomach turn & head hurt. We are a country that is founded on liberty & freedom. We have certain rights that are not restricted to citizens. We have a right to trial, to a lawyer, to being judged by someone who isn't making the laws. But no, that's all stripped away at Gitmo. Judge & jury in one man - Dubya. He lied to us about weapons of mass destr...

The last week has been a whirlwind in politics. The ups and downs of Hillary Rodham Clinton & Barak Obama remind of Cubs baseball (minor leagues one day, majors the next, back to the minors). As a loud & proud feminist activist, I get asked a lot what I've been thinking, who I am supporting, and WTF is going on. To tell you the truth, I think a revolution is going on. The women of New Hampshire and perhaps the entire USA are having a collective "click moment." You know, that moment when a woman puts all the pieces of sexism in her life together and they just "click" and she thinks, "I'm a feminist!" The women of NH didn't take pity on HRC for her teary moment, rather they looked at what the media was doing , what campaigns were doing , and relating it back to their own lives. They " were sick of the corrosive hostility and naked slant of the mainstream media against her. " Someone on a listserv I'm on said it best when sh...

According to the Planned Parenthood Illinois Action blog (where I use to blog), the anti's have lost: Anti-choice extremists in Aurora just don't know when to quit. However, they were dealt a blow last night when Aurora's Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to dismiss the case they made as a last-ditch effort to shut down the new Planned Parenthood health center. They argued that previous decisions by Zoning Administrator, Ed Sieben, regarding the property of the health center in Aurora could be appealed. They lost. We know it won't be the last we hear from them. Their strategy is more about wasting money in court cases than anything else. But congrats to PPIA for this victory. May it last! Technorati tags: feminism , abortion , Planned Parenthood , Aurora

CNN Projects Clinton wins NH Primary And while you're ironing your own damn shirt , make me a martini. I'm celebrating tonight! I'm leaning more towards Clinton since the sexist attacks have really heated up and I fear that we won't see the end of them, thus my desire to back up a fellow woman, Chicagoan, Cubs fan, and feminist is only going to grow with each attack. Tonight we saw the first woman take a primary for either party (Sorry Libby!). No matter what happens, this is history. Congrats Hillary. Try to get some sleep tonight because tomorrow is another day on the battlefield. Technorati tags: Clinton , Iron This , sexism , Campaign 2008

Almost all of the GOP candidates are campaigning with the stance that they would overturn Roe or do whatever they can to outlaw abortion in this country. The inclusion of Hillary Rodham Clinton to the Democrats race was supposed to infuse women's issues to the campaign. It really hasn't . Health centers that perform abortions have been torched in New Mexico . An anti-abortion ballot measure is in Missouri . How many freakin' times do we have to say it? Women will continue to have abortions whether they are legal or not. The reasons women make that decision ranges from economics to safety issues. It is rarely, rarely entered into without thought and often a heavy heart. (Um, no I'm not taking the "every abortion is a tragedy line, k?) The Guttmacher Institute just released a new report about why women choose abortions: The majority of U.S. women who have abortions (61%) have children. This exploratory study analyzes qualitative information from 38 women obta...

Two...Two posts in one! 1) Clinton & Change: HRC has been raked over the coals for her quote from Saturday's debate that she has been working for change for 35 years. Some have taken the stand that someone who has been working for change for 35 years can't be working for too much change. Those people can't possibly be feminists or at least historians. 35 years isn't a very long time. A short list of others who have been working for roughly 35 years for change: Ms. Magazine (Ms. reminds us what life was like in 1972 ) National Women's Law Center Women's Sports Foundation (since 1974, 34 years of change) Lamda Legal (added this on Jan 11th) Now are you going to really tell me that these organizations aren't really working for change? I salute HRC for fighting for 35 years for a better world. Has she changed the world? Yes. Does that mean she can't keep fighting for more change? Hell No! The Boston Globe also notes something about 1972 - No one who ...

I've never had a way with women, but the hills of Iowa make me wish that I could And I've never found a way to say "I love you", but if the chance came by, oh, I, I would -- Iowa by Dar Williams I'll admit it. I've never been happier to not live in Iowa than right now. At dinner last night my husband asked me who I would be caucusing for and I had no idea. Us Illinoisans go to the poll in just over a month and I have no idea who I'd vote for. Just about every group out there that represents the ideals I live by has a ranking of the candidates. I still end up switching the top three candidates in my head every day...sometimes more than a dozen times a day. With Barak, I just fall in love with the way he talks. His optimism is contagious and despite all the snark and pissiness I showcase each day, I'm an optimist at heart. I want to believe that we can take this country and turn it around. With John, I fall in love with how he actually talks about po...

In August I blogged about Wife Swap's longing for a feminist mom to appear on their show. Well, they found one . And people, she's not just a strong feminist, but also a home schooler! The family she's swapping to? One centered around a beauty pageant daughter. Oh, this should be puke-alicious. Grab a sturdy waste can and don't eat a big dinner if you plan on watching. I won't be. Once I stop dry heaving, I'll write up a bit more on why this episode makes me break out in hives. H/T Feministing Update : I ranted about the show in more detail at Chicago Moms Blog . Check it. Update2: My rant was cross-posted at the WIMN's Voices blog. Technorati tags: feminism , Reality TV