Viva la Feminista

No, I'm not giving up on this yet. Today I give you one more piece of evidence why I love her so much and why she needs to be the one who puts our policy peeps on the hot seat: Now that Obama has clinched the nomination, Alexander will not hesitate to give him her vote. But she's still looking for Obama to send a stronger signal than she thinks he has. Though "his positions on women's issues are solid," said Alexander by phone from Detroit Tuesday, "he doesn't have a long record like Hillary, wasn't a trailblazer [for women] like Hillary..." and there is a "thin understanding of what he's done policy-wise with regard to women." Without question, Obama regularly discusses being raised by a single mother, talks about what kind of world he wants for his two young daughters, and what kind of economic justice is required for all citizens -- men and women. That's not the same thing as a full-blown discussion about sexism. See that...

This week's Work it, Mom! post is about the Phoenix Country Club highlighted in the NYTimes over the weekend and Martha Burk's work at Augusta. In 2002 a woman named Martha Burk burst into our living rooms and challenged everyone to decide if private country/golf clubs that exclude women were discriminatory. Many responded with a quick no. They are private! was the largest chorus in the responses. Of course, our 15-second media didn’t allow for much discussion of why Burk thought that these clubs were discriminatory. For her stance, Burk was harassed and threatened - The FBI were called out to ensure her safety when she protested outside the Augusta National Golf Club for not allowing women to be members during the 2003 Masters. Her suggestion that Tiger Woods should be taking a stand upset a lot of golf fans on top of criticizing one of golf’s most revered tournaments. I fielded a press call as a board member of a local NOW chapter with this quote: Read the rest at Work i...

The kid has a gift, a gift I tell ya, on how to make one feel guilty. She knows how to ask questions so saying no is almost out of the question. Her usual starts like this, "I know you're going to say no, but..." Yesterday she started her statement like this, "I know you don't like me playing this, but..." And then went on to detail how one of her girlfriend's asked her to play girlfriend-boyfriend with the girlfriend being the boyfriend. It ended up involving cuddling. Her conclusion that I wouldn't like it stems from me trying to squash all this "He's my boyfriend," chatter that was happening at pre-school a few months ago. She also goes up to Hannah Montana and High School Musical stuff at stores (lip balm, t-shirts, night lights) and says, "I know you won't buy this for me, but if you did, I'd want this." Thanks kid. Your mama and daddy have set boundaries on what we think is age-appropriate and just because other...

And I survived! I did it! THIRTY-TWO days of commenting! 160 comments left! 32 comments back! Here is my last edition of NCLM: 1) Claire gets me all misty about graduation as well as wondering where my former peeps are today. Most of 'em I know and thanks to knowing Huffy & being on Facebook, I've caught up with a few more. Don't be shy! 2) Hijas Americanas tempts me with jewelry 3) Profound Sarcasm is tracking Alex Trebek's D-bag status. 4) Jenny knows how to celebrate the big 4-0! 5) Lastly, Stirrup Queens , mama of NCLM, is having her blogoversary today! OH...and Queen of Spain is having a Twitter wake! Don't miss it. Comment back: the working mommy gourmet - my bestest mommy friend and a woman who puts me to shame in the kitchen. I have no idea how she cooks so much with TWO kids! Whew! thanks to all the new readers, I hope you stick around! I know I found a few new ones. I learned a lot during this month. For one, I normally do leave a lot of comments. ...

OK, OK...some of you just rolled your eyes at my suggestion for this week. But trust me, if you are a friend or partner to a pregnant woman, she will love you for gifting her with a prenatal massage and/or prenatal yoga classes. If you are in Chicago, I highly recommend Corrine Peterson . She use to run the prenatal classes at Sweet Pea's Studio (studio RIP, massages still available) and that's where I met her when I was preggers. First, the yoga -- In Corrine's prenatal yoga, which I started taking maybe in my 3rd month, I learned so much about what my body was going thru it was scary. You'd think that a women's health activist would know, but ya just don't know. Class included not just learning yoga (I've never taken a yoga class without being pregnant...I know, I really should.), but we spent a few minutes in each class listening to Corrine talk about the physical changes as well as sharing some of our thoughts, fears, and questions. It was part Sweet Pe...

When asked about women who are still holding out full on support for Senator Obama, this is what my former US Congressman said: ...most of them always stay out of national politics and that the party is generally unified around Obama. "They're just going to stick to their knitting," he said. "It's not that they're anti-Obama." From the AP (sorry boycotters, that's the only place I could find the quote.) Apparently this is what he thinks about when he ponders women voters. Instead I'd like to let him know that many of us are both voters and knitters, but we do not stay out of national politics. Of course, PunditMom might correct me on that last statement as she blogged about how women don't give to campaigns and that's all that party guys seem to care about - money. She's urging all of us to take $27 out of our budget (a few Starbucks, a new bag at Target, a new shirt from the sale rack at Ann Taylor Loft...) and send it to a campaign...

Monday night I strolled into the Starbucks/B&N at the DePaul Center downtown and on my way to buy some cupcakes for a meeting (sue me, I forgot to stop at a real bakery) I spotted a greeting card. Yes this one. Are you kidding me? Of course I had to stop and find out what occasion would a crying (note drawn in tears) Hillary Clinton be appropriate for? Your birthday idiot! And if you can't read the inside of the card it says: "It's your birthday and everyone's a little CHOKED UP about it." You really gotta love that one incident where a woman who has a reputation as a ball-buster and seems to make Maggie Thatcher warm & cuddly gets choked up, now stamps her as a cry baby. 35 years of working on women's rights and this is what she gets. Forgive me for not flipping the card over and seeing who makes this card so we can flip them off. crossposted at Shakes

Lookie what the mail carrier & the FedEx dude brought me? And you know that I'll bring you a review of each after I'm done with them. Oy...my TBR pile is getting higher and higher! Thanks to Claire & Lisa for sending copies. Last week I received the new Our Bodies Ourselves...and yes, I'm sure it'll end up being reviewed on a Wednesday. Today's NCLM Comments - Oh, so good to be caught up edition: 1. Political Voices of Women brings us Jane Fonda on the pregnancy pact 2. Division Street brings us another Chicago alderman out to ban something 3. Liz at AAUW brings us reasons why she's never getting married. 4. Latino Politics brings us a reduction in machismo 5. Suzie at Echidne brings us some reality about the loss of George Carlin 6. My favorite blogger & purse maker summarizes her weekend Comment back: Hermana Resist

I didn't listen to him very much, but when I did I loved it. And in respect of his passing I give you his rant on abortion: NCLM Comments for today (2 from yesterday & 5 from today) 1) The Juggle at WSJ puts the opt-out myth to fucking bed. Can we please move on to a new topic, please? 2) RadDad at mamazine is amazing, as usual 3) Shine 's right, Michelle Obama is fine just the way she is! 4) Shakes shows us fashion that literally left me speechless. 5) i am a butterfly feels for the brick baby mama...I got it all wrong before I read the post. 6) Shakes ponders casting for the Hobbit. 7) A great idea for the daughter over at Shine Comment back: Saturday: Baby, Borneo or Bust Sunday: no comments, no comment back :( Monday: Go Jackets entered the Writing Motherhood give-a-way . Tuesday is the last day! Lastly, don't forget about Work it, Mom! Monday! Today I muse over the top three GOP women and whether or not they might be a good Veep.

Longtime readers know that this weekend I was scheduled to moderate a panel at the National Women's Studies Association conference. I ended up not attending so I could attend my daughter's last soccer game and awards ceremony. The result of my first real work vs home conflict? Slight regret, yet overwhelming joy. She scored her first goal AND the team won its only game of the season. My regret comes from having to let colleagues down. I did get to 8 of my 10 comments that I needed to accomplish and here they are: 1) Carrie at Chicago Moms Blog talks about banning "The Giving Tree" 2) Mocha Momma schooled me on Primo water 3) M. LeBlanc at Bitch Ph.D. is now a neighbor 4) Surviving Single Motherhood is trying to quit smoking 5) Bee in the Bonnet is considering a commune 6) Maybe if You Just Relax has 'fun' with her insurance company 7) Creating Motherhood challenged me to Scatergories 8) Susan Wagner of The Working Closet at Work it, Mom! has found the...

Yesterday my husband was reading the paper and saw a snippet about how for the women of Darfur (and around the world) rape is weapon of war, an every day event and that for many of them "trading" sex for food is a survival tactic, to say the very least. He was shocked and started to rant to me about how horrible this was and that why don't we do something, etc. I looked up from my laptop and said, "Yup." I want to say that my nonchalant response was more of "Yeah, nothing new," rather than a hardening of my heart. Because honestly rape is rape and it is a disgusting and makes my stomach turn. I've heard social workers say that after some time, you just shut down. It's not that they don't care anymore, it's that they CAN'T care anymore. It's like they have used up their lifetime supply of empathy & tears. Kate blogged today about the emotional wear that goes along with working in a feminist organization: the dogged societal ...

One of the first gifts we ever got was this book, Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5 . For the first few years of our daughter's life this was our bible. If she sneezed, coughed, or had a slight fever we ran for the book and tried to diagnose our problem. There's still a business card stuck in the section on spitting up. Oh, did we have issues with spitting up. Let's see, there had to have been at least 3 times we came home to find our daughter had spit up an entire bottle on the babysitter (aka my younger sister or Cinnamon). It was seriously a life saver and I don't know why pediatricians don't just hand this out like candy because it saved us from calling many a time. OMG, I just realized that she's almost outgrown this book. ACK! And damn...should have given it to my younger sister when she moved a few weeks ago. Buy at Women and Children First , Powell's , or Amazon Technorati tags: What to Buy Wednesday , motherhood , parenthood , boo...

Just after watching Sunday's tribute to Tim Russert one could tell that NBC was going to move fast to name a new host. They kept mentioning that this is the best political year in ages and how sad it was that Tim wouldn't get to see it all play out. Today Zwecker reports a few names in the MTP hopper and lets us in on a possible "round robin" of rotating hosts until a new host can be named: That said, the source agreed with various reports indicating veteran NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell, younger star David Gregory (who formerly worked in NBC's Chicago-based Midwest bureau), Chris Matthews (said to be quietly lobbying already) or even Gwen Ifill "all are names you hear thrown around." My husband loved Tim and loved MTP. I was more apt to bounce from him and This Week based on whomever was the guest. Thus we were still talking about Tim on Monday morning on our ride of work (yes, we carpool) and I said, "What about Carol Marin?" And his eye...

That's right dear readers, I have a give-a-way for you today! In honor of the Chicago Moms Blog & Co.'s reading of Writing Motherhood: Tapping into Your Creativity as a Mother and a Writer [buy at WCF , Powell's , Amazon ] , I am giving away a paperback copy of the book. I read the book when it first came out as hardback (and that one's mine!) and I was super happy when author Lisa Garrigues wrote me to ask if I wanted a paperback copy to give-a-way. Um, yes! So what is Writing Motherhood ? It's a writers book...it will give you prompts and lots of tips on how to convert/use your mothering experiences as tools to make yourself a better writer. Garrigues gives you prompts, exercises, and a method to the madness of being a DAILY writer. I tried a year ago to start a motherhood writing journal and kept it up for um, a few days, and then I lost the momentum. That has no reflection on the book, believe me! It's my inability to form a real habit or pattern. *si...

Well at least I didn't add to my commitment...well other than the comment backs. 1. Think Girl on two women who have been together 55 years who got married tonight in Cali. *swoon* 2. Beacon Broadside brings us Nancy Polikof 's riddle - When will a right-wing, anti-gay legal group help out a lesbian mother? ? 3. More on SATC and again at WIMN's Voices 4. She's back! At one of two mommies 5. i am a butterfly thanks me (all her readers) ...and I love her to bits! Make that 6: 6. Adele shares some writing opps , but I'm more interested if she's coming to Chicago in August.

Well, that's what I'll call it unless I come up with a snazzier name...which is as likely as my backyard gate getting a real latch before springtime 2009. So come Wednesday I'll post a short diddy about what I recommend to pregnant women, new moms, moms in general, and those who are buying for any of the women above. If you are a marketer and want to pitch me your product, go right ahead! You can leave a comment, find me on Facebook, twitter me, or send me an email to myfirstname.arreola@gmail.com. Note, replace myfirstname with, well, my first name. Hint, it's veronica. If you send me an email to my work addy, I'll just delete it...unless it's a wii with MLB 2008. But my line is that I do honest reviews and if I decide your product isn't worth the buy, I will say that. In my very gentle way of course. Alrighty...now to focus on getting my new Dell in working order. Long story...still without a conclusion.

First, my Work it, Mom column will be about Father's Day... check it out in the morning. Second, our daughter made a t-shirt at pre-school for her daddy that she is just soooo proud of. She wants him to wear it every where and he wants to keep it pristine so when we're old, we can pull it out and cherish it. We had IHOP for POP - Mmm....pancakes. Then we went to the Andersonville Midsommarfest and had a great time. Annie, our dog, was the belle of the ball. Our daughter got to the top of the mobile climbing wall. I was proud to walk past Women and Children First and NOT go in and buy a book. Of course, tomorrow is book club...The day was just perfect. Third, this post at Blogher about forgiving your dad is rather touching in both good and bad ways. I have a lot to forgive my father about, yet as my beloved Tia likes to remind me, I also have a lot to thank him for too. So while I wish he wasn't so old school that he could have told me how proud he was of me when I was gro...

As a result of much catching up to do and a Father's Day full of family fun, I have only commented on two blogs today: * Tote bags & indy mags over at the Bitch blog * New Yorker hostility beyond being ‘just not that into’ SATC That leaves me with 18 comments to make up and 4 comment backs. PLUS Monday's commitment. And there are only more 10 days to go! I can do it, I can do it! Yes, I can!! *snicker*

Women (Not) in media by Feminist Peace Network New Yorker hostility beyond being 'just not that into you' by Paula Kamen As an aside, I did see SATC yesterday during my bachelorette weekend. I was warned of how bad the movie was, so I decided to focus in on the friendship theme I heard from others. And ya know, what? I thought it was good. On another aside, the kid's last soccer game is Saturday...when I'm scheduled to be networking at the NWSA conference. My panel is Friday, first thing in the morning. Yes, I'm considering heading home early. Question is to spend $500 on a plane ticket or $50 on a Greyhound ticket.

It's all Donald Duck's fault.

I'm headed out super early tomorrow for Kansas City for a bachlorette party, so the blogging will be light again. But come Tuesday I'll have my very own Dell and small enough to come with me to the National Women's Studies Association conference next weekend. Woot! And please don't remind me how many comments I'm backed up on again...I just caught up last night! Oy... And to the papas who read this, Happy Father's Day!

I went to the Making Media Connections conference today and learned a lot. But just before the last session started a new U of C graduate and young Latino man asked me about the Chicago Abortion Fund, asked for my card, and then read my title - Professional Feminist. "Oh...nice." He was quite amused and in a good way. He then asked what one book he should read to learn more about feminism. I was stumped. He said, "Just one..." I replied, "That's like asking someone what their favorite food is and they say pizza just because it's the easiest thing!" I ended up recommending Gloria Steinem's Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions . It's classic and I think still relevant. I think searched for feminism on my LibraryThing catalog on my Treo (note, pay for lifetime membership so you can add more books!). At the end of the session I added in Undivided Rights: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice and The Handmaid's Tale. But ser...

Life is so busy that I can't find time to blog you something awesome, but here are some great sites where I left comments today: 1. Blogher on migraines 2. Logophile on commercials that don't piss us off 3. MOMformation on washing in cold water 4. The Root on sexism in the primary (Kudos to Rose for her article! I had the pleasure of meeting her last summer and she's awesome. Keep her name in your head.) 5. Real Women, Real Voices discusses recent ICE raids. 6. I gush about former teachers at Shakesville . 7. Profound Sarcasm on Scarlett's crush on Obama 8. Division Street breaks down the real costs of the approved move of the Chicago's Children Museum....which I oppose. 9. Progress Illinois brings us a smackdown by Senator Durbin. 10. Lastly, Kim at MOMformation takes the lead on the charge to get additives out of our food. For your sake, my sake, and of course, the children's sake. Comment back: The Voracious Vegan brings us carrot cake cupcakes! Now off to...

Comments: 1. La Chola (honestly, I can't leave comments, but I would have if I could. AND BFP is back! She is back with a vengeance and I feel like I'm in her sight line, but I still love that she's back. Yes, I'm a paranoid liberal feminist of color!) 2. Goddesses Rising 3. Fierce Women Dish 4. Hijas Americanas 5. Black Mothers in Academia (new blogger, go say hi!) 6. Latino Politics Blog has a new feature "Latino Legislator of the Week" 7. Work it, Dad Blog - Yes, we do have a dad at Work it, Mom! 8. The Hidden Side of a Leaf (full disclosure, I submitted a poor essay for that anthology. For reals, thinking back, it really sucked.) 9. MOMformation 10. And last, but not least, Dawn at this woman's work (That leaves me with ten for tomorrow! Almost caught up...only to leave on Friday & Saturday) Comment back: A Blog of One's Own (A new blog, go over and welcome her to the party!) And Judith Arcana has a new website ! Check it out. I hope to hav...

You're 45, but don't look a day over 5. Why? Because Fair Pay is still an issue, so it's hard to believe that you are 45. That for 45 years we have had fair pay "the law of the land" yet we still wonder if the man down the hall is getting paid more than we. You are the law that made it illegal for employers to pay unequal wages to men and women who perform equal work — which was signed by President Kennedy back in 1963. Since women still only earn 77 cents to the dollar, you are in desperate need of some back-up. But even though several bills have been introduced repeatedly — including the Paycheck Fairness Act and the Fair Pay Act — Congress still hasn’t stepped up to the plate. Plus, of course, the Senate still hasn’t passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act , which would have a major impact on the lives of women who’ve been subject to pay discrimination. Of course, we wouldn't know if we were being discriminated against because some people don't have th...

I don't tell many stories for the sake of stories of the daughter, but my brain is too dead to blog about much else. She loves to color on the sidewalk and honestly anything that the chalk will show up. A few weeks ago we were driving out to the burbs on traffic was horrible on the Kennedy. For non-drivers & non-Chicagoans, the el train goes between the lanes of traffic. To protect the train, there are huge cement barriers. At one point, there is a nice size ledge on the barriers and this is when the conversation took place: D: Oh, mom..I know that we can't do this, but what if the police let us? Me: Do what? D: You know, if the police let us sit on the cement, and wow...isn't that a great place to color on? I just burst out laughing. Me: Yes, sweetie...it would be perfect for coloring!

Gmail: veronica.arreola @ Facebook: Search for me :) Twitter Leave a comment here and don't forget your email address Any emails sent to my any email address, especially my work address, that is not my Gmail will be deleted. Thank you! I look forward to hearing from you.

Sorry for the lack of blogging the past few days. I was in NYC at the NCRW conference at NYU without wifi. argh! Regular blogging will return tomorrow. I'm pooped. We went to the Maxwell Street Market then to the Printers Row bookfair. Then I got a chance to chat it up with Amy Richards after I heard her talk about her new book, Opting In. Gonna try to start it tonight. w..o..o..t...That's my tired woot.

I don't have time to blog about anything substantial, plus I want to blog about something that I just can't. Ugh...instead I leave you with my 5 comments & comment back: Comments left at: 1. Anti-Racist Parent 2. Feminist Law Professors 3. La Bloga 4. Mamita Mala 5. Single Mommy by Choice Commented back to: Tiny Mantras Oh...and I never for once thought that Hillary was going to run as an independent. Despite what people think, I'm sure she has more ethics than Lieberman.

And thanks to Kim for pointing out this obit to me. On May 21, 2008 the pro-choice community lost a man we owe a lot to: Harvey Karman, a flamboyant psychologist whose invention made a key contribution to women's reproductive health, making abortions simpler, less expensive and less painful, died May 6 at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 84. The cause was a stroke, said his son, Kenneth, of Los Angeles. Mr. Karman was drawn to the plight of women facing unwanted pregnancy in the 1950s, when abortion was illegal. While training in psychology at UCLA, he started an underground abortion referral service and eventually performed abortions himself, for which he was convicted and sent to state prison for 21/2 years. In the early 1970s he developed a soft, flexible tube, or cannula, for a device that was widely adopted in the United States and developing countries to perform early abortions. Read the rest of his obit at the Chicago Tribune . As with many others, I'm o...

Pick it up people! I'm in it. The issue isn't online yet and I have no idea if my piece will be online, but either way, go buy a copy. Help the magazine out. :) I wrote a sidebar on mommy blogging and the lack of women of color at some of the bigger/established mommy/parenting community blogs. It's a companion piece to Deesha's larger piece on the lack of moms of color in the anthologies that have multiplied over the past few years. I won't write much more on it now. But I have already seen some issues with my piece in the blogosphere, but like I said, I'll wait a bit before addressing any of it. If you don't subscribe you should be able to find Bitch at your local indy bookstore or even one of the big box bookstores (Borders, B&N). Technorati tags: Bitch Magazine

This week I bring you some sobering statistics on sexual harassment, girls, and how feminism help them. For reals. We’d like to think that we live in a more enlightened age. Or even that the threat of legal action keeps people in line, but in reality sexual harassment is still something that women and girls have to deal with on a daily basis. My personal experience with harassment ended when I left high school. O…M…G…was high school a gauntlet of harassment! Yet I was totally unprepared to deal with it. Honestly I don’t think I knew that I could deal with it. I graduated high school in 1993, a mere one year after Anita Hill brought the topic to the forefront. Even more honestly, the only framework I had for harassment was an episode of “Three’s Company” when Chrissy’s boss kept chasing her around a desk! Read the rest here... I've decided to copy a few other NLCM'ers and post where I'm commenting as a way to keep myself organized. Unfortunately I think I did comment elsewh...

If you eschew Target to make your own clothes, buy from your local grocery & prefer Bust to Cosmo , would you take $2,000 from Ford to help spread the word about their new electric car? That's the main premise to Unmarketable: Brandalism, Copyfighting, Mocketing and the Erosion of Integrity [ WCF , Powells , Amazon ] by Anne Elizabeth Moore, but this is not just a book for the DIY/punk crowds. By giving us case studies on how easily some fairly indy people sell out, including the author, it forces those of us, like me, who don't claim an indy or DIY label to consider "How much is my work worth?", "When was the last time I sold out?" and "Do I even care?" Moore contends that we all should care. Not so we don't sell out, but to be honest and acknowledge when we exchange our skills for corporate cash to sell our peers on the latest gadget. As marketing strives to burrow deeper into our social networks and bypass our reason entirely, our abi...