Viva la Feminista

There is more at stake on November 6th than just the White House. No, I'm not talking about the Supreme Court, although that is a valid concern . I mean all the local ballot initiatives! In Florida, Amendment 6 would ban state funds from covering abortion. This is far more than just the Hyde Amendment folks. This means state employees who get their health insurance from the state are at risk of losing their abortion coverage. So don't stop voting after you select President Obama! Keep on going...check the back of the ballot too! Sometimes things are hiding there. And if you don't live in Florida, I bet you might know someone who does.

Presented without comment...because, well it says it all, right? Although, if you need your memory jogged on who the hell Mourdock is, he's running for the U.S. Senate from Indiana and said "And I think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen."

Demeter Press is pleased to announce the release of: Moms Gone Mad: Motherhood and Madness, Oppression and Resistance edited by Gina Wong Impetus for this landmark collection emerged from the extraordinary success of the Moms Gone Mad: Motherhood and Madness Oppression and Resistance International Conference in New York City, 2009.  Cultural meanings extolled on motherhood are often overlooked and many women struggle and personalize issues to themselves and remain silent. This anthology synthesizes and roars out marginalized experiences of moms in a culture that relegates unconventional experiences to 'craziness' and her own 'madness'. From a feminist perspective, scholars in motherhood across disciplines and mothers steeped in the experience have come together to capture multifarious experiences of oppression to resistance in a groundbreaking anthology that embodies motherhood empowerment. This book enhan

I am super honored to be nominated for this year's Women's Media Center Social Media Award. As most of you know, I am thick in the middle of working on a PhD. This has greatly reduced my ability to blog & engage in social media, so when I do, I try to make it count. This nomination means so much. It's nice to see that others see the effort I put into my work I do here and on social media sites to spread the word about women's rights. So here's the deal. I hate begging for votes, but this is a popularity contest. But I don't have the time to do a full out push, so I am going to beg for not just your vote, but for you to ask your friends to vote for me too. Especially as I am up against some amazing feministas who truly are social media mavens. Let's get this ball rolling! Voting will be open until October 29. I may not have a media empire, but what I do kick ass at, in my humble opinion. The work I cite for the WMC ballot page includes: My fi

CALL FOR PAPERS COMMUNICATING MOTHERHOOD/MOTHERS COMMUNICATING "HIGH CULTURE" TO POP CULTURE TO NEW SOCIAL MEDIA May 9-11 2013, Toronto, Ontario Canada We welcome submissions from scholars, students, activists, artists, community workers,bloggers, mothers and others who research in this area. Cross-cultural and comparative work is encouraged. We are open to a variety of types of submissions including academic papers from all disciplines and creative submissions including visual art, literature and performance art. This conference will explore the nature, status, representation and experience of mothers and motherhood in various historical, cultural and literary contexts, and examine the many ways in which mothers have been and are affected by, viewed, and/or challenged contemporary cultural norms and dominant ideologies and representations of their role. Topics may include but are not restricted to: Representations and depictions of mothers

Presented without comment: I Had an Abortion... Or Maybe I Didn't: Leslie Cannold at TEDxCanberra 2012

CALL FOR PAPERS The editorial board is seeking submissions for Vol. 4.1 of the Journal of the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (JMI) to be published in spring/summer 2013. Mothering, Education, Maternal Pedagogies and Motherhood Studies The journal will explore the topic of Mothering, Education, Maternal Pedagogies and Motherhood Studies from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. We welcome submissions from scholars, students, activists, government agencies and workers, artists, mothers, and others who work or research in this area. Cross- cultural, historical and comparative work is encouraged. We also welcome creative reflections such as poetry, short stories, and artwork on the subject. Topics can include (but are not limited to): Normative & disruptive discourses about motherhood and education; pedagogical othermothering & midwifery; mothering in the academy; teaching & learning from mothers at the margins (mo

With all the talk of a “war on women” during this explosive election year, the notion of feminism is once again in the news – and open to debate. Especially among women. Nothing illustrates that better than the rash of commentary following the recent death of sexual-revolution era author Helen Gurley Brown, says Heather Huffman , a 35-year-old author whose newest book, “Devil in Disguise,” continues her tradition of upbeat romances featuring strong female protagonists. “Some writers took her to task for advocating sexual freedom for women,” Huffman says. “They say she wasn’t a ‘feminist’ because she was all for promiscuity, not women’s rights, and her actions led to an explosion of single moms and STDs. “Others viewed her as the ultimate ‘feminist,’ a heroine who chopped through a cultural thicket to break down repressive social mores.” The truth is, Huffman says, that Brown did important work on behalf of women. “While I don’t advocate promiscuity, I do acknowledge that Gur

DiálogoEcológico De los Redactores de E/La Revista Ecológica Querido DiálogoEcológico: Siempre he sospechado que los perfumes y colonias no deben ser demasiado sanos simplemente porque el olor de muchos de ellos me molesta. ¿Es esto correcto? ¿Hay información disponible sobre el asunto? -- Lucinda Barry, Minneapolis, MN ¡Ahhh. .. el dulce olor de los productos petroquímicos! El Environmental Working Group (EWG) [Grupo de trabajo Ambiental] reporta que, aunque muchos perfumes populares, rocíos de colonias y cuerpo contienen cantidades ínfimas de esencias naturales, ellos también contienen típicamente una docena o más de sustancias químicas sintéticas potencialmente peligrosas, algunas de las cuales son derivadas del petróleo. Para proteger sus secretos comerciales, se permite a los fabricantes ocultar los ingredientes de perfumes, así que los consumidores no pueden depender de las etiquetas para saber los peligros que puedan acechar dentro de esa nueva botella de perfume. &qu

Viva la Feminista is located at the intersection of feminism and motherhood so it should be a given that we read banned books. And guess what, it's banned book week! Since I'm too busy reading non-banned books about organizational theory and building three literature reviews, I'm going to suggest you mosey on over to The Feminist Texican Reads for her review of ¡Ban This! The BSP Anthology of Xican@ Literature. You can also head over to Open Road Media's Banned Books Week shin dig, which includes a fun interactive infographic on banned books. Click on a title and gives you the info on why it was banned. According to Banned Books Week , the 10 most challenged titles of 2011 were: ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group The Hunger Games trilogy,