30 January 2013
28 January 2013
CFP: "This is What a Feminist Slut Looks Like": Perspectives on the Slutwalk Movement
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26 January 2013
Chicago Abortion Fund's Leadership Group in Ebony!
I am so honored to know Brittany and even more proud of all the work she has done in the reproductive justice movement. She's like a fish to water. Here she is telling her story in Ebony!
When 28-year-old Brittany Mostiller got an abortion in 2008, talking about it with her family was hard enough. She never expected she’d be telling her story in high schools or in the Chicago neighborhoods where she now passes out condoms and information on laws related to reproductive health.
But the organization that helped pay for her procedure, Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF), invited her to join a group of women who meet regularly for peer support and to organize in their communities. Last year, CAF raised $60,000 to help 184 low-income women access second trimester abortions. Four out of five women who receive funds from CAF are of color, said its executive director, Gaylon Alcaraz.
The process of getting these women engaged takes time. After checking in to see what help they need post-abortion – from sexual health information to housing and employment referrals – the organization supports the women in building trust and friendships. That’s the necessary foundation to storytelling.
“I think that women of color want to tell their stories,” Alcaraz said. “There’s no platform. And let you be poor, or let you be fat, or let you be gay. The media is not friendly to that.”
To get around the gatekeepers, CAF creates its own media, including a monthly local TV show called “The A Word.” Mostiller, who is mother to four girls and attends college full-time, has been on the show. At the start, the host introduces herself by saying, “My name is ________, and I’ve had an abortion.”
It was difficult to speak those words on camera early on, Mostiller said. But that’s changed.
“It’s my story. It’s mine to tell,” she told me. “And it’s someone else’s truth also.”
22 January 2013
Blog for Choice Day 2013
First, for the past few days I've been posting infographics from the Guttmacher Institute. I love infographics. They pack in so much information in an easy-to-consume format. They really could act as a FAQ on their own, which is why they were posted without comment. I know I get asked those questions a lot.
This year's theme is for Blog for Choice 2013 is to share personal stories of choice. This was cross-posted at Flyover Feminism yesterday:
I cannot recall how many times people have asked me if becoming a mother has changed my feminism. It is a question that I suppose people think I will answer with a tale of being changed by having my daughter grow inside of me for 40 weeks and that I believe in feminism in theory, but in practice, I am a wee bit conservative now. A so-called feminist mom wrote such a post for the NYTimes Motherlode over the weekend:
“Yes, we believe in a woman’s right to choose. No, we don’t actually believe she should use it in the face of women choosing to have their children. This is the feminist mother’s greatest taboo.”Yes, I said so-called feminist mom. I do not believe everyone should have abortions, but I do believe with every inch of me, including the cells of my daughter that will float inside me forever, that I do not get to make reproductive decision for others.
Moreover, that includes my daughter. She is only nine, but every time I notice that she is getting just a smidgen taller, older and yes, more woman-like, my feminism strengthens. My adherence to supporting full reproductive choices for every woman in the USA and around the world becomes more rabid. For the past eight years most of my activism has revolved around raising money for the Chicago Abortion Fund in order to assist the girls and women who call the hotline a chance to make their own decision. The thought that anyone could decide when and if my daughter becomes a mother infuriates me to no end.
Therefore, yes, becoming a mother has changed my feminism. It has made me more radical and adamant to ensure that she can make her own decisions when the time comes. I pray to all the gods that she will come to me for advice, but I know there is a chance she will not.
I fight for reproductive justice for not just my daughter, but also everyone out there.
VLF -- I did edit the last line to be more inclusive than just daughters.
I'll end with some of my favorite books about reproductive choice and reproductive justice. Please leave your favorite books in the comments!

I'm going to quote a friend's review for this book, "I hate when people say the pro choice movement is made up of white, middle class women. Mostly because it is, but also because non privileged women have been fighting for within the reproductive justice movement, not the pro choice movement. Confused? Read this book and it'll clear it all up."
Anyone who has been reading this blog for some time knows that I have a bit of a crush on Dr. Susan Wicklund. Considering that I wrote about her a zillion times in 2007 & 2008, her memoir being on my fave list is not a huge surprise. [my review]

You can read my review of this intriguing book and my interview with Merle.
Because being a mom should be by choice. You can read my review "Motherhood and Feminism."I had to include this because it is haunting my thoughts. I read it last last year and it is a doozy. The premise is that sometime in the future pro-choice and pro-life forces have come to a compromise...an awful compromise...where all pregnancies must be carried out, but you have until age 16 to decide if you want to "abort" your child through unwinding, a procedure that harvests every piece of the human body in order to use it for others. I wouldn't say it is pro- or anti- abortion, rather a fairly good piece of fiction that makes you think, "WOW, I did NOT think this debate could be more fucked up."
21 January 2013
Nobel Women's Initiative Delegation - One Year Later
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| Photo by Judy Rand |
A little known fact...Because I moved out of my parents' home right into an apartment with my then-boyfriend-now-husband, the 11 days I spent on this trip was the longest I have spent on my own. I spent most of my time with my new sisterhood, eating, talking, reflecting on the stories we heard earlier in the day. But at night and early in the morning I spent in my head. And I needed that.
Despite the hassle the trip was in terms of my doctoral classes, it may be pivotal to them. Most of the challenges and problems I learned about on the trip are ones of policy failure. Some failed due to just plain ignorance to see beyond tomorrow and the consequences of the policy's actions. Some failed due to valuing a process or stance over human rights. As a student of bureaucracy and how the government works (or doesn't), I have a better sense of taking a moment to play out the chess match a few more moves down the line in order to hopefully anticipate trouble.
I miss my travel companions and the women we met, but knowing that we all continue the struggle for peace in our own corners of the world is comforting. Many of the women who I traveled with are currently in Liberia doing what we did in Mexico & Central America - Meeting and listening to women in order to forge peace in that part of the world.
I am still trying to figure out my role in forging peace, even in my own city. But the memories of women who have lost so much, yet still stand up and fight keep me going in my darkest moments. I do not weigh my issues with theirs. Rather I attempt to contextualize our battles and believe that we are doing what we need to do within our smaller worlds. This is why I will keep our delegation's button up on this blog under "Current Actions," as I hope to always be working on our goals.
We were lucky to have had two amazing film makers with us and they crafted this video to give others a peek into what we learned.
19 January 2013
Chicago Abortion Fund Gets Shout out on MHP Show!
I was too busy with homework to see this live, but OMG, so happy that the Chicago Abortion Fund got a mention on the Melissa Harris Perry Show. According to their latest newsletter, there should be a shiny new CAF website on the 22nd.
18 January 2013
17 January 2013
16 January 2013
15 January 2013
14 January 2013
EVENT: Chicago Abortion Fund Speak Out 1/22
40th Anniversary Roe v. Wade
Come celebrate the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade with the Chicago Abortion Fund!
Join us at a speak out!
Tell your abortion story!
Talk about Roe v Wade!
Explain the work you do in the movement!
Yell about injustice!
Sing a song about abortion!
Counselors will be on hand.
Organizational information will be available.
Refreshments will be served.
January 22nd 2013 * 6 pm until 8:30 pm
Jane Addams Hull House
Halsted and Polk Street
parking lot across the street
public transportation accessible
(#8 Halsted Bus and Blue Line Halsted stop)
Come celebrate the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade with the Chicago Abortion Fund!
Join us at a speak out!
Tell your abortion story!
Talk about Roe v Wade!
Explain the work you do in the movement!
Yell about injustice!
Sing a song about abortion!
Counselors will be on hand.
Organizational information will be available.
Refreshments will be served.
January 22nd 2013 * 6 pm until 8:30 pm
Jane Addams Hull House
Halsted and Polk Street
parking lot across the street
public transportation accessible
(#8 Halsted Bus and Blue Line Halsted stop)
CFP: Supporting and Empowering Mothers in the Academe (Conference)
CALL FOR PAPERS
Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI)
Supporting and Empowering Mothers in the Academe:
Strategies for Institutional Change and Individual Agency
June 24-27, 2013, Toronto, Canada
The
conference, "Supporting and Empowering Mothers in the Academe:
Strategies for Institutional Change and Individual Agency," will examine
the subject of mothers in the academe from scholarly and activist
perspectives by drawing on academic papers and interactive workshops. It
will join scholars that specialize in academic motherhood research with
individuals and agencies that support mothers in the academe.
According
to recent studies of both academic women and mothers, gender
discrimination in general, and that targeting academic mothers, is
pervasive in academia. According to a recent Statistics Canada Report
women comprise only 35.6 percent of all tenure track/tenured university
faculty in Ontario. In 2009 at Canadian universities, only 30.9 percent
of tenured positions were held by women, but 53.4 percent of non-tenured
lecturers were women. The Canadian Association of University Teachers
Almanac of Post-Secondary Education 2011/2012 reveals that only 21.8
percent of Full Professors in Canada are women and only 16.3 percent of
Tier 1 Canada Research Chairs are held by women.
The
conference will examine obstacles to and strategies for maternal
empowerment in the academe within the context of institutional change
and individual agency. The roles that race, class, sexuality, age,
ability, religion and ethnicity play in reinforcing/constructing
obstacles to the advancement of maternal empowerment and agency in
academe, and the structural changes needed to remove them, will be
explored. The conference will draw attention to the experiences of
graduate student mothers; many of the papers and workshops will be
presented by graduate students, and others are concerned with mentoring
graduate students.
The
main aim of the conference is to deliver models, strategies, and
practices of maternal empowerment that are relevant and practical; the
activists, service providers, and policy makers who advocate for mothers
in academe must be able to utilize them. As reputable public
institutions, universities must put family-friendly policies and
attitudes into practice that uphold gender equality; this will allow
women to balance their academic career paths with the stages of
motherhood. Universities stand to tarnish their reputations and lose
some of their most talented scholars if they do not.
The
conference will generate valuable information on what is needed to
support mothers throughout their academic careers, and uphold women's
contribution to university culture.
We
invite submissions for papers as well as workshops from faculty,
students, service providers, activists as well as members of faculty
unions and associations.
If you are interested in being considered as a presenter for either a paper
and/or workshop, please send a 250 word abstract, a 50-word bio by March 1, 2013 to aoreilly@yorku.ca
** TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT FOR THIS CONFERENCE, ONE MUST BE
A 2013 MEMBER of MIRCI: http://www. motherhoodinitiative.org
Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI)
140 Holland St. West, PO Box 13022, Bradford, ON, L3Z 2Y5
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.
09 January 2013
Chicago Roe Anniversary Events
Planned Parenthood Illinois is sponsoring a Fortieth Anniversary Celebration on Wednesday, January 23, at 6:30pm at Carnivale, 702 W. Fulton Market, in Chicago. Featuring David Axelrod, former senior advisor to President Obama, and honoring Dawn Clark Netsch for her unrelenting commitment to promoting equality and justice. It’s a benefit. Tickets are $40 and no doubt the food will be delicious. More info at www.ppiaction.org.The ACLU of Illinois is sponsoring a Fortieth Anniversary of Roe V Wade Lunch and Panel Discussion, on Friday, January 25, from noon to 1:30 at Sidley & Austin, One South Dearborn, in Chicago. Featuring Lorie A. Chaiten, director of the ACLU’s Reproductive Rights Project, and Sylvia M. Neil, lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School and founder of the Project on Gender, Culture, Religion and the Law at Brandeis University. It’s free but RSVP is required. More info at http://www.aclu-il.org/roe-v-wade-40th-anniversary-luncheon/
And the Illinois Choice Action Team is sponsoring a screening of the move Jane: An Abortion Service. It’s on Sunday, January 27, at 4pm, at the Jane Addams Hull House Museum, at 800 South Halsted, in Chicago. Discussion and refreshments will follow the screening, and admission is free. More info at www.ilchoiceactionteam.org.
A fascinating look at a little-known chapter in women’s history, the film tells the story of “Jane”, the Chicago-based women’s health group that performed nearly 12,000 safe abortions between 1969 and 1973. As Jane members describe finding feminism and clients describe finding Jane, archival footage and re-creations mingle to depict how the repression of the early sixties and social movements of the late sixties influenced this unique group.
Event information from the North and Northwest Suburban NOW chapter (www.nwsubnow.org ). Contact them at admin@nnwsubnow.org or contact@nwsubnow.org or 224-565-1500.
EDITED TO ADD:
- 2013 Law Students for Reproductive Justice Regional Conference
Midwest
Saturday, January 26
at DePaul University College of the Law
08 January 2013
ESPN Announcers teach that girls are trophies - UPDATED
During last night's college football championship game, ESPN announcers Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musburger took some time to gawk over Alabama's quarterback's girlfriend. Not just gawk, but I think Beavis & Butthead acted cooler in front of girls better than them. See for yourself:This is shameful.
First of all, let's remember that Alabama is playing against Notre Dame, who totally botched a rape investigation and many people believe they covered it up. And continue to cover up rapes connected to the football team.
Second, most decent human beings are still in shock over the Steubenville, Ohio football rape case.The photo above comes from the protests held over the weekend. A little girl simply saying that she is more important than football.
Her sign is not just a call to prosecute any football players who participated in the rape, but a call to stop treating her like a thing. That sign is demanding recognition of her humanity; the humanity of all girls and women.
That is why when I heard this happened (I didn't see it live, but thanks to the internet for the clip!) I was livid.
As a huge sports fan, I know that rape culture is embedded in sports. I struggle with that...a lot. But that does not mean I need to sit idly by when announcers go on and teach our sons to get out a football to play catch with their dads in order to win a hot girlfriend.
UPDATE:
ESPN has issued an apology, but not on their website. Well, it is embedded in an AP story, but it's not on their press release page. AND the AP story is about how Katherine Webb didn't mind Musburger gawking over her and doesn't get the uproar. Fair enough. But if you still have thoughts to pass on to ESPN, feel free to use their feedback page.
I've tried to read most of the comments on Facebook and here about the post. Here are some quick thoughts:
- I'm a Cubs fan and in the '80s Harry Caray & his buddy/producer, Arnie Harris, panned and zoomed in on at least one beautiful woman a game. I am very much aware that watching sports on TV may expose me to the "pretty girl" shot. But what we saw last night was much more than that.
- I'm not opposed to telling a woman she is beautiful. I am opposed to telling all the boys watching that if they work hard enough to throw a ball, they are entitled to a pretty girlfriend.
- I draw the connection to rape because rape occurs not because a woman is pretty, but because men think they are owed something from a woman, from women. Men who rape think women are objects to own or to serve them. If we teach boys that they are owed a pretty girlfriend for having the ability to throw a ball, that is not a good method in ending rape culture.
- Thanks to everyone who did appreciate this post.
07 January 2013
Shine Makes Me Whine: The First Lady
Welcome to a new feature for Viva la Feminista: Shine Makes Me Whine. Yes, I'm talking about Yahoo! Shine, the lady part of their news content. For the record, I do like to know what celebs are wearing on their wedding day and recipes. But too much of Shine's content is just over the top DUMB! So when I run across a dumb headline, I'll post it here, of course with a snarky remark.
--- OMG! The First Lady actually wore the same dress TWICE and on the same trip! THE HORRRRRROR! And it's from Target!! She's just like us! Wait, am I supposed to be shocked she wore the same dress twice or shocked that she likes to shop Target?
Shine Makes Me Whine is a VLF feature that points out the dumbest Yahoo! Shine headlines.If you have one you want to share, drop me a line!
--- OMG! The First Lady actually wore the same dress TWICE and on the same trip! THE HORRRRRROR! And it's from Target!! She's just like us! Wait, am I supposed to be shocked she wore the same dress twice or shocked that she likes to shop Target?
Shine Makes Me Whine is a VLF feature that points out the dumbest Yahoo! Shine headlines.If you have one you want to share, drop me a line!
CFP: Mothers and Work; Mothering as Work: Policy, Ideology, Experience, and Representation
CALL FOR PAPERS
Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI)
Mothers and Work; Mothering as Work:
Policy, Ideology, Experience, and Representation
June 24-27,2013,Toronto,Canada
The
conference, taking place at the same time as the Academic Motherhood
and the Communicating Mothers Conference will explore the topic of
mothers and work and mothering as work across a wide range of
perspectives and themes.
Topics include but are not limited to:
Work/Life
Balance; "The Mommy Wars"; "Opting Out"; Maternal Activism; Motherhood
Movements; Mothers and Leisure; Representations of Working Mothers and
Mothering as Work in Literature, Film, Art, and Social Media; Mothers
and Education; Other Mothering/Co-Mothering; Mothering and Migration;
Migrant Mothers; Transnational Mothering/Mothers; Carework; Motherwork
and Feminism; Maternal Thinking; Maternal Practice;
Breastfeeding/Pregnancy and the Workplace; Reproductive Labour; Social
Reproduction; Families; Fathering; Becoming a Mother; Mothers in Various
Workplaces (Law, Academe, Theatre, The Arts, Medicine, Government etc);
Narratives of Mothers at Work/Mothering as Work, Motherhood Studies and
Maternal Theory on Work and Mothering; Young Mothers and Work;
Empowered Mothering, Feminist Theory/Activism on Mothers/Work;
Matricentric Feminism; Marginalized Mothers/Marginalized Work; Domestic
Labour; Childcare; Mothers and Unions; Public Policy and Mothers;
Maternity Leave, Politics and/of Mother Work; At-Home Mothers; Mothers
and the Labour Movement; Histories of Mothers and Work/Mothering as
Work'; Mothers and Daughters/Mothers and Sons; Mothering and
Neo-Liberalism; LGBTQ Mothers and Work/Mothering as Work; Maternal
Health and Wellbeing; Mothers and Poverty; Motherhood and Globalization;
Disabled Mothers and Work/The Work of Mothering a Disabled Child; and
Mothers and Work and the Law.
We invite submissions for papers as well as workshops from scholars, researchers, students, service providers and activists.
If you are interested in being considered as a presenter for either a paper
and/or workshop, please send a 250 word abstract, a 50-word bio by March 1, 2013 to aoreilly@yorku.ca
** TO SUBMIT AN ABSTRACT FOR THIS CONFERENCE, ONE MUST BE
A 2013 MEMBER of MIRCI: http://www. motherhoodinitiative.org
Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement (MIRCI)
140 Holland St. West, PO Box 13022, Bradford, ON, L3Z 2Y5
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.
05 January 2013
Saturday Blog Salad
Saturday, January 05, 2013
No comments
- Zooey Deschanel is a fucking feminist! She doesn't annoy me as much as she does to other people. I actually think she's pretty cute in "Elf." Yeah, "Elf" is my fave Zooey movie. But the news is that she comes out as a feminist, a raging feminist in the latest Glamour magazine. And thus, I gotta love her for this moment. Of course, this then leads to ponder, why do feminists (Tina Fey, looking at you!) take roles that are not very feminist?
- There's another call for men to stand up for women at conferences. This time the focus is on tech conferences and for all men to take a pledge to not speak on all-dude panels.Sadly the public list was taken down due to trolls who think it's ok to have all dude panels. Big sigh. Of course we are just weeks from SXSW and I'm sure there will be a lot of reports of all-dude panels. How many do you think there will be? Let me know in the comments and we'll get a pool going.
- Do you love books? Then apply to give away copies of (perhaps your favorite) books, then head over to World Book Night US 2013. Deadline to apply is three weeks away!
04 January 2013
New Year's Resolutions
I'm not very good about New Year's resolutions. In fact I suck. I normally set goals...things I can work on. Yes, I know, same thing, right? But wording is super important to me.
Other than continuing my goal to treat myself once a month to either a haircut, manicure or massage (which I've been pretty good at getting a manicure on a regular basis), my goal for 2013 is to blog more and Facebook less. Specifically to stop using Facebook as lazy blogging. Fewer super long FB updates from me, more short blog posts. So if you feel like this blog has exploded with posts, this is why.
I'm not setting a huge goal to write an essay every day, but I know there are news items that I share on FB that can just as easily be posted here. I don't know if that means you'll see 5 super short blog posts or one blog salad post a day. We shall see. The idea is to use this space more often and not feel bad if a post is 2 lines long with a link to a story.
One other commitment I have is to "Do it with Bitch." Goals are better met with friends, right? And OMG, I totally set my goal before I saw their goal, but it's pretty much the same. Be better online. "Take charge online." And if you take their pledge, you enter to win a year of Bitch. Come on, do it! And don't forget to check back here more often.
Disclaimer: I am on the Bitch Advisory Board
Other than continuing my goal to treat myself once a month to either a haircut, manicure or massage (which I've been pretty good at getting a manicure on a regular basis), my goal for 2013 is to blog more and Facebook less. Specifically to stop using Facebook as lazy blogging. Fewer super long FB updates from me, more short blog posts. So if you feel like this blog has exploded with posts, this is why.
I'm not setting a huge goal to write an essay every day, but I know there are news items that I share on FB that can just as easily be posted here. I don't know if that means you'll see 5 super short blog posts or one blog salad post a day. We shall see. The idea is to use this space more often and not feel bad if a post is 2 lines long with a link to a story.
One other commitment I have is to "Do it with Bitch." Goals are better met with friends, right? And OMG, I totally set my goal before I saw their goal, but it's pretty much the same. Be better online. "Take charge online." And if you take their pledge, you enter to win a year of Bitch. Come on, do it! And don't forget to check back here more often.
Disclaimer: I am on the Bitch Advisory Board
03 January 2013
Is stealing children from the developing world the best thing for them?
Thursday, January 03, 2013
No comments
E.J. Graff does it again.
In her latest piece at the Prospect, she reveals at the US government does not appear to believe that stealing children in developing countries so that they can be adopted by US citizens is trafficking. Apparently the line the government uses is "what is best for the children." I've heard this argument before. That being taken from your poor Guatemalan mother to live in the luxury of the USA is better for the child.
Of course this means that some people consider things to be of higher regard than one's family.
Yes, I know that children in the developing world have a very tough life and yes, they very well might choose to live in the USA, but deception should never be involved. And of course, coercion via monetary gain is a fine line to walk.
In her latest piece at the Prospect, she reveals at the US government does not appear to believe that stealing children in developing countries so that they can be adopted by US citizens is trafficking. Apparently the line the government uses is "what is best for the children." I've heard this argument before. That being taken from your poor Guatemalan mother to live in the luxury of the USA is better for the child.
Of course this means that some people consider things to be of higher regard than one's family.
Yes, I know that children in the developing world have a very tough life and yes, they very well might choose to live in the USA, but deception should never be involved. And of course, coercion via monetary gain is a fine line to walk.
02 January 2013
CFP: Seeking authors for chapters for "Mothering-Motherhood Across Differences in Maternal Subjectives/Experiences"
Demeter Press will be publishing an edited collection, A Reader, on
Mothering-Motherhood Across Differences in Maternal
Subjectives/Experiences. We have in place chapters on Latina Mothers,
Aboriginal Mothers, Queer Mothers, Young Mothers and so forth. We are
seeking chapters on the following mothers. Chapters will be
approximately 25 pages in length and will explore theories on this
particular group of mothers as well as the experiences of such mothers.
The chapters will be due July 1, 2013. The book will be published late
2013 or early 2014. If you are interested in writing a chapter on one of
the following, please send a bio of your expertise on the topic by Jan
15, 2013 to Dr. Andrea O'Reilly, editor of the collection, aoreilly@yorku.ca. Information on Demeter Press available on our site www.demeterpress.org
1) Older Mothers
2) Low Income/Poor Mothers
3) Single Mothers
4) Immigrant/Refuge/Migrant Mothers
5) Working Mothers
6) At-Home Mothers
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.






































