Viva la Feminista

The question of where the ERA fits into the feminist movement is one that I wrestle with a lot. I got word that there was a conference on the ERA coming up, but since I couldn't attend I was all, "BOO!" Thankfully an attendee sent me this to share with y'all:  by Colleen Giles Last weekend I attended a conference at Roger Williams University titled "The ERA in the 21st Century." The conference brought together accomplished scholars, national activists, and twenty-something feminists like myself that are still learning to navigate their own paths to equal rights.  The conference aimed to open a dialogue about the place of the Equal Rights Amendment in American culture and politics.  The ERA galvanized the Second Wave feminist movement, though it failed ratification in enough states to become an amendment in 1982.  The ERA has also been a part of Third Wave feminism, with Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards naming it as an essential comp...

Another ChiTAG Fair has come and gone! And again it was a blast. Disclosure: The whole family attended on my blogger media pass. We also were treated to a continental breakfast before the fair opened. After completing a series of scavenger hunt items, we received a swag bag. First, the swag bag wasn't filled with a lot of items and most were for little kids. But there was a Shoulder Buddy in there, that I really did not think Ella would like, but she loves it! In case you aren't familiar with them, it's are a mini troll that has a magnet at its base and the person who is wearing it puts a magnetic coin under their shirt on their shoulder. TaDa! The troll-like creature sits magically on your shoulder.  One game we fell in love with and put on the wish list was " txTylz ," created by the lovely Joan Severance. Yes, that Joan Severance ! See her in the photo collage above. She explained that this is a fun decoding-like game. There are all these tiles with ...

From the NYTimes : The special grand jury convened in Steubenville had investigated whether adults like coaches or school administrators knew of the rape allegation but failed to report it as required by state law. The charges against the superintendent, Mike McVey, include felony counts of obstructing justice, DeWine said. McVey wasn't immediately available for comment, but the district planned to issue a statement later Monday. An elementary school principal and a strength coach are charged with failing to report possible child abuse. A former volunteer coach faces several misdemeanor charges, including making false statements and contributing to a child's delinquency.  I did not think anything else would come of this case, so I am shocked to see this happen. Hopefully not only justice will prevail, but this will send a clear message that those of us in education have a responsibility towards protecting students who have been harmed, not those who h...

This is a long overdue review from a product I learned about at Blogher! Yeah, I'm that behind on my to-blog list. But back to the review... NatureBox is a service that sends you new & healthy snacks monthly. My husband makes Ella's lunches, so I hear his frustration at finding 1) something new to add to her lunch box and 2) ensuring a balance between fun and healthy. If those challenges sound familiar, NatureBox could help you address them. I received a complimentary box of snacks to test out. First, the box was very sturdy, so no need to worry about your snacks arriving smashed. In the photo you can see how they are packaged. Now for taste...Let's be honest, ok? The stuff we get in the grocery store is, for the most part, full of chemicals that make us think it tastes good. Some of the snacks I needed to get use to. But I realized it was unhealthy chemical stuff that I was craving. Other snacks (like the chocolate wafers) were winners right out of the bag. A...

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS ROUNDTABLE on LATINA FEMINISM April 25-26, 2014, John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH Abstract Deadline JANUARY 20, 2014 Invited Speakers: Edwina Barvosa, University of California, Santa Barbara KarenMary Davalos, Loyola Marymount University You are invited to participate in the 2014 meeting of the Roundtable on Latina Feminism, a forum for discussion of Latina feminist theory and practice. Suggested themes include but are not limited to the following: *Latina Aesthetics *Visual Representations of Latinas *Latina Political Thought *Latina Identity *Latina Embodiment *Latina Activism *History of Latinas in the U.S. *Mestizaje and Mulataje *Latina Sexualities *Queer Latinidad *Latina Pedagogy *Latina Ways of Knowing *Latina Spirituality *Immigration *Coalitions across difference *Works on individual Latina or Latin American feminist writers and theorists Guidelines for Submission: 1. Abstracts should be approximately 1500 wor...

Goodness! The holiday season sneaked right up on me (AGAIN!) and sinceThanksgivukkah is next week (OMG!), I figured I should try to put up a few suggestions for last minute shoppers. And since the holiday season starts early, it will last long too. So...I'm going to start with a Pinterest board for the guide. I'll try to write a more traditional gift guide, but hey, maybe this is a Pinterest year. We shall see! And also check out my previous Holiday Gift Guides . 

You know someone did something bad when Twitter blows up, especially feminist twitter. Today's culprit was repeat offender, Jezebel. Today they posted a story entitled, " Selfies Aren't Empowering, They're a Cry for Help ." (don't worry, it's a donotlink ) I'm not about to try to write a praise or 'in defense' post of the selfie. Although if you follow me on Flickr or Instagram you know I'm a fan. I even did the 365 project for 2008 (where the selfie at the left if from). I think they are fun and I especially love to use them for photos with friends or to show you that "I AM HERE!" While the Jez piece is lengthy and there's plenty to munch on there, I found this grey-area exception to be the pinnacle of silly: grey-area exception: selfies where a person's face is not the point of the picture. Some women I follow on Instagram, for example, post pictures of themselves wearing cool sunglasses or lipstick or hats, whi...

That's right friends, I have one more weekend pass to giveaway for the Chicago Toy and Game Fair! We've attended the Toy Fair in the past and had a lot of fun. And we're excited to attend again this year. We'll be there Saturday and the schedule looks like so much fun! I'm hoping to run into  Debra Sterling, CEO and Founder of Goldieblox . OK...to the giveway... It is a free weekend family pass (unlimited children, large families win out!) to one lucky reader. RULES: 1) Comment on this post for an entry & leave your email address 2) Tweet out this post and make sure to include @veronicaeye so I know you did it 3) Share this post on any other social media outlet. Tag me if you can or leave a link in the comments. Just figure out how I know you did it. 4) Your limit is 4 entries per person. The only reason I'm including social media as a way to enter is I know some people just don't like to leave comments. 5) Make sure I have a way to ge...

New York Magazine has an amazing feature this week and the title says it all: 26 women sharing their abortion stories. Honestly, they are heartbreaking to read because of the wall of shame the women know they are breaking. No woman should have to hide their experience, yet society or families keep these tales from being widely shared. As their stories show, the experience of abortion in the United States in 2013 is vastly uneven. It varies not just by state but also by culture, race, income, age, family; by whether a boyfriend offered a ride to the clinic or begged her not to go; by the compassion or callousness of the medical staff; by whether she took the pill alone at home or navigated protesters outside a clinic. Some feel so shamed that they will never tell their friends or family; others feel stronger for having gotten through the experience. The same woman can wake up one morning with regret, the next with relief—most have feelings too knotty for a picket sign. “...

During summer I rarely wear socks, but once the weather gets colder I LOVE socks! If you see me during the colder months of the year, I'll be rocking socks with patterns: argyle, stripes...I even have a pair of Wonder Woman and Bears knee-hi socks. But the one thing that I have searched for is the perfect rain boot sock. I have some great cozy socks for super cold days, but they only go up past my ankle. They are good for hanging out at home and my snow boots. But I love wearing my mid thigh high rain boots on rainy days and especially slushy winter days. And the flaw are socks. My knee-high socks aren't thick enough to keep me warm and my warm socks are too short and end up crunched up at my toes. WORST! Then I was sent a pair of Heat Holders... I wore them twice last week. The first time on rainy cool Halloween. They went great with my pirate wench costume. And then on Sunday when all I was looking for was warmth as I watched my daughter play her last soccer game of t...

CALL FOR PAPERS Demeter Press is seeking submissions for an edited collection, entitled Feminist Parenting: From Theory to Life Lived Editor: Lyndsay Kirkham Deadline for Abstracts: March 15, 2014 The purpose of this collection is to explore the intersections, disconnects and collaboration between feminist theories, their perceived applications to parenting and the lived realities of feminist parenting. This book will explore a variety of feminist theories and how they relate to all aspects of parenting: from pregnancy and birth to breastfeeding and the decision to live childfree. We welcome submissions from researchers, students, activists, artists, mothers, fathers, children, grandparents, and community members; we encourage submissions of both scholarly chapters and creative works that explore a diverse definition of feminist parenting. Topics can include (but are not limited to): Exploration of feminist scholarship and perceived contributions to feminist parenting, re...

The plight of incarcerated mothers is an issue I don't write nearly enough about , but when I stop to think about it...well, I get, um, steamed. A few weeks ago, Maya Schenwar, executive director at Truthout , wrote about her sister's experience giving birth while incarcerated and then having her daughter taken away. In Illinois we have few options for women who want to bond with and nurse their newborns. Friend of VLF, Matthew Filipowicz, spoke to Maya and I highly recommend you listen in. If you want to skip right to Maya, her segment starts at 14:38.

Demeter Press is seeking submissions for an edited collection entitled Mothering, Mothers and Sex Work Co-Editors: Rebecca Jaremko Bromwich and Monique Marie De Jong DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS: March 1, 2014 In a transnational, intersectional framework, this book will discuss theorizations, lived experiences of and legal and governance frameworks affecting mothers and their children who are impacted by or involved with sex work. This book will also examine how mothers affected by sex work are understood in popular discourse and discounted as good or "real" mothers in Western patriarchal societies. We encourage submissions that interrogate popular discourses about mothering, virtue and demonization, especially those focusing on resistance and agency by mothers. We welcome submissions from researchers, students, activists, community workers, artists and writers and papers that explore meanings and experiences of mothering and sex work from all academic disciplines inc...

CALL FOR PAPERS Demeter Press is seeking submission for an edited collection entitled Intimate Care: Doulas and the Birthing Body (working title) Co-Editors: Angela Castañeda and Julie Searcy DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS: March 1, 2014 Publication Date: 2015 The goal of this edited volume is to add to the literature on birth and mothering through the perspective of doulas. Our research seeks to focus on the body and the multiple ways it is materialized through intimate practices. By focusing on bodies and the knowledge they produce, we seek to illustrate the varied power dynamics surrounding doula work. We define doula work broadly to include birth, postpartum and full spectrum doulas. We want to highlight the voices of doulas and those they work with (care providers, mothers, partners) through creative stories, essays and critical scholarly work. We welcome a cross-cultural approach, which includes both stories and scholarly research that raises critical questions about the socia...

When I first started this blog, I tried to blog upcoming feminist events. But I was never happy with how I was doing it. So today I unveil my latest attempt to keep you & myself up on what is happening on the Chicago feminist scene - Chicago Feminist Event Calendar ! It's a Google calendar so you can subscribe to it and copy events right to your Google calendar. There is also a link for submitting your own Chicago feminist events. This has been brewing for far too long, but am just now launching it. I get so many emails about great events to share with all of you that I can't always keep up. Hopefully this new system will make it easier for me to share those events with you AND all in one place too. If you keep a Chicago-centric feminist event calendar, leave the link in the comments and I'll be sure to link to you too.