Viva la Feminista

The world of girls magazines is a scary place. Walk up to the magazine aisle of your fave drugstore and flip through girl-centric magazines...then try to sleep well at night. Recently Girls Life came under fire for exclaiming the secrets of dream hair on their cover while Boys Life was all about planning for a solid career. Someone "fixed it" via Photoshop . I have a ton of issues with the original Girls Life cover, but have some issues with the "fixed" cover as well. First of all is the shaming of the actress on the original cover. Olivia Holt is yet another young woman trying to have it all through the Disney empire. She sings! She dances! She karate chops! She acts! Having a teenager myself, I have watched plenty of Disney shows. And while there are some things to improve in their narrative, you gotta give props to these teens who are slowly building their own empires...critique of Disney aside cause I'm already on a way tangent. Next, while I love...

Yes, I know summer is almost over. But there is one more big weekend left! And if you are hitting the pool or beach one last time, be sure that you have the summer issue of Ms. Perhaps you were like me this summer...A magazine showed up and it went in that pile. Yup, the "I'll read that later" pile. If so, dig it out! If you don't subscribe, run to your local bookstore for a copy. The cover story, " Sex, Lies and Hush Money ," is a must read. Frankly, if this is all you read of the issue, it would be worth the cover price. Executive Editor, Katherine Spillar, painstakingly outlines the charges of corruption against Sen. Ensign (R-Nev). You might recall that he abruptly resigned from the U.S. Senate earlier this year. And it was because he was caught. But it wasn't just Ensign who was caught up in trying to cover up his affair with his co-chief of staff's wife. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) appears to have his hands all over the cover up too. So why...

The Fall 2010 issue of Ms. Magazine is a great read and contains one controversial article. First the good stuff: There is an excellent review/interview by Audrey Bilger with friend of VLF, Jennifer L. Pozner , in the book section.  Speaking of books, Jessica Stites has a fab piece on feminist young adult books including a description of "The Hunger Games" that actually makes me want to read the books. Considering all the I know of reality TV, did you really think I'd jump on the bandwagon of a book about reality TV?  A moving piece on crisis pregnancy clinics and their connection to anti-abortion extremists. Timely considering that one of them was just convicted of stalking in North Carolina.  While a lot of attention has been paid to NOLA, Ms. shines a light on the Gulfport and Biloxi, Mississippi and the plight of homeless women where shelters are almost impossible to find.  The third piece on maternal mortality takes us to Tanzania. There's an excellent pi...

Action Issue Cover Originally uploaded by bitch_magazine It never fails. When I see Bitch magazine on the floor in the pile of mail, I squeal. And rarely does the issue fail me. I'm still getting use to the color thing and the yellow isn't helping, but hey, if that's the worst I can say about this issue... First, Andi Zeisler in her letter to the editor addresses the "we don't need feminism" bullshit from Venus. Gotta say that I never got into Venus. I have friends who lived by it, but I'm a music dork. And not even Venus could make me cool. There's an excellent interview with Heidi Durrow, author of The Girl Who Fell Out of the Sky on page 10. I read the few chapters in a book store and fell in love. I really need to get that book. There are awesome pieces on Italian TV and hip hop that acknowledges that us chicks have orgasms too. But the all out best piece in this issue is a kick ass essay about the hot mom phenomena and how it needs to di...

Not old as in an old issue! The new issue's theme is "old."  On page 11 you'll find a short an interview I did with Rana Husseini , whose memoir, Murder in the Name of Honor [ indie or Powells ], about her leadership to bring awareness to so-called honor killings in her homeland of Jordan and around the world. We chat about how Western feminists should handle these crimes in the USA and other countries. I also asked her how Western feminists can support her work better. If you're not a subscriber (become one today!), head on out to your local bookstore and grab a copy! Also don't miss my friend, Keidra 's review of Ad Nauseam: A Survivor's Guide to American Consumer Culture on page 60!

Seriously, why do magazines think that we won't notice? Or are they truly going with the "a photo is just the beginning of our art project" theory? Because if photos are just an art project for them, then just fucking say it. This time around Kelly Clarkson is the winner of the photoshop diet. We've seen this done to plenty of other women in Hollywood, including my favorite America Ferrera . Kelly Clarkson's weight has been an issue since her "American Idol" days and she seems to have weathered all the talk very well and with all the confidence most of us wish we had when it came to our bodies. That must be why "Self" wanted to feature her in their magazine. But why then would they photoshop her multiple sizes down? Even looking at the ' behind-the-scenes' video you can see that Kelly's arms are larger in real life. " Self" comments that, "Our picture shows her confidence and beauty," which reveals to me tha...

Take a look at that cover! Yes indeed, some of us mamas are blogging, tweeting & rising to the occasion. Inside the upcoming issue of Ms. (hitting news stands August 4th) is a featured article by Kara Jesella on mom blogs! The article features quotes from PunditMom , Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner of Moms Rising and me. I'm excited and scared to hear the feedback from everyone, especially after the last time I stuck my head out on feminism & motherhood. As I am sure that people will end up here at this blog after the issue is read, I am going to be more diligent in posting here when I post elsewhere. Yes, this blog has evolved more and more into a portal of sorts, pointing you to other places where I write and dole out my two cents on life. In that vein, I present you this week's edition of where I've been: Over at the Bitch magazine blog: Featured Mom Blog: Hijas Americanas Book Review: The Daddy Shift Debbie Rowe: The portrait of motherly love or greed? Feminism and...

Are you a mom whose brain cells haven’t all died? Are you tired of 7 Fun Ways to Make Your Child Gifted/a Pro Athlete/Chess Master articles? Rather looking for say 60 pages to keep your smarts? Then grab yourself a copy of Brain, Child . Brain, Child calls itself “the magazine for thinking mothers” and they ain’t kidding. The Spring 2009 issue took forever for me to read because after each article I had to put the issue down, stew in my thoughts on the subject, reflect, and repeat for a few hours to a few days. Drugs, sex, swearing and not living with your children – what say you? Oh, don’t fret, there is an article on fashion. But instead of a spread on what is hot for the pre-tween set, we get an engaging piece from Mylisa Larsen about what she learns about fashion from her four-year-old daughter. For part of this essay, I thought that perhaps I wrote it in my sleep & sent it in. Larsen & I share free-spirited girls who like to thumb their nose at fashion rules by matching s...

...on my good list. I use to subscribe to BUST many years ago then didn't renew after a series of issues, maybe 3-4, where the cover woman would say "I'm not a feminist, but..." WTF? I purposely subscribe to feminist magazines and I get 3-4 issues of "I'm not a feminist, but..." in my mail? Oh, hell no! Every once in awhile I'd poke around BUST at the bookstore, but it never satisfied me like it did back in the day...UNTIL this issue. The interview of Amber Tamblyn is KICK ASS. I have adored Amber since her days on "General Hospital" as spunky Emily, orphaned girl then adopted by the rich, powerful & crazy Quartermaine family. I never got into any of the other Emily's after Amber left. The other actresses never had that spark. I'm thinking of subscribing again, but I might just pick it up at the bookstore more often. Or snag the issue after a certain friend is done with her issue. BTW - Amber, if you're reading. I'll go ...

And of course I mean the Ms. magazine cover with President Obama on it. I had the privilege of interviewing Ms. Executive Editor Katherine Spillar this morning about the controversy and thought behind the Obama cover. You can read Eleanor Smeal's rationale for the cover online and in the issue, but I wanted to dig a bit deeper. Of course the morning had already started on a bit of Obama news that leaked out late the night before about the President asking that family planning money come out of the economic stimulus package . Long time readers may recall that my stance on reproductive justice keeps evolving more and more to be centered on economic justice. A woman can't afford her birth control method without economic justice and thus can't plan her pregnancies to allow for economic justice. Essentially, many college women can't get thru college in 4 years without a little help from the birth control pill. I know it helped me! Thus I couldn't understand why a man wh...

All the kewl kids (and me) are doing it! we're asking you to support our work by joining the B-Hive, our sustaining membership program. By contributing a gift of $5 or more monthly - not even the cost of a movie ticket - you will help shape our future by allowing us to budget and plan more efficiently. It's easy to sign up - simply visit our secure online giving site . To show our appreciation, we'll send you a free subscription (or renew your existing one). We'll also recognize your contribution on our website (and if all goes as planned, send you a special downloadable picture of your "adopted bee"--stay tuned). Read more about the B-hive at Bitch.

There's a great article in the current issue of Ms. about fake pregnancy clinics and how college campuses are referring students to them . When Nina Lopez, 19, a student at Santa Monica College in California, learned that her school routinely referred students concerned about possible pregnancies to a “pregnancy resource center,” or “crisis pregnancy center” (CPC), she was concerned... Lopez, a member of the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) on her campus, decided to check out herself whether one particular center recommended by her school was actually offering a full range of choices to young women. So she went for a pregnancy test at the center, which promises “informed pregnancy and sexual health choices” in its brochure and which, according to its website, has medically trained staff and offers medical consultation. As someone who works with college students, this is scary. I have noted that there are at least 3 of these fake clinics listed on a resource board on my ...

And it is not just because Suze Orman is on the cover with that rock star smile of hers. Why should you pick it up? BECAUSE I AM IN IT! My review of Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female Sexual Power and a World Without Rape , edited by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti is in there! OK, sorry I keep screaming, but I can't believe that in the last six months my writing (and not a letter to the editor) has been in both Bitch and Ms . You have to pick up the issue or wait for it to find your doorstep to read the full review, but I want to give some mega kudos to the four of the many authors who bowled me over. Lisa Jervis, Latoya Peterson, Cristina Meztli Tzintzun, and fellow Bronco Kate Harding. Don't take the fact that I know three of these fab writers as bias. First I'd never kiss Lisa's ass, she could see right thru it. While Kate & I did go to high school together we didn't hang in the same circles. As for Latoya, well, she'd kick my ass if I lied about her ...

It's that simple people. I want to see that dachshund become the longest dog in the world! I'm dubbing her Annie after our own doxie. How can you help? If you aren't a subscriber, sign up now. When you subscribe, Bitch gets your money NOW not months from now after the bookstore takes their cut. Plus you save money when you subscribe. If you are a subscriber, why not become a sustainer ? Give on a monthly basis! That's what I do. If you are both or can't afford to do either, then just give. Skip your soy white chocolate mocha for today and send that $5 to Bitch. Join the Save Bitch Magazine group on Facebook and invite your friends! AND SPREAD THE WORD!!!! Read Bitch's plea for help on their blog .

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

Don't get too excited folks, I didn't get my feature in there...not yet! But I did write up my post about their investigation into Ward Connerly as a letter to the editor and they published it. Since I subscribe I got the issue on Monday, so hopefully other subscribers are finding their way here by now. And those of you who buy yours on the news stands, be on the look out. This issue also looks pretty spiffy. A review will be forthcoming...as always. To my new readers...Welcome! Comment, lurk, but stay awhile. This week has been pretty busy, but I'll be back to my usual spunky self any day now. Today I'll be Twittering from the Council on Contemporary Families Conference. Tomorrow I'll live blog. Who says Saturdays are slow days in the blogosphere? Technorati tags: Ms. magazine , feminism

I've often joked that I'm in the wrong line of work. As an educated Latina from a working poor background who intellectually "gets" her oppositions stances, I really should have sold out years ago to become a right-wing pundit. In the legacy of Phyllis Schafly and every Latina who speaks in favor of the Minute Men (we have one in the Chicago area), I would be a star and I assume fairly rich by now. The current issue of Ms. Magazine profiles the identity sell-out we should all be educated on - Ward Connerly . Who is Ward Connerly? If you don't know his name, you know his work. He ended affirmative action in California, Washington, and most recently Michigan. He did it with a smile, lies, damn lies. Wrapped in the blanket of equal rights, he peddles voter initiatives across the country, from state to state, like a Johnny Appleseed planting scapegoats as he goes. A successful African-American man, Connerly began his crusade to end affirmative action with the backing ...

Please note that I started to write this review in early January and just now had the time to finish it. But it's a really good issue, so go get it! Goodness was I lucky! The day before we headed out for our holiday vacation the latest issue of Bitch magazine came in the mail. So one day when my dad had my daughter, my husband was taking a nap, and it was warm & sunny enough to grab a drink and sit on the porch, I dove in. Heavenly! Love it/Shove it covers the humiliation of Miss South Carolina and dissects in the context that no one else did - that she was an 18-year-old young woman on a national stage being asked a question that most people couldn't answer on an open book exam. They also cover how gay is the new black for the Democratic candidates, Nair for pre-teens, when rape isn't rape, the Catholic Church evicting nuns in LA, a real diverse TV show...in Canada, and how in the world Teri Hatcher still looks like her Lois & Clark days. What really was awesome i...

Due to Tina Fey's endorsement and the onslaught of "Bitch is the new black" ware on the internet AND some women being uncomfortable with the B-word, I point y'all back to Andi Ziesler's essay on "bitch." JFTR - When I first got online, one my earliest email addys was bitchgoddess@domain.com. Of course, now you can't do that because Yahoo, et. al don't like swear words in your email addy. Technorati tags: Bitch Magazine , Andi Ziesler , bitch , Leonard Pitts , John McCain , feminist

Of course, I'm behind on the cool kids, as usual...But looking thru my referral log I saw that Bitch Magazine's blog is back...with a vengeance! Rockin'! And totally humbling that the awesome Ms Andi liked what I had to say here . So my small, but growing horde of readers, go check out my fave mag's shiny revamped blog. I swear I checked their site a few months ago for an updated blog... Technorati tags: Bitch Magazine