Viva la Feminista

This review of Pornland: How Porn Has Hijacked our Sexuality by Gail Dines is overdue not so much because my time has been crunched, but because I'm torn about this book. So forgive this unconventional review. Why I liked the book: The pornification of our society can't be debated. Playboy tees and pole-dancing-as-empowerment are perfect examples of how porn has become mainstream. How we got here is fascinating to ponder and Dines' theory is one that I believe is worthy of reading; The slipperty slope of how much porn is good for society is also one that I've been chewing on. Is erotica ok? Hard core not? Who decides these lines? The money trail of who funds and profits from the consumption of porn (hotels are a huge benefactor) was mind-blowing; Dines details racist messages in how porn is created and consumed; I do believe that the images we see affect us and how we see ourselves and others. The increase in porn-like images is disturbing. Our acceptance of...

I ask because I recently caught their new PSAs for the " Click it or Ticket " campaign and they use two very attractive women to urge their men to use their seat belts. Two women... one white and one African-American with sultry voices and in cute outfits telling their men, "You know what I want..." Where is the Latina PSA? En Espanol ! Because us Latinas are never more sexy than when we're seducing our hombres into wearing seat belts than when we're speaking Spanish, eh? The problem is that not all of Latino men speak Spanish or at least would be watching Spanish language TV. I can only consider that a lack of English-language Latina PSA means that the state thinks we all only speak Spanish, they could give a damn about us English speakers, or our Latina sexuality is just too much for English TV. Can you imagine if JLo, Salma, or Lynda Carter aka Wonder Woman did a PSA in English? Ay, Papi, we'd bankrupt the state due to all the Latino men falling u...

The Chicago Foundation for Women and the Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health has declared today a day of action to stop funding abstinence-only-until-marriage sex ed. There are three things you can do today: Write a letter to the editor . Need help writing one? Here one resource on writing one: * NOW MCER Letter to the Media Guide - I wrote this one and while it is focused on mothers and caregivers issues, just insert comprehensive sex ed. Come to the rally downtown! Join Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, Foundation representatives and other community activists for a demonstration downtown. Meet from 3:30-4 p.m. outside 28 E. Jackson Blvd. today, April 15. We'll march and regroup for a celebration afterward. View the flyer (PDF). Tell the Guv to stop taking money that is wasteful! Now get going! Technorati tags: feminism , action , Chicago , Illinois , sex education

With a title like that, my stats should shoot up, eh? Sorry for the lack of live blogging earlier. My laptop battery was dying and there weren't any accessible outlets in the other rooms. Now I'm on the floor, slightly behind the stage. Hopefully I can suck up enough power before the panel starts. This will be my last session for today as I have to head out for kid pick-up! Panelists include: Dionne Bensonsmith John Keene Rebecca Plante Kortney Ryan Ziegler Technorati tags: race , Chicago , power , latina , sexuality

Panel members: Joycelyn Elders Nicole Perez Urvashi Vaid Ramon Gutierrez (Moderator) Technorati tags: race , Chicago , power , latina , sexuality

I'm trying this with Cover it Live....let's see how this goes. Technorati tags: race , Chicago , power , latina , sexuality

I'm headed to the Race, Sex, Power conference today. It's a free two-day conference at UIC, but I'll only be attending Friday's session. I'll be meeting up with some WAMers and seeing my Chicago peeps. It should be one hell of a time. I'll try to live blog today and at the very least will Twitter from the Treo. Technorati tags: race , Chicago , power , latina , sexuality

I haven't checked my referrals that closely to know how many readers I have from Texas, but I want to send a quick VDay shout out to the Lone Star State. Congratulations on the recent ruling that legalizes your "personal massage" devices : A federal appeals court has struck down a Texas law that makes it a crime to promote or sell sex toys. "Whatever one might think or believe about the use of these devices," said an opinion written by Justice Thomas M. Reavley of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, "government interference with their personal and private use violates the Constitution." Under Texas law it is illegal to sell, advertise, give or lend obscene devices, defined as a device used primarily for sexual stimulation. Anyone in possession of six or more sexual devices is considered to be promoting them. In case you were a law abiding citizen and now need to stock up, I point you back to my post on Early T...