Hey Feminists!!
We would like to know any thoughts you have about New Year’s Resolutions. Do you have any? What are they?
Please share! We would love to know what the feminist community vows to take on at the beginning of the year.
2012 is going to be a big year for feminists–we are ready, are you?
This post comes to us from guest blogger Talia bat Pessi bat Feige bat Ita bat Gittel. Talia regularly blogs over at Star of Davida.
Women currently make up 17% of Congress. While this number is certainly much lower than it should be, less than a century ago, there was only one woman in Congress: Jeanette Rankin. Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, opened the door for women to enter politics in the United States and worldwide.
Jeanette Rankin (sometimes spelled Jeannette) was born on a Montanan ranch on June 11, 1880. She helped her parents run the ranch and raise her five younger siblings, which gave her the confidence that she could take charge and lead, a mindset she continued to go by in her later years. [Read more...]
South Dakota Spends Big Taxpayer Bucks to Defend Anti-Abortion Laws. Mother Jones.
12 nurses settle lawsuit claiming they were forced to assist with abortions. Star Ledger.
Bizarre Anti-Abortion Campaign Says Don’t Abort Because it Makes Toys Sad. RH Reality Check.
Why Does Everything Seem to be Going Wrong for Women’s Progress? Alternet.
A New Jersey hospital has reached a deal with twelve nurses that claimed they were forced to help care for abortion patients. The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey has agreed to allow the nurses to remain in their current positions and refuse to assist in any part of an abortion. The nurses must still assist a patient that is in a life-threatening situation if no other nurses are available to help – but only until someone else can be brought in to take over.
While both the hospital and the nurses say they are happy with the outcome, concerns still remain for what this settlement could mean for women that need abortion care. After all, these nurses have basically been given the okay to discriminate against patients based on their personal ideology. As Brigitte Amiri, an attorney with the ACLU’s Reproductive Freedom Project, pointed out to The Washington Post, ““No one should ever have to worry about facing discrimination when they check into the hospital.”
The nurses’ attorney claims that his clients will never compromise either their duty to patients or their professional oath. Which is an interesting statement to make, because it seems like they already have.
Since there are so many Republican presidential candidates and no clear frontrunner, it may be tempting to entertain the thought of supporting one of them. But before you vote for one of the GOP candidates, you should know where the candidates stand on reproductive justice. We know that all of the Republican candidates are anti-choice and oppose reproductive justice. However, since each candidate opposes reproductive rights in slightly different ways, I’ve have broken down where each currently stands.
Michele Bachmann
Abortion: Favors a repeal of Roe v. Wade.
Parental consent: Supports consent for underage individuals trying to have an abortion.
Planned Parenthood: Supports measures to defund the organization.
Embryonic stem cell research: Opposes any research.
Newt Gingrich
Abortion: Believes individuals should choose adoption over abortion; would refuse funding for abortion providers.
Parental consent: Supports notification before an underage individual receives an abortion.
Planned Parenthood: Supports defunding the organization
Embryonic stem cell research: Opposes any research, because he believes embryos should be considered life. However, he has contradicted this position a few times.
[Read more...]
To understand links between shame and rape, it is necessary to return to basics such as the original and eternal denial of dignity of women as human beings including two archetypes: on the one hand, women are generally perceived as a byproduct “The woman came out of the rib of the man, she was made for man, the woman is a gift to man, etc.” The woman has no independent existence. On the other hand, with the advent of era of consumption, woman became herself a consumer product.
When I think about why a new definition of rape is important, it is no doubt that rape is the symptom of a sick society. [Read more...]
We’re going international, ya’ll! Feminists for Choice is proud to welcome our newest writer, Manis Rayles. Manis is joining us from France . . . oo la la! Manis is a Masters student, pursuing degrees in both History and Media Education. She believes that there is a strong connection between faith and feminist activism.
Visit Manis’s bio page to read more about her. And please make her feel welcome by commenting on her first article later today.
Welcome aboard, Manis!
Feminist Conversations is a weekly series at Feminists For Choice. We spotlight activists from across the interwebs to find out what feminism means to them. Jodi Leib is an artist and filmmaker currently working on “Monday’s Child”, a feature about reproductive freedom. Her films have screened at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Screen Actors Guild, Wine Country Film Festival (Audience award, 1997), On the Lot, IFILM, Laemmle Theaters Sunset 5 and several other festivals and venues.
1. When did you first call yourself a feminist? What inspired that decision?
I first had the feeling of a bias against women when I was in grade school and I made a bet with a boy and won, but he didn’t pay me what I was due. I subsequently had the feeling in several working environments that I was being treated unfairly based on my appearance and/or gender, and I was even sexually harassed in my early twenties.
I became a filmmaker in college, and as I began to write and direct, I realized that I only wanted to tell stories about women – that I had a driving desire to communicate my point of view and experience as a woman through my characters and stories. As I became more interested in reproductive rights and committed to making “Monday’s Child,” I became comfortable calling myself a feminist. [Read more...]
Mueller confirms FBI will update rape definition. The Raw Story.
Planned Parenthood resuming abortion services in two Phoenix area cities. AZ Central.
Fraternity Asks Members: Who Would You Rape? Care2Care.
Eight Reasons Obama Should Reverse His Mistake on Plan B. Huffington Post.
