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Action Alert: Strike Out Rape Culture, NYC!

September 18, 2012 By 4 Comments

There’s nothing to pull me out from my maternity break like a little rape culture. Check out this gem I found on NOW-NYC’s Not Cool Tumblr:

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This Bowlmor Lanes advertisement is currently posted throughout New York City subways and reads, “Getting jumped in an alley has never been this much fun.”

Really?! Not that it needs to be said, but ENOUGH WITH THE RAPE CULTURE, ALREADY! And frankly, not only is it offensive as a woman and a rape survivor, it’s offensive as a consumer. Do the asshats at Bowlmor think so little of New Yorkers that they believe this rape-y campaign will draw us to their over-priced lanes like moths to a flame?

Bowlmor Lanes and NYC’s Metro Transit Authority (MTA) need to hear from us. They need to know that perpetuating rape culture and making light of sexual assault is unacceptable. Take action! Tell the MTA to remove the ad and call out Bowlmor CEO Tom Shannon on this disgrace: tshannon@bowlmor.com, 212-777-2214.

 

This post originally appeared on sherights. Cross-posted with permission.

Filed Under: Activism Tagged With: , , , ,

Is Michigan the Next Arizona?

June 11, 2012 By 2 Comments

When one thinks of traditionally anti-choice states, Michigan likely doesn’t float to the top of the list. Unfortunately, that’s about to change. According to Ms. Magazine’s blog, just this week anti-choice zealots in the Michigan legislature introduced three bills designed to make abortion virtually inaccessible in the Great Lakes state.

The bills (H.B. 5711, 5712 and 5713) each represent major attacks on abortion rights, but when packaged together are an all-out blitz. They have already passed through committee and apparently, anti-choice politicos are trying to push them through the House for a full vote before the legislative session ends on June 28th.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Legislative Watch Tagged With: , , , , ,

The Pregnant Body

May 7, 2012 By 8 Comments

As a pro-choice activist (and person who reads the news), the fact that women’s bodies are objects of public discourse is no surprise to me. From birth control to abortion, our reproductive systems take the stage, front and center. We are put under the proverbial microscope, scrutinized and criticized on a regular basis for taking control of our bodily integrity and fertility. Continuing a decades-long trend (or centuries-long, even), this public inspection is at an all-time high, completely fixated on when we – gasp! – choose not to conform to gendered expectations and bear children when we “ought” to.

But what about when we do decide to become mothers?

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Filed Under: Pregnancy Tagged With: , ,

Arizona Now Most Extreme Anti-Abortion State

April 17, 2012 By 3 Comments

Remember when you were in middle or high school and had a friend your parents hated, the “bad influence” who set a “bad example”? Right, me too. Well, we aren’t adolescents anymore, but that doesn’t mean bad influences don’t still exist. Case in point: the state of Arizona.

As I wrote last month, Arizona is engaged in a full-blown assault on women, and the hits just keep coming. Last week, lawmakers passed a 20 week abortion ban, citing fetal pain as a main argument (even though the medical community’s general consensus is that an unborn fetus can’t feel pain at 20 weeks’ gestation…but who needs the medical community’s expertise when we have politicians, amirite?!). According to Reuters, the ban also requires women to undergo an ultrasound at least 24 hours prior to an abortion, up from the current 1-hour requirement, and requires doctors and the state’s health department to provide additional information about abortion’s risks. It also allows doctors to prescribe abortion pills only through the seventh week of pregnancy instead of through the ninth.

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Filed Under: Legislative Watch Tagged With: , , , ,

On Confronting My Rapist

April 3, 2012 By 5 Comments

** Trigger warning **

I am a statistic. I represent the1 out of 6 American women who are victims of attempted or completed rapes in their lifetimes. I am among those victims who never reported their rape(s) to the authorities. I am one of those victims who shouldered this secret in silence for years, feeling ashamed, humiliated and guilty. In fact, I didn’t speak a word about what happened to me until seven years after the fact.

But I am NOT angry anymore. I (finally) have closure after half a lifetime of identifying myself as a rape survivor. And it came about in the oddest, almost unthinkable, way.  [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sexual Assault Tagged With: ,

Arizonans, Beware

March 20, 2012 By 2 Comments

We can add Arizona to the growing list of states engaged in an anti-woman, anti-birth control rampage. Currently on the state roster is a bill that would allow employers to avoid offering women health insurance coverage for contraception if the company objects on moral or religious grounds. More specifically, women trying to get  reimbursed for birth control through their employer-provided health plan could be required to prove that they are taking it for a medical reason, rather than to prevent pregnancy.

Terrible, I know. But what’s worse is that a female state lawmaker – Debbie Lesko – introduced this heinous bill, which is dangerously near passing.

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Filed Under: Birth Control, Legislative Watch Tagged With: , ,

Happy International Women’s Day!

March 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Happy International Women’s Day!

Today is International Women’s Day, a global day to celebrate the various economic, political and social achievements of women – past, present and future. This is the 101st global IWD, and across the globe women are organizing, marching and networking all in the name of… well, women.

Personally, I can’t think of a better time to celebrate us, mired as we are here in a pile of Limbaugh’s, Santorum’s and Perry’s.  The never-ending political attacks on women in the U.S. have become so consuming and, frankly, so exhausting, I’m afraid we forget to celebrate not only our accomplishments at home, but those of our sisters around the world. And if there’s one thing I hate more than Rush Limbaugh, it’s being guilty of navel-gazing. So, without further ado, here is a round-up (albeit brief) of bad-ass international women’s news:

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Filed Under: International Issues Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Quick Hit: Day of Action for Birth Control

February 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

While President Obama stood strong for women last week by requiring all insurers to cover birth control, the onslaught against contraception is far from over. Several conservative members of Congress want to eliminate coverage for birth control entirely.  As Think Progress reports, anti-choice Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) is at the helm, introducing an extremist bill that would grant insurers the right to deny you coverage for ANY health service it deems immoral.

In response, NOW-NYC has called for a Day of Action for birth control on Valentine’s Day (February 14). Here’s what you can (and should!) do:

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Filed Under: Birth Control Tagged With: , ,

Texas Continues War on Women

February 9, 2012 By 3 Comments

Brace yourself for more crappy news out of Texas. As both Sarah and I have previously written (see here and here), Texas is moving closer and closer to a restrictive abortion law, which will require doctors to perform an ultrasound on women seeking abortions 24 hours prior to the procedure. More specifically, doctors must make the sonogram visible, the heartbeat audible, and describe fetal development. In other words, Texas doctors will be legally required to treat women like unintelligent children incapable of making their own decisions.

The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) has been challenging this law from the get-go, but has been met with obstacles every step of the way. Last month, a panel of judges from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a preliminary injunction blocking key provisions of the law. Now, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks has decided he can not grant the CRR’s request to permanently halt enforcement. However, it appears that he is as disgruntled with the decision as we are:

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Filed Under: Abortion Tagged With: , , , , ,

Period Regulation After the Pill

January 31, 2012 By 22 Comments

Back in August, I wrote about my difficult transition going off birth control pills (BCPs). Many readers responded and shared their own experiences of leaving the Pill behind. There were stories of acne, weight gain, resurgence of libidos (yaaaaay!), and emotional rollercoaster rides. But the most shared experience by commenters focused on menstrual cycle regulation. Given the overwhelming number of responses to this effect, we thought it would be a good idea to tackle this issue in more depth.

First and foremost, I want to emphasize that every single woman is different. Some women will have zero problems coming off BCPs, while others, like myself, have a rougher road. So while this post addresses post-BCP menstrual regulation, it does so in terms of “typical” cases (as defined by the medical community). But please keep in mind that menstruation and hormones don’t always fit into nice, neat categories, so if your story fits outside the “typical” parameters, don’t freak out. (Although, if you do have cause for concern, please seek out the advice and expertise of your health care provider, as we are not doctors).

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Filed Under: Birth Control Tagged With: , , ,
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