Open Thread

Should Breastfeeding Be Allowed in Public? (Part 2)

May 15, 2013 By Serena Leave a Comment

Last week I started a discussion about the debate over breastfeeding in public. I shared a story from Maureen Shaw, one of the Feminists for Choice writers. Today I am sharing the experience that Erin Durban has had with breastfeeding.

Breast feeding is the best option for me and my baby. The primary reason I chose breast feeding was because of the immunities and health benefits that babies get from milk. As we both worked really hard the first month to get breast feeding established, I kept that in the forefront of my mind. However, there are so many other benefits to breast feeding: intimacy, convenience (once everyone gets a hang of it), and cost savings since formula is so expensive. It certainly isn’t easy, though, and I know there are a lot of good reasons why other folks do not breast feed. We were lucky to have a lot of support from our birth center, my partner, my sister and brother-in-law, and our friends. I know that has made a huge difference in terms of being able to continue breast feeding. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Open Thread, Parenting, Women's Health Tagged With: Breast Feeding, Motherhood, Parenting, should women breast feed in public, women's breasts

Should Breastfeeding Be Allowed in Public? (Part 1)

May 13, 2013 By Serena 1 Comment

Last week Elin and Hennie discussed a Youtube video of mothers breastfeeding in public. Those mothers received death threats in the video’s comments section, and the video has subsequently been removed from Youtube.

Some mothers in Indiana staged a nurse-in and breastfed their babies outside of a pizza restaurant where a mother had previously been ask to leave because she had breastfed on her previous visit to the restaurant.

There is obviously a lot of controversy about breastfeeding in public, but there is also a debate about whether women should breastfeed at all. I interviewed three women to ask them what breastfeeding means to them. These stories show that there are many sides to the debate. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Open Thread, Parenting, Women's Health Tagged With: Breast Feeding, Breastfeeding, Motherhood, Parenting, should women breastfeed in public, women's breasts

Open Thread: New Year’s Resolutions

December 30, 2011 By Janice 5 Comments

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?

Filed Under: Open Thread

Open Thread: What Are YOU Thankful For?

November 24, 2011 By Janice 6 Comments

This month with our special series on gratitude we here at Feminists for Choice have let the world know what, and especially WHO we are thankful for. Now its your turn! Please respond and let the world know who you, as a strong, passionate feminist, are thankful for this holiday season!

After all, a THANKFUL feminist is a HAPPY feminist!

Filed Under: Open Thread

Is TIME’s Person of the Year List Sexist, or What?

December 16, 2010 By Serena 3 Comments

TIME’s Person of the Year title is given to the person, group, or idea that most influenced the culture, for good or for bad. I guess that’s how you end up with Lady Gaga and Sarah Palin on the same list. This year’s list also included Glenn Beck and the Tea Party, as well as the Chilean miners. Not surprisingly, Mark Zuckerberg (the founder of Facebook) and Julian Assange (the founder of Wikileaks) were on the list as well. And Zuckerberg is this year’s winner, despite Assange receiving the majority of the popular votes for the title. TIME’s managing editor Richard Stengel explained the selection process earlier this week on the Today Show.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

There were only seven women on this year’s list of twenty-nine finalists. Since TIME began the award in 1927, only five women have graced the cover as Person of the Year. Which leads me to wonder: what to women have to do in order to get the recognition they deserve? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Open Thread Tagged With: Assange, Mark Zuckerberg, person of the year, TIME, women

Open Thread: Do Boycotts Work?

August 6, 2010 By Serena 1 Comment

2010 seems to be the year of the homophobic commercial. Why is it that so many companies feel that it’s necessary to sell their products in the name of shoring up traditional masculinity? The recent call for a boycott of Target, due to the corporation’s support of a right wing political candidate who may or may not have made homophobic comments, resulted in Target’s CEO issuing a letter of apology to his employees and customers. Target does not, after all, hate the queers who love to shop there.

With the recent success of the Target “boycott,” do you think that the LGBTQ community and its allies should boycott companies that employ homophobic ad campaigns? Do boycotts even work? I’d love to get your take.

Filed Under: Open Thread Tagged With: boycott, homophobic, masculinity, Target

Open Thread: What’s Your Preferred Method of Birth Control?

July 23, 2010 By Serena 8 Comments

Birth control. Sometimes there are so many options that it’s hard to know which method to choose. Many of us have had strong reactions, both positive and negative, to the birth control methods that we’ve tried, including Yaz, and IUD’s.

Lesbianism is my preferred method of birth control. You get all the fun of sex without the risk of pregnancy. That’s not to say that STD’s aren’t a concern for lesbians, but we’re talking about birth control in today’s open thread.

Not sure which birth control method is the right choice for you? Take this lifestyle questionnaire from Planned Parenthood to find out what your options are.

What about you? What has your birth control experience, for good or for bad, been like? Do you love your IUD? Or the Nuva Ring your method of choice? We’d love to hear from you!

Filed Under: Birth Control, Open Thread Tagged With: birth control methods