This Week in Blogs: July 26 - August 1

There has been some great writing going on this week! Here are some of my favorites. Don't forget to leave your links (that you've been writing and reading) in the comments!

Thin Privilege 101 [Dolly Speaks]
Labyrinth as Feminist Myth [Hoyden About Town]
Twitter and Gendered Language [The F Bomb]
On the abortion ban in Nicaragua [Appetite for Equal Rights]
The Feminist Lens: Catcher in the Rye and Feminism and Relationships [Small Strokes]
Can we achieve a real "common ground" on abortion? [Feministing]
Shocker! Tiller's Murderer Going to Trial [Feministe]
Oppression, Masculine Power, Duality, and Kant [Gender Across Borders]
HBO Working on Another Feminist Show? [Women & Hollywood]
Julia Child: Feminist Icon? [Jezebel]
"More to Love": That Means FAT GIRLS too! [Womanist Musings]
Breasts: Ready to Go Public? and No Hang Ups on "Hung" [The Undomestic Goddess]
SETH ROGEN IS OUTRAGED, some more [Tiger Beatdown]
"Body Lexicon" for Aging Female Bodies [Sociological Images]
From ax-wielding psychos to she-devils [Salon: Broadsheet]

This Week in Blogs: July 19 - 25

This week has been pretty uneventful for me. I get to spend my weekend babysitting three hyper kids, that's about as exciting as it gets. I hope all of you have had more eventful and productive weeks. Here are some of my favorite blog posts from this week. There are a lot of them because, well, there were a lot of really good posts this week and I am still constantly discovering new feminist blogs that I want to share with everyone!

Daily Kos's Feminist Wish List -- What Do You Think [Bitch Blogs]

Quick (listening) hit: Debating abstinence [Feministing]

Will "Orphan" hurt orphans? [Salon Broadsheet]

Is Marie Claire Just Messing with Us [Glossed Over]

Thoughts on oppression, masculinity, power, the male gaze, street harassment, and slavery [Gender Across Borders]

Jimmy Carter leaves church, criticizes religious sexism [Appetite for Equal Rights]

Should Tiller's Assassin Be Charged as a Domestic Terrorist? [RH Reality Check]

Those Who See "U.S." Read "Us" [Shakesville]

Dancing Around Race Relations: Prom Night in Mississippi [Jezebel]

Health Care, It's Personal [Womanist Musings]

Obama uses tradition to justify dismissing abortion rights [Deeply Problematic]

The Hermione in my Head [Feministing Community]

LOL you're a feminist [o filthy grandeur!]

Let's not be so quick to judge in 'women vs. Ben Roethlisberger [Spare Candy]

What Feminism Is and What It Should Be (with a little help from bell hooks) [Small Strokes] - a little over a week old, but still good!

And finally, both The Curvature and Jump Off the Bridge participated in the blogathon yesterday - check out their numerous posts!

What have you been writing and reading this week? Leave links in the comments!

This Week in Blogs: July 12 - July 18

Sorry for the tardiness of this post, I have had a rather busy weekend in Chicago and needed Sunday afternoon to catch up on things and relax. I spent some of that time reading over the numerous blog posts that I missed from some of my favorite blogs. Here are some blog posts from the past week that I found particularly interesting:

Blogger: How Abortion Rights Make Bad Boyfriends [Jezebel]
Sorority Life on Facebook and the Construction of Female Friendships [Deeply Problematic]
Why I Provide [RHRealityCheck]
Calling the Ketel WHACK, or: The Worst Title of Any Post Ever (It Is About Vodka) [Tiger Beatdown]
How do two affirmative action babies raise their own baby? [Bitch]
Food, Class, and Need [Womanist Musings]
"Is Abortion a Public Health Issue?" Sotomayor Hearings, Day Two [RHRealityCheck]
Feel the Homomentum [Shakesville]
Sotomayor: Strong, Rational, Intelligent Woman [Feministing Community]

What have you been reading and writing this week? I have some catching up to do on my blog posts from all the stuff that I have missed while preparing for my trip to Chicago this past weekend.

This Week in Blogs: July 5 - July 11

This week has been kind of crazy for me, which means that time to work on the blog has been given a lower priority to some of the others things that I have to do. But hopefully this will be a relaxing Sunday and I will have some time to work on blog posts.

Here are some blog posts that I found interesting this week:

• Sarah Seltzer at RH Reality Check compares the racism of the burqa ban to the patriarchal standards of beauty in the United States.

• How do you describe you personal and political attitudes towards abortion? Are you pro-choice? pro-life? anti-choice? pro-abortion? RMJ at Deeply Problematic explores her view being pro-abortion.

• Lizz at Choices Campus Blog looks at how jokes about rape add to a culture where rape is not taken seriously.

• Jill at Feministe qualifies what is necessary in a feminist urban policy.

• There has been a lot of news over Palin resigning. Jordan at Equal Writes examines her resignation a little further.

• Jessica at the Frisky asks: could you date a guy who wasn't a feminist?

• Amy at Pregnant Pause looks at two tv shows that represent teen pregnancy: The Secret Life of the American Teenager and 16 and Pregnant.

• Even though this isn't a feminist blog, I thought I would include this one. Entertainment Weekly examines the role women play in gangster movies.

• Dave Zirin for The Nation further explores the sexism present at Wimbledon.

What were some of your favorite blog posts that you wrote or read this week? Leave some recommendations of blogs and blog posts in the comments.

Fun with the Egg Rescue Squad

This comes via RH Reality Check. I thought it might be appreciated.


The artist is Mikhaela Reid and you can find more of her work on her website The Boiling Point.

This Week in Blogs: June 28 - July 4

Happy Sunday! I'm sitting here watching the men's finals at Wimbledon and it's looking like it will turn out to be a good match, but we'll see. My computer is a little sick this morning, I'm going to have to take a trip out to Best Buy later today.

But it's Sunday, so here are some of the great blog posts that I have read this week.

• RMJ at Deeply Problematic discusses how to deal with privilege and "fucking up" while developing in her feminism.

• Electrickkoolaid in the Feministing Community looks at the connection between femininity and food, where women cannot eat large portions at the risk of losing their femininity.

• Abortion is always a hot topic. Gloria Feldt at RHRealityCheck examines the option of adoption and paying mothers to carry their fetuses to term.

• Danae at Choices Campus Blog proclaims the need for sisterhood in addressing sexist advertising.

• Is there really a "death of macho"? Courtney at Feministing answers this question.

These are just some of my favorite blog posts or news that I didn't get to this week. What were some of your favorite posts this week?

The Implications of "16 and Pregnant"

I'm not normally a huge fan of reality shows on MTV, I find them pointless and vapid. So when I was strolling through channels and came across their new show "16 and Pregnant," I just kept going because I expected it to just be another shallow show. But when I saw this blog post, I became more interested in it. Right now I've seen 2 out of the 3 shows that have aired.

The show is actually pretty decent. It doesn't romanticize teen pregnancy too much (like shows like "The Secret Life of the American Teenager"). "16 and Pregnant" shows many of the struggles that teenagers go through when they are pregnant. MTV has even created a partner website for the show called It's Your Sex Life (IYSL). While not complete, this website has some good information on how to talk with your partner about sex, staying protected, and getting tested.

"16 and Pregnant" (at least the 2 episodes I've seen of it) have dealt with the reactions of friends when they found out the girl was pregnant, father's of the baby not pulling their weight, absent fathers, trying to make ends meet, attempting to continue education when they have a newborn baby, and so on. However, in each of these two episodes, the parents of the girl (and the guy in the episode where the guy is involved) are supportive and help the teenagers through. This is great! But definitely not the reality for many teen parents.

The show is about teens who have decided to keep and raise their children. There is barely any discussion of the other options that people facing unwanted pregnancy have: abortion and adoption. Many teenagers who get pregnant struggle with these options and making this decision. While I think that it is fine if the show focuses on girls who have decided to keep and raise their children, it is also important to show how and why they came to this decision. By not showing the discussion of other options, it is sending the message that raising your child yourself is the only socially acceptable option.

I can kind of understand not highlighting teens who choose abortion, just because it is such a political issue and they need to keep their audience and advertisers (I didn't say it was a good reason, I just said I kind of understand it). But adoption can be a very traumatic and emotionally stressful experience. I think the show and its audience would greatly benefit from showing the adoption process and what it puts the parents through. This will show the reality for many teen parents and help people who are in this situation with their decisions about their pregnancy.

While I think this show is a great idea and does a good job at showing the reality of teen pregnancy and parenthood when you decide to raise your child, it is not the reality for many teens you get pregnant. It is important to show all of the realities so as to not discriminate against any decisions concerning teen pregnancy. But I am going to keep watching because it is an interesting show.

Anti-Abortion Violence Deserves It's Own Registry

I was looking through The Huffington Post today and came across this article about the need for a registry of people who have committed violence against abortion clinics or providers. I found the article really interesting and it definitely made me think.

The author, Jacob M. Appel, compares the anti-abortion violence registry to the sex offender registry.

Much as we do not permit convicted pedophiles to teach kindergarten or convicted hijackers to board airplanes, common sense dictates that individuals who have been imprisoned for plotting violence against abortion clinics should never again be permitted anywhere near such facilities.

While I was intrigued of the idea of this registry and could definitely see the benefit of it, I was a little weary while reading the first part of the article just because of the restrictions against free speech. But Appel later addresses this concern.

While shouting at female patients during their most vulnerable moments may be a Constitutionally protected right, doing so does not contribute to a robust marketplace of ideas. Nor does the legality of such demonstrations make them any less distasteful. Civil society would benefit greatly if anti-abortion activists took their protests to state capitals or to the steps of the United States Supreme Court instead.

I think that this idea merits serious consideration. It has benefits for both sides. One the pro-choice side, it helps promote the safety of clients and employees of abortion clinics. On the anti-choice/pro-life side, it further supports their nonviolence mission.

Doing so would lend convincing credence to the anti-abortion movement's claims to nonviolence and would prevent dangerous ex-felons from infiltrating its ranks.

Appel doesn't make any claims that this registry is going to solve the debate over abortion, because we all know it won't. But what it will do is ensure safe access to abortions for women who need them while also stopping violence within the "pro-life" movement.

This article spoke to me on a personal level as well. I recently started volunteering at my local Planned Parenthood. While this clinic does not provide abortion serives, there have still been protests there (because heaven forbid women get basic health care). As Appel asserts, people who committed crimes against abortion clinics in the 80s and 90s are just now starting to be released from jail and it is unlikely that they have shifted their political beliefs.

And this is the case at my local Planned Parenthood. A man was recently released from prison where he was serving time for crimes he committed against this clinic. When he was released, this office strengthened their security measures to prevent any future protests and/or crimes. While I still feel completely safe there, these security measures could turn off people going to the clinic. If this type of registry was in place and there were laws that legally kept this man away from the clinic, these measures would not have to be in place and it could potentially be a safer place for women to come to receive health care.

This Week In Blogs: June 21 - 27, 2009

Every Sunday (at least I hope), I will be posting some fantastic posts from other feminist blogs from the week.

Feminist bloggers have a lot to say and deserve to have their voices heard. These women (and men) have interesting and insightful opinions on a wide variety of topics. And I cannot comment on everything that happens in feminist news. So here we go...

• A couple in Sweden raises their child outside of the gender binary. Is this possible to do in a society full of gender socialization? Is it worth it? Ann at Feministing and Holly at Feministe weigh in.

• The way to solve the "abortion problem" is to start paying women to carry their babies to term and give them up for adoption, at least according to two men from Beliefnet and Slate.
  

• What should be a man's obligation when he impregnates a woman? Apparently men should have the right to refuse child support.

• Michael Jackson died at the age of 50. While remembering his gifts to the world of music, should we forget his indiscretions?

• Amnesty International creates a new ad campaign aimed to educate people about domestic violence using an eye-tracking camera. Ellen at Choices Campus Blog and Vanessa at Feministing discuss the implications in depth.

• Should women have to sign an informed consent to get breast implants?

• Honor women filmmakers, there aren't that many of them. New war/action film from Kathryn Bigelow released on Friday.

These are only some of the great feminist blog posts that I read this week, but they offer some valuable insight into the world of feminism, feminist analysis, and women's rights.

Happy reading! If you have any other blog posts that you find interesting from this week, please leave them in the comments below.

Have a Baby, Save the Economy

If you have an abortion, you are contributing to the demise of the American economy. Well, that's at least what this billboard (found on Sociological Images) wants you to believe.


Nations always have pro- or anti-natal policies to control their population. Basically, do it (or don't do it) for your country. But according to this billboard (and the policies, the billboard is just way more obvious), women have a duty to their country over their bodies and their reproductive choices.

Nixon Excuses Interracial Abortions

On June 23, the New York Times published an article titled "On Nixon Tapes, Ambivalence Over Abortion, Not Watergate." While many of the issues discussed in the article, from Watergate to Vietnam, are very interesting and important to foreign and domestic policy, the one thing that I was struck by in the article were the three short paragraphs at the beginning of the article where Nixon discussed Roe v. Wade and abortion.

Not only did Nixon think that abortion encouraged "permisiveness" and that "it breaks the family," but he also had some interesting views for cases that would permit abortions. Nixon said, "There are times when an abortion is necessary. I know that. When you have a black and a white," only later adding, "Or a rape." Apparently interracial pregnancies are just as bad as pregnancies caused by rape, according to Nixon, if not worse, because the case of rape was only added on later.

Shame On You Jon Stewart

I am normally a huge fan of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and of Jon Stewart in general. But his "debate" with Mike Huckabee on June 18, 2009 about abortion made me really disappointed with him.

He had Huckabee on to discuss the "pro-life issue." Not only was the debate framed in an attack on anti-choicers by calling it the "pro-life issue," Stewart did not do a good job at framing the pro-choice side of the debate. Stewart does admit at the end of the interview that abortion is one of the issues that he struggles with the most and doesn't really know how to address it. My complaint is that he should have done his research on pro-choice arguments before the "debate" and took more of a stand. Jon Stewart is normally really good at debating serious issues while keeping it light and funny. I was hopeful at the beginning when he jokingly brought out a bottle of alcohol, but it went down hill from there.

Stewart does attempt to raise some of the key issues in pro-choice arguments, such as a woman's right to her body, but it was just not done well. He didn't question Huckabee on the belief that life starts at conception. Huckabee even said that this was "biologically and scientifically" proven...um, maybe it's a human fetus, but life, I don't think so.

Stewart also did bring up the need to abolish abstinence-only education in order for people to be fully informed of the consequences of sex in order to reduce the need for abortions, but Huckabee managed to kind of skirt around that issue.

I hate to say it, but Huckabee did such a better job in this debate. He knew what he wanted to say, he stood his ground, and he argued against Stewart's points. Jon Stewart, on the other hand, was very vague and didn't really seem to have that much of an opinion.

Not to mention the fact that these are two white guys sitting around discussing abortion. Does it matter what a woman has to say about the issue? According to them, men can handle discussing it. Women don't have to concern themselves with it. One thing that made me chuckle a little was when Huckabee said, "I've counseled scores and scores of women," about abortion...therefore he must know what he's talking about.

How do you think Jon Stewart did in this "debate"?

I had some trouble embedding the video, so here's the link to the video. There are three parts, make sure to watch all of them.

Abortion is a Blessing

This isn't the common belief held by many people, including some feminists. I'll admit that I have occassionally used an argument along the lines of "yes, aboriton is a tragedy, but it is the lesser of two evils." I have used this argument to get anti-choicers to recognize a woman's right to choose and that sometimes it is the better option, even if it is "evil." What I was not aware of when I was making this kind of argument was that this argument might actually be deterring the pro-choice movement.

At the 2009 National NOW Conference, I heard Rev. Dr. Katherine Ragsdale talk about reproductive rights as an Episcopal priest. She says that "abortion is a blessing," never a tragedy. What is a tragedy, according to Ragsdale, is the loss of hopes and dreams. Whether an unplanned pregnancy is a resule of rape or just faulty birth control, abortion is blessing to that woman in need. Unplanned pregnancies can severely disrupt the hopes and dreams of women and abortions help to restore these. And when women want children and have a planned pregnancy, but health issues require her to get a late-term abortion to save her life, the loss of the hopes and dreams of having a child is the real tragedy. Not the abortion. Never the abortion.

When we, as feminists, make concessions that abortion is a tragedy but the lesser of two evils, we lose our footing and this will eventually lead to loosing the pro-choice battle. We are still fighting to uphold Roe v. Wade. Abortion providers are being murdered. This is a pro-choice battle. If we say that abortion is a tragedy, anti-choicers can use the argument that even pro-choice feminists believe that abortion is evil so it should be illegal.

As feminists, we need to stand our ground that abortion is a blessing for women who face the fear and stress of an unplanned pregnancy. We need to continue to defend the ruling of Roe v. Wade. We need to support our local or state abortion providers. We need to work for the reproductive rights of all women around the country and around the world.

The speech that Rev. Dr. Katherine Ragsdale gave at the 2009 National NOW Conference was really inspiring and eye-opening. I am so used to hearing the religious argument that abortion is murder, women shouldn't use birth control, and that LGBTQ people are less than human. But it was amazing to hear a pro-choice, reproductive and LGBTQ rights advocate who was a religious person, not to mention an Episcopal prient. Ragsdale was recently elected as the second woman and first openly lesbian or gay president and deal of Episcopal Divinity School. Ragsdale will be responsible for teaching and training a new generation of priests which will make strides (not steps) toward the religious support of reproductive and LGBTQ rights.

Rev. Dr. Katherine Ragsdale's selected sermons
EDS information on Ragsdale