Urban Outfitters

In the catalog most recently sent out from Urban Outfitters there is a page picturing a bedspread and a collage of posters and magazines on the wall above the headboard.

Two things jumped out at me immediately; one was a cover from PlayBoy Magazine and the other was a large pin up of a naked women with smaller pictures covering her nipples.

I am not saying that Urban Outfitters pretends to be anything other than a clothing magazine targeted at young hipsters who want to wear "urban" outfits. However, I remain disgusted at the blatant disregard of responsibly taken by this company when it comes to questionable products and advertisements.

In the past UO has been criticized for creating sexist, racists and classist T-shirts as well as carrying the controversial board game "Ghettopoly." One shouldn't be surprised that UO has moved on to posting PlayBoy on the walls of the "bedrooms" in its catalogs so why was I?

Well, I don't think it was surprise I felt per say, it was more like mild shock and then disgusts and then an intense feeling of curiosity. Half naked skinny girls adorn the colored and black and white pages of a typical UO catalog, I knew that. I also know that the T-shirts in question said "Eat less" and "Fathers, it's up to you to protect your daughter's virginity!" Let's not forget the T-shirt with the words scrawled in golden glitter "Poverty Sucks." In 2008, the company had a gay friendly T-shirt that had " I Support Same Sex Marriages" on it and that shirt was pulled off the shelf in 2008. Many critics had harsh words for UO after that though UO stated that it was pulled because it "wasn't selling."

Is it hip to be offensive? I don't know. I can't in good conscience spend money on anything from Urban Outfitters and I can't figure out what the appeal is for others to buy these items either. The former President and founder of UO claimed that he "very, very, very rarely" had regrets or second thoughts about potentially offensive products and he also openly donated thousands of dollars to anti-gay politicians. The current President of UO is openly gay but that doesn't stop the company from using hot button slogans as T-shirt designs for the young and sexy to sport.

Other controversial UO T-shirts? "Everybody loves a Jewish Girl" surrounded by dollar signs and a T-shirt that featured a Palestinian child holding an AK-47 over the word "Victimized".

I feel hipper already.

Men and My Uterus

Some days I really am at a loss.

Men will never become pregnant. That is something I believe the majority of people can agree on regardless of political affiliation.

I'm not saying that Men don't get to have an opinion on Abortion; I am saying that there opinion shouldn't hold much merit. Obviously if the man provided the sperm that creates the fetus their opinion matters a bit more. Ultimately, men will never experience pregnancy and therefore cannot make the claim that they know anything about terminating a pregnancy.

Yes, that is where I am going with this. Men make policies, Men sign laws, and Men make judgments about what's best for Women when they have no business doing so.

I am particularly struck by the war on women that has come to the forefront of state and national lawmakers. Mike Pence, John Boehner and Rick Perry are some of the more prevalent anti-women figures proposing bills and signing laws that take away not just abortion services but reproductive health services in general. Do these men have daughters? Wives? Friends that are women?

In Kanas, Rep. Pete DeGraaf suggested that women purchase insurance to pay for the cost of an abortion just in case they get raped and may need one.

Rep. Barbara Bollier, a Republican who supports abortion rights, questioned whether women would buy abortion-only policies long before they have crisis or unwanted pregnancies or are rape victims.

DeGraff said: "We do need to plan ahead, don't we, in life?"

Bollier asked, "And so women need to plan ahead for issues that they have no control over with a pregnancy?"

DeGraaf drew audible groans from other House members when he responded, "I have a spare tire on my car."

"I also have life insurance," he added. "I have a lot of things that I plan ahead for."

This is disgusting; this is sad and dehumanizes women. How can you even respond to the comment about having a spare tire? I mean what? Are you honestly comparing a tiny part of an automobile to an unplanned pregnancy potentially from an assault and rape? What kind of person thinks like that? What kind of State, Country or Government can say that you should get a rape insurance plan?


In other news the state of Texas passed legislation that requires a sonogram for women seeking an abortion. Should the women decline to view the sonogram the image can be described to her.

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, who had tried to pass the bill in previous sessions stated that God was finally ready for its passage. It's also nice to know that women can count on the separation of church and state. State Rep. Patrick also said, “Standing for life is not a partisan issue. It’s a God issue.”

Great. I feel better already.

Talking to my Dad (or Slut Parade Walk FAQ's)

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Guttmacher Institute

The Guttmacher Institute focuses on providing factual evidence and sound research on sexual and reproductive health issues. They focus on the abortion debate being placed in the proper context of closely related issues like unintended pregnancy, contraceptive use and sex education.

The Institute has just released an educational video describing the facts behind who has abortions in the US.

Take a look