One of my earliest blog entries talked about Crisis Pregnancy Centers, The Clinic Across the Street. I'd like to say that in the last year and a half a lot has changed but unfortunately that is not the case.
Crisis Pregnancy Center's (or CPC's) are defined by Naral Pro-Choice Massachusetts as being centers or clinics which (1) purport to provide education and counseling services and free or fee-based pregnancy-related services such as pregnancy tests and ultra sounds, (2) provide misleading, incomplete, or proven-to-be-false information related to sexuality, abortion, abortion-related risks, and birth control, and (3) will not perform abortions or provide abortion referrals.
In my city we have a CPC not to far from where I grew up. There is a neon sign hang up in the front window advertising "Free Pregnancy Tests"- it isn't a health center and if you are aware of CPC's you would probably come to the conclusion that this is one after spending a few moments on their web site. Some key clues to this is they do not mention abortion except in the case of "post-abortion support." The counseling they offer includes the term "spiritual" and they include abstinence education in their list of resources as well as free maternity and baby clothes. Naral Pro-Choice has a campaign geared towards exposing CPC's. Follow the link above to go to there main page on CPC's.
Women who end up in CPC's are lied to and intimidated into being convinced that they should continue their pregnancies no matter what. In any and all circumstances. If you watch the first video clip on the page above you can hear a training from anti-choice activist Abby Johnson instructing CPC workers on how to get women into their centers by giving the impression that they are entering an abortion clinic. Johnson states "We want to appear neutral on the outside. The best call, the best client you could ever get is one that THINKS they're walking into an abortion clinic." If this isn't deception, I don't know what is. Other comments by Johnson indicates that the goal of CPC's is to deceive women into thinking that they are being given advice from professionals and or medically trained and licensed individuals- "We want to look professional. We want to look business like and yeah we do, we do kinda want to look medical." Johnson goes on to explain how the staffers of CPC's should offer free ultrasounds to women who call asking if the centers provide abortion services because in order to obtain an abortion they will have to get an ultrasound anyway as part of the process. Once the women come into the centers they are then further manipulated into thinking they are receiving medically accurate information.
Another video shows a women entering a CPC in Louisville, KY. for information about her options and how she is given completely false information. A few examples: "I can tell you that everybody that has done it (had an abortion) has regretted it."
"It can make you infertile."
The counselor tells the young women "her own" story and how she cannot have children now because of her abortion. She says, "What happened to me is they did it. And it, and the fetus was still inside of me and they had to do it again." When the women asks her if this happens a lot she replies, "It can happen. It's very common."
The worst part about CPC's is that they feel that their manipulation and coercive techniques are entirely justifiable. That they are blatantly lying to women is not their concern. Women who enter these centers are not independent autonomous human beings to the people who staff these places- they are simply impregnated women who cannot be trusted to be given accurate information so that they may make their own decisions. The health and well being of the mother is not something that is of concern. The greater mission of CPC's is forcing their beliefs and values on everyone who enters the centers by whatever means necessary; including giving completely false and often damaging "information" to women who are often in vulnerable positions and just want to be told the truth.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Steubenville Ohio Keeps Coach on Team
Wonder how important high school football is to Steubenville, Ohio?
While the two football players accused of Rape were found guilty it seems that the teams Coach was signed on to another 2 years.
Bitch Magazine
Atlantic Wire
While the two football players accused of Rape were found guilty it seems that the teams Coach was signed on to another 2 years.
Bitch Magazine
Atlantic Wire
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Texts From Hillary Wins Tumblr of the Year!
If you haven't experienced Texts from Hillary I strongly suggest that you check it out asap.
Texts from Hillary won Tumblr of the Year as decided by The Shorty Awards
The creators of the Texts from Hillary site Stacey Lambe and Adam Smith said: "Thanks to everyone for their endorsement of our future jobs on Hillary's 2016 campaign."
Here's hoping!
Texts from Hillary won Tumblr of the Year as decided by The Shorty Awards
The creators of the Texts from Hillary site Stacey Lambe and Adam Smith said: "Thanks to everyone for their endorsement of our future jobs on Hillary's 2016 campaign."
Here's hoping!
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Hollaback! Again (or This Time There's Pictures)
I wrote about the anti-street harassment organization Hollaback forever ago in one of my first posts (CLICK HERE).
The group Hollaback Philly has recently succeeded in raising $7,000 to fund a new comic book. Bitch.com reports that the comics creator "Erin Filson wrote and illustrated the book that follows three main characters, each of whom has their own color that's used only on their pages of the story. Two girls who get harassed are red and yellow, and the comic also follows a boy in blue who learns how to be a proactive bystander."
The Hollaback Philly blog has a ton of information on women and comic books on their site and you can follow the whole campaign from the beginning.
The harassment of women is not a rarity at Comic Cons and the group will be selling the book at the one in San Diego. Check out this video from the "reality" show Comic book Men. It is a compilation of the shows most blatant sexist repertoire and it ain't pretty DC WOMEN KICKING ASS.
The group Hollaback Philly has recently succeeded in raising $7,000 to fund a new comic book. Bitch.com reports that the comics creator "Erin Filson wrote and illustrated the book that follows three main characters, each of whom has their own color that's used only on their pages of the story. Two girls who get harassed are red and yellow, and the comic also follows a boy in blue who learns how to be a proactive bystander."
The Hollaback Philly blog has a ton of information on women and comic books on their site and you can follow the whole campaign from the beginning.
The harassment of women is not a rarity at Comic Cons and the group will be selling the book at the one in San Diego. Check out this video from the "reality" show Comic book Men. It is a compilation of the shows most blatant sexist repertoire and it ain't pretty DC WOMEN KICKING ASS.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Sympathetic Perpetrators in Steubenville, Ohio.
UPDATE ON STEUBENVILLE OHIO
Click on the link above for my first post on Steubenville. I strongly recommend reading it first.
The two high school students accused of raping a sixteen year old in Steubenville, Ohio were found guilty in a juvenile court yesterday. The judge found that both boys used their fingers to penetrate the girl while she was so drunk that she lacked the cognitive ability to give her consent for sex. A picture that was circulated among classmates later that day showed the victim naked and passed out. The use of text messaging, twitter, you tube and other social media outlets by teens who witnessed the events made national news and exposed the chilling reality that no one who saw what was going on tried to do anything to help the victim. Steubenville Ohio's Big Red football team also found itself coming under a microscope when it was revealed that the players were attending a party at one of the assistant coaches the evening on the assault and that the players often received preferential treatment and were hailed as local celebrities in the small economically depressed Ohio town.
The most disturbing part of the after math of the verdicts has been the way that certain media outlets have chosen to respond so sympathetically to the perpetrators. CNN took to the air openly grieving about the verdict ruining the "promising" lives of Ma'lik Raymond and Trent Mays. Richmond (16) received a one year sentence and Mays (17) received a two year sentence. They could both be held until the age of 21 under the discretion of the State Dept. of Youth Services.
CNN's Poppy Harlow started off reporting the verdict and stated that it was "incredibly difficult even for an outsider like me to watch what happened as these two young men that had such promising futures, star football players, very good students, literally watched as they believe their life fell apart."
CNN's Candy Crowley said nothing about the victim and after stressing the difficult and emotional displays by the two boys after the verdict was read. She asked the asinine question: “What’s the lasting effect though on two young men being found guilty juvenile court of rape essentially?”
She clearly isn't asking about the effects the verdict has on the victim. She tries to minimize the situation entirely as if the court should have told the two boys not to do it again and let them off the hook. These boys acted deplorably and no one should've ever tried to make excuses for their actions. Not the town, the school, the coaches, the media- no one. These boys acted on their own accord and if their "promising lives" are "ruined" they have only themselves to blame. This girl was friends with these boys- this is how they treated a friend.
Crowley isn't the only one who saw fit to sympathize with the two boys- before the trial began, Good Morning America featured a story on the case focusing on all of the facts you "haven't heard" and it basically retells the whole story with plenty of attention paid to the "honors student" Mays and wrong-side-of-the-tracks Richmond. The piece ends on a sympathetic note, almost bemoaning the fact that the two teens "face incarceration in a detention center until their 21st birthdays and the almost-certain demise of their dreams of playing football."The Atlantic Wire.
But back to CNN- Crowley sets a dangerous tone in her sympathizing with the rapists and then goes even further by throwing out the assumption that holding the boys responsible for their actions is just silly. Why even punish these boys at all? They are young football players and this messy incident shouldn't follow them into their adult lives. She asks: What are the lasting effects?
Perhaps the next time they are "partying" they will opt not to sexually assault anyone.
Perhaps being registered sex offenders will prevent other women from being raped when these boys are let out of.
Perhaps other teenage boys will see that the legal system will hold them responsible for their actions and choose not to grossly and indecently engage in illegal sex acts with incapacitated friends and take pictures of it.
So why is it so sad to CNN and others that these boys are being held responsible for their actions? Is it because the young women was drunk and therefore partially responsible for being paraded around naked and photographed? Is it because football is so valuable in this society and victim blaming so prevalent that we can't stand to see such fine specimens/athletes being black listed at such a young age by an intoxicated teenager? Or is it because the incident could have been prevented if someone had the courage to call attention to and stop the attack from the onset? Their are many more guilty parties involved here then Trent Mays and Ma'Lik Richmond and the lasting effects we should be talking about is how to stop the type of behavior that facilitated the horrible events to occur in the first place.
Click on the link above for my first post on Steubenville. I strongly recommend reading it first.
The two high school students accused of raping a sixteen year old in Steubenville, Ohio were found guilty in a juvenile court yesterday. The judge found that both boys used their fingers to penetrate the girl while she was so drunk that she lacked the cognitive ability to give her consent for sex. A picture that was circulated among classmates later that day showed the victim naked and passed out. The use of text messaging, twitter, you tube and other social media outlets by teens who witnessed the events made national news and exposed the chilling reality that no one who saw what was going on tried to do anything to help the victim. Steubenville Ohio's Big Red football team also found itself coming under a microscope when it was revealed that the players were attending a party at one of the assistant coaches the evening on the assault and that the players often received preferential treatment and were hailed as local celebrities in the small economically depressed Ohio town.
The most disturbing part of the after math of the verdicts has been the way that certain media outlets have chosen to respond so sympathetically to the perpetrators. CNN took to the air openly grieving about the verdict ruining the "promising" lives of Ma'lik Raymond and Trent Mays. Richmond (16) received a one year sentence and Mays (17) received a two year sentence. They could both be held until the age of 21 under the discretion of the State Dept. of Youth Services.
CNN's Poppy Harlow started off reporting the verdict and stated that it was "incredibly difficult even for an outsider like me to watch what happened as these two young men that had such promising futures, star football players, very good students, literally watched as they believe their life fell apart."
CNN's Candy Crowley said nothing about the victim and after stressing the difficult and emotional displays by the two boys after the verdict was read. She asked the asinine question: “What’s the lasting effect though on two young men being found guilty juvenile court of rape essentially?”
She clearly isn't asking about the effects the verdict has on the victim. She tries to minimize the situation entirely as if the court should have told the two boys not to do it again and let them off the hook. These boys acted deplorably and no one should've ever tried to make excuses for their actions. Not the town, the school, the coaches, the media- no one. These boys acted on their own accord and if their "promising lives" are "ruined" they have only themselves to blame. This girl was friends with these boys- this is how they treated a friend.
Crowley isn't the only one who saw fit to sympathize with the two boys- before the trial began, Good Morning America featured a story on the case focusing on all of the facts you "haven't heard" and it basically retells the whole story with plenty of attention paid to the "honors student" Mays and wrong-side-of-the-tracks Richmond. The piece ends on a sympathetic note, almost bemoaning the fact that the two teens "face incarceration in a detention center until their 21st birthdays and the almost-certain demise of their dreams of playing football."The Atlantic Wire.
But back to CNN- Crowley sets a dangerous tone in her sympathizing with the rapists and then goes even further by throwing out the assumption that holding the boys responsible for their actions is just silly. Why even punish these boys at all? They are young football players and this messy incident shouldn't follow them into their adult lives. She asks: What are the lasting effects?
Perhaps the next time they are "partying" they will opt not to sexually assault anyone.
Perhaps being registered sex offenders will prevent other women from being raped when these boys are let out of.
Perhaps other teenage boys will see that the legal system will hold them responsible for their actions and choose not to grossly and indecently engage in illegal sex acts with incapacitated friends and take pictures of it.
So why is it so sad to CNN and others that these boys are being held responsible for their actions? Is it because the young women was drunk and therefore partially responsible for being paraded around naked and photographed? Is it because football is so valuable in this society and victim blaming so prevalent that we can't stand to see such fine specimens/athletes being black listed at such a young age by an intoxicated teenager? Or is it because the incident could have been prevented if someone had the courage to call attention to and stop the attack from the onset? Their are many more guilty parties involved here then Trent Mays and Ma'Lik Richmond and the lasting effects we should be talking about is how to stop the type of behavior that facilitated the horrible events to occur in the first place.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
12 Weeks in Arkansas
It's official all right, the state of Arkansas now has the most restrictive abortion law- allowing abortions until only the 12th week of pregnancy. This policy goes into effect in 90 days and will hopefully be ruled as unconstitutional as the federal law allows abortions into the 24th week or until the fetus is viable outside of the womb.
Governor Mike Bebe vetoed the law citing its blatant unconstitutionality but his veto was overridden in the states house.
NPR
New York Times
Governor Mike Bebe vetoed the law citing its blatant unconstitutionality but his veto was overridden in the states house.
NPR
New York Times
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The Onion Goes Too Far (or The C Word)
I'm not a fan of the word Cunt.
Inga Musico wrote a book in 1998 called Cunt: A Declaration of Independence. I hated it. That's another blog topic.
This Sunday, satirical masters at the Onion put out a tweet calling the 9 year old Best Actress Nominee Quvenzhane Wallis a Cunt. The tweet read, in part: "Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhane Wallis is kind of a ... "
Calling a 9 year old girl a cunt isn't funny. Where is the satire in that?
The post was removed an hour later and The Onion issued an apology.
Wendell Pierce called for The Onion to identify the author of the tweet- "Let him defend that abhorrent verbal attack on a child. You call it humor I call it horrendous."
For a really great response to this inexplicable tweet check out this post from Bitch Media contributor T.F. Charlton.
The Onion's hurtful Tweet
Inga Musico wrote a book in 1998 called Cunt: A Declaration of Independence. I hated it. That's another blog topic.
This Sunday, satirical masters at the Onion put out a tweet calling the 9 year old Best Actress Nominee Quvenzhane Wallis a Cunt. The tweet read, in part: "Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhane Wallis is kind of a ... "
Calling a 9 year old girl a cunt isn't funny. Where is the satire in that?
The post was removed an hour later and The Onion issued an apology.
Wendell Pierce called for The Onion to identify the author of the tweet- "Let him defend that abhorrent verbal attack on a child. You call it humor I call it horrendous."
For a really great response to this inexplicable tweet check out this post from Bitch Media contributor T.F. Charlton.
The Onion's hurtful Tweet
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
I Heart Bitch Magazine
There's nothing like a new issue of Bitch Magazine to get rid of my bloggers block. Trust me, it isn't that there aren't enough topics out there- more like there are SO many topics that deserve SO much critical analysis that some of them can be too daunting for me to take on when I'm trying to maintain new posts weekly and give every subject the justice it deserves.
Bitch: A Feminist Response to Pop Culture has been around for awhile now. The first issue was published in 1996! As the tag line says the magazine focuses on the way women are being portrayed in the media RIGHT NOW. With the overwhelming amount of issues effecting women- Bitch offers a crucial perspective from the very individuals experiencing them through media outlets. My personal favorite is the books section. Some titles from this new issue: Hip Hop Apsara:Ghosts Past and Present by Anne Elizabeth Moore, After Pornified: How Women are Transforming Pornography and Why it Really Matters by Anne G Sabo and Israel/Palestine And the Queer International by Sarah Schulman.
I suggest joining their "Bee Hive" and giving them a $10-$15 monthly contribution- you get the year free (4 issues) and you are supporting Feminist media!
CHECK IT OUT
Bitch: A Feminist Response to Pop Culture has been around for awhile now. The first issue was published in 1996! As the tag line says the magazine focuses on the way women are being portrayed in the media RIGHT NOW. With the overwhelming amount of issues effecting women- Bitch offers a crucial perspective from the very individuals experiencing them through media outlets. My personal favorite is the books section. Some titles from this new issue: Hip Hop Apsara:Ghosts Past and Present by Anne Elizabeth Moore, After Pornified: How Women are Transforming Pornography and Why it Really Matters by Anne G Sabo and Israel/Palestine And the Queer International by Sarah Schulman.
I suggest joining their "Bee Hive" and giving them a $10-$15 monthly contribution- you get the year free (4 issues) and you are supporting Feminist media!
CHECK IT OUT
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
I'm Your Present (or Cuts of Meat Dress)
Well it's almost Valentines Day. Those of you with significant others may very well be scrambling to come up with something to give your sweetheart. I can't tell you what a Feminist wants for Valentines Day (you should probably just ask her) BUT, I thought this would be the perfect time to share something I stumbled upon recently that would not make a good Valentines gift.
I do a lot of collages so I am constantly going through old magazines to cut out pictures and the like. While flipping through an old issue of Bust magazine, something in the advertising section jumped out at me. It's called "Cuts of Meat Dress (available in many different colors). Pretty self explanatory. At first I thought that maybe I was missing something about the product that could make my initial reaction of disgust a moot point. But I wasn't and so it didn't. I logged on to Etsy to check out the sellers shop and get a better feel for the space that houses this cut of meat dress. The store/seller is called imyourpresent which I thought was fitting.
I honestly don't get why anyone would want to own this dress. I don't think it's funny or bold or that it makes a statement. At incrediblethings.com the dress is reviewed by Jenni Chasteen who says "The Creme Cuts of Meat dress lets you show off your rack and rump while making a bold (albeit funny) statement that you’re more than just the sum of your parts."
Does it? I don't see how.
One women posted this on her pinterest page under "Things I'm not too fond of."
I'm truly surprised that so many women seem to think that it's a great piece of clothing to wear. I mean- out in public. One recent buyer posted in the feedback: "I now have 3 versions of this dress. I love it so much!"
Not surprisingly the website Meat,Beer and Babes describes the dress like this- "Perfect for the guy who wants a certain piece of meat. The dress is made from light pink jersey and printed with a candy pink shade of ink."
I immediately thought of the post I wrote last Fall entitled Porno For PETA.
Take a look at a PETA campaign ad from several years back here. We can go into the horribleness that is PETA's sexist advertising more another time but think on it for a second while I make my point.
Labeling women's bodies as if they are cuts of meat is gross. It feeds into the dangerous stereotype that women are animalistic beings rather than human beings. What PETA's ad tries to do is make the viewer have an Aha! moment connecting animal meat with women's bodies- seeing how wrong it is to eat our fellow animal and thus has the viewer vowing to never eat another cheeseburger again. But does it have this effect? More likely the viewer is geared towards pairing meat/eating meat with sex and we all know how well sex sells. Diagram a mans body into cuts of meat and the effect changes.
I can't resist- to further disgust yourself with PETA's hatred of human female animals click here.
In conclusion, I have to give this dress a definite thumbs down. Women don't need help isolating and exploiting their "racks, rumps, ribs or shanks"- we already have plenty of that going on without dressing the part for it.
I do a lot of collages so I am constantly going through old magazines to cut out pictures and the like. While flipping through an old issue of Bust magazine, something in the advertising section jumped out at me. It's called "Cuts of Meat Dress (available in many different colors). Pretty self explanatory. At first I thought that maybe I was missing something about the product that could make my initial reaction of disgust a moot point. But I wasn't and so it didn't. I logged on to Etsy to check out the sellers shop and get a better feel for the space that houses this cut of meat dress. The store/seller is called imyourpresent which I thought was fitting.
I honestly don't get why anyone would want to own this dress. I don't think it's funny or bold or that it makes a statement. At incrediblethings.com the dress is reviewed by Jenni Chasteen who says "The Creme Cuts of Meat dress lets you show off your rack and rump while making a bold (albeit funny) statement that you’re more than just the sum of your parts."
Does it? I don't see how.
One women posted this on her pinterest page under "Things I'm not too fond of."
I'm truly surprised that so many women seem to think that it's a great piece of clothing to wear. I mean- out in public. One recent buyer posted in the feedback: "I now have 3 versions of this dress. I love it so much!"
Not surprisingly the website Meat,Beer and Babes describes the dress like this- "Perfect for the guy who wants a certain piece of meat. The dress is made from light pink jersey and printed with a candy pink shade of ink."
I immediately thought of the post I wrote last Fall entitled Porno For PETA.
Take a look at a PETA campaign ad from several years back here. We can go into the horribleness that is PETA's sexist advertising more another time but think on it for a second while I make my point.
Labeling women's bodies as if they are cuts of meat is gross. It feeds into the dangerous stereotype that women are animalistic beings rather than human beings. What PETA's ad tries to do is make the viewer have an Aha! moment connecting animal meat with women's bodies- seeing how wrong it is to eat our fellow animal and thus has the viewer vowing to never eat another cheeseburger again. But does it have this effect? More likely the viewer is geared towards pairing meat/eating meat with sex and we all know how well sex sells. Diagram a mans body into cuts of meat and the effect changes.
I can't resist- to further disgust yourself with PETA's hatred of human female animals click here.
In conclusion, I have to give this dress a definite thumbs down. Women don't need help isolating and exploiting their "racks, rumps, ribs or shanks"- we already have plenty of that going on without dressing the part for it.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Roe v. Wade Turns Forty
Today marks the fortieth anniversary of the US Supreme Courts ruling on the case of Roe v. Wade.
The good news is that a recent poll by NBC/WSJ shows that the majority of Americans think that abortion should remain legal. This Washington Post article discusses the finer points of the poll which contains many interesting findings. One in particular that struck a chord with me was the majority of those under 30 did not know what Roe was about. A disappointing reality for certain but this does show the prevalence of the court case diminishing as time goes on. This could be a positive indication that the time when abortion was not legal is becoming less and less of a reality. Of course I am reminded of that tricky phrase about those not learning from the past being doomed to repeat it.
Another important point is that 74% of those who support overturning Roe v. Wade ranked the issue as critical where as only 31% of Roe supporters called the issue critical. This demonstrates the intensity of anti-choice supporters and how fiercely they feel towards the case of Roe v. Wade even after 40 years.
The work ahead is clearly about keeping abortion not only legal but actually available to women. More and more restrictions are being put in place to prevent those women who seek the procedure from obtaining them without enormous obstacles.
For anyone wanting to learn more about the landmark victory for women in the case of Roe v. Wade, I strongly encourage you to read Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars by Cynthia Gorney. There is no other text that puts forth a truly unbiased occurrence of the years leading up to and immediately following the case of Roe v. Wade.
The good news is that a recent poll by NBC/WSJ shows that the majority of Americans think that abortion should remain legal. This Washington Post article discusses the finer points of the poll which contains many interesting findings. One in particular that struck a chord with me was the majority of those under 30 did not know what Roe was about. A disappointing reality for certain but this does show the prevalence of the court case diminishing as time goes on. This could be a positive indication that the time when abortion was not legal is becoming less and less of a reality. Of course I am reminded of that tricky phrase about those not learning from the past being doomed to repeat it.
Another important point is that 74% of those who support overturning Roe v. Wade ranked the issue as critical where as only 31% of Roe supporters called the issue critical. This demonstrates the intensity of anti-choice supporters and how fiercely they feel towards the case of Roe v. Wade even after 40 years.
The work ahead is clearly about keeping abortion not only legal but actually available to women. More and more restrictions are being put in place to prevent those women who seek the procedure from obtaining them without enormous obstacles.
For anyone wanting to learn more about the landmark victory for women in the case of Roe v. Wade, I strongly encourage you to read Articles of Faith: A Frontline History of the Abortion Wars by Cynthia Gorney. There is no other text that puts forth a truly unbiased occurrence of the years leading up to and immediately following the case of Roe v. Wade.
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