I Am A Woman, Hear Me Roar

I first started taking birth control my senior year of high school, which would mean that I have been on it for almost 5 years.  It wasn’t until I took a course on women’s health issues my spring semester of my junior year, that I gathered a complete knowledge of exactly what birth control does for a woman’s body.  Sad right?  Yes, I readily admit that I was ignorant and should have made sure that I knew exactly what I was putting in my body.  But this one class period in general was mind-blowing because we learned about all the different types of contraceptive methods, which I don’t know about you, but my high school health class wasn’t passing around diaphragms and NuvaRings.

In my defense, I feel like it’s common knowledge that young women generally go on the pill, rather than other forms of birth control, for 3 reasons: to lessen the chances of pregnancy, clear up worse than normal acne or regulation and relief of the menstrual cycle.  Granted I was mainly on it to regulate my period but I never asked nor was I informed on how this miracle pill did all that it can do.  I know from talking to many of my friends, female and male, that I wasn’t the only one that was living in the dark.

Links Round-Up

This week at ShoutOut!:

shieldkt saw this on fbomb blog. This caught my attention because she thought it was so insane that somewhere else in the world is having worse trouble with eating disorders then the US.

devystation says that  Beyonce can get away with ALMOST anything….

ElFeminissto found this post on Secretary of Defense’s decision to lift the ban on women serving in combat. He thought this article was an interesting take on the situation of young women’s desire to fight for our country, because it pairing it with the real l the life account of Sarah Edmonds, who disguised herself as a man during the Civil War to do more than she would as a nurse.

Links Round-Up

This week:

Jgrand50 saw that CNN pulled a report that investigated the effect of ovulation on women voting. Luckily, we all were spared the craizness. On a related note, Obama (smartly) continues to push against Rebulicans on women’s issues. His recent speaches attack Richard Murdock’s disgusting comments about rape.

Femistorian wants you all to watch this amazing video featuring some awesome female celebs, sending Mitt Romney a very clear message:

And, since she was just in Maine, she recommends checking out this great poster set from the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

Visionsofourfuture saw that a Missouri pastor’s speech on gay rights from a City Council meeting in August has recently gone viral. What seems to start out as an anti-gay rights speech, takes a surprise turn when the speech’s true intention is exposed through the true intention of the speech: to highlight the bigotry perpetuated by those who oppose equality.

Feminist Roots: Know Your Local Feminist!

As usual it is Sunday night in Harrisonburg and Rachelle Rucker and I are at the Blue Nile sopping up unpronounceable Ethiopian dishes with injera bread and talking about abortion laws, and, as usual, the table next to us has started staring. It must be an unusual sight – two young women engaging in feminist conversation over dinner, but it is a common factor that has kept our friendship alive for the past two years.

When I met Rachelle I never thought I would be writing a blog about her. She was that shy girl in class, the one you know has great things to say but denies the world by keeping them to herself. As a JMU student and Harrisonburg native, Rachelle inhabits the cross-section of the cities demographic, providing her with a unique view of feminism in this area. Not only does she have feminist roots of her own to share, but she has helped me develop and keep mine alive, watering them through daily conversation.

Sick and Tired [TW: Racism, Rape, Homophobia]

Maybe it’s because I’ve been beyond stressed out lately. Maybe it’s because I haven’t slept much in the last week. Maybe it’s because I’m struggling to juggle a full-time job, a full course load, and still maintain some kind of social life.

Whatever the reason is, I am sick and tired of being a feminist. I’m tired of constantly defending myself, of trying to explain things. Like all of this:

I am tired of female politicians getting asked silly, vapid questions. As if who your favorite designer is has ANY impact on your ability to lead.

I know that feel, Hil.

I am tired of having to walk down the quad after class and listen to a group of fraternity brothers refer to people as “fags,” as if being LGBTQ is an insult.

I am tired of hearing my male friends complain about being “friendzoned.” I am tired of the idea that just because you are nice to a girl and give her a shoulder to lean on, she should automatically fall in love with you and/or enter into a sexual relationship with you.

Clearly your logic is perfect.

I’m sick and tired of listening to male politicians trying to make decisions about MY body. I’m tired of people like Paul Ryan, the VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE of the Republican Party, trying to argue that RAPE is a form of conception.

I’m tired of not being able to have a conversation about poverty in America without someone bringing up “welfare queens.” Just like Melissa Harris-Perry, I am sick of hearing that poor people are lazy, that they don’t work hard, that single mothers struggling to make ends meet just want to suck on the government tit.

I’m tired of telling people that I write and edit for a feminist blog and getting looks of disdain and dismissal. I’m tired of people assuming anything about me or my sexuality because I’m a feminist. I’m tired of being told that I make a big deal out of “stupid” things. I’m tired of being told to learn to take a joke. I’m tired of my very righteous anger being dismissed as the rantings of a silly young person who will calm down once she’s out of school.

Pro-Life Apparently Also Means Pro-Firebombing

Image via.

Everyone remember the transvaginal ultrasound state-rape law that was proposed in Virginia before an amended version was passed? Well, Texas has one of those laws on the books right now. It’s been the subject of several rallies and protests over the past few weeks because it’s invasive, unnecessary, and a violation of the bodies of people seeking abortions. Wendy Davis is a Democratic state senator from Texas, an outspoken advocate of Planned Parenthood who recently attended one of those rallies opposing anti-choice attacks on reproductive rights and justice.

This afternoon, her office was firebombed. Incredibly, no one was injured in the firebombing. If they had been, it wouldn’t have been the first time that someone was harmed or died due to anti-choice violence. You can go ahead and say that I’m making a leap, assuming that this is motivated by anti-choice politics, but I don’t really think it is. You see, anti-choice politicians don’t really find themselves getting firebombed, do they? This violence typically comes from one side of the issue. So we won’t know the exact motivations until the suspect is caught (if they are caught), but given a pattern of anti-choice violence I’m about to discuss I don’t think anyone would be surprised if the firebombing was over abortion rights.

Breaking News: “Personhood” Bill Sent Back to Committee

Just a quick news update, the Personhood bill was sent back to committee by the Virginia Senate for the year, effectively killing it for this legislative session. So, you know, we’ll have to worry about it again in the future, but for now, this is quite a victory! YAY!

A Simple Request for Republican Lawmakers

Image via Common Sense Atheism. 

[Trigger warning: Discussion of misuse of the word rape and the transvaginal ultrasounds bill].

So I have a request to all Republican politicians currently talking about and actively restricting women’s reproductive rights and health. It’s a pretty simple request, I think. Here goes: if you don’t fucking know all the facts about an issue do not spout off your ill-informed opinion about it, and absolutely do not draft or introduce or pass legislation about it.

If you are going to do these things anyway, please know the consequences of your actions and don’t feign ignorance when asked the tough questions because people find your legislation to be unacceptable.

Specifically, I am talking about Delegate Bob Marshall, the author of H.B. 1, Virginia’s Personhood bill. You see, Mr. Marshall seems to have no idea what his piece of legislation would actually do, or he’s faking unawareness of the consequences to avoid opprobrium from the public. Either way, it’s not okay, and especially not from an elected official supposedly representing the white, straight, cismen people of Virginia.

The Rhetoric of the Anti-Choice Movement and Why I Have a Problem With It

With the recent news of the Virginia House passing a personhood bill and a mandatory transvaginal ultrasound bill, I’ve found myself searching for anyone who supports these measures. In my search, I turned to pro-life blogs and news articles that discussed these issues or the issue of abortion in general. While reading, I was becoming increasingly frustrated with the misleading rhetoric that the authors built upon to make their points. So, I’ve decided to highlight some phrases that I’ve come across and explain exactly why I think they are so dangerously misleading.

“Pro-Life”: The very term used to describe a person who favors the illegalization of abortion in the U.S. is unfair and deceptive. This implies that anyone with a dissenting view is, of course, anti-life. The fact still remains that a fetus is not considered a living, breathing human being. Therefore, aborting it does not mean taking away its life. Furthermore, those who don’t call themselves “pro-life” certainly don’t advocate abortions for everyone. It’s not an all-or-nothing attitude. Pro-choice doesn’t mean pro-abortion; many pro-choice women have never and will never have one, themselves. They simply recognize that their decision is exactly that: a personal choice, and one that they don’t assume they can make for another person.

Talking Points to Use When Calling Gov. McDonnell

The bill mandating transvaginal ultrasounds is on its way to Governor McDonnell’s desk, and given his political beliefs and the fact that he’s gunning to be picked as vice president on the Republican ticket, there’s a good chance he’s going to sign it. (He’s already said he will). Also, you can check out this quick hit from the 14th if you need more information about what’s going on.

So call the governor and tell him that this is not okay, and that Virginia residents and his constituents will not stand for this bill. So we’ve written up some tips for you, when you decide to call him (and really, he deserves to be inundated with calls about this).

The number for his office is: (804) 786-2211. You can also email him at his official website.

Tips for calling the governor:

Make sure you say what you’re calling about – you are calling in regards to the bill mandating transvaginal ultrasounds for women who are seeking abortion.

Be concise and to the point – what does this law mean for you, specifically? (like, “This would be an invasion of my right to privacy and my right to an abortion”).

Say why you’re against it – it’s medically unnecessary, harmful to women, is a complete and utter violation of a woman’s body, is not cost effective, etc.

Give the exact action you want the governor to do – veto this bill.

Try and remain calm – you may want to call him and the Virginia GOP a bunch of stupid fuckers, but it’s for the best to save that for your blog.