College Feminists Connect!

PBS Documentary "Makers: Women Who Make America" Thoughts and Criticism

I finally got to watch PBS' new documentary charting the women's rights movement in America (thanks PBS for posting the entire 3 hour film online for us to enjoy here).  As much as I (someone majoring in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) or anyone else may know about the eruption of second wave feminism in the 1960s and 70s, it is still powerful to reflect on these histories.  The film does a great job of featuring countless interviews with men and women, including people involved in organizations that countered feminist movements (pro-life activists, anti-ERA activists, etc).  It is impossible to feature every aspect of a social movement, especially one as far-reaching and revolutionary as the women's liberation movement - which affected men, women, children, the economy, popular culture, law, education policies, labor rights, etc.  However, I was a bit disappointed with the gentle highlight of women of color and their response to the second wave, which I think could have been better handled; especially considering that these fierce conversations between women of color feminisms and tradtionally white, middle-class feminism are what brought on the third wave.  As many others have recognized, I also wish that the film had ventured into the late 1990s up until now, with young feminist movements and their utilization of the Internet (hello!).  Perhaps they will continue making segments of "Makers," and continue this story, but for now, here are some articles and reviews that I find critical to the film:

Women Leaders: Meet Julia Gillard

Julia Gillard is the current Prime Minister of Australia. She is not only the first female Prime Minister, but also the the first female Leader of the Labor Party. She is unmarried and has no children, but lives with her male partner. She also identifies as atheist, but not anti-religious.

via Wikimedia Commons

 

Some of Julia's policies:

She is working to improve healthcare by increasing placements for medical students and increasing the number of scholarships for nursing students. She also negotiated a $1.8 billion package to help fund rural hospitals during her re-election.

She is a big proponent for off-shore processing of asylum seekers.

She highly values education. She extended tax-cuts to parents to help them pay for their children's school uniforms and has developed a website where parents can view statistics about the schools their children attend.

While she is personally opposed to a carbon tax, in order to attain Green Party support she passed a fixed-price carbon tax, along with a Clean Energy Bill in 2011.

She has supported the United States involvement in the War in Afghanistan with Australian troops as well as a personal visit to oppose the country becoming a haven for terrorists.

She supports the right to legal abortion.

She does not support same-sex marriage.

Show Your Breasts Some Love!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

 

via 

Magickal Graphics

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the United States other than skin cancer, and the second leading cause of cancerous deaths. While rare, breast cancer also appears in men. In 2012, it is projected that about 227,000 women and about 2,200 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States alone.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure recommends breast self-exams every month starting by age 20. Komen also recommends women in their 40s and older have mammograms every 1 or 2 years, & women who are younger than 40 with risk factors for breast cancer speak with their healthcare provider about whether and how often to have mammograms.

 

Pro-Choice Night: The Changing Landscape of Reproductive & Sexual Healthcare

College Feminists Connect is proud to be part of this event! We hope to see you there. 

Hamline University, Kay Fredericks Ballroom, Klas Center (1537 Taylor Avenue)

Reproductive Rights are Important? REALLY?

While the constant battles over reproductive rights might bring us down, let this SNL clip brighten your day. Condoms rock. -Jen Kaltveit

 

 

Respecting Sex Work

There’s a great article up at The Guardian right now about sex workers and the idea that when a man is patronizing a sex worker he is “buying her”. The article points out that in fact many people use their bodies for their work, but that we don’t consider them to be selling themselves. Similarly, it argues that we should accept that sex workers may use their bodies for their work, but that is not inherently demeaning, nor does it mean that they themselves are being bought and sold.

I personally find the topic of sex work to be a difficult one. I often find it hard to understand how a woman could allow someone to buy sex from her without feeling as if she is demeaned or as if her body is objectified, and those are both things that I aim to stop (demeaning and objectification of women). However I also realize that many women within the sex industry have used the only means available to them to be able to retain financial independence, and that some women find it empowering or practical. This article is a good reminder of the positives of sex work, which are often forgotten amidst guttural reactions against the business. I don’t want to advance any position about the inherent goodness or badness of sex work here, but I hope this article might open up some discussions. How can we challenge our stereotypes of sex workers? Is it empowering to be able to control your own future, or is it demeaning to sell your body? Should we be working to end prostitution? Should prostitution be illegal? I’d love to hear thoughts in comments.

--Olivia

Highlights: Catch Up on This Week's News

 

"GOP Vows Congressional Action to Overturn Obama Administration Decision on Birth Control"

Republicans vowed Wednesday to reverse President Barack Obama's new policy on birth control, lambasting the rule that religious schools and hospitals must provide contraceptive coverage for their employees as an "unambiguous attack on religious freedom in our country." For the full story visit StarTribune

 

"Score One For Marriage Rights - Federal Court Strikes Down Prop 8"

The Ninth Circuit Court recently ruled Proposition 8- which made same-sex marriage illegal- as unconstitutional. One more step towards marriage equality.  Read more on the Ms. Magazine Blog

 

"Federal Judge Says He Can't Block Texas Sonogram Law, Says Higher Court Forced Ruling"

On Monday, a Federal judge upheld the Texas law requiring women to have a sonogram before having an abortion. The law requires doctors to show women images from sonograms, play fetal heartbeats and describe the features of the fetus at least 24 hours before the operation. Find the full story at the StarTribune

 

"Komen Foundation Struggle to Lure Back Donors"

After announcing that it would withdraw funding from Planned Parenthood screening programs last week, and then reversing the decision, the foundation is now left with the challenge of restoring its image and gaining back much needed supporters and donors. Check out the story on MPR News

 

"Still Fighting for Women in Combat"

The Department of Defense recently released a statement recommending that women be allowed to serve closer to the front lines yet still advises that women be barred from ground combat. For the full story visit Ms. Magazine Blog 

Blue Waffles: Perpetuating the 'Vagina of the Patriarchy' One Breakfast at a Time

Did you know waffle is slang for vagina? Interesting. I never would have thought of a vagina while eating waffles. It's quite nonsensical as slang terms go; which is fitting because the newest "STD" on the radar is equally nonsensical. Information about "blue waffle disease" has apparently been circulating around the internet since 2010 - but I just caught wind of it this weekend by reading an article from the Women's Health Foundation.

What, might you ask, is "blue waffle disease"? I thought the best definition was on UrbanDictionary.com, but essentially it is a (FAKE) STD which can only be passed from females to males, manifests mainly through blue bruises on the vulva, and is a result of bad vaginal hygiene. It is also worth noting that most people who believe this disease is real are pre-teens or teenagers who are seeking sexual health information from illegitimate internet websites like this one or this one.

When I originally read the article I was concerned about misinformation and the pitfalls of sex education in America. I wasn't overly concerned with the misogynistic or patriarchal implications of this fabricated disease. Misogyny and patriarchy were present (one day everyone will understand vaginas are not dirty) but the ever present "dirty vagina" idea was less a concern for me than the fact that kids across the country actually believe in this STD. That was until I started my own mini-research on blue waffle disease and realized the whole STD is apparently an excuse to put women in their place sexually while simultaneously getting them to emulate what I will call the "vagina of the patriarchy".

The vagina of the patriarchy is white, hairless, perfectly symmetrical, doesn't have any discharge, and exists for the purpose of heterosexual intercourse - but not too much heterosexual intercourse. Oh, and let's not forget about the tones of slut shaming and sexual violence present in the "information" about this disease. Here are some samples (and those typos are not my own):

"The disease is typically observed in prostitutes and whores who indulge in activities of Unsafe sex, who use of sex toys and prostitution are the main cause of disease."

"Blue waffle is a vaginal abnormality caused by severe beatings at the hand of the man-stick, excessive ferocious poundings can results in grotesque flap growth resembling a waffly versatile potato waffle but also taking on a bluey-green colour. Often covered in sweaty fur as a result of the skanky mess who owns the vagina being crap at personal hygene.. mingers."

Because whoever wrote the first quote is likely an ignorant moron let's assume they are talking about street prostitution - not one of the many other types of prostitution (i.e. call girls). See, women who practice street prostitution do not indulge in unsafe sex. Usually, they are forced either economically or physically to engage in prostitution. It is not a choice or a reflection of their character but a method of survival. Oh, and fun fact: female street prostitutes are disproportionately of "lower" socioeconomic statuses. But the men who visit them typically represent every socioeconomic status. Hmmm....street prostitutes wouldn't be "indulging" if there was no one to do it with. Perhaps the problem is not with the supplier but with the demand.

Now on to the second quote, which is slightly more disturbing and problematic because of it's blatant promotion of violence against women. Apparently "severe beatings at the hand of the man-stick" and "excessive ferocious poundings" is code for sex. In reality, if your vagina is getting "beat by a man-stick" it's probably sexual assault. But in this quote, instead of offering the sexual assault survivor aid, they continue on to blame them for being a whore and allowing all those men to give them blue waffle disease. Funny how the men are inflicting the pain and disease here but the woman is getting blamed.

One purpose of these examples is to define female sexuality in negative terms: good women do not have multiple sex partners, they do not use sex toys, and they do not have hair on their vulva. The other purpose is to frighten women into behaving according to these narrow patriarchal standards. The second quote blatantly describes sexual violence and effectively blames women for its repercussions.

So, what I originally thought was just a bad case of some idiot making up a disease and misinforming a bunch of teenagers actually turns out to be a huge hurdle in regards to sexual violence and positive female sexuality. You know what a thirteen year old girl will think if she comes across this "information"? Hint: it's not going to be a complex analysis of patriarchal definitions of sexuality and incidences of sexual violence.

So spread the word - let's defeat "blue waffle disease" in all it's patriarchal glory. -Jen Kaltveit, Hamline University

Teen Mom Stats

Jezebel has an interesting article up that gives some of the stats on why teen moms didn’t use birth control: as expected, many of the reasons are pretty atrocious and seem to stem from bad sex ed and harmful attitudes about sex. #1 is that they didn’t think they could get pregnant. Read that again. The #1 reason that teen girls get pregnant while not using birth control is because they think they can’t get pregnant. Girls deserve access to full information about their bodies and their lives so that they can make informed choices about how to treat their bodies and take care of themselves. This information illustrates that we owe more to our young people. But what took me aback even more was the fact that a quarter of teen mothers got pregnant simply because their partner didn’t want to use a condom. This is a hugely important issue: we should be teaching our young women that they can say no if their partner treats them in a way in which they feel uncomfortable, and that they shouldn’t risk their own health for the sake of someone else’s brief pleasure. More than that, we should be teaching young men that they are also responsible for birth control. Yes, the female has to bear the brunt of the repercussions, but that does not mean that she should exclusively be responsible for making sure she doesn’t get pregnant. Sex is a joint effort, and safety in sex should be a joint effort as well. This study illustrates clearly that we need to adjust the way we tell our young people about sex: clearly they’re not understanding the concept of mutual respect, or even the basic way their bodies function.

--Olivia

Catch Up On What You Missed: Friday Highlights

"Pregnancy Centers Come Under Fire for Abortion Info"

NARAL Pro-Choice Minnesota released a report this week which chronicled the types of information given to women who seek help at crisis pregnancy centers. Get the full story from the Star Tribune.

"Birth Control for Men?"

Ms. Magazine's blog takes another look at what new birth control methods developed for men might look like. For the full story see the Ms. Magazine Blog.

"Duluth Joins Campaign to Defeat the Marriage Amendment"

The Duluth City Council just announced they voted to formally oppose the Marriage Amendment which will appear on the ballot in November. Check out MNUnited.org or the Duluth News Tribune for more information.

"Taboos Undercut Nepal's Marital Rape Law"

Some women in Nepal are trying to figure out how to handle marital rape and domestic violence. Get the full story at WomensENews.org.

"Pittsburgh's Milk Truck Breaks for Nursing Moms"

A new organization is blooming in Pittsburgh. Figure out why it might soon be easier to breastfeed on the streets from WomensENews.